http://www.jsonline.com/news/wiscons...261038891.html

"Around 1:35 p.m. Amlong was the next in line of the four troopers waiting on the side of the road, listening to Schuette on the radio say he spotted a yellow Smart car traveling 85 mph.

"Target vehicle will be underneath the bridge in 3, 2, 1," Schuette said as Amlong eased out into traffic. "He'll be out in front of you in Lane One, just moved over to Lane Two."

Amlong watched for the yellow vehicle to pass by.

"Is it a Beetle? Nope, Mini Cooper," Amlong said as the convertible with Illinois vanity plates "MNI MAMA" immediately slowed down and pulled over.

Amlong pulled on his trooper hat, walked slowly toward the car and leaned in the passenger side window to talk to the driver and check her license. The woman was cooperative, told Amlong she was on her way to an appointment and didn't see the aerial enforcement sign. After he typed on a laptop in his squad car, a printer on the seat spit out a speeding ticket for $276.10.

"With the planes people don't know what you've got on them. She said 'I thought I was going 65.' Well, if she was going 65 I really wouldn't stop her," Amlong said. "I told her at 85 mph if she had been 5 miles more (over the limit) she would've lost her license. People don't think about that."

 

Like shooting fish in a barrel...

 

IMO at times it's just another revenue stream

 

The color gave her up !!!!!!!!!!!

 

Yeah, really unfair. After all there's no way she could ever be responsible for an accident and possibly injure or kill someone!

 

Anyone who tells you they haven’t broken the rules from time to time is a liar. My poop stinks and I can admit that, but that’s a topic for another forum.

 

Really? You always obey the speed limit? I'm not defending anyone but c'mon really?

 

No, but because there is law enforcement out there and because tickets cost a lot of money I will come a lot closer to obeying the speed limit than I would if there was no law enforcement at all. I'm sure this holds true for most of us that drive.

And, my comment was to Nicefeet who considered speeding tickets as just another source of revenue. It would become pretty deadly to drive your car if there was no enforcement at all.

 

I think you over looked the phrase "at times" There are roadway and traffic conditions that IMO are pretty safe to push 20 over in. It's not like this woman was going 85 in a school or construction zone. I'm very pro law enforcement, but "at times" I think traffic citations for speeding are just a revenue stream at times.

 

Ill my home state and Wisconsin just have too low a speed limits. I like Teaxs, mostly 70 on highways unless your in West TX were it's 80 or 85 .

 

I normally drive with the flow of traffic. So we all should get a ticket? If I drive the limit than the guy behind is pissed off and riding my bumper and I would rather be safe. I am not going 85! And normally cars are in the left passing as well.

What gets me is I see so many cars driving here with no headlights at night. And cops ignore them! It is not about safety. It is about revenue. Tickets for no headlights are not worth the pull over. It is not about keeping me safe. I have little or no respect for police (past accidents not my fault a good point but another story).

Here, you are supposed to use headlights in rain, extreme rain and dark skies still no pull overs. Georgia.

So it is all about the money? I would have more respect for police if I saw all violations treated equal. But that is not the case. So what laws do you follow or obey? Only the enforced ones?

I even see 18 wheelers in the left lane which is illegal, again nothing is done.

 

Toddler critically injured by ‘flash bang’ during police search. Wisconsin folks visit Atlanta.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/breakin...tlink_homepage


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A 19-month-old boy critically injured when a police device was tossed into his bed has a 50 percent chance of surviving, his parents said today. But a northeast Georgia sheriff defends the officers’ actions, calling it a tragic accident.

“The last thing you want is law enforcement to injure someone innocent,” Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There was no malicious act performed. It was a terrible accident that was never supposed to happen.”

Hours after a confidential informant said he bought methamphetamine from Wanis Thometheva at a Habersham County home late Tuesday, officers returned to the home to arrest him.
Thometheva, 30, of Cornelia, wasn’t a stranger to them, police say. Terrell said that during a prior arrest on drug charges, investigators discovered Thometheva had weapons, including an AK-47.
“That’s the threat he uses to those who don’t do what he wants,” Terrell said.

Thometheva was not at the home at the time of the raid but was later arrested at another house on a felony drug charge of distribution of meth.
Officers had no indication that any children were inside the Lakeview Heights home when they returned around 3 a.m. Wednesday, Terrell said, and approached the same door where drugs had been purchased.
That door, which leads into a former garage that has been remodeled into a bedroom, was locked, so officers opened it, the Sheriff said. Then, a distraction device, or flash bang, was tossed inside.

“It distracts them so you can make entrance,” Terrell said.
But this time, the device landed in the playpen where a toddler was sleeping. Little Bounkham “Bou Bou” Phonesavanhs and his family, including parents and three older sisters, were all asleep in the room while visiting from Wisconsin. Only the little boy was injured.

“It blew open his face and his chest,” the boy’s mother, Alecia Phonesavanh, told The AJC outside Grady Memorial Hospital. “Everybody was asleep. It’s not like anyone was trying to fight.”

A medic began rendering aid to the boy before the child was transported to Grady, Terrell said. Foggy weather made helicopter travel unsafe, he said.
Bou Bou is now in a medically induced coma, his parents said, and it could be weeks before it’s known if he’ll survive and what treatment he’ll need. The family was only supposed to be in Georgia temporarily after a fire at their Wisconsin home, the Phonesavanhs said.

“We have nothing to do with this ( drugs),” father Bounkham “Bou” Phonesavanh said.

Now, the family of six faces weeks of uncertainty, unsure how long the boy will be hospitalized, and where they’ll live in the meantime. A family friend has created an online fund-raising page to help with costs.
The family is angry, but hopefully the boy makes a full recovery. His sisters, ages 3, 5, and 7, haven’t been able to see him, but have recorded messages for him to hear, such as, “I know you got hurt but we love you, Bou Bou.”
Added the father: “I hold his hand to comfort him. We’re close, that’s my boy, my only son.”

Terrell said he contacted the GBI, but was told no further investigation is needed.
“Our hearts are broken with them because of the child,” Terrell said.

 

85MPH on a highway is a perfectly safe speed to travel.....hell, that is the AVERAGE cruising speed for most cars on the highways around here.


just an FYI, the national speed limit of 55MPH wasnt set for safety sake....it was a federal madate durring the oil crisis because they believed that was the most EFFICIENT speed to travel at...once the federal madate was lifted, most states kept speeds the same for fear of potential legal hassle....

most highway engineers will tell you that modern highways can safely handle traffic speeds of ~85+


so save me the "think of the children" spiel

 

I can tell you that I enjoyed Germany and the Autobahn. Now that is driving and seeing those cars - wow. They manage pretty well.

So how is it that we here have no drivers ed in schools anymore? No wonder the roads are not safe. Not sure that EVERYONE pays for the driving courses. Does anybody take drivers ed in school anymore? This is Georgia no drivers ed in schools.

What speeds are safe to text at? And I don't text I am too old. Flip phone. So we penalize everyone, and I see texting all the time and police ignore that too.

Nothing like cruising the Autobahn and hearing a Porsche pass you at say 100 MPH. The sound is incredible. So is the car. So is the BMW factory.

 

yes. all of this. same here in FL. no lights at night, no lights in the rain, blatant running of red lights in front of cops, and the former, right in front of cops; they do nothing.

i also have no respect for (most) police. there are 1 in a thousand that have some brains; the rest are complete idiots with too much free time and too many toys (that WE pay for).

what, we REALLY need an Airplane to check for speeders?!!! how much does that cost?! 6 figures easy for just the plane; then the cop pilot, then the obviously extremely expensive radar equipment, then the cops on the ground... the list goes on; and so will my rant if i dont stop.

lastly, ever notice how its "legal" for a policeman to park where they want, speed where they want, run a red light when they want, all with no recourse?! where are the Police POLICE!!!??!!! now THAT is something i am happy to pay for!

 

I'm all for ticketing people driving dangerously. That said, if they were really interested in promoting safety they'd be more interested in who was driving unsafely, not just who was exceeding the speed limit. Did the police involved in this speed trap issue any tickets for unsafe lane changes, failure to use a signal, etc., etc.? In my experience those sorts of things cause more accidents than just exceeding the speed limit.

Driving over the posted speed isn't necessarily unsafe depending on conditions and the flow of traffic. The times it is more-or-less universally unsafe are the times you won't see cops out nabbing speeders (when it's raining, etc.).

If it was just about getting people to slow down, they also wouldn't arrest and/or harass people for warning others about speed traps.

If you think this sort of thing exists primarily to promote public safety you're living in a fantasy land. At best it's a secondary benefit, at worst disrupting the natural flow of traffic with speed traps creates a road hazard and causes more safety concerns than it solves.

 

i cant even begin to tell you how many rear-endings ive almost seen when someone suddenly slamms on the breaks when they pass a roadside cop.....

 

This gave me a chuckle. I spent 32 years of my life investigating automobile accidents. I doubt anyone on this forum has the knowledge I gained in that period of time.

 

...

 

noooo...i think he just wants cops to stop doing the stuff they pull other people over for.....

how can a cop sit there and tell me its wrong to speed....when there are cops doing 30+ over the limit on a regular basis...?

and dont even get me started on Tint laws.....busting people chops over 25-30% tint when they are rolling around with limo tints....

you want people to think its dangerous, stop doing it yourselves.......lead by example then maybe we wont think its all an excuse to get revenue......oh, and ticket quotas....yeah, do away with those too......

 

Being a cop is a tough job. It's usually the good ones that quite because of the public attitude or the performance of the jerks they have to work with. The bad ones are the ones that tend to stay. There are some good ones that are more determined and will stick out the job but yes, they sometimes seem to be a minority. But, no matter the job or profession keep in mind that half of those people graduated in the bottom half of their class.

 

Scroll down on the main page. Its actually a pretty good read

http://www.stop100.ca/

 

if we just made an unlimited speed lane like the autoban, that would be awesome. i know we wont bc the autobans road is specially made (2x as thick as ours) and way more maintained, but i still love the concept.

or better yet, make such a lane / highway, and charge people a large amount for an "unlimited speed" license; have your car verified / inspected that it can travel at a ridiculous speed and motor on!

id happily pay a couple of Grand for such a privilege!

i dont deny any of your comments about the police. Yes, there are many very decent, smart police; yes they have an extremely tough job, and yes the rest of the idiots ruin public perception for the good ones. my rant is more along the lines of there is little to no regulation for the "crappy" police out there, and i feel with others that they are more geared towards revenue streaming than public safety. the system just needs an overhaul or something.

i would totally be a cop too, it looks like fun; i just Wont because of the "bottom half" of the class i would have to work with :P and the negative public perception that they have created through the public. fwiw, i would be the guy pulling people over for no lights at night / while raining, no turn signals, ect and so forth.

also, i was under the impression official ticket quotas were illegal.... but "unofficial" ticket quotas are in full effect and highly encouraged... at least that was the case when i was in the Parking and Transportation Services dept at UCF in orlando. I wrote tickets to anyone who parked incorrectly, had expired tags, or no school parking permit. (believe me, i KNOW what its like to be looked at and talked to as "the bad guy"). while we werent legally allowed to have a ticket quota, we were "encouraged" and "left alone" if we wrote at least 5 tickets an hour; any less and its "what were you doing all day?"

 

Well

Here after we paid for the HOV lane they took it away from the taxpayers and made it a Toll lane. 15 miles costs about $8.00 one way and part of the deal is police to specifically monitor it as fines are $$$$. I don't drive in that lane and the good news is that you can pass cops at 70, they are only interested in the Lexus Lane.