Streetlights, radars and cops

Sorry, but your response basically confirms the hypophysis that many, if not most traffic cops have an acute ego problem. You make large assumptions that I haven't been in a life threathing situation, but guess what... your mind set and associated thinking, perhaps somewhat instilled by an intimidation style of training, greatly rubs off on the general public. According to your personal profile, who have listed your occupation as "obtaining signatures".... which can be extrapolated as being un-ethical, over-bearing, corrupt, unjust... just to show the "boss" you are doing something. Perhaps your acute case of erogance coupled with a lack of general education and a proclivity to the "stupid" side is what gets you into situations that you want to blaim some other "azzhole" for nearly running you over. Please tell us why your methods and priorities, as dictated by your commander (another dickhead) is actually serving the public, instead of writing Draconian tickets in the name of revenue generation!!!!

You give an example of my house being borken into, and don't know what it's like to be in your shoes.... well, if you guys would stop concealing yourselves behind the nearest tree or bush to catch someone for trivial crap at the local stop sign, and start patrolling the neighborhoops in the name of "serve and protect", then only will you and your ilk will gain any respect from the general public. It is quite clear that you and your genere have your priorities "bass-akwards" in looking for "signature donors". You guys really seem to follow the path of least resistance, sitting around with electronic monitoring equipment looking for that next "speeder", while our homes are being broken into. Get off your backside and patrol the neighborhoods in which you are sworn to protect and serve. Your paycheck is a total waste of taxpayer money. For your information, I am fully equipped and otherwise trained to handle my personal business, but when in the rare situation in which you may be called upon, you guys never offer any real help, or are not concerned.

You guys, meaning traffic cops, need to earn the respect of the public, instead of fostering the "revenue" or "looting" aspect side of things with tickets galore.

Again, if I were in your shoes, I couldn't help myself when I awoke every morning and looked into the mirror, and thinking... "how does it feel that everyone hates my guts".

This is NOT a personal attack, my comments just underline the fact in which the police has their priorities totally inverted. Afterall, my tax dollars provide you with a paycheck and fund your retirement account.

Some day, whenever it may be, I hope to blow by your pathetic Ford "cruiser" around 205mph while gaining more speed.

Have a Good Day.... and don't forget to look into the mirror each morning.

Brian.

 

Ok Mr. "285ferrari", since many radar guns and the associated classroom training is a direct result of donations from the insurance industry, can you really think that you have recieved an unbiased and "formal" education????? We all know that your training is "altered" to inflect intimidation and not represent the actual "ticket" situation". The public is presumed to be innocent, but the "un-educated" and zealous cop knows that he has the backing from the "system" and flaunts the associated power. It is all biased toward revenue generation, and the poor guy with a nice car seems to be the prime target.

Did your training classes concentrate upon proper identification with common sense and respect for the innocent public, or did they train you on how to intimidate and lie to the public because they gave you a damn gun??? Like mentioned in another post to this thread, do you understand electro-magnetic wave propogation, or are you more interested in just issuing a ticket under false pretenses??? Traffic radar can NOT identify the actual position of the so-called threat on the road, only aircraft radar can identify the actual location of the "tagged" suspect. Your training is wortheless.

Don't forget to look into the mirror each morning!

Brian.

 

I don't think anyone here hates cops (that's pretty over the top). I just wish they'd go back to the old neighborhood mindset where the local beat cop was everyone's protector and doled out the street justice. He was the guy you went to if you were lost, needed help, someone was hassling you, etc.

The duty of the officer in the eyes of the citizen has been perverted into being at least a partial revenue source - the revenue coming from fines levied against citizens for often meaningless infractions. It's hard to think of an officer as your friend and protector when he's parked in the dark, with his radar gun, hoping to get me at +10 so he can write me a ticket, generate some revenue (or god forbid satisfy some quota), and get a free search of my person and vehicle's immediate vicinity. Especially when the murder rate in the area is so high.

IMO, a police office should serve as a buffer between the citizen and the power of the state, not always as the state's hammer.

 

Sean. I have also noticed the Street Lights going off when I pass them on occassion. I always wondered why,and thought the same as what Bill mentioned. (Halogen Lights turning off when they are hot,and "Re-Setting") I also notice this happen on the Halogen Streetlights in my very quiet Neighborhood. And they go off and on anytime. Even when there are no cars passing by them. So,I really do think that is the problem. But,I will keep it in mind and see what happens when I pass one going alittle over the speed limit.

Also,I absolutely MUST agree with most everone else's opinions regarding the Traffic Cop situation. No,there is NEVER one around when some Moron in an SUV is 3 inches behind your rear Bumper,even as it is obvious that you have a kid/s in your Car,then,whipping in and out of Traffic,Not using a Turn Signal,Speeding,talking on a Cell Phone....the old adage..."Why isn't there a Cop around when you need one"...TRUE!!! They NEVER seem to be around when one of these pinheads are........Never! I have Never seen a Cop,all of a sudden pull out and chase one of these idiots!

Then,coming towards "the End of the Month" and the Ticket Quota's haven't been reached...."Wow! Here comes a Red Ferrari!!!! That guy probably has Money....I'm gonna pull his ass over....He's probably just like the guy in High School that drove a Trans Am,that used to pick on me....I'll show him!!!!"......

 

Mike,
I am glad to hear that MD does take a bit more effort in familiarizing the radar operators with the equipment.

Regards,
Bill

 

You have some personal problems and issues for sure--It's obvious you have had a bad run in with the police somewhere in your life--Sorry about your HATRED towards the police, but unlike you I don't hate people -I respect your job as a Electrical whatever and am sure you are good at it. But to BASH me and the law enforcement community as a whole is quite ignorant on your part. After all your jackass remarks I would still help you out of a crashed car and still respond to your house for a breaking and entering because that is the profession I chose--and part of that job is writing tickets. Last year my county had 17 fatal crashes(yes I went to school for 6 weeks to become a crash reconstructionist) This year the number is at 35--more than double--WHY--Primarily because of SPEEDING and inexperience behind the wheel. So up here I do what I do down there you do what you want, but I can assure you if you come up here driving 205 mph-as YOU stated--you won't outrun my Motorola radio--and I will get YOUR signature!! Have a great weekend>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Can I ask where you live, and what percentage of people actually have a license and insurance? Accidents come down to inexperience, drinking and untrained/unlicensed

How can you say speeding played a role in the accidents? Im sure that fuggin cell phone taped to their skull played no roll?! If our godamn country didn't allow any idiot here to drive, we would have alot less accidents!

 

Bottom line,IMO....The Government NEEDS to start taking Driver TRAINING more seriously. In our Sophomore Years in High School,at the tender age of 15. We are taught on How to pass the Test....NOT how to safely operate a huge,heavy,powerful,steel Motor Vehicle. In any given situation,Weather,Etc...We need to be more like Europe. Where they insist on DRIVER TRAINING. And,there are a select few of us that DO do that.

But,the Government is more interested in getting all of that tax money that is associated with vehicles. Drivers License Fees. Tax on the car when you buy it,both when it is New,and when it is Used. Tax when you get it serviced. Tire Taxes. Auto Parts Taxes. Gas Taxes. License Plates. City Stickers. Parking Meters. Or,Taxes on parking Lot Fees. Tolls. Fines from Tickets and Violations. Court Costs. Attorneys Fees. All other Automotive Parts and Supply Taxes. The money spent,and Taxed,from Insurance Settlements or Awards. The Government simply values that Tax money more than Human life. Or,they'd make the Driving Test harder,thus,more appropriate. After all,as the Courts remind us,"Driving is a privelege....Not a Right"

But,the Insurance Industry could easily dictate as to how the general public drives. If they All got together and Flat out refused to Insure,say,anyone under 21. Over 70. Or,anyone who hasn't participated in a Drivers Training course. Anyone that has had so many tickets...Etc...But,that will never happen either....It all revolves around the almighty Dollar...And,there just aren't enough Cops to enforce it! So,we are stuck with all of the Moron type drivers...

 

So true, think back to when you were 16....you know damn well you should not have been driving! I know myself, even being obsessed with cars and going to a REAL driving school, did not stop me from doing some very stupid things! I've only driven with about 4 people in my life that I thought had the reaction, concentration and capability to be on the road.

 

You are so right----Everything is about money--The government needs us to drive so they can survive!!!

 

Wow, you guys all totally hijacked my thread! Now we're bashing cops, the government, tales of ***** cops, etc. I'm just curious if anybody else has noticed this with the consistency that I have (same light, every night, etc.) Granted, if I'm right about sensors measing speed between two points, this is kinda like conspiracy theory, I'm hoping somebody out there might have the inside track.

 

I believe the lights turning on, are to make one aware......kinda like, "what the **** was that?"

 

Shame on all of you for speeding or trying not to get caught by a red light....you guys should be more like me....drive slow wait until the light turns red then flash your brights real fast and Presto Chango the light turns green

 

Sean,
I have seen the lights, the next thing I knew, I was in my bedroom. Through many years of therapy and hypno-regression, we have discovered that I was abducted by....

(I have not noticed any correlation between the street lights and my speed. Other than, when I go faster, they seem, in a commeasurate amount, to go by my window faster in the opposite direction.)

...alien beings that had some little trick that they did with probes. YUUCCCK!

 

Have you given it the old scientific method? Drive past the light below the speed limit, and notice if it turns off. Loop back around immediately, drive past above the speed limit, and see what it does.

If your radar detector is not going off, I highly doubt that its speed related. Perhaps your headlights are out of adjustment, and from down the road, your lights are confusing the daytime/nighttime sensor. Probably just a bad lamp. Call the power company and have 'em fix it.

On some of the other posts, there isn't a camera on the Kennedy. The state doesn't do photo enforcement, except in construction zones. The city can't install anything within the state's Right of Way. My bet is on the sparks from the L, especially if it was raining. How many flashes did you see? I saw the camera fire at Kinzie and La Salle, and it flashed thrice.

 

LOL!,Bill.... Yes,once we start talking about strange lights,I start getting warm,my mouth waters,and I start having strange Flashbacks....

Sorry about that,Sean.... But,I really don't think that the Streetlights are doing that purposely....not yet,anyway.... I think that it's just a coincidence that a Halogen Light gets too hot and shuts off and re-sets. It also has happened to me in California,Vegas,and Phoenix.

But....Next time anyone is stopped at an Intersection....Take a look at all of the Electronic doodads that are mounted on top of the Traffic light poles....besides the sensors that allow Emergency Vehicles to change the Traffic light. There are all sorts of Other Things. You never actually SEE them putting these things up. They must do it at Night....Sneaky....Big Brother has arrived,and is pounding on the Door right now!!!!...

 

Sean,
In my last post, I did not mean to poke fun at you. It was self deprecating humor, just trying to get a laugh. The part for you, my concession to anti-hijack mode, was in the parentheses, although there was a bit of humor there too.

Bill

 

Not the same light, but have noticed the street lights randomly going on and off during certain vehicle passings. Not only in the Chicagoland area but while I lived in Florida for a few years perviously this was noted too. Its strange Sean, kind of like the Truman Show movie where you keep asking yourself if someone is watching. Ach, I take the paranoia with a splash of humor in remembering a Simpsons episode when Bart discovers that Major League Baseball spies on the world. For certain, I have noticed street lights shotting on and off at very peculiar times, even in small residential neighborhoods where there is a small blind bend in the road or a handy (sp?) culdesac to hide in.

RocketBoy

 

Retarded... 205 mph on a public road, I hope Ferrari285 doesn't even bother to scoop you up after you kill, hopefully, only yourself... Such statements shows respect to no one including yourself. Are you racing a soccer Mom while showing your awesome driving skill?

Police are a essential evil, sometimes respected good. Two years ago I was involved in a fatal accident. A drunk ran a light hitting my car head on and the person next to me. Alcohol was involved along with a pretty bad record on the other driver. When the police arrived, the main officer in charge immidiately put the cuffs on me as a mid 20 year old guy ( me ) in rough and tough rags and bandanna on his way to the gym looked more like the guy who would be the cause of such a terrible event. A comment, " Man, you're are going to pay for this," by the police man wasn't very comforting either considering I, along with another innocent victim, were the ones who got hit. Being put in the back of the police car for questioning isn't a morale boost either. After witnesses pointed out I was the one who got hit, the other investingating officers on the scene pointed out that my car was the one not smelling of alcohol, the only thing on my breathilizer was Gatorade, my cuffs were taken off and even my request to be placed in the front seat of the cop car was met with out an apology for his attitude and comments. In his haste for looking like an idiot, " well, umm, I have too many books on the front seat." to my request to be placed someplace else. So I got to be driven off the police station for my statement while the other driver was sent to the hospital along with the passenger he killed. The whole time me looking like a criminal in front of my parents who arrived later to see me being driven off. So I think I have a right to complain how much cops are d**ks and azzwholes.

After the main investigating officer finished his report he called me in to show the other citations and court actions being taken against the drunk. To show you how all cops are pricks, this officer broke his ego trip for five minutes to tell me about himself. He told me about how he hit a car while off duty seriously injuring someone. That it was "completely my fault," and he regrets it and thinks about it to this day. Then he turned to me to tell me a hundred times that Im the victim, no one wishes to be in a moment like I was and that since he has been on the other side, he knows that he did something wrong to the other person even though he was at fault. He then told me I could call him just to chat to make sure I would feel confident there was nothing I could do and that these things happen. Ego trip? Hardly. Behind at least one badge there lies some heart and not a revenue generating robot.

No one is perfect. But one thing is certain that there are idiots out there that drive drunk, too fast, and have worse attitudes than the roughest cop can produce. If they nab these people by sitting on their doughnut eating arses, well that's fine. I for one wish that person who thought they could drive through a light at what they thought was 205 and hit me only got pulled over and arrested sooner. And as for the attitude of the cops that day, well they have to live with that on a daily basis. I doubt the interactions of the world's least classy personalities and behavior doesn't warrant putting up some rough first impression etiquite.

RocketBoy

 

Even if the Steetlights DID get triggered by a Car. Wouldn't it most likely pertain to a newer Car with all of the Electronic Stuff that is now on all Modern cars....I.E.; Computers,Sensors,Bar Code Vin Tags,Etc......So,I'm thinking that my almost Quarter Century old 308 may not trigger them....? Then again,unless they are Motion Senosored....Who knows....I'll ask some of my Policeman Buddies. They'll tell me.