Cops are out for revenue...ouch!

[Team Gorgonzola]

For you something like this: get a flat on the way to an AFM race, forget the race fuel and finally crash on the second lap of the first warm up session of the day...how's that??

[Adiggity]

Wow...never looked at it THAT way......  You sure my mom didn't die too??

[Team Gorgonzola]

Well in a country song: your girl leaves you and take your dog, you find out you have a 5 yo daughter and you owe 5 years of child support, you develop gout and loose your job...how's that??

[trent]

Well in a country song: your girl leaves you and take your dog, you find out you have a 5 yo daughter and you owe 5 years of child support, you develop gout and loose your job...how's that??

You forgot that someone ALWAYS dies in a country song

And you have to be drunk or trying to get sober 

[SPL]

I recieved 2 speeding tickets in my jeep within a week period.  I got hit with a 70 in a 65mph zone and a 40mph in a 35 zone.   One was NHP the other RPD.

Both officers were nice, but the second officer said that they are NOT being as passive as they usually are. The officer openly told me there getting heat from above them to generate more revenue from the grant they recieved.

I havent even taken my street bike out yet. Im kinda scared to. lol


Heres the post...

Reno Police To Conduct Anti-Speeding Saturation Patrols Reno Police officers will conduct city-wide anti-speeding enforcement saturation patrols beginning Thursday as part of a region-wide law enforcement campaign funded through a statewide grant. Posted Date: 3/5/2008
Reno Police officers will conduct city-wide anti-speeding enforcement saturation patrols beginning Thursday as part of a region-wide law enforcement campaign funded through a statewide grant.


The saturation patrols are part of the Reno Police Department's continuing efforts to improve traffic safety, reduce accidents and resulting injuries to motorists and pedestrians on city streets through the "the Nevada Department of Public Safety-Office of Traffic Safety's Joining Forces grant program which targets speeding motorists, seatbelt use, pedestrian issues and through DUI enforcement. The grant funding is used to pay overtime to support increased enforcement through the saturation patrols, according to Reno Police Sergeant Pat Dreelan.


The campaign, which will include similar efforts by the Washoe County Sheriff's Office and the Sparks Police Department, will continue through March 19.


Dreelan points out that "Speed, defined as exceeding the posted speed limit or traveling too fast for conditions, is cited as a contributing factor in approximately 30 percent of fatal accidents nationwide."
"There are significant negative results from speeding on neighborhood streets," Dreelan says," including accidents, serious injury or pedestrian death, and fines or jail time depending on whether there was injury or death related to a driver's speeding and accident."


"Drivers caught exceeding the speed limit on streets in the City of Reno will be cited, which could result in a significant fine, depending on the speeding violation," Dreelan says. He points out that the speed limit on neighborhood streets in the City of Reno, posted or not, is 25 miles per hour. "Speeding on neighborhood streets is dangerous to residents, especially children and seniors, and is both illegal and socially unacceptable."


Other points to consider, according to Dreelan, include:


• Speeding extends the distance necessary to stop a vehicle (at 20 mph, the total stopping distance is 69 feet; at 30 mph, the distance needed is 123 feet; at 40 mph, the distance needed is 189 feet which may not be enough distance and time to avoid hitting an object or person on the road).
• At night, when you can only see as far as your headlights (160 feet in front of your vehicle), the situation worsens.
• The effectiveness of restraint devices such as air bags and seat belts, and built in vehicle safety features such as side member beams and crumple zones, decline as impact speeds increase.





The local police departments will be cracking down on cars with illegally tinted windows with the help of new window tint meters. The Washoe County Sheriff's Department, Sparks Police Department and the Reno Police met on Wednesday to discuss widespread violations of the Nevada window tint statute and how those violations will be addressed.

"There are a large number of people who have illegally tinted windows," Sparks Police Sgt. Pat Dyer said. "It's a safety issue because not only can it be difficult for people to see out of their windows, but it can impair an officer's ability to see inside the vehicle and the driver could have a gun or be drinking."

The window tinting statute states that the windshield and the windows to the immediate right or left of the driver must have a total light transmission of no less than 35 percent with a tolerance of 7 percent. Vehicle drivers whose windows are not in compliance will be fined and cited, and those who install the tinting could also be fined and cited.

The Office of Traffic Safety recently provided more than 100 electronic window tint meters to local officers.

"These meters have been around for a while, but they're really expensive and we didn't have the money for them, so it was fortunate that the Office of Traffic Safety provided some" Dyer said. "Before, we knew some windows were too dark, but we didn't have a device that showed the exact level of light transmission a window allows for."

The meters are placed over the top of a window and a digital reader of the percentage of light transmission appears on the screen.

Part of the tinting problem is that despite the fact that tinting businesses are informed of the legal limitations on dark tinting, they often tint customers' windows too dark anyway.

"Some businesses that are aware of the tinting statute will have their customers sign a disclaimer that says that the company will not be held responsible if the customer is cited or is in an accident," officer Karl Nieberlein said. "This way, they don't lose out on any business."

Nieberlein added that people are able to tint windows on their own, which means that people don't need to rely on businesses to tint their windows.

The fine for having windows that are too dark is $145, but Dyer spoke with the Sparks Municipal Court and determined that if a person is cited and provides proof that they have changed their windows to abide by the Nevada tinting statute, their citation will be dismissed.

"We don't have any disclaimers," said Thomas Kang, owner of Custom Window Tinting in Reno. "Instead, we just don't offer to tint our customers' windows more than what's legal."

Kang said he orders the window tinting at the customer's desired level of light transmission and he installs it at his shop. A tinting job costs between $100 and $250.

Kang said he has missed out on business in the past because he won't tint windows as dark as some customers might like, but that doing so is "too much of a liability" and that "it's just not worth it."

 

[SPL]

And here is another article on our local law enforcments tighting up....

Honestly it just sounds like the state really needs the money now more than ever and there just doing there jobs to the book.

The local police departments will be cracking down on cars with illegally tinted windows with the help of new window tint meters. The Washoe County Sheriff's Department, Sparks Police Department and the Reno Police met on Wednesday to discuss widespread violations of the Nevada window tint statute and how those violations will be addressed.

"There are a large number of people who have illegally tinted windows," Sparks Police Sgt. Pat Dyer said. "It's a safety issue because not only can it be difficult for people to see out of their windows, but it can impair an officer's ability to see inside the vehicle and the driver could have a gun or be drinking."

The window tinting statute states that the windshield and the windows to the immediate right or left of the driver must have a total light transmission of no less than 35 percent with a tolerance of 7 percent. Vehicle drivers whose windows are not in compliance will be fined and cited, and those who install the tinting could also be fined and cited.

The Office of Traffic Safety recently provided more than 100 electronic window tint meters to local officers.

"These meters have been around for a while, but they're really expensive and we didn't have the money for them, so it was fortunate that the Office of Traffic Safety provided some" Dyer said. "Before, we knew some windows were too dark, but we didn't have a device that showed the exact level of light transmission a window allows for."

The meters are placed over the top of a window and a digital reader of the percentage of light transmission appears on the screen.

Part of the tinting problem is that despite the fact that tinting businesses are informed of the legal limitations on dark tinting, they often tint customers' windows too dark anyway.

"Some businesses that are aware of the tinting statute will have their customers sign a disclaimer that says that the company will not be held responsible if the customer is cited or is in an accident," officer Karl Nieberlein said. "This way, they don't lose out on any business."

Nieberlein added that people are able to tint windows on their own, which means that people don't need to rely on businesses to tint their windows.

The fine for having windows that are too dark is $145, but Dyer spoke with the Sparks Municipal Court and determined that if a person is cited and provides proof that they have changed their windows to abide by the Nevada tinting statute, their citation will be dismissed.

"We don't have any disclaimers," said Thomas Kang, owner of Custom Window Tinting in Reno. "Instead, we just don't offer to tint our customers' windows more than what's legal."

Kang said he orders the window tinting at the customer's desired level of light transmission and he installs it at his shop. A tinting job costs between $100 and $250.

Kang said he has missed out on business in the past because he won't tint windows as dark as some customers might like, but that doing so is "too much of a liability" and that "it's just not worth it."

[zipbyu]

      Seatbelts and texting will be tickets soon(which I agree).  I have peen profiled so many times on the motorcycle.  Does anyone remember 1 or 2 years ago the NSC all got ticketed for speeding Jacks Valley RD. for going the same speed?  A couple guys in the front may of been testing there areo dymatics but not the rest of them.
      I don't speed on the SSA sunday rides or not very much.  I have gotten ticket for 30 over the speed limit when only going around 5 over, being the last guy, the one they could catch.
     I will just run from now on.     I never get tickets in my vehicle.

[weavefish]

  We all have good days and bad days. 

What's a bad day??

any day im not riding?

[GreenMachine]

YES, I've noticed.     WTF!!  It is about the $money$...no wait...about the safety.  And sorry about your troubles.

NHP & RPD all over the place in the last week, 395 at Moana, S. Meadows Pkwy, I-80 westbound Gold Ranch on-ramp, Mogul/Rob Dr & W. McCarren, on S. McCarren at Greensboro, peeking around the corner at Belsera sub-division, and W. McCarren at Plumb hiding on the sidewalk next to the BofA shopping center sign.  They LOVE the bottom of hills and I wasn't able to get out of one 2 years ago in my SUV.  Last Thursday you would have thought there was a NHP convention west of Boomtown (eastbound chain off).  Must have been 15 cruisers & p/u trucks.  I pulled in behind a camper and did 52MPH, but that didn't stop one from spinning dirt and shadowing me until 4th street, where there was another one at Rob and another at W. McCarren.  Strange, but none on N. 395, east of the spaghetti bowl, nor (CHP) west of Floriston on I-80.

I see the radar cycle cops out whenever the temp is above 45 and into the evening as late as 9:30PM.  With state budget cuts, expect someone, us, to pick up the $lack.  Be on the lookout.

[jlavallee]

Extra taxation under the guise of safety.

The world is in a pretty sad state and this is exactly the type of thing that ruins our favorite hobby. In the fall before the fuel prices dropped they were calling for 55mph limits again. Why do we as a public tolerate this? You know that a lot of people think it's just like paying taxes and if you can afford a bike for fun, you can afford to pay extra in tickets. In addition to grabbing extra revenue, the insurance drives the final nail in the coffin.

Maybe if all the earmark and Acorn money was directed at the states we'd have less need to do this foolishness. I'm glad the OP didn't get a ticket but hey, as far as I'm concerned, the cops have no right to infringe on your personal time and bother you without reason. If they did not witness something serious enough to warrant a guarenteed ticket then they should not be stopping you.

I read today that Kommiefornia has passed a law mandating air pressure checks (including spare) at every vehicle service. So if you take your car in for an oil change you have to pay shop rates to have a guy check something any idiot can do and wind down/access your spare. On a pickup where the spare is under the bed with the valve up as it is supposed to be, that could be an extra 20 minutes or more at $80/hr. Dammit people, what happened to America? Why does everyone want this nanny state BS?

Sorry for the rant but it bothers me to see people being profiled and targeted as extra tax payers.

[Highlander]

qoute...• Speeding extends the distance necessary to stop a vehicle (at 20 mph, the total stopping distance is 69 feet;
at 30 mph, the distance needed is 123 feet;
at 40 mph, the distance needed is 189 feet which may not be enough distance and time to avoid hitting an object or person on the road).

They must have some bad drivers to get the above stats.

CAR STOPPING DISTANCE (Highway Code)

Fig. 1 

Speed Distance to Stop Feet per Second Car lengths
20 mph          12m 40ft         29.4 ft/sec        4 
30 mph          23m 75ft         44.1 ft/sec        6 
40 mph          36m 120ft       58.8 ft/sec       10 
50 mph          53m 175ft       73.5 ft/sec       14 
60 mph          73m 240ft       88.2 ft/sec       20 
70 mph          96m 315ft       102.9 ft/sec     26 

These stats are from http://www.ukspeedtraps.co.uk/stopping.htm

The following table shows typical stopping distances for Motorbikes

Thinking distance                      Braking distance        Stopping distance 
At 30 mph 9 metres( 30 feet )    14 metres( 45 feet )    23 metres( 75 feet )
At 50 mph 15 metres( 50 feet )  38 metres( 125feet )   53 metres( 175feet )
At 70 mph 21 metres( 70 feet )  75 metres( 245feet )   96 metres( 315 feet )

I like this one...

[Mike Cullen]

Not sure where you guys are going with all this, but, I want to jump in with a rant if you don't mind.
A couple points to ponder...... and a short story,
politicians pass the bills that are brought to them based on the voters that put them in office, they are elected by the majority of voters,
the majority of vehicle operators on the hiways barely pass the lame drivers tests at DMV, and make up the majority of voters,
those bad drivers/ riders voted in the yahoo's that pass these bills into law and call for revenue increases to offset their own miss-use and poor spending of government funds, tune in some time to your local government, very rarely if ever will you find anyone willing to except blame for their current financial problems, they usually have a scheme or plan to get them out of trouble and will tell you they are "working on it"
for example a short story; where I live the local city officials (that were voted in) hired a city manager that had lost her job because she had bankrupted her former employer, she then went to work miss spending and financially ruining this city, in order to keep her from completely ruining the city, the voted officials (due to public outcry) fired her....but thats not the end.....they agreed to continue to pay her a salary because she had a contract prior to employment that would keep her payed  in case she was fired. It was cheaper to get rid of her then let her continue on her path......but wait theres more....other city officials (also voted into office) retained her services at $100 hr as a private contractor to improve the business plan of smaller city departments. 'WTF'
Yea, so anyway, please remember that no matter how much of an ass you think some cop is being, most of the stories begin with someone breaking the law, then getting caught. Sometimes their are bad apples, but we don't cut down the tree, remember,  that goes both ways. We (the public) have a real bad habit of taking out our frustration with society on the closest symbal of government we come in contact with, the cops.
One more thing to ponder...sheep, coyotes and sheep dogs. The sheep make up the majority...The coyotes prey on the sheep...The sheep get herded around and bitin on the ankles by the sheep dogs, but the sheep dogs keep the coyotes away.
Any SSA members that wants to spend a few hours in someone elses shoes, let me know, I'll hook you up.

[MotoPutz]

since we are all on a role here with rants...

I do agree that cops can get a bad rap do to them being the closest form of government to interact with the gerneral public, but the door swings both way. To start with, youre right, we don't encounter cops unless we have done something illegal. But as the role of the public face of law enforcement the great majority of the officers I have run into have been complete dicks. I am always polite and cooperitive and I have usually gotten a bad attitude back. Lets start with the motto: to serve and protect. Thats not what seems to be whats on "their" mind when you meet them. They start with the attitude that you are just some punk trying to get away with something. We all make mistakes due to personal and environmental varibles, but instead of be understanding and finding the bad apples in the bunch, they just lump all drivers as a bad orchard. Now maybe thats cause the the great majority or people cops run into are jerks or bad apples but I don't think that gives them the right of starting off by not having common courtesy when pulling someone over. I'm sure its just really depends on what side of the fence you are standing on..  But I have been called a liar to my face by cops when I indeed was not lying. And when being polite to cops I have gotten a basic "middle finger" of an attitude.

Now I am not saying that all officers are this way. I have meet some very nice officers. But they are few and far between in my opinion. You can see that the general attitude has changed but the fact that older adults say often "thats not what they were like when I was younger". The newer generation of cops just don't have the same attitude. I believe this is why we all complain about cops. Not cause of the fact of what we did to get pulled over but how we are treated when we get pulled over. A smile or an understanding face can go a long way even when giving bad news... Cops are basically in a PR role but they are the only PR person I know that are allowed to be a dick and not even get a slap on the hand for it. Most PR people would be fired on the spot for give the same level of "service" that most cops give.

Just my opinion...

[zipbyu]

FACT: as profiling(a whole other story) and ticketing increases, responce time decreases. 

[Adiggity]

since we are all on a role here with rants...

I do agree that cops can get a bad rap do to them being the closest form of government to interact with the gerneral public, but the door swings both way. To start with, youre right, we don't encounter cops unless we have done something illegal. But as the role of the public face of law enforcement the great majority of the officers I have run into have been complete dicks. I am always polite and cooperitive and I have usually gotten a bad attitude back. Lets start with the motto: to serve and protect. Thats not what seems to be whats on "their" mind when you meet them. They start with the attitude that you are just some punk trying to get away with something. We all make mistakes due to personal and environmental varibles, but instead of be understanding and finding the bad apples in the bunch, they just lump all drivers as a bad orchard. Now maybe thats cause the the great majority or people cops run into are jerks or bad apples but I don't think that gives them the right of starting off by not having common courtesy when pulling someone over. I'm sure its just really depends on what side of the fence you are standing on..  But I have been called a liar to my face by cops when I indeed was not lying. And when being polite to cops I have gotten a basic "middle finger" of an attitude.

Now I am not saying that all officers are this way. I have meet some very nice officers. But they are few and far between in my opinion. You can see that the general attitude has changed but the fact that older adults say often "thats not what they were like when I was younger". The newer generation of cops just don't have the same attitude. I believe this is why we all complain about cops. Not cause of the fact of what we did to get pulled over but how we are treated when we get pulled over. A smile or an understanding face can go a long way even when giving bad news... Cops are basically in a PR role but they are the only PR person I know that are allowed to be a dick and not even get a slap on the hand for it. Most PR people would be fired on the spot for give the same level of "service" that most cops give.

Just my opinion...

I agree 100% with this, as that has been my experience in dealing with the police. It is very rare to talk to a cop who doesn't have a chip on his/her shoulder. And usually it is a very big one. It seems to me most of them think that they are waaaaayyy better than you and they in fact have no clue who you are. Sad but true. I have even received this attitude when I am not part of the "situation". Sorry Mike, but it's true man.