Speed Traps

[Scott]

I was driving home from work a few days ago when an oncoming car in the other lane flashed their lights at me warning me that a sheriff car was sitting off the side of the road waiting for speeders. I thought it would be interesting to see how others feel about warning other drivers.

 

[Quath]

I live in California but use to live in Georgia. One thing I notice is that cops hiding for speeding tickets seems to be more of an eastern US thing. I see it occasionally in CA, but not to the extent I saw it in Georgia. Going to TN for a week and I was amazed at how many cops I could count hiding along the interstate.

Quath

 

[peace4all]

i used to always speed. never got caught.. until that one time.. gosh that stank... 130 dollar fine.

I no longer speed, and think everyoen who does shoudl be caught. Its jsut stupid and you wont learn til rue caught

 

[Homeskillet]

No, I don't warn other drivers.

 

[Blessed]

OK I will admit I do warn others and very rarely do I speed. I am not one for paying ticket, so to me it isn't worth it extra 2 minutes of arriving early.

 

[reznwerks]

I was driving home from work a few days ago when an oncoming car in the other lane flashed their lights at me warning me that a sheriff car was sitting off the side of the road waiting for speeders. I thought it would be interesting to see how others feel about warning other drivers.

Be advised that if a cop is deprived of making his coffee money he can fine you at least $150.00. My daughter knows this first hand by flashing her lights for just such a reason last week. Personally, I do it as I have never known anyone to abide by the speed limit to the letter and the reminder by others is just that a reminder and it accomplishes the same result by getting the driver to reevaluate his speed. Most roads can handle above the posted speed without any problem and speed enforcement is more a revenue generating task than a cop seriously worrying about safety.

 

[Scott]

I've probably done it 2 or 3 times in my life, but normally I don't. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I think its good when cops run their traps inside of towns or villages to make sure people are slowing down. The sheriff that I based this thread on was on a secondary road with little traffic in the middle of the country, not to mention he's the first cop I've seen sitting out there in a very long time.

I've had a couple of things bother me about how cops justify pulling people over. A guy I worked with a few years ago said he went out with his son on patrol in Rochester one night and he was shocked that his son told him sometimes they make things up when pulling people over.

Also, I work very early in the morning so in the winter time the roads aren't plowed yet if we've gotten a lot of snow. I was pulled over in the middle of a snow storm this past February because the cop said I was over the center line. Huh?! You couldn't even see the road much less the lines, and I was going slow enough anyway. I've never gotten a speeding ticket and he didn't end up giving me one either. However, I ended up having to drive a little faster than I like to in the snow to get to work on time because the guy held me up so long.

I think of cops sort of like bees, they'll sting you if stir them up and sometimes they'll sting you even if you are leaving them alone.

 

[Nikki]

It depends on the mood I'm in whether or not I warn them.... :

I do 90% of the time though.

 

[guibox]

It depends. If it is in a school zone then no, otherwise, yes. As far as I'm concerned, nobody needs to be in that much of a hurry that they can't respect a school zone.

The way I see it, the intent of the cop being there is to make people slow down. Why not flash our lights to obtain that same result? If it is because some part of us wants to see someone else get a ticket, remember that we all speed at some point and we shouldn't act so sanctimonious feeling that people deserve to get a ticket.

 

[Urambo Tauro]

I have never heard the idea of flashing lights to warn of a speed trap.
In my experience, when I see someone flash their lights, it's a message saying, "You're doing something that I don't like." Sometimes oncoming traffic has their brights on, so I flash to remind them to dim. Or maybe the fellow in my rear-view flashes his brights because he thinks I'm going too slow.
When do I flash my lights? I do the oncoming brights thing, when they need to switch to low beams. (Now, I wonder if they thought I was warning them of a speed trap?) Sometimes I also flash at someone who just passed me, if he was obviously going way over the limit.

 

[nuhmmie]

i used to always speed. never got caught.. until that one time.. gosh that stank... 130 dollar fine.

I no longer speed, and think everyoen who does shoudl be caught. Its jsut stupid and you wont learn til rue caught

yeah. okay.

it's not people who are speeding that are stupid. it's the people who don't know how to drive, whether it be fast or slow. here, people doing the speed limit are the one's impeding the general flow of traffic. but the list of just bad driving in general far exceeds those who just speed.

 

[Judy]

My daughter in Law just sent this to me.....I don't know how true this is .....

WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET A TRAFFIC TICKET

Remember, this advice was sent by the retired State Farm agent!

This system has been tried and it works in every state.

If you get a speeding ticket or went through a red light or
whatever
the case may be, and you're going to get points on your license. This
is a
method to ensure that you DO NOT get the points.

When you get your fine, send in a check to pay for it. If the
fine
is
$79.00 make the check out for $82.00 or some small amount over
the
fine.

The system will then have to send you back a check for the
difference,
however here is the trick.

DO NOT CASH THE REFUND CHECK! Throw it away!

Points are not assessed to your license until all financial
transactions are complete. If you do not cash the check, then the
transactions are NOT complete ete. The system has received it's money
and
is satisfied and will no longer bother you.

This information comes from an unmentionable computer company
that
sets up the standard databases used by every state.

 

[Scott]

Tricky....tricky.... :

Most checks have a void after date, don't they?!

 

[Nikki]

If it sounds too good to be true, then it is.... :

http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/ticket.asp

Claim: Slightly overpaying the fine for a traffic ticket will keep points off of your driving record.

Status: False.


Origins: Looks good, doesn't it? The scheme described makes sense, and it's even got a source! We may have no idea what that source is, but just the mention of one is impressive enough for most people.

Even if this worked at one time, it probably didn't work for long given all the publicity the message quoted above generated. In fact, our Australian sources inform us that not only does this point-avoidance method not work now, it never worked in the first place. You can overpay your traffic ticket if you like, but the only result will be that you'll contribute some extra money to the general revenue fund.

More recent versions of this message claim that:

This information came to our attention from a very reliable computer company that sets up the standard database used by each states' DMV.
You have to wonder about a "very reliable computer company" that puts a glaring loophole in its customers' systems, then tells the world about it. The fact is, every state does not use a "standard database" set up by a single company. (Even if any state's system did have such a loophole, they've now had three years' worth of people circulating this message on the Internet to warn them about it.)

Some people claim that they've tried this scheme and it worked, and though it's certainly possible some people who overpaid their traffic tickets never saw any points go on their records, most likely that was a result of coincidence, not cause-and-effect. As most anyone who's dealt with the DMV knows, things do slip through the cracks now and then, just rarely in your favor. If you feel that spending three extra dollars in the hopes of keeping a ticket off your record is a worthwhile gamble, go ahead and try it. You're likely to be disappointed with the results, though.

 

[Steve]

Always. I always warn other drivers, and appreciate it when they flash at cars going in my direction.

I do not like the Police. :x

 

[davrob]

I have never heard the idea of flashing lights to warn of a speed trap.
In my experience, when I see someone flash their lights, it's a message saying, "You're doing something that I don't like." Sometimes oncoming traffic has their brights on, so I flash to remind them to dim. Or maybe the fellow in my rear-view flashes his brights because he thinks I'm going too slow.
When do I flash my lights? I do the oncoming brights thing, when they need to switch to low beams. (Now, I wonder if they thought I was warning them of a speed trap?) Sometimes I also flash at someone who just passed me, if he was obviously going way over the limit.

Same here, except I have heard of it warning other people of police being down the road. I rarely flash mine. Sometimes it's if some moron doesn't have his lights on after dark or the brights on. Other times I do it if I'm in the mood for some grilled Brats but so far no one has ever stopped and offered me any when I flashed them.

 

[Scott]

I do not like the Police. :x

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do..... :

 

[LottomagicZ4941A]

I use to but now I have a car with daytime running lights.

Absolutely become unchristian sometimes when people flash their lights if they want to pass. I tend to drive a tad above the limit. And I have court next month due to a driving misshap. Prayer request for mercy previously posted

One time a minister said he did not have a <>< on his car because then he would have to drive better.

In a way this applies to sharing the gospel.

Warning people about dasaster and offering the solution of Christ saving them.

We all have fallen short but due to the grace of God through Christ we are saved.

How much more important is it to share the gospel then to warn of a speed trap.

 

[Scott]

I use to but now I have a car with daytime running lights.

You can still flash your high beams.