RE: Speed trap(some politics-no Audi content)

[Anton Gaidos III <anton_gaidos_iii@firepower.com>]

First, thanks for pointer to this web page.
Oh good! Another rebel among us stating the facts rather then buying the
fantasies. Steve, can I assume
you didn't buy Barbara Walter's report on "Woad Wage" or Jane Polly's
"Mean Streets" either?
If you listen to the media or (Yes I know, I've been chastised once
already) "The Government" you'd be lead to believe
that nearly all accidents are speed related. Road and Track had some
real statistics a few issues back about speeding.
It is as Steve points out(IMO). The stats are twisted for one purposes -
money. Too bad.
 On the other hand, I commute over a rather dangerous stretch of road
where often attitudes rule and common sense
seems left at home. Here, thankfully there is not only good protection
by the CHP but a webpage devoted to pointing
out these people who regularly jeopardize our safety - HWY17's Hall of
Shame. Let me restate that this is a very dangerous
Hwy and the speed trap here is warranted IMO - The concrete center
divide didn't hurt either(figuratively speaking).
Anton
(Getting closer to that urQ)
>----------
>From: 	steveb@falcon.kla.com[SMTP:steveb@falcon.kla.com]
>Sent: 	Wednesday, January 15, 1997 9:13 AM
>To: 	quattro@coimbra.ans.net
>Subject: 	Re: Speed trap
>
>> Lead foots,
>> 
>> For all you guys and gals who like to drive fast check out the internet
>> site "speedtrap" on you webcrawler.  It list all the potential speed trap
>> sites by state and city.
>> 
>... and feel free to contribute those that you are aware of!
>
>No flame, but I did have a comment on the lead foot statement ... Although 
>there are times where the REOs [Revenue Enhancement Officers] do use speed 
>traps due to safety concerns, in many if not most cases speed traps are 
>primarily intended to help bring in a little extra bonus for the local 
>governments.  The thing that bugs the [crap] outta me is the assumption 
>that speed limits are either divinely inspired or somehow tied to physical
>laws.  I'd be happy if I knew that only the 85th percentile guideline was 
>used.  There are so many situations where you wonder what the people who 
>made the limits were thinking ... and I'm not saying that all limits are 
>too low ... I can cite some situations where they are higher than they 
>should be as well [IMO of course] ... 
>
>The major downside to the speedtrap policy [here again IMO] is that I know
>that to me it has caused me to lose most of the respect that I had for law
>enforcement officers.  Being brought up in a military family I did have a
>good deal of it to begin with ... and now I jokingly refer to the San Jose 
>Police as [Mayor Susan] Hammer's Whores.  What else can they consider them-
>selves when they sit out in the middle of nowhere, yet the speed limit is 
>artificially low, on a street corner waiting to pick someone up ... and they
>do have those red lights ... ;)
>
>Steve Buchholz
>s_buchho@kla.com
>San Jose, CA (USA)
>