Cop writes ticket, then asks for date

A little extra with your traffic ticket? One Indiana woman got a speeding ticket--with the officer's phone number on the back. He allegedly asked for a date. The officer has since retired,
amidst an investigation. Hopefully he's working on his timing.

Get a ticket in California--and you contribute to a slew of state causes. In the last 2 years, legislators have tacked on fees. So you're not only paying your traffic citation--you're kicking in for a state conviction fee, new courthouse construction, and emergency air transport services. The legislature is thinking of adding spinal cord injury research and DNA identification.

Right, right--traffic tickets are about deterrence. Not revenue. Sure.

New York drivers will now get 2 points if convicted of using a cell phone while driving. Previously the charge reportedly involved a fine but no points.


Image courtesy of Idea go

Senators ask for no dui apps

4 US senators have asked cell phone companies not to sell apps that identify dui checkpoints. Yeah, guys. We're spending all this federal money on checkpoints that don't catch drunk drivers. Don't make us look even worse.

How to double the effectiveness of federal funding for dui checkpoints:

At California dui checkpoint, it costs $2,800 to arrest one drunk driver.

What if I at the shift briefing held up a check. "The first officer to make 2 dui arrests out on patrol tonight gets this check for $2,800."

What do you think would happen? The effectiveness just doubled.

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Missouri has a law that a city can only make 35% of its revenue from traffic tickets. The officers in Lone Jack were a little too successful--the city had $19,000 of traffic ticket money it couldn't keep. (The money went to the state.)

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Michigan is using federal funds to step up seat belt enforcement during May. 95.2% of the state's drivers use seatbelts.

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Des Moines, Iowa is about to go live with its "automated traffic enforcement system" (what the rest of us call red light cameras). The local newspaper asked what happens if someone makes a legal right turn at an ATES intersection. No answer on that one.

The system can be used to alert police officers when a certain license plate is detected.


Image courtesy of xedos4