Crazy drivers at work <PICS>
- Thread starter nitesite
- Start date
The revenue question comes up every now and then. I find that many/most people have some misunderstanding of the amount a local court/municipality actually retains from the traffic ticket.
For instance, twenty years ago the fine for speeding was twenty dollars. Court costs were an added $23.50 so a ticket ran $43.50. Today, our municipal court still assesses a $20 fine if you plead guilty to a speeding ticket. It hasn't changed one bit in decades.
But what HAS changed drastically is the court cost. Over time, legislators in our state capital have tacked on and embedded within larger bills "extra fees" under the broad heading known as "court costs". These fees range from seven dollars for every ticket written in the state goes to the State Attorney General Office, and nine dollars goes to the fund that pays for court appointed lawyers for indigent defendants. And the State Crime Victims Compensation Fund get some off of every ticket, so does the judges state retirement fund, the state and local drug task force, on and on and on. So for every $20 fine that is kept in town now $193.50 goes directly to Montgomery Alabama to be doled out to all those little hidden accounts. These should be renamed something other than "court costs" wouldn't you agree?
So a ticket now costs $213.50 which I think is horrible.
Now, for full disclosure, our municipal court does get about twenve dollars of the $193.50 so what goes to the town's account is still so small that it really isn't "revenue" in even the most minor way. And by law that money cannot be diverted back into the police department.
I wrote five tickets last week. I burned $120 worth of gas in my patrol car.
You do the math!
For instance, twenty years ago the fine for speeding was twenty dollars. Court costs were an added $23.50 so a ticket ran $43.50. Today, our municipal court still assesses a $20 fine if you plead guilty to a speeding ticket. It hasn't changed one bit in decades.
But what HAS changed drastically is the court cost. Over time, legislators in our state capital have tacked on and embedded within larger bills "extra fees" under the broad heading known as "court costs". These fees range from seven dollars for every ticket written in the state goes to the State Attorney General Office, and nine dollars goes to the fund that pays for court appointed lawyers for indigent defendants. And the State Crime Victims Compensation Fund get some off of every ticket, so does the judges state retirement fund, the state and local drug task force, on and on and on. So for every $20 fine that is kept in town now $193.50 goes directly to Montgomery Alabama to be doled out to all those little hidden accounts. These should be renamed something other than "court costs" wouldn't you agree?
So a ticket now costs $213.50 which I think is horrible.
Now, for full disclosure, our municipal court does get about twenve dollars of the $193.50 so what goes to the town's account is still so small that it really isn't "revenue" in even the most minor way. And by law that money cannot be diverted back into the police department.
I wrote five tickets last week. I burned $120 worth of gas in my patrol car.
You do the math!
Itsricmo said:MikeD said:I want to see Oli and Nitesite cast in Bad Boys 3!!!!
This ***** just got real!
Expendables 3!! or "Die Hard 4: The Next Gen"
Love the Expendables. LOL I went to HS with Terry Crews, he was a year ahead of me.
nitesite said:
It sounds like a money generator for these guy ^^^^ but not for the local municipalities. This is about how it is here in PA too. I knew it was like this but didn't realize it was quite that bad. Maybe they should call it the "bend over" costs. When I mentioned you not being a revenue generator I was mostly thinking of small towns (we have one here) where 90% of the officers time is spent on speed trap duty.
nitesite said:Onespeed,
I gotta say, I really didn't see that one coming. Thank you for your candor.
Just for the record, my "number" for me to even get mildly interested in a driver who is over the posted limit, is somewhere around 18-20 MPH above. And several of them who are momentarily stopped find themselves released with no more that a gentle warning not to speed in my jurisdiction.
Last week I wrote a total of five traffic citations. I hardly think that places me in the category of being a traffic nazi (my word, not yours).
And also for the record... I dress, act and drive on duty as though the whole world is watching me and half of them are taking video.
Enjoy your time here on the forum. Just please, for me, try not to make an excess of "far-stretching generalizations" in your posts. And in particular the threads that I start. If that is your nature, you and I will discuss that privately if it does come to that.
For all the other replies, ya'll have no idea what I do for a living nor my experiences with LEO's. I am not anti-cop, and have never "gotten caught" doing something and now hate all cops for it. And not that it should matter, but I am not from CA, I am simply stationed here, and so have to abide by the laws of this state. I expect everyone else to as well, including those tasked with enforcing those laws. Is that asking too much?
My younger brother is a cop, and I have been in the Navy for 20 years, so I know a thing or two about law enforcement and good order and discipline. I have hundreds of people under me at my command, and I have to discipline them quite often. The difference is, when that happens I don't send out emails or post on forums stating what "idiots" these Sailors are for whatever it was they did. That would be considered extremely unprofessional, and I'd probably hear about it from my superiors.
Nitesite, your style of enforcement and your "number" are not what I am questioning, it's the fact that you put it out there after the fact, stating what "idiots" they were. Lots of people out there would consider us all idiots for being members of this forum and owning guns... but they're all wrong, right?
I assume you are an honorable and hard-working police officer, and have no reason to doubt that, however, your post really doesn't show that. I tried not to make it personal towards you as a cop, but I did want to point out that labeling these people as idiots was unwarranted and unnecessary. (I will say the guy lying to you is questionable).
It's funny, I got a PM from a mod stating my comments could be considered inflammatory, when in my opinion the original post was inflammatory in itself. By having an opinion contrary to the original thread, I am now considered inflammatory? Sounds a lot like censorship to me...
The fact that Nitesite is a cop and a mod is irrelevant, we should all be able to have our say. If not, then I'm not sure what the point of this section of the forum is...
I won't waste any more space here stating my position. If you want to discuss further via PM feel free, although I can't reply since my account doesn't have PM capability, since I'm just a noob...
And for those explaining how public forums work, I'm well aware. Just because I only recently created an account on this particular forum does not mean that I am an ignorant new guy, nor any less entitled to my opinion. I will not apologize if my opinion or position on a subject offends you, nor do I expect you to either.
Your making a mountain out of a mole hill , you are defiantly entitled to your opinion, but you must earn your respect….Navy and supposed command doesn’t get you automatic respect or credibility…..I have hired and interviewed 100’s of vets to work with me and I can tell you just because you are in the military for 20 years don’t make you right, I have met people in the military for 30 years I wouldn’t follow to the corner store, my BIL has been a sailor for 25 years and just the fact that he married my sister is proof enough….lol, lighten up ,…something about you doesn’t hold water friend
And because NS is a cop don’t make him right either but he has the same right as you to express his opinion and his opinion is that they are idiots, your is different but you don’t have the feness in expression thus your post sounded offensive and confrontational….this is the internet so you could be a 12 yo girl for all anyone knows Skipper
And because NS is a cop don’t make him right either but he has the same right as you to express his opinion and his opinion is that they are idiots, your is different but you don’t have the feness in expression thus your post sounded offensive and confrontational….this is the internet so you could be a 12 yo girl for all anyone knows Skipper
oli700 said:
oli700 said:
Yup... for all you guys know, I'm a 50 year old, menopausal, 500lbs cat lady... :roll:
I'm good... I never badmouthed or made any direct comments about any particular member here... can't say the same about some of the colorful responses I received. This is a public forum, you have to be prepared for differing points of view when you go live with something... if I'm off base with that idea let me know.
It's kinda funny how this is a Mossberg forum, and I asked a legitimate question about a piece of gear, and you (oli700) were the only one to respond in several days... but I make a comment in this thread, which really has nothing to do with guns at all, and I generate a huge response from the gallery in a matter of hours.
Now I remember why I stopped venturing away from the main purpose of these online forums...
and oli, I never said I was in command of anything (that was an assumption on your part), just that I have a lot of Sailors I am responsible for. And I like my balls too!
It's kinda funny how this is a Mossberg forum, and I asked a legitimate question about a piece of gear, and you (oli700) were the only one to respond in several days... but I make a comment in this thread, which really has nothing to do with guns at all, and I generate a huge response from the gallery in a matter of hours.
Now I remember why I stopped venturing away from the main purpose of these online forums...
and oli, I never said I was in command of anything (that was an assumption on your part), just that I have a lot of Sailors I am responsible for. And I like my balls too!
cmcdonald
Boating Accident Victim
Staff member
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"Philanthropist"
However you see it, your original post sounded derogatory and really disrespectful for someone so new to this forum. If you don't believe me then just go back and re-read the responses you got. You will learn...if you stick around, that's not really what we're all about here. These guys have been great sources of help, advice and support to very many of us...you could expect to get slapped back by a whole bunch of us for that kind of commentary. That's just the way it is dude.
Like you said , this a public forum and you have to be prepared for differing points of view, soooo if you don't like it here....it's a free internet. We like it here and just between you and me....we love Oli's BIG, BIG balls!!
Like you said , this a public forum and you have to be prepared for differing points of view, soooo if you don't like it here....it's a free internet. We like it here and just between you and me....we love Oli's BIG, BIG balls!!
Onespeed said:
Onespeed said:
The last thing you want to do is play word games with me…..I am trying very hard to be proactive here
I assume nothing, I took your word wrong because you are cutting thier meaning very close
Onespeed said:
As for as your unanswered question, you should assume no one is running your set up and since you were hung up on only hearing from experienced people , no one answered.....what the hell ?
mingaa
Raconteur
...so my 930 is in great running order and as soon as I get trained on the trap and skeet ranges at the club I joined I'll be tuning up on the flying targets hoping to add to my 3-gun effort this season. I already bought two boxes of clay pigeons. I have an AR reload round that works well - cycles the gun and gets off fast follow up shots. I also added an extended mag release and slide release to my Glock 22 if I want to use it to shoot major power factor. Had my competition pistol rounds fine tuned for some time now...