What's with the Police lately?

[rx7_turbo2]

I am on the road alot for work, moving from one job to another. I would say on average I usually see 3-4 people pulled over getting tickets a week. Latley it's been triple if not more than that. I see 3-4 people pulled over per DAY. On top of that I've never seen so much photo radar in my entire life, and at all hours of the day, sometimes two vans adjacent to eachother facing different directions. And all week I've seen the "crews" out altering? the red light camera's. Anybody know what their up to? I know they move the camera'a around but it doesnt look like that's what their doing, they seem to be replacing the whole pedestal. Just seems really strange.

[shawtie]

Arnt they just doing there job??

[rx7_turbo2]

Well that's debatable. Is their job to write tickets or is it to keep citizens on the road safe? Writing more tickets doesnt keep citizens safer. But that's a big long arguement. I was just wondering if anybody else has noticed or if anybody knew if something was going on out of the ordinary.

[BlackArcher101]

It's called spring time. Happens every year. As the weather gets warmer, the number of stupid drivers increases. Hence the cops increase their numbers to combat the problem.

There are more accidents now in Edmonton than when we had a dump of snow. People just don't pay attention to driving when it's nice out.

And yes, the cops are doing their job. It's called the traffic division. The people that make you safe are the other cops, like investigators.

[rx7_turbo2]

Do the cops increase their numbers to "combat the problem" or because it's a good time to raise revenue? And for future reference "Ya their doing their job it's called the traffic division" isnt much of an arguement;) Here's the hole in your arguement. If it happens every year, and the cops take the same approach every year and write more tickets, and their approach was at all effective, it wouldnt happen every year would it? But being effective isnt really the goal, raising some $$$ seems like a much more likely senario.

Not sure if investigators are making it safer either, don't they usually investigate crimes that ALREADY happened?

[A_3]

Spring time brings speeders with it. During the winter everyone is cautious and the majority of people tend to drive at a more subdued speed. But when all the snow and ice clears up, alot of drivers forget about there winter ways and naturally start to drive faster. I know i'm in this category and I believe many others are as well. The police come out in force this time a year to set a precedent for the the remainder of the spring/summer. I know i've caught myself double checking my speed a few times thanks to their presence on the roads lately and if others have as well, then they seem to be doing their job.

[rx7_turbo2]

Cool:D

[A790]

I was pulled over on Glenmore almost immediately after it hit a 60 zone. I was doing 83 (a good speed since the limit was 80) and was starting to slow down when he pulled me over.

He was literally directly behind the sign. That, to me, is complete bullshit.

[barbarian]

You're supposed to slow to 60 before the sign, especially for a construction zone. If he clocked you at 83 after you were slowing down, you must have been going faster than that in the 80 zone.

Don't fault the cops for it, they have a lot less accidents now that the snow is gone, and traffic cops got to earn their keep.

[Stephen81]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2
Here's the hole in your arguement. If it happens every year, and the cops take the same approach every year and write more tickets, and their approach was at all effective, it wouldnt happen every year would it?

what would you suggest to be more effective? tougher licensing laws? better driver training? zero tolerance? i dunno, the money they're bringing in to the dept. has to be going towards something - and even if some of that money is going to fund the other emergency services in calgary or give us the resources to crack down on gang violence, sounds good. if i knew I would NEVER get a ticket i'd probably drive a helluva lot different and i think a few others would too. let the police do their job

[Schwa]

Well, if they need to give tickets in order to make us safer (more funding for other things) then so be it. I don't drive the speed limit, and I've had my share of tickets, but I know I deserve them.

If you don't want tickets then don't speed.

[googe]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2
Do the cops increase their numbers to "combat the problem" or because it's a good time to raise revenue? And for future reference "Ya their doing their job it's called the traffic division" isnt much of an arguement;) Here's the hole in your arguement. If it happens every year, and the cops take the same approach every year and write more tickets, and their approach was at all effective, it wouldnt happen every year would it? But being effective isnt really the goal, raising some $$$ seems like a much more likely senario.

Not sure if investigators are making it safer either, don't they usually investigate crimes that ALREADY happened?

sorry, logic is just not welcome in this forum :D

simple economics proves that the cops in this city are essentially willing to sell public safety for revenue.

[illeagle]

too many bad driver's out there, that's why you see so many people pulled over. If you're not doing anything wrong, you won't get any tickets. you'll prolly get pulled over, or followed for a few km's... but no tickets.

[arian_ma]

Originally posted by illeagle
too many bad driver's out there, that's why you see so many people pulled over. If you're not doing anything wrong, you won't get any tickets. you'll prolly get pulled over, or followed for a few km's... but no tickets.

But apparantly, having a suped up car, to any extent, directly translates to 'fucking teenage street racer' these days and means having cops follow you around everywhere

[statick]

I have definitley noticed this recently aswell.

[luv2xler8]

Yes im glad that that their out as much as they are (same thing happening in regina) the police even got 6 new cruisers for street patroll and i could be more up for it i go to work and i can see idiots speeding then just about hitting a ped or another car in front of them in fact i just about got hit in the turrning lane last night so i think its a good thing the cops are cracking down more

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by stephen_haxton


what would you suggest to be more effective? tougher licensing laws? better driver training? zero tolerance? i dunno, the money they're bringing in to the dept. has to be going towards something - and even if some of that money is going to fund the other emergency services in calgary or give us the resources to crack down on gang violence, sounds good. if i knew I would NEVER get a ticket i'd probably drive a helluva lot different and i think a few others would too. let the police do their job

I don't have any suggestions for alternatives to writting tickets. Nor should I. I'm not paid to fix the problems for the City, if they want me too they need to put me on the pay role, I'd have a few things to say to the retards who design the roads in this city. Seriously Calgary has the most fucked up planners of any city I've been to, how long till we loose all left turns on solid greens?:dunno:

My problem is you have no idea where the money goes. I'd like to think it goes to emergency services, but for all I know Bronconier (sp?) is lining his pockets with it, he's one crooked dude, trust me. Writting more tickets does nothing, it's totaly ineffective, so way can't someone who's actually on the payrole come up with a better solution? I'll tell you why, what's the point? People in this city just go along with it like sheep to the slaughter and your hauliing in record revenue, to buy more specialty vehicles like police bugs, and hummers, and super sleak ghost vehicles.

[A790]

Originally posted by barbarian
You're supposed to slow to 60 before the sign, especially for a construction zone. If he clocked you at 83 after you were slowing down, you must have been going faster than that in the 80 zone.

Don't fault the cops for it, they have a lot less accidents now that the snow is gone, and traffic cops got to earn their keep.

I'm not faulting the cop, and I wasn't anywhere near construction. I was doing 83 the whole way in the right lane. I'm just saying that the location he picked was the biggest cash grab spot I've ever seen.

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by A790


the location he picked was the biggest cash grab spot I've ever seen.

That's one of my major beefs. The area's they pick are VERY RARELY high accident area's. More often then not they are just areas of high volume, area's with a good "hiding spot", or area's where the current speed limit is totaly unreasonable.

On the very RARE occassion they locate themselves in an area prone to high accidents, they would be far more effective if they drove their marked police cruiser up and down the location, instead they just plant their ass behind some bush and starting collecting the cash. In addition the cause of high accident prone area's is more often than not poorly designed roads rather than speed.

[shawtie]

Stop whinning, dont like it? move out into the coutry and become a hermit, problem solved...dont want to do that? then deal with it!

[A790]

Originally posted by Cheeky
Stop whinning, dont like it? move out into the coutry and become a hermit, problem solved...dont want to do that? then deal with it!

I live out of town in the country. I very rarely cruise down that part of Glenmore. Forgive me for not being aware of any recent changes to the speed limit.

Ass.

[rx7_turbo2]

Nah I'll continue to live right where I am, and whine all I want. Just as you'll continue to be one of the sheep who like to get fucked in the ass by "higher ups". I look at it like a tax on people who drive. Fact of the matter is I have not had a traffic ticket (photo or other) in years. I just don't like the way the system is managed, run, or implemented. I also don't like the fact they hide behind this "it's all for traffic safety" bullshit.

[shawtie]

Opening your eyes usually helps!!
and sorry i didnt make my self clearer that comment was not directed at you!

JERK!

[shawtie]

I dont like it either, just learn to live with it!
I do however like the fact that they bust people who deserve it!

[rx7_turbo2]

Ya, don't get me wrong, we've all seen people who deserve to get pulled over, but more often than not they're pulling people over for minor stuff because they've been told they need to raise revenue, that annoys me.

It's a different personality. You tell me to live with it, and I'll ask why? Why must I accept this stupidity? I can ask for more from these people, they work for me. All I'm asking is for them to stop being so god dam lazy, and put a little effort and intelligence into a traffic program, instead of just mindlessly writing tickets.

[shawtie]

I say live with it because, what are we going to do about it anyway if we dont like something there doing, they are going to do it anyway!!

[A790]

Originally posted by Cheeky
I say live with it because, what are we going to do about it anyway if we dont like something there doing, they are going to do it anyway!!

True.

[sexualbanana]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2
Do the cops increase their numbers to "combat the problem" or because it's a good time to raise revenue? And for future reference "Ya their doing their job it's called the traffic division" isnt much of an arguement;) Here's the hole in your arguement. If it happens every year, and the cops take the same approach every year and write more tickets, and their approach was at all effective, it wouldnt happen every year would it? But being effective isnt really the goal, raising some $$$ seems like a much more likely senario.

Not sure if investigators are making it safer either, don't they usually investigate crimes that ALREADY happened?

Would you rather they ticket you the moment you start your car because you'll speed? Would you rather getting arrested the moment you go out because they suspect you'll assault someone?

Unfortunately, police have to worry about this technicality called evidence and that usually doesn't appear until after the crime occurs.

Or maybe....

Let's just stop policing altogether. They don't do a good job preventing crime since it already happens. I'm sure the threat of getting investigated and arrested isn't a deterrent for crime.

[rx7_turbo2]

Ah ya missed the point but whatever. I am not saying we don't need police, obviously. What I'm saying is take the police force you have, develop an effective stradegy to combat "significant" driving offenses and implament it. The current stradegy of "park yourself behind a bush and hand out tickets till your wrist hurts" is just lazy, and completely ineffective.

[Stephen81]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2
Ah ya missed the point but whatever. I am not saying we don't need police, obviously. What I'm saying is take the police force you have, develop an effective stradegy to combat "significant" driving offenses and implament it. The current stradegy of "park yourself behind a bush and hand out tickets till your wrist hurts" is just lazy, and completely ineffective.

feel free to contact your alderman:thumbsup: start a community group that is concerned with the inappropriate direction of the traffic division and make some changes then. go wild. i myself, don't even live in calgary, i live in cochrane so i could give a fuck how much the police ticket you folks in the city - the highest speed limit here is 50kph. driving anything faster than that in the city seems sufficient for me :dunno:

[barbarian]

If you want to see a cash grab, look at the 50 - 70 - 50 region on Eastbound Memorial Drive between Crowchild Tr. and 14th Street.

[redline_13000]

Then they complain that they dont have enough cops to fight gangs/drugs:thumbsdow , they're all to busy handing out exhaust tickets.

[barbarian]

Today in Ranchlands there was a squad car on the road right next to NAPA, where a playground zone ends about 100 feet after the bend. They appeared to be waiting for people who were turning up that street and who tore around the corner knowing the playground zone was almost over.

[barbarian]

Originally posted by redline_13000
Then they complain that they dont have enough cops to fight gangs/drugs:thumbsdow , they're all to busy handing out exhaust tickets.

I think they are operating on the assumption that ricer = gang banger/drug dealer, and they are using the mods as a reason to pull the car over and look for suspicous things, run warrant checks on everyone in the car, etc.

They can't pull you over and say, "You are black/asian/latino/whatever and look suspicous," but they can say, you appear to have an illegal exhaust mod.

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by stephen_haxton


feel free to contact your alderman:thumbsup: start a community group that is concerned with the inappropriate direction of the traffic division and make some changes then. go wild.

Most who know me know I'm way to lazy for that, I prefer to bitch on the local internet forum. I know I know I'm critisizing the CPS for being lazy when I'm no better right? If someone was paying me to start a community group I'd be all over it, guess I'm fueled by the almighty dollar too.

Listen like I said, I have not had a ticket in years, my stance is my daily driver is a CRV I can't speed if I tried, and so I make my other car fast enough that if I see the cherry's in my rear view, I'll be home before they get a look at the plate;) I'm just kidding of course, drive safe kids.

[Greeno85]

Originally posted by Cheeky
I say live with it because, what are we going to do about it anyway if we dont like something there doing, they are going to do it anyway!!

that comment is downright scary. there is ALWAYS something you can do.... "apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand" ;)

too many people take the approach that "its the government/police, what can we do?" we already let the federal goverment piss away billions... if everyone had continued to say, what can we do... they might still be at it

(not trying to start a politics debate here, just an example)

[Maxt]

The ticket thing is getting out of hand. Its become a way to have "toll roads" without the booth... Problem being that because it affects your insurance its a toll that goes farther than government coffers, and for alot longer...
Alot of this stuff is bordering on conspiracy theories, but stranger things happen behind closed doors.. If the insurance companies all whine loud enough, about capped rates and roll backs, all the government has to do to increase rates is get people to break the laws that have demeritable fines more often, therefore creating revenue and upping insurance rates in a back handed way.. How do you this? Have Alberta transportation order speed roll backs on high speed, high traffic areas to the point its unbearable to drive at the limit, its happening all over Alberta in the last 6 months, and they have to do is argue its for public safety, since arguing against safety is like trying to argue against motherhood and apple pie.. Its an easy sell to public do gooders and law enforcment types.. Those people are programmed that safety is number 1, and will buy any argument around or for it, sure it is, in reasonable doses, there is a point though where people do have to drive , in a reasonable amount of time, they seem to forget we are the lowest density highest land area country in the world, apparently that escapes them along with th e point of driving...
I can think of about 20 stretches of roadway around the Calgary area, where nothing has changed for the last 15 years, but they suddenly have dropped the speed limits from 100 km/h to 60,70, and 80 km/h zones in straight flat stretches for no apparent reason.. Thinking there might be some other issue, I wrote Alberta transportation for answer, all I got was without the feel good fluff added "its for safey".. Like I said before, motherhood and apple pie.. Whats even funnier, you tail a cop through these zones and they can't even stand to adhere to the posted limit on those fishing hole stretches... Tail any cop on #2 south in the 80 zone around 22X overpass, they all drive it in the 90-95 zone, but ticket anyone doing 85 plus..
If there is a problem with driver skill and speed, address it at the licencing end and the road quality end..But this underhanded taxation is basically the fallout of politicians not having the balls to deal internally with government spending, heavy weight bureaucrats and unions, and not having the political spine to face the public to openly call a tax a tax... Evidence of this is now in th e fact that governments no longer call spending spending, its called "investment" likes it going to have some kind of tangible return.. Bullshit......

[soloracer]

At a recent Porsche club meeting we had a member of POINTS come in and give us a talk. He told us that over 70% of the entire traffic tickets given out in the province of Alberta are given out by the Calgary Police Service. He also said that the police in Calgary pick spots that they know are going to have high percentage of catching drivers unaware - such as those just after a speed zone begins or just before the speed zone ends. I think there are a couple of alarming things about these facts.

Since Calgary accounts for only about 1/3 of the total population of Alberta what does the 70% statistic tell us about enforcement here? To me it says that there is a directive within the city to generate revenue through getting as many fines as possible and that has nothing to do with safety. Unless of course you are one that assumes that the other 2/3's of the province are being negligent in their enforcement and are somehow less "safe". I'm one that believes the rest of the province gets normal levels of enforcement and that Calgary is approaching draconian levels and I would be willing to bet you that if you checked safety statistics that Calgary streets are no safer than those in Edmonton.

In regards to the positioning of speed traps at the start or end of speed zones how are the officers protecting public saftey there? I bet that most drivers decellerate when entering a speed zone and just before the end they accelerate. This means that for over 90% of the zone they are compliant with the law. Typically these zones start and finish way before and well after the area that is of concern (ie: playground, school, etc.) If the police were interested in public safety they should set up in the middle of the zone and catch the idiot who is speeding through the entire zone without regard to the limit. Those are the guys who need to be "punished" for their actions - not the people who fully intend to obey the speed zone.

I think what people want is responsible enforcement with officers making common sense decisions. This may mean picking spots that will catch the violators who fully flaunt the laws and put the public at risk. For every guy they stop who slowed down 10 ft into a speed zone instead of just before it there is another guy who thought it was cool to pass traffic on the shoulder at highway speeds (MaxT just witnessed one the other day). So which is the greater offense and which do you think they spend most of their time catching? The one that gives them the most revenue of course. Just my $0.02

[khtm]

Originally posted by A790
I was pulled over on Glenmore almost immediately after it hit a 60 zone. I was doing 83 (a good speed since the limit was 80) and was starting to slow down when he pulled me over.

He was literally directly behind the sign. That, to me, is complete bullshit.
I thought cops couldn't give tickets within a certain distance (100 meters or so) of a speed limit sign?

[Goblin]

Originally posted by A790


I live out of town in the country. I very rarely cruise down that part of Glenmore. Forgive me for not being aware of any recent changes to the speed limit.

Ass.

Im so totally on your side. I go into the city maybe twice a month (me as the driver), but if im clubbing/bars/etc. im not driving, so I don't pay attention to the road if im not driving.

The point is, a lot changes in road construction in a month. I've made this mistake a few times, then you realise after the fact, aw shit son!

[Maxt]

Originally posted by soloracer
At a recent Porsche club meeting we had a member of POINTS come in and give us a talk. He told us that over 70% of the entire traffic tickets given out in the province of Alberta are given out by the Calgary Police Service. He also said that the police in Calgary pick spots that they know are going to have high percentage of catching drivers unaware - such as those just after a speed zone begins or just before the speed zone ends. I think there are a couple of alarming things about these facts.

Since Calgary accounts for only about 1/3 of the total population of Alberta what does the 70% statistic tell us about enforcement here? To me it says that there is a directive within the city to generate revenue through getting as many fines as possible and that has nothing to do with safety. Unless of course you are one that assumes that the other 2/3's of the province are being negligent in their enforcement and are somehow less "safe". I'm one that believes the rest of the province gets normal levels of enforcement and that Calgary is approaching draconian levels and I would be willing to bet you that if you checked safety statistics that Calgary streets are no safer than those in Edmonton.

In regards to the positioning of speed traps at the start or end of speed zones how are the officers protecting public saftey there? I bet that most drivers decellerate when entering a speed zone and just before the end they accelerate. This means that for over 90% of the zone they are compliant with the law. Typically these zones start and finish way before and well after the area that is of concern (ie: playground, school, etc.) If the police were interested in public safety they should set up in the middle of the zone and catch the idiot who is speeding through the entire zone without regard to the limit. Those are the guys who need to be "punished" for their actions - not the people who fully intend to obey the speed zone.

I think what people want is responsible enforcement with officers making common sense decisions. This may mean picking spots that will catch the violators who fully flaunt the laws and put the public at risk. For every guy they stop who slowed down 10 ft into a speed zone instead of just before it there is another guy who thought it was cool to pass traffic on the shoulder at highway speeds (MaxT just witnessed one the other day). So which is the greater offense and which do you think they spend most of their time catching? The one that gives them the most revenue of course. Just my $0.02

Yeah that was funny, the one point in time a cop is there at the right time and buddy decides to pass cars on the shoulder, classic...
But lets look at how "safety" works..
In Longview for instance, they have a school zone that extends far beyond the school in each direction , and for the very reason the school is on the east side of the highway and the town on the west, so all the little kiddies have to cross the highway to get to school at the pedestrian lights, but every year they have extended that school zone by a little bit and there is always a cop radaring people there with people pulled over. Forever this has been going on, I would hazard a guess they make about 1500-2000 a day out of that schoolzone per schoold day.But you would think with all that ticket revenue, the (village does get a percentage of it), they would finally say, we cant count on people to slow down, lets build an pedestrian overpass/underpass, and a sound barrier. This would protect the kids and also take the danger present, the reason for the 30 zone away, accept its a major highway, and even at 30 km's major transport trucks would be hard pressed to stop in an emergency. Or move the school to the west side of the highway.... There would only be one thing missing after making it safer through logical design, the revenue....:thumbsup:

[blueripper6]

Omg.. ok.. if they didnt ticket speeding drivers, or have traffic cops, EVERYONE and there fucking grandmother would speed drink/drive, street race.

There are 2 sides to this arguement, people who agree with what CPS does(People who don't speed, break laws etc, or people who occasionally speed, race, do w/e but when they get busted they dont cry)

And then theres the people who disagree with what CPS is doing.(people who speed all the time, drink and drive, dont obey traffic laws, and when they get caught almost hitting a pedestrian in a school zone doing 80, they bitch about it and say that the cops should be fighting crimes or something)

Having radar keeps YOU safe, if you want to drive as fast as you want all the time, move to Germany, go to a track, or suck it up because you most likely are going to get caught.

[Maxt]

Radar doesnt make you safe, being aware of whats going on around you does..Radar often creates more hazard than it solves, watch any radar trap, everyone is flowing along at usually around the limit, then everyone freaks out steps on the binders, 20 below the limit for some reason, and traffic piles up, or some dipshit in a traffic vest steps in front of a car at speed...
Tthats nonsense, its not that we want a lawless society, there just has to be reasons and justification for certain actions, , that response is just throwing the baby out with the bathwater...
Its not like we want to 160 and get away with it, but when they reduce sections of roadway to 60,70,80 just for revenue generation, and then keep the "supposed" problems around, you know its not for safety , its for money.. I havent had a speeding ticket in hmmmmm, 18 years now, but I disagree with making roadways so slow, its almost pointless driving...

[kenny]

So we have lots of bitching about too many traffic cops, but does anyone bitching have a solution? So how do they increase safety of all drivers on the road?

As crappy as it is, I think ticketing is a major deterrent that WORKS.

I'd like to hear some ideas.

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by kenny
So we have lots of bitching about too many traffic cops, but does anyone bitching have a solution? So how do they increase safety of all drivers on the road?

As crappy as it is, I think ticketing is a major deterrent that WORKS.

I'd like to hear some ideas.
You obviously missed my initial posts. Why do we have to come up with a solution? Are we being paid? Nope. But they are, so why is it wrong of me to ask them to be slightly less lazy and develop a stradegy that actually works? I'll tell you why, the money isnt in a system that works because by nature a system that works would ACTUALLY decrease the number of violators in turn decreasing revenue and they don't want that. Seems pretty clear to me.

On a side note I noticed a radar trap yesterday travelling west on John Laurie (it's a common location) I've thought to myself as I watched this particular trap a million times that eventually there will be a rear ender accident because people come over the hill catch a glimpse of the cruiser behind the sign and hammer the brakes. Sure enough today 2 tow trucks one with a car with a smashed up front and the other with a car with the back smashed up, and the cop still pulling people over. It's getting ugly out there.

[Goblin]

On a lighter side, change your avatar.

Unless thats you... well, then I feel sorry for you.

[5.0]

I got pulled over yesterday for not wearing my seatbelt, $115, and a waste of 45 min:thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow

[googe]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2

You obviously missed my initial posts. Why do we have to come up with a solution? Are we being paid? Nope. But they are, so why is it wrong of me to ask them to be slightly less lazy and develop a stradegy that actually works? I'll tell you why, the money isnt in a system that works because by nature a system that works would ACTUALLY decrease the number of violators in turn decreasing revenue and they don't want that. Seems pretty clear to me.

On a side note I noticed a radar trap yesterday travelling west on John Laurie (it's a common location) I've thought to myself as I watched this particular trap a million times that eventually there will be a rear ender accident because people come over the hill catch a glimpse of the cruiser behind the sign and hammer the brakes. Sure enough today 2 tow trucks one with a car with a smashed up front and the other with a car with the back smashed up, and the cop still pulling people over. It's getting ugly out there.

and if they just let people do 10-15 over there, we know there wouldnt have been an accident. the accident only happens when the traffic cops step in, and cause what theyre supposedly trying to prevent... ah, the irony.

[fendercontender]

I'm so sick of Calgary cops. 2 years ago, before moving to Calgary, I didn't have a single thing against my record. Now, I'm scared to go pick up my registered letter because I'm sure it's notice of license suspension haha. It's ridiculous. I've never done anything dangerous. The cops job, even the traffic cops, is to keep us safe. Rolling through a stop sign at 2 km/h with no traffic in sight is NOT a dangerous situation worthy of the $287 ticket. Another ticket was for driving 150 km/h on the highway. The closest vehicle was at least half a km away, how is this dangerous on smooth pavement 3 lanes wide? I race my car (at the track, NOT on the street) so I know how to handle it. It was a 100% safe situation, yet I get slapped with $230 ticket. I know, bad judgement there. Then I owed too much money on tickets to be able to afford to renew my registration. Wham, $230 for no registration and $230 for improper use of plates. I'm at the point now where I'm considering taking out a loan to pay off my tickets so I can register my car so I can drive. All of this because, the cops are taking care of a dangerous driver (me?). I am completely against street racing, and never place myself or anyone else in a dangerous situation, yet I'm being treated like a criminal. PISSES ME OFF!!! There should be ONE ticket they can give out. "Dangerous Driving" and it is based on the situation, given according to police's discretion. If someone is doing something dangerous they can get a ticket. Rolling through a stop sign, speeding within reason safely, they should not be ticket-able. Bastards!!!

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by googe


and if they just let people do 10-15 over there, we know there wouldnt have been an accident. the accident only happens when the traffic cops step in, and cause what theyre supposedly trying to prevent... ah, the irony.

Well I obviously can't predict the future, nor did I witness the accident at the moment of impact, but it did seem fairly obvious as to what had occured, and it wouldnt be the first time most of us have seen a very similar senario occur now would it?

[googe]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2


Well I obviously can't predict the future, nor did I witness the accident at the moment of impact, but it did seem fairly obvious as to what had occured, and it wouldnt be the first time most of us have seen a very similar senario occur now would it?

think you misunderstood me, im agreeing with you here...

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by googe


think you misunderstood me, im agreeing with you here...

I know you are :D

How could I misunderstand you given your signature;)

[Goblin]

Originally posted by fendercontender
I'm so sick of Calgary cops. 2 years ago, before moving to Calgary, I didn't have a single thing against my record. Now, I'm scared to go pick up my registered letter because I'm sure it's notice of license suspension haha. It's ridiculous. I've never done anything dangerous. The cops job, even the traffic cops, is to keep us safe. Rolling through a stop sign at 2 km/h with no traffic in sight is NOT a dangerous situation worthy of the $287 ticket. Another ticket was for driving 150 km/h on the highway. The closest vehicle was at least half a km away, how is this dangerous on smooth pavement 3 lanes wide? I race my car (at the track, NOT on the street) so I know how to handle it. It was a 100% safe situation, yet I get slapped with $230 ticket. I know, bad judgement there. Then I owed too much money on tickets to be able to afford to renew my registration. Wham, $230 for no registration and $230 for improper use of plates. I'm at the point now where I'm considering taking out a loan to pay off my tickets so I can register my car so I can drive. All of this because, the cops are taking care of a dangerous driver (me?). I am completely against street racing, and never place myself or anyone else in a dangerous situation, yet I'm being treated like a criminal. PISSES ME OFF!!! There should be ONE ticket they can give out. "Dangerous Driving" and it is based on the situation, given according to police's discretion. If someone is doing something dangerous they can get a ticket. Rolling through a stop sign, speeding within reason safely, they should not be ticket-able. Bastards!!!

Let me say it right now. :whocares:

Those are all your fault.

[shawtie]

Originally posted by Goblin


Let me say it right now. :whocares:

Those are all your fault.

:werd:

[blueripper6]

Originally posted by 5.0
I got pulled over yesterday for not wearing my seatbelt, $115, and a waste of 45 min:thumbsdow :thumbsdow :thumbsdow

are you joking? Why wouldnt you wear a seatbelt?

Seatbelt tickets should be tripple what they are now.. Incase you didn't know, they save lives.

[Rockski]

all i know is i got a ticket yesterday for doing 108 on whitemud, theyre just doing their job

[rx7_turbo2]

Originally posted by blueripper6


are you joking? Why wouldnt you wear a seatbelt?

Seatbelt tickets should be tripple what they are now.. Incase you didn't know, they save lives.

Why should they tell me what to do? If I choose to wear a seatbelt (and I do) or I choose not to should be up to me, it affects NOBODY but me. That's one of the laws I can't fucking stand. Let me choose. Now when it comes to children in the car there should be no choice children wearing seatbelts should be manditory.

[shawtie]

nothing ticks me off more when driving, when I see kids bouncing around the back seats and whatnot with no seatbelts, I hate that!!

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2
Now when it comes to children in the car there should be no choice children wearing seatbelts should be manditory.

Try to enforce that when the adult isn't wearing any.

Unless you drive a piece of old junk, most car these days will beep the heck out of you til you put on the seatbelt anyway.

Anyway, I have no problem cops ticket people as long as it isn't groundless. You break the law, you pay the price. Pure and simple. How many resources are spent on enforcing them is none of my business.

[khtm]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2


Why should they tell me what to do? If I choose to wear a seatbelt (and I do) or I choose not to should be up to me, it affects NOBODY but me. That's one of the laws I can't fucking stand. Let me choose. Now when it comes to children in the car there should be no choice children wearing seatbelts should be manditory.
Hello? We live in a country with PUBLIC HEALTH CARE. When you crash without a seatbelt and end up paralyzed in the hospital, who the fvck do you think pays for it? Seat belt and helmet laws exist to protect tax payers (and save lives, of course).

[BlueGoblin]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2


Why should they tell me what to do? If I choose to wear a seatbelt (and I do) or I choose not to should be up to me, it affects NOBODY but me. That's one of the laws I can't fucking stand. Let me choose. Now when it comes to children in the car there should be no choice children wearing seatbelts should be manditory.


I disagree with you on the mandatory seatbelts for children. Letting the parents decide is truly best. The apple doesn't usually fall far from the tree and there are plenty of smarter children out there who need the organs.

[shawtie]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2


Why should they tell me what to do?

cause they can lol



Originally posted by BlueGoblin



I disagree with you on the mandatory seatbelts for children. Letting the parents decide is truly best. The apple doesn't usually fall far from the tree and there are plenty of smarter children out there who need the organs.

umm.....what?
looks like your mommy buckled you up when she shouldnt have!
:D

[Inzane]

Originally posted by khtm

Hello? We live in a country with PUBLIC HEALTH CARE. When you crash without a seatbelt and end up paralyzed in the hospital, who the fvck do you think pays for it? Seat belt and helmet laws exist to protect tax payers (and save lives, of course).

Bingo! Well said.

Not to mention that Alberta has had a mandatory seatbelt law since AT LEAST 1990, and we were one of the last provinces in Canada to adapt. Hence, this is nothing new.

Besides, why WOULDN'T you wear a seatbelt? There's no good reason not too, and its idiotic to put yourself at risk like that. But if you want to kill yourself there are much more efficient ways to do so, and with less drain on our taxpayer dollars.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Originally posted by Cheeky

cause they can lol
:D
Don't think you understand the term democracy, what they do, they do for us, we tell them what to do, if enough people didn't want it to happen, it wouldn't!

Some tickets are useful (Seatbetls, excessive speeding)... Some aren't (Exhause size for example, if it's quiet, it's ok).

The roads are too slow... If I can see a grandme able to handle a road in a beater, then it should be ok for every other car to go that fast as well... And yes, cops do pick out the "riced" or souped up cars... They do overchage for the tickets... It's insane. Calgary has one of the biggest police budgets in NORTH AMERICA. And the crime rates of LA. (Percent wise)

:guns:
Cops = Teh dumb... Use discretion... Not follow the "revenue generation" techniques... there was even an article about how a JUDGE admitted cops purposely set up speed traps at the wrong spot.

[shawtie]

and i dont think you understand being a smartass! thats all it was, get off your pony buddy!:P

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

I like riding.... ponies... *Neigh*
I'll never get off my high horse :D

[shawtie]

Ooh i bet you do !! haha

[modded46]

Here's a thought instead of giving tickets out to people doing a few km's over the speed limit to make money.. they put their resources to better use on say.. OH crack houses, thiefs and gangs?? OH WAIT, you can't make money off those areas, nevermind...

I said it before and i'll say it again.. The speed limits in this city are ridiculous.. 80km/h on crowchild between the University and Nose Hill, you have to be kidding me.

[Hakkola]

Originally posted by LilDrunkenSmurf

It's insane. Calgary has one of the biggest police budgets in NORTH AMERICA. And the crime rates of LA. (Percent wise)



While I agree with most of what's being said in this thread against the way speeding tickets are issued I have to single out the point made above, where did you get this information, can you show me?

As far as the statistics on the top 10 cities with highest crimes per thousand people I saw for Canada, Calgary wasn't even on the list. How that could possibly translate into Calgary having the same crime rates as those found in LA totally bewilders me.

[kenny]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2
You obviously missed my initial posts. Why do we have to come up with a solution? Are we being paid? Nope. But they are, so why is it wrong of me to ask them to be slightly less lazy and develop a stradegy that actually works? I'll tell you why, the money isnt in a system that works because by nature a system that works would ACTUALLY decrease the number of violators in turn decreasing revenue and they don't want that. Seems pretty clear to me.

The reason I ask for solutions is because I personally believe the current system is WORKING. Sure some people find it completely unfair they get a ticket for not wearing their seatbelt and have to pay a fine, or that its unfair that they get nailed in an unfair speedtrap but if a department is funded by ticket revenue what do you expect? The only solution I can think of is that the City allocates more $ to the police. This in turn will drive up taxes and then we'd see yet another thread complaining about how unfair it is to be paying higher taxes than some other Canadian city.

And... this is directed to those that keep talking about more serious crime that needs to be tended to:

Officers that pull you over for that unfair tint ticket or muffler ticket are TRAFFIC COPS. They are there to enforce TRAFFIC LAWS. This TRAFFIC section is necessary to keep the police force funded. We have more senior officers that deal with other issues such as drugs, gangs, and violence. Could we use more officers on the force to deal with these major crimes? Sure. Do we have enough money? Probably not.

If you wanna bitch (dont get me wrong, i love bitching), at least direct your bitching to the right people. Traffic cops are doing their jobs. If I had to write xx number of tickets, you better believe I would be setting up in the "fishing spots" to write 25 easy tickets.

[bonedavid]

Originally posted by rx7_turbo2
On top of that I've never seen so much photo radar in my entire life, and at all hours of the day, sometimes two vans adjacent to eachother facing different directions.

you MUST come to england mate..you aint seen nothing yet.

bloody camara mad over here...rarely see the old bill pulling peeps over...they all rely on their personal cash machines..the cameras.

we have more than 6000 cams at present not including the polices latest toy..average speed cams.
these are two well hidden cams placed at a set distance apart..say 5 miles..they time your journey digitaly between two points and if you are 2mph over the limit..wham!!! £60 fine + 3 points on your licence (12 =1 year ban)

and yet the clear up rate for rapes in the uk is about 1%...shows where the police put their priorities :eek:

[Maxt]

Originally posted by kenny


The reason I ask for solutions is because I personally believe the current system is WORKING. Sure some people find it completely unfair they get a ticket for not wearing their seatbelt and have to pay a fine, or that its unfair that they get nailed in an unfair speedtrap but if a department is funded by ticket revenue what do you expect? The only solution I can think of is that the City allocates more $ to the police. This in turn will drive up taxes and then we'd see yet another thread complaining about how unfair it is to be paying higher taxes than some other Canadian city.

And... this is directed to those that keep talking about more serious crime that needs to be tended to:

Officers that pull you over for that unfair tint ticket or muffler ticket are TRAFFIC COPS. They are there to enforce TRAFFIC LAWS. This TRAFFIC section is necessary to keep the police force funded. We have more senior officers that deal with other issues such as drugs, gangs, and violence. Could we use more officers on the force to deal with these major crimes? Sure. Do we have enough money? Probably not.

If you wanna bitch (dont get me wrong, i love bitching), at least direct your bitching to the right people. Traffic cops are doing their jobs. If I had to write xx number of tickets, you better believe I would be setting up in the "fishing spots" to write 25 easy tickets.

If the system was working, the revenue from tickets would be declining, not increasing yearly...

[rx7_turbo2]

That can't be said enough. The fact revenue and accidents increase every year speaks fairly clearly to the fact the current system doesnt work. I realize the officers are in a tough spot, but I'm asking them to not be so lazy, you want to hand out tickets find a place that has a large number of accidents and set up there, try to make an actual difference, I don't think that's too much to ask.

[googe]

Dont forget the CPS is SUPPOSED to be a non-profit organization. Its public services sector, not a capitalist corporation. Revenues should not be trumping safety by any means. This defeats the purpose of why they exist entirely.

Seriously, statistically speaking, as it stands the CPS are making roads more dangerous. I know it sounds bad, but the numbers are there. Speeding revenues are up. Serious accidents at red light cameras are up. People overreacting to speed traps (often when they werent even speeding, its just a reaction to slam on the brakes) cause accidents frequently. In cases where police intervention is involved, accidents are increasing. How is this tolerable? Theyre speaking through their numbers that theyre willing to compromise public safety to make money. Either theyre well aware of this, or they really need someone with basic economics on payroll to explain things to them. Im going to have to assume they arent retarded and go with the former.

This would be like fire fighters throwing molotov cocktails around or something. It just doesnt make sense.

[barbarian]

One adult not wearing their seatbelt in a car with three children can kill all three who are wearing them when the vehicle crashes and rolls over.