@#$%^&* redneck traffic cops!

[geniph]

I actually got a TICKET on Friday. This is only my third ticket in my driving career of more than 30 years. This was for such a picayune offense that I would be willing to bet money I'd normally have gotten a warning if not for one thing: the plethora of Democratic and progressive bumper stickers on my car. I pulled into an HOV lane about 200 yards before it ended, and the cop popped me instantly. There was such a short distance to go in the HOV lane that we were well out of it by the time I was pulled over (and I saw him the second I pulled over into the lane). Now, I wasn't surprised to be pulled over, but I was surprised he made it an actual ticket - after he stopped for several seconds to look over all the stickers, then came up to the window with a huge shit-eating grin on his face. The ticket just says HOV violation, as if I'd been cruising along in the lane for ten miles, or using it repeatedly to pass. Then he tried to make a big to-do about my insurance card only saying it was through October 21 (hello, I have the new card at home, and on October 21, I'll put it in the car!). Turkey.

I'm going to try to get a deferral. Since I average one ticket every ten years, I think I can probably manage a year without another violation and keep the stupid thing off my record.

I feel like quoting Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels - "traffic warden? I f***ing HATE traffic wardens!"

[Misunderestimator]

1. That sucks...

You're probably right that it's your stickers... What an ass!

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

14. Think of it this way...

...a traffick ticket doesn't stop you from VOTING.

[geniph]

21. It sure doesn't!

I voted the very next day! (by absentee ballot)

[Liberal Veteran]

2. I would have asked him the date....

...and told him that you are more than capable of reading a calendar for yourself and making sure you have insurance up to date without his "assistance", but thank you for your "concern".

[Zomby Woof]

3. Fuck HOV lanes

Useless shit. I remember back in '91, a Bellevue cop pulling me over once and ticketing me for going 70 in the last mile of the 55 zone - before it converts to 70. (I-90 Eastbound). He spent most of his time flirting with my girlfriend instead of doing his job - write the ticket asshole, I have a party to get to goddammit.

I hate cops in general. Fuck anyone who flames me... I hate cops.

Gotta say, I will NEVER miss the horrendous I-5 traffic. Bleh!

:hi: Geni!

[jdots]

4. try crying next time

i have found that power trippers flip out if you start crying.It's easy just think about 4 more years of Bush or another tragic thought. what is a huv lane ? i have never seen that sign in l.a. is it a car pool lane ? thats about 250 $ here

[Zomby Woof]

5. you don't know Geni at all do you?

And I will take it you meant to address her and not me, whom you know even less.

[geniph]

19. Hehehe...you're right, Zomby, my friend

I do NOT cry in front of other people, except sometimes my husband, and I would NEVER NEVER NEVER use tears to manipulate. I detest that tactic. It just feeds into stereotypes of females.

[jukes]

12. never liked cops

my damnself...

[TX-RAT]

15. Why is that?

[geniph]

20. I actually approve of the HOV lanes

and never violate them, except for that one little bit at the end of 167 right where the damn thing ends - see, the traffic getting onto 405 northbound backs up there, and there's no way for through traffic to bypass it without using the HOV lane. The lane continues for 1/4 mile past where it ought to end.

Not that any judge or cop will accept that as an excuse, of course. But I still think violating the very end of the lane deserves a warning, not a ticket.

[MazeRat7]

6. Challenge it.

Not sure about where you are. But here in Texas we are afforded to meet with the prosecuting attorney and determine if we want to enter a plea (no contest, not guilty. or guilty) and if we want a trial by judge or a trial by jury in the last two. Pick the judge option. If the states witness (the cop in this case) fails to show, the ticket will be dismissed. If he shows, then ask for dismissal (siting circumstances) or a reduction in the fine.

Hope that helps.

MZr7

[Bossy Monkey]

7. In most localities, they just offer the chance to pay a reduced fine

with no points going on your license, which is infuriating but still a better deal than just paying the original fine. I have in fact beaten a traffic ticket even though the cop showed up, but it isn't usually a good bet to count on this happening.

What happened in my case was somewhat similar. He pulled me for a rolling stop at a 4-way stop. I testified that I saw the police officer, thought, "Look, a police officer," and made an especial point of coming to a full stop. I don't think the judge believed me so much as he just thought it was a particularly Mickey Mouse ticket. Dismissed it altogether. This was especially sweet because I'd told the cop I'd see him in court, and I did. Sometimes, rarely, the good guys win.

[geniph]

17. They don't use an explicit point system here

Any ticket raises your insurance rates, if you pay a fine. That's why I'm going to try to get a deferral - if I can then go 12 months without another citation (which should be not too difficult for me), the ticket is dropped altogether. If I receive another violation in that time, I pay both of them and my insurance skyrockets.

[geniph]

18. I'm in Washington state

and the cop doesn't have to show up in court here on contested tickets, unless you subpoena them. Even with a subpoena, they can file their paperwork in lieu of making a personal appearance.

I chose not to contest, but rather to ask for a mitigation hearing. The magistrate can choose to offer me a deferral if he/she thinks the circumstances warrant it, and a deferral is what I'm going for. This should have been a warning, not a citation.

[HEyHEY]

8. You fought the law...

And the law won

[Hoosierdaddee]

9. Quite the Opposite Experience

of course I'm not below the Mason Dixon line. But grew up in the south and know what kind pr**kkk's SOME southern cops can be. I digress, I've been given "warnings" twice in the past few months, I tend to fudge just a bit on speed limits, you see. Both times the nice police officer's noted my Kerry sticker with a smile.

Guess it depends on where your at and how much COPS funding has been cut by the Bushoes - hmmmm an apropos typo.

[Guy_Montag]

10. What's an HOV lane?

I'm not from round here, don't you know.

Edit: PS. Sorry you got a ticket.

[jukes]

11. High Occupancy Vehicle

supposed to promote ride-sharing, a sop that excuses poor public Xportation.

[BenDavid]

13. Hey geniph,

Always remember this and pass it along to your friends. There is a difference between a good old boy and a redneck.... Good old boys raise livestock...... Rednecks get emotionally involved..... :-)

[geniph]

16. You know what cracks me up?

The original etymology of the term "redneck" is from the Mine Wars - the "Red Necks" were the union organizers fighting the mine bosses. They were socialists! hahahaha! The term of choice for a conservative originates from a term for a socialist labor rabble-rouser! That always amuses me.

[AntiCoup2K4]

22. well somewhere in between there....

...redneck was used as a term for the common working man - usually in a rural setting, so it still could have involved labor rabble-rousers, socialist or otherwise. It's only in recent years evolved into a synonym for "Freeper sheepfuckers whose family trees do not fork".

Which brings me to the question - If you were driving on a highway with HOV lanes, just how deep into redneck country could you have been?

[geniph]

23. I wasn't in redneck country

It's just that most of the COPS around here are proudly redneck - even the ones that have never seen a steer that wasn't already cut up and wrapped in plastic and styrofoam.

I have a friend on the Seattle Police Department who's been growing gradually more and more right-wing the longer she works there. It's sad to see it, but not surprising, considering the attitudes of her co-workers. Cops tend to develop a defensive US vs. THEM mindset, and THEM eventually means any non-cop. All she hears is ridicule of anyone who's not a wingnut Bushevik, and it's starting to affect her attitudes.

I was using redneck less in the more traditional meaning of a rural person than in the meaning of a person with reactionary attitudes.