Got pulled over by a cop!

[maldorf]

I don't believe in seat belt laws, helmet laws or any other law that protects man from himself. Laws originally were made to protect man from another man. That is where it should end.
Now our socialist govt. decides what is best for you because you are too stupid to determine yourself.
OK, my rant is done.

This is where my argument comes in about the rising cost of health care. Why should we all have to pay higher health cost so that some headstrong young man can ride his motorcycle without his helmet.? When he gets in an accident and he is uninsured, we all have to pay for his treatment. Thats when his rights begin to trample ours.

 

[PlateStacker45]

Good old ca cops..Listen here's how to beat it as I just did back in feb...Find you a mechanic that you know and have him write you a receit for installing a new drivers side seat belt..Then go to court and plead guilty with an explanation...Tell the judge that you took a trip to your parents house for the weekend..On Sunday you took your parents to breakfast..When you arrived you started to unfasten your seatbelt and it was stuck..You dad tried to get it un-done but to no avail..So he went inside the restaurant borrowed a knife and you guys cut the seat belt so you could get out...On mon (or whatever the day the ticket was written) you drove back home and thats when you got the ticket..you tried to explain to the officer and he said explain it to the judge..Then hand the judge a receit for a new seatbelt and he will dismiss the ticket..

If you plan this far into a seatbelt ticket, I could just image you planning out a heist or a murder!

 

[Fears]

This is where my argument comes in about the rising cost of health care. Why should we all have to pay higher health cost so that some headstrong young man can ride his motorcycle without his helmet.? When he gets in an accident and he is uninsured, we all have to pay for his treatment. Thats when his rights begin to trample ours.

I'll make 2 points and then I'm not going to get into more of a debate as we each have our own opinions which I'm sure won't change.

First item is that I DO pay for my own healthcare (out of my pocket) so not you or anyone else will have to pay for my accident. THerefore I want the right to be responsible for my own body. Not much different than using gear in that respect. Also, take a look statistically at the majority of states that don't have helmet laws. They do not have higher insurance/healthcare costs than states with helmet laws. I have theories on why but not worth getting into.

Secondly, the major reason healthcare costs are rising is due to lawsuits and malpractice insurance. Second reason is greedy doctors. You want lower healthcare that is where to start.

 

[Mr.Endurance]

This is where my argument comes in about the rising cost of health care. Why should we all have to pay higher health cost so that some headstrong young man can ride his motorcycle without his helmet.? When he gets in an accident and he is uninsured, we all have to pay for his treatment. Thats when his rights begin to trample ours.

This is bad logic. I would never endorse not wearing a seatbelt/helmet. It makes perfect sense. But you can't really legislate stupidity though. It's the same as making it illegal to kill yourself. Simply retarded. This is a free society (for the most part). This country existed "many" years without a seatbelt/helmet law etc....Actually some states still don't have helmet laws. The rising rate of healthcare costs is happening because of many, many different problems...the biggest of this being outright corruption within the healthcare industry itself. I'm not sure where you are from, but insurance companies make HUGE profits...there is no passing along of fees when companies are still making huge profits. I myself am a quasi socialist when in comes to programs that everyone is required to particpate in. I feel that car insurance, health insurance, whatever - should be government controlled and non-profit. It's easy to pick it apart...but look at where we are at. Big business, pork, and campaign promises have led us down the rabbit hole of despair in regards to health care/insurance etc...It's required by law in my state to have car insurance. I've been hit twice by people that had no insurance in the last 3 years. Why not take it out of our taxes? It'll be cheaper, and everyone's covered.

wow...long post.

 

[doug1]

mr endurance, your scaring me...lol, i'm totally against govt getting their hands on things, they screw it up, i'm republican, no ill will towards Bush.

 

[aesop]

Wow that's a really bad idea! We all know how efficient the government is and how great they are at spending our money. They nickel and dime and try to get the best deals, or they just say fuck it we pay pay 10$ for a roll of toilet paper. The problem with insurance and health care is that there is very little competition and too much third party involvement so no one is really trying to get the best deal. The consumer gets health insurance through his employer and doesnt really think about cost he goes with what the company provides, then he goes to the doctor they tell him too and pays his copay for whatever it is, with no thought about what the procedure will cost because his insurance is covering it, so then the medical care industry tries to bill the insurance company for as much as they possibly can, then insurance companies raise their rates and the business he works for foots most of the bill because. Medical insurance is considered a benefit it is part of your salary whether you pay for it or not. We would all be much better off if we had to independently shop for health insurance then insurance companies would be much more competitive and would keep the medical care services in check and not let them overcharge. The hospitals would then have to be more efficient and provide better service at lower cost to get business. It is all about competition and the free market. Socialism sucks. I don't want the government to have anymore control over my life then they already do.

This is bad logic. I would never endorse not wearing a seatbelt/helmet. It makes perfect sense. But you can't really legislate stupidity though. It's the same as making it illegal to kill yourself. Simply retarded. This is a free society (for the most part). This country existed "many" years without a seatbelt/helmet law etc....Actually some states still don't have helmet laws. The rising rate of healthcare costs is happening because of many, many different problems...the biggest of this being outright corruption within the healthcare industry itself. I'm not sure where you are from, but insurance companies make HUGE profits...there is no passing along of fees when companies are still making huge profits. I myself am a quasi socialist when in comes to programs that everyone is required to particpate in. I feel that car insurance, health insurance, whatever - should be government controlled and non-profit. It's easy to pick it apart...but look at where we are at. Big business, pork, and campaign promises have led us down the rabbit hole of despair in regards to health care/insurance etc...It's required by law in my state to have car insurance. I've been hit twice by people that had no insurance in the last 3 years. Why not take it out of our taxes? It'll be cheaper, and everyone's covered.

wow...long post.

 

[aesop]

When I call home and tell my family shit like this they don't believe me...
Still trying to understand why this country is self proclaimed "Land of the Free".
Freedom to what? Work like a dog and go home watch TV?
Jeez...

While the US is not perfect. It is by far the most free country on the planet. An individual is only limited by their work ethic and willingness to takethe risks needed or invest the time required in order to be sucessful. Everyone in the US has an equal oppurtunity to succeed. Circumstances are never the same and they never will be, but the important thing to be aware of is that the oppurtunity is there. Whether or not the individual is willing to do what it takes to take advantage of the oppurtunity is up to them.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

We would all be much better off if we had to independently shop for health insurance then insurance companies would be much more competitive and would keep the medical care services in check and not let them overcharge. The hospitals would then have to be more efficient and provide better service at lower cost to get business. It is all about competition and the free market. Socialism sucks. I don't want the government to have anymore control over my life then they already do.

Your idea is just as bad. Your idea would just encourage employers simply not to offer medical coverage and leave coverage up to the individual. That translates to even more people without coverage. Then, hospitals and healthcare facilities would have to treat an even greater number of uninsured people which the government would subsidy through state or federal reimbursement or through grants or benefits to the uninsured individuals. This would mean even higher taxes and even poorer general health and emergency care. What you're talking about may sound like Economics 101 but it would just lead to more disfranchised citizens and immigrants. Unless you're purely capitalist and believe that if you can't afford coverage, well, you're just out of luck.

 

[OuchThatHurts]

While the US is not perfect. It is by far the most free country on the planet. An individual is only limited by their work ethic and willingness to takethe risks needed or invest the time required in order to be sucessful. Everyone in the US has an equal oppurtunity to succeed. Circumstances are never the same and they never will be, but the important thing to be aware of is that the oppurtunity is there. Whether or not the individual is willing to do what it takes to take advantage of the oppurtunity is up to them.

Sure does sound like Reaganomics. And just as it was then, and although a pleasantly romantic notion, it's pretty naive to think that there is equal opportunity in America. In case you haven't noticed, there are two Americas and your opportunities are greatly influenced by which side of America you are coming from.

 

[Gunsmith]

Just pay the ticket either by mail or going into court. 90% of the time the officer will have put a court date on their and that date will be on the other tickets he has written because thats the day that he is gonna go to court. If you decide not to pay the ticket , your licenes will be suspended which you will be notified by mail and a warrent will be issued for your arrest and the next time your pulled over your going to jail for a "failure to appear".
The ticket is gonna be cheap but if you go to court and the officer is their your gonna loose then your gonna have to pay court cost and the ticket.

I'm a cop and I will wight a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt if I have a reason , generaly unless your doing sothing stupid I'm not gonna waste my time and effort to pull sombody over just cause I saw them not wearing a seatbelt. If you fit the "profile" I might use that as a reason to stop you and make a further investigation for DUI , Drugs , weapons or whatever. but I also use things like no tag light not using your blinker or about 1000 others. So I'm thinking that you must have done somthing else to catch this guys attention unless he was just realy dumb and bored. Now if I pull you over for any of the above reasons and you get ANY sort of attitude I'm gonna wright you a ticket for every damn thing I can find. , but on another note if I catch you for speeding or rolling a stop sign and your polite and seem half ass honest I'll give you a ticket for the seatbelt because its alot cheaper than a speeding ticket and it doesen't ding your insurance or not as bad. In some departments their has to be a written statement for EVERY stop you make , if you call in a DL to dispatch then you have got to have a reason and their better be a paper trail that sombody can follow and thats generaly to cover the PD's ass.

Now for all you guys that give cops a hard time for stopping you , here is a little bit fo info.
1) more cops are killed in routine traffic stops either for some dumb ass running them over or by the person they pulled over being wanted and shooting them than any SWAT teams does while kicking in doors for raids. I am a SWAT member and I do alot of drug raids and high risk warrents every year and can tell you that being relaxed and complacient in your job while making routine traffic stop will get you killed.
2) laws are made to protect you and the rest of the public like it or not , they may seems like a painin the ass and like their were devised to make your life miserable but their is another reason.
3) Cops don't do this job because its easy or the pay is great , they do it because its a calling and somtimes their are other benifits and somtimes its fun but others its horrible , so befoe you decide that cops are dickhead "pigs" maybe you should try their job for a little bit.

I have cought guys with juice in their car several times and if they were honest and polite with me I generaly let them go with an ass chewing AND a seat belt ticket , about driving around with shit in their car !! if I catch you with weed and its not alot I'll make you dump it and probably give you a seatbelt ticket. Now If I pull over and I have some fuck-O that wants to break bad and catch an attitude , I'm gonna stroke you for every damn thing I can find and hope that you give me a reason to handel your ass! Their is no reason to be a dick , at some point you broke a law and now you got caught so just be nice and suck it up!!

for those of you that don't like cops that fine to , I'm sure at some point you ran accross some little asshole that only does this job for the power trip and he screwed you over and I'm sure that left a bad taste in your mouth . I fully understand your reasoning for it but that doesen't meen that all cops are like that.
I will say though that I probably abuse my power somewhat , I have driven my patrol car to Pop-Eyes to get the discount on the meal and I drive it around town when I'm off duty and let the department pay for the gas and yes my badge has gotten me out of alot of speeding tickets but every one of you guys here would or do the same thing!!

Here are a few rules I have that apply to most other cops
1) you be nice and I'll be nice , you be a dick and I'm gonna be a bigger dick!!
2) you touch me i'm gonna touch you back and its gonna hurt, kaeep your
hands to your self.
3) be honest even if it means you might go to jail , if your honest I'll do my
best to making things as easy for you as possible.
4) DON'T RUN , I'm alot faster than I look and when I catch you your going
to the hospital before jail , and even if I don't run you down the K-9 thats
on the way will find you then your goning to hospital with dog bites!!
5) Please don't try to fight me , even if you can kick my ass I have gun
6) 99% of the time your on camera and everybody else has heard your name
and knows where we are , your not gonna get away

 

[GeeNo]

I don't have a huge problem with cops, Gunsmith, but it is some of the exact things you mention that bother me about them. You will give someone a speeding ticket, but openly admit to speeding yourself and showing your badge to avoid a ticket. The fact of the matter is, at least in my opinion, a lot of people like the idea of being a police officer because they have an inner desire to be in 'power' and able to manipulate and instill fear in others. It is even evident in your post that you share this attitude at least to some extent. I will applaud you though, for not readily passing out tickets for small offenses such as marijuana possession (in small amounts), juice, etc.

 

[Gunsmith]

Those are "Fringe benifits" and firemen , paramedics , nurses and a few other folks get them to.

I don't know anybody that doesen't speed , I generaly role with traffic and that is generaly above the speed limit. I don't break any more or less laws than the average citizen. Also I don't just whip out my badge as ID when I get pulled over. I have both hands on the steering wheel window down and as soon as the officer allows me to speek I declair my "duty weapon" in its holster fitted to the seat , and thats as far as it goes , if he ask to see my commision and elts me go without a ticket (most of the time) then great if not then so be it I'll get a ticket , and I could go as far as to contact some folks to get strings pulled to get out of it but I feel that its over abusing your "benifits" so I'll pay the fine and be on my way.

 

[confuzed_guy2000]

Seems to me like everyone is tough with a gun and a badge.... Personally, I think cops are worthless egomaniac punks.

 

[confuzed_guy2000]

Budbundy,

Just be thankful a ticket is all you got. This family was hancuffed while cops killed their family dog - after pulling over the wrong car!!!!!

**broken link removed**

 

[trapz]

"3) be honest even if it means you might go to jail , if your honest I'll do my
best to making things as easy for you as possible."

this is the, and i say THE ABSOLUTE WORST ADVICE POSSIBLE!!!!

not surprised it is coming from a cop lol

i would agree with the rest of the advice as far as, do not be a dick, be polite etc.... but never just give up your rights if giving up your rights means your going to get busted...

if you've got drugs on you, dont consent to a search cuz you think refusin gwilll be stupid and make you look guilty.

if this guy is one out of the 100 that will let you go if he finds juice, figure out those odds.

id rather refuse the search, and give my lawyer something to work with.


however since im friends with a lot of guys in both the lawyer and cop occupation, its a neck and neck race to decide which occupation i despise the least LOL>

 

[STEEDA69]

Here are a few rules I have that apply to most other cops
1) you be nice and I'll be nice , you be a dick and I'm gonna be a bigger dick!!
2) you touch me i'm gonna touch you back and its gonna hurt, kaeep your
hands to your self.
3) be honest even if it means you might go to jail , if your honest I'll do my
best to making things as easy for you as possible.
4) DON'T RUN , I'm alot faster than I look and when I catch you your going
to the hospital before jail , and even if I don't run you down the K-9 thats
on the way will find you then your goning to hospital with dog bites!!
5) Please don't try to fight me , even if you can kick my ass I have gun
6) 99% of the time your on camera and everybody else has heard your name
and knows where we are , your not gonna get away

If you want to contribute your "knowledge" or "opinion" to a post, do so by addressing the subject! I don't think anyone in here cares to hear OR wants to be reminded of, how egotistical some officers (like yourself) can be. We are ALL well aware! Oh...and by the way, Your "list of rules" ONLY applies while YOU are in uniform! I can ASSURE you that during a "man to man" confrontation, your "list of rules" would change SUBSTANTIALLY (and I don't mean in your favor).

Now, to address the matter in question! Just pay the ticket and be thankful! That cop may have "potentially" saved your life. I am ALL for "freedom" and "autonomy" but C'mon.... Not wearing your seatbelt is plain stupid, (so is driving around with gear in your car). If YOU don't care about your life, think of those around you and in your life who DO!

JD~

 

[alan1973]

I don't have a huge problem with cops, Gunsmith, but it is some of the exact things you mention that bother me about them. You will give someone a speeding ticket, but openly admit to speeding yourself and showing your badge to avoid a ticket. The fact of the matter is, at least in my opinion, a lot of people like the idea of being a police officer because they have an inner desire to be in 'power' and able to manipulate and instill fear in others. It is even evident in your post that you share this attitude at least to some extent. I will applaud you though, for not readily passing out tickets for small offenses such as marijuana possession (in small amounts), juice, etc.

dude, get over it. if you are in some position of any kind of power I guarantee you will find some way to abuse it to better benefit you especially if you feel you are not getting paid well enough. Stealing Pens from work, printing personal items on business printers are so-called fringe benefits that are wrong also. EVERYONE does this kind of stuff. and people only complain when they can't get the same benefits as everyone around them gets...even if they are in a different career field (which is just like what a baby would do when someone has a toy they want).

 

[alan1973]

Seems to me like everyone is tough with a gun and a badge.... Personally, I think cops are worthless egomaniac punks.

and yet the human race created a need for these guys.....so now who is to blame?

 

[confuzed_guy2000]

and yet the human race created a need for these guys.....so now who is to blame?

Hmmm, didn't know this was gonna get all philosophical... Not to say the need for police officers isn't there but IMHO only one out of 5 is worth a shit.

It seems that the only real purpose there are so many is to generate revenue via their ticket writing skills. Why does the self-proclaimed "most free" country in the world have the most laws governing how it's citizens live?

We won the war... Now we are fighting the peace. It's a lot more volatile... Ten year olds go on the net and download encryption we can barely break - not to mention instructions on how to build a nuclear device. Privacy has been dead for 30 years because we can't risk it. The only privacy that is left is the inside of your head and maybe that's enough.

 

[buffbabeca]

All i can say is this... wear your seat belt and u will never to worry about getting a ticket for not wearing it... in which then u would come post a thread crying about the ticket.. sorry but i have no sympathy for someone who breaks the law.. you play you pay.. end of story..