Snapped

[Motu]

RIngs a BEll.....

[MikeL]

Having had my licence for over 34 years and having never had an insurance claim for a crash caused by me or anyone else I feel insulted when some young cop stops me for doing 111km/hr or whatever and implies I was doing something dangerous. Like his judgement is way better than mine - sure son. Oh that's right he's just doing his job.

I agree entirely, Merv. I got a ticket for doing 111 kph recently, on a good road, in fine weather, with light traffic and no obvious hazard. I didn't bother arguing with the cop about whether my behaviour was dangerous. I knew it wasn't, he knew it wasn't, but the law is the law and he had a quota to fill.
The fact that I now have some demerit points against my name for the first time ever will probably make me slow down in future, but in what way will that make a meaningful contribution to road safety? I a;dmit that it wasn't the first time I've exceeded the speed limit. In 37 years of driving/riding I've never come anywhere near killing or injuring anyone through excesive speed or blatant disregard of basic road rules. The most significant consequence of my ticket will be a lingering resentment against an arbitrary and unfair system which penalizes behaviour regardless of circumstances. Because resentment against an impersonal system is pointless, it will naturally be redirected against those who apply it. Can the police expect co-operation and consideration from me when they need help, information or support? Give me one good reason why...

[jrandom]

Can the police expect co-operation and consideration from me when they need help, information or support? Give me one good reason why...

Oh dear. You've been brooding, haven't you, Mike? Or was that a troll? We should help the police when what they're doing serves the general public good.

But civil disobedience in all other cases would be, at the very least, understandable, if not strictly justifiable.

Meet you beside the Waikumete speed camera at 0200 tomorrow. Bring your angle grinder.

[scumdog]

I agree entirely, Merv. I got a ticket for doing 111 kph recently, on a good road, in fine weather, with light traffic and no obvious hazard. I didn't bother arguing with the cop about whether my behaviour was dangerous. I knew it wasn't, he knew it wasn't, but the law is the law and he had a quota to fill.

Because resentment against an impersonal system is pointless, it will naturally be redirected against those who apply it. Can the police expect co-operation and consideration from me when they need help, information or support? Give me one good reason why...

Thing is MikeL, sometimes it is easier to think along the lines of a 'blanket cover' instead of this mythical thing called 'discretion', i.e. no need to think whether it's safe etc - you broke the law - you pay, also the poor sod might just have finished getting a bollocking for lack of 'productivity' a.k.a. 'quota' and you happened along at just the right time for him (it happens).


Sadly, if you took the time to think about the sequence of events, by not assisting the police you would be helping the criminals (potentially) and your lack of forthcomming info is no skin off the cops nose, - I know from experience.
So while it might make you feel good by saying 'eff you' because you got a ticket - that's all it does, makes YOU feel good for a short time, meanwhile the bad guy gets away with whatever.

[spudchucka]

Can the police expect co-operation and consideration from me when they need help, information or support? Give me one good reason why...

Because it might be your family member, your neighbour, your workmate or simply some other poor victim of a crime that the police are trying to help.

This arguement is raised often by those who resent traffic fines but it is shallow and lacks any empathy for people that are in need and requiring the assistance of the police. Until you have been in the situation where you desperately need the assistance of the police, that arguement has no merit.

If people really are that shallow then what has society become that they would not assist police at the expense of someone that is a victim or potential victim because they got a speeding ticket from a cop. The country needs to grow up a lot if people really do think like this.

[dhunt]

Can the police expect co-operation and consideration from me when they need help, information or support? Give me one good reason why...

Two wrongs doesn't equal a right. One example of this although not true is in the spiderman movie. Spiderman fights some big guy for some money and only gets a fraction of what he was suppose to get. Then while leaving some guy holds up the guy that was suppose to pay spiderman and nicks the money. Spiderman just lets him go right past him (as upset about not getting his money) and doesn't try and stop him at all. Then later he finds a big scene out side and finds his uncle dead. The crook killed his uncle to get his car to get away in. Now if he had stopped him in the first place his uncle would still be alive.

My $0.02 anyway.

[scumdog]

[QUOTE=merv]The whole speeding thing and being ticketed needs an overhaul in my opinion. At the end of the day if someone is ticketed at 2.30am like Stevo was, what's the safety lesson in that? None as far as I can see!!

Chill out merv, I know it is annoying but in lifes journey it is but a minor hiccup eh?

I have heard those excuses before and my answer is "if you really think it's valid write to the Infringement Burea" - but of course we all know nobody gets off once you get the ticket.

The other point I would like to make is that where do you draw the line i.e. it was an o.k. speed for 2:30am but what about 3:30 and 4:30 etc, when does it suddenly become not safe?

[scumdog]

Two wrongs doesn't equal a right. One example of this although not true is in the spiderman movie. Spiderman fights some big guy for some money and only gets a fraction of what he was suppose to get. Then while leaving some guy holds up the guy that was suppose to pay spiderman and nicks the money. Spiderman just lets him go right past him (as upset about not getting his money) and doesn't try and stop him at all. Then later he finds a big scene out side and finds his uncle dead. The crook killed his uncle to get his car to get away in. Now if he had stopped him in the first place his uncle would still be alive.

My $0.02 anyway.

Yeah, it happened just like that at the Kaitangata pub last week

[Jackrat]

Thought this wasn't supposed to turn into a gripe session??
Anyway here's what I saw today,,made my day it did too.
Was out at Pukekohe picking up yet another victim of somebody elses bad driving(they all say that)When I spot a certain red SS Commodor,driven by a young Maori cop with no hair(dunno why they shave their heads).
Anyway he's parked around fifty meters from a stop sign and standing by his car,obvious as the nose on your face.It's lunch time so I sit an watch,in half an hour he nabs three people for not stopping
At this rate he's doing me out of a job.

[Stevo]

[QUOTE=scumdog]

The whole speeding thing and being ticketed needs an overhaul in my opinion. At the end of the day if someone is ticketed at 2.30am like Stevo was, what's the safety lesson in that? None as far as I can see!!
The other point I would like to make is that where do you draw the line i.e. it was an o.k. speed for 2:30am but what about 3:30 and 4:30 etc, when does it suddenly become not safe?

Yeah yeah and for once I got a ticket and once the serious part was over I was laughing just from seeing this cop's reaction to my big mouth blabbing out honestly and quickly.

There is a time and place for everything and it was the right time of day to "Get away" with speeding but certainly not the place.............. ie. central Chch. It was more absent mindedness that cost me this particular ticket and that was certainly more dangerous than my speed. I deserved it but am over it ........ So what?

[Stevo]

I actually feel guilty now cos I SO should have dobbed a guy in two weekends ago. The Mrs and I road to Kaikoura with Kickaha who was on his way home to Chch, then we split and turned around to come home again. Just north of Kaikoura we passed this blue Lexus on the big long straights round that area then surprisingly half way back to Picton he caught up to us on the bikes and passed us and he must have narrowly missed being pinged by a marked car hiding of the side of the road........................
Point is....... What the two of us saw in the next 20 mins was incredible stupidity!!! Like overtaking coming up to a blind left hand corner (at which time I virtually prayed for another car not to come round it in the opposite direction) and other equally stupid but not quite as bad as that overtaking manoevres. We sat about a 100 yards or so behind easily keeping up by overtaking in more sensible places BUT am now kicking myself for not calling *555 to report him. Cos this Effwit got away with some REALLY DANGEROUS stuff.

My guilt ever since has ensured that I will if ever this happens again!

[Stevo]

Surely if he could afford the Lexus he could afford the infringement too. LOL.

[spudchucka]

Anyway he's parked around fifty meters from a stop sign and standing by his car,obvious as the nose on your face.It's lunch time so I sit an watch,in half an hour he nabs three people for not stopping
At this rate he's doing me out of a job.

Spend half an hour watching a busy stop sign controlled intersection and see how many drivers actually stop, f**k all.

I pinged an old dude years ago who cruised through a stop sign at something like 30 Kph. He swore black and blue that he had stopped. I left him blabbering at the roadside and an hour or so later when I was next in the station I had the Senior Sergeant giving me shit because the geezer had phoned up to complain and the Senior had been getting it in the neck for about half an hour. Apparently after the lengthy conversation the old guy finished by saying that it was not fair to ticket him because he had "almost stopped".

[scumdog]

[QUOTE=Mark Dunn]Cheers Guys. As soon as I read my post I thought "what's this crap I'm on about. My posts are getting too serious I need to lighten up" Time to scroll through some of Scumdog's posts for some good old fashioned laughs. You ever tried stand up comedy SD. Now where's that ripper about your bedroom accident. That had me in stitches.
Now I'm off to find some consultants to dream up a fair justice system for our perfect world. Keep up the good fight- just do it under 100 kph OK[/QUOTE

Never thought of stand-up comedy, however I have a black-belt rating when it comes to talking shit - just anybody that's been at a rally when I've been drinking - and sometimes even when I haven't, but mostly it takes a drink or two to enhance my cerebral process and encourage verbal dairrho to the max.

[Stevo]

Apparently after the lengthy conversation the old guy finished by saying that it was not fair to ticket him because he had "almost stopped".