To Protect & Serve

In ALL STATES, law enforcement is tasked with the responsibility (among others, let's be fair) of enforcement of all traffic laws including speed limits. 

This responsibility extends both inside and outside of city limits or into counties and highways and on our interstate highways. 

 Law enforcement personnel that typically patrol our interstates are referred to as: Highway Patrolmen or State Troopers or just plain Trooper.

Enforcement of these speed limit laws, I would presume is done for the following 3 reasons:

1. To protect the driver from accident and injury
2. To protect other motorists from accidents and injury
3. To enforce the law

Hence the slogan: To Protect and Serve. However, I would like to suggest that enforcement of the laws is of primary concern to them. Of course, there is no hard data to support that speculation, but under The Freedom of Information Act (passed in 1966), we could request that data be supplied to us and analyze the data for emerging patterns. But, that will not be necessary either as most of us already know the truth, don't we?

When I working for the Community College System, I prepared re-certification training for the fire departments, EMS, and law enforcement agencies within my service areas. I recall during one law enforcement training program, I listened to 2 State Troopers joke about how many miles were they going to allow over the speed limit tonight...

This just could have been “jaw talk” or “flapping gums” but it also could have been indicative of the way it actually was for them. If so, my question to them would be: What gives you the right or the power to make those kinds of calls?” Granted those decisions could benefit speeding motorist but the law is the law and it should be enforced as it is written, even if it is only 1 mile faster than the speed limit... or, the law should be written so that the motorist has a range of permissible speeds before excess speed tickets are awarded.

Interestingly, in conversations with attorneys who handle speeding ticket violations, I am told that 90% of those tickets given could be “beaten” in court on some technicality. WOW, that is a very high percentage and my first thought is: Why is law enforcement who is suppose to be upholding the law (protecting and serving as it were) knowingly circumvents the law by writing and issuing false claims of speeding?

Not only does this undermine their authority but it reduces the respect that most motorists have for them in the first place. That disrespect carries into our cities and ghettos as we can see other examples of police abusing their power and control.

Most of the time but not all of the time, speeding tickets are given to out-of-state motorists as they are the least likely to return to that State and defend themselves in courts of law. However, as soon as only a few days after a speeding ticket is given, local attorneys send letters to those same motorists offering their services.

While America is the Land of Opportunity, this tastes like a SCAM to me. The speeding ticket itself for 15 miles over is about $30 but motorists have to pay court costs whether or not they actually go to court and they can range from $200 to $500. Now, are you beginning to see the scam? If you contract with a lawyer, that could cost you $90-150/hour for their time and you know that they are going to spend at least 5 hours or more. On the ticket it says appearance in court between 8:30 and 11:30 well there is 3 hours that the lawyer can bill you for just waiting.

Now, let me propose this: A level fine of $1,500 shall be imposed on the motorist who drives 15 miles over any speed limit.

Boy, would that slow potential speeders down... in a New York minute I suspect.

Did you know that in many States it is against the law to text on a cell phone while driving? How do our Super Duper Troopers detect that, pray tell?

Troopers would have to be side-by-side a vehicle in order to properly see inside and most side windows are tinted which serves only to obscure the view. Troopers would have to be standing in front of the vehicle, looking through the front windshield in order to catch someone texting...

...unless they are soon going to have new technology that will allow them to detect texting from a distance like radar guns which by the way diffuse with distance. So, if you are in a group of cars it is virtually impossible to ascertain which one of those vehicles were actually exceeding the speed limit.

FOOTNOTE: I would also suspect that law enforcement personnel to not give speeding tickets to spouse, family member, or relatives either or to each other for that matter. And, if and only if that is the case, then they are not equally enforcing the law and that undermines their credibility as well.

Our country is better than most but still this is not right just to collect additional city revenues.

POST SCRIPT: One would think that our Oil Companies and Refineries would encourage motorists to speed. Why would I think that, you ask? Because, any speed over 55 miles per hour, our automobile engines burns gasoline inefficiently and drains the tank faster, requiring more frequent stops for additional gasoline. Big Oil Money should trump the need for increased city revenues typically brought about by speed traps.

Speed Traps are those areas on the highways where the posted speed limit drops substantially (15-20 miles) and even though the new speed limit is posted, it is not easily seen by motorists especially when they have gotten used to a higher speed for a couple of hours or more.

To Protect and Serve is a farce.