Does anybody have a greater defense for law enforcement who wait in an alley with their lights off for people to go 10 miles over the speed limit so they can take their money in the name of justice than simply mocking people who say "don't they have anything better to do?" How about actually answering the question (do they have anything better to do?)
2007-04-03 17:43:11 · 18 answers · asked by John D 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Some officers are assigned traffic detail, and their primary function is enforcing traffic laws. The speed limit is the law, the police are paid to enforce the law.
If you go 10 miles over the speed limit, aren't you violating the law? Aren't the police doing what they are paid to do?
If someone was speeding and killed someone, would those same people who complained about the police enforcing traffic laws complain that police were not doing enough?
Obey the law, drive safe, no problems. Speed, get caught, get cited.
2007-04-03 17:59:56 · answer #1 · answered by sct442 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I have absolutely no sympathy for speeders who get tickets. First the "ten miles" is usually thirty and the number of people killed and injured by cars exceeding the speed limit is the number one cause of death in the United States outnumbering heart and cancer deaths by a factor of seven.
So if we want our tax dollars spent where they will save the most lives, then more money should be spent on hiring more police and placing them on traffic detail. More speeding tickets and taking away the licences of repeat offenders would save more lives than any other government program or activity.
(You did ask for a different defence).
No they do not have anything better to do. Traffic cops are already doing the job that saves more lives than any other law enforcement activity.
2007-04-04 01:22:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
He does have something better to do, and whether you realize it or not he's doing it too. When the officer takes your license back to the car with him what do you think he is checking for? Besides if the license is valid he wants to know if you have any warrants or criminal history. Where do you think most arrests for people with outstanding warrants come from? How about for drug charges? People who skipped out on child support? On the side of the road during a traffic stop is where. By speeding that 10 miles over the limit you've given him the probable cause he needs to stop you and check all that, which is most likely what he was interested in in the first place.
2007-04-05 10:16:20 · answer #3 · answered by tacitblue 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Since cops are not psychic, therefore they cannot know exactly where and when a crime is going to occur. Sitting in an alley at night is the best way to find crimes occurring, so is patrolling around, and doing field investigations. Traffic stops are the #1 catchers for drunks, warrants, suspended licenses, catching possible car thiefs, and hopefully preventing a crime to occur in the first place. So it is a very VERY important part of police work.
Just imagine you were a cop right now, and were told to patrol around and catch criminals, how would you do it? Just sit and wait for a call on the radio? You have to go out and make your own investigations, see what other people are doing, etc.
2007-04-04 18:40:06 · answer #4 · answered by lovemytc 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is their job.
There is nothing better for them to do than to protect the general public and to keep our streets safe.
If people are allowed to ignore rules and to make their own rules what kind of a society would we have?
If people are allowed to get away with something as minor as speeding,wht will they think they can get away with next.
Where do you draw the line?
I am greatful that law enforcement is out there to try and stop some of these kids who literally drive like there are NO street laws. . . moving from extreme right lane diagonally to the left turn lane within seconds and causing all of us to have to slam on the brakes to keep from getting into a pile up.
The ONLY good defense for going over the speed limit is a life or death emergency.
2007-04-04 01:38:30 · answer #5 · answered by Just Q 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes they don't have anything better to do. I don't know many police officers that aren't state police that will stop a car for 10 over (unless a school zone). Most LEOs I know stop for 15-20+. The fact is, there have been many good felony arrests out of a speeder stop.
2007-04-04 00:48:04 · answer #6 · answered by Gemma 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The posted speed limit is set for a reason. Maybe the curve up ahead is safe at 35 mph, but can flip a car at 45 mph. Maybe it is a dangerous intersection where many collisions have occurred, some fatal. Maybe the only way to convince drivers who ignore the speed limit to slow down is by taking their money and gradually taking their privilege to drive. And sure, cops have better things to do. But after they have walked down the road holding a trash bag and picking up pieces/parts of a person who lost control of a car while at a high rate of speed and scattered himself all over the highway; or after they have cried with parents over a dead child killed by a speeding motorist in their neighborhood; or after they figured out how many times a car rolled by counting the number of areas of blood and brains in the road where the driver bashed her head on the road while she was still buckled in the car as it flipped six times, then writing tickets for speeding becomes a rather important part of the job. Slow down, or thank the next cop writing you a ticket for saving your life or preventing you from being charged with reckless homicide.
2007-04-04 01:00:46 · answer #7 · answered by Rita 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
That's like asking: Why do bankers open accounts for clients...Do they have anything better to do? Com'on now, common sense, It's their job, and to be honest with you...I think that they have one of the most important roles in society and even on earth. They sacrifice their lives day in and day out for YOU to have a safer place to live. The LEAST you can do is follow the traffic laws. Then you won't have to worry about that PIG(Pride, Integrity, Guts) in the alley!
2007-04-04 01:03:47 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I could say something, but it would be the same as some of the people above.
However I'm still going to say that they're doing their job. Catching people who break the law (take you for example).
What you SHOULD be asking is why do YOU break the law?
2007-04-04 15:31:44 · answer #9 · answered by bAsic LiFE 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I doubt you live in a society overrun with rapists and bank robbers, so the cops have to go after lesser crimes before they become worse.
If they do not enforce it for people going 10 over the limit, then the people push it more and go 20 over to pass the others, then the next set to faster and faster until people just ***** and ***** that cops need to do traffic enforcement.
You may be annoyed to get a ticket, but at least be thankful that your city isn't overrun with other problems for them to deal with.
2007-04-04 00:54:45 · answer #10 · answered by Luis 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋