Re: Here is what happened today. What would you do next?

Posted by Mike O'Handley On 2011/9/17 1:33:49

Hi All,

I spent 20 years, 9 months, 5 days and 4 hours as a cop until I retired in 1996. Worked traffic exclusivel for about a year and nobody ever told me I had to fill a quota. Knew many cops in many jurisdictions over the years and can't ever remember anyone telling me they'd gotten their butt chewed for not making a ticket quota.

The truth is, writing tickets is a huge pain in the butt and the only thing more boring is watching paint dry. I'd estimate that most cops admonish and release easily 90% of the folks they stop. Traffic enforcement is mostly about reminding folks that there are rules and asking them to abide by them. If someone was reasonable and didn't try to B.S. me about whether or not they'd been speeding or whatever, they'd usually get a warning unless they'd caused some egregious accident or had been reckless or had been drinking and driving or something else more serious.

There is an unwritten rule that most, not all, traffic guys use. Under 55 allow up to 6 mph over the limit before pulling someone over to talk to them; over 55 allow up to 11 mph over the limit before pulling someone over to talk to them.

Catching speeders is the easiest thing in the world 'cuz about 95% of the folks who roll by on the road are over the limit until they spot you. If we'd had quotas, we could have filled them in ten minutes.

Stop imagining things.

Let's get back to things Packard.