So, traffic enforcement is about safety, is it???

http://tinyurl.com/ougym (pertinent part of the article reproduced below
the .sig)

Seems that the Sheriff in McIntosh County, GA (Sheriff Charles "Chunk,"
Jones) has decided to put public safety over revenue generation and the
politicians on the county commission are none to happy about the sharp
drop in revenue. Maybe more cops should follow Sheriff Jones' lead.

And ofcourse, the couty commission's response: let's lower speed limits
some. What a bunch of losers they are. They all deserve to be voted out
of office.

--
I diots
C onvention &
E mporium

================================================== ===


County revenue is off

One of the gripes by the majority of the county commissioners is that
revenue may be off by as much as $500,000 this year because Jones'
deputies cut back drastically on issuing traffic citations although
motorists speed through the county on Interstate 95. There were 20
citations forwarded to State Court in February, none in March and only
one in April, Deverger's letter said. Deputies previously wrote hundreds
of citations.

The annual audit of county finances shows that fines and forfeiture
revenue was below projections in 2005, but was offset by fees for
housing federal inmates for the U.S. Marshals Service.

Asked if he would encourage his officers to resume writing tickets at
previous levels, Jones said, "I'm not a revenue agent for the County
Commission. We're in the business of public safety. We're going to do
our jobs."

His officers are enforcing DUI laws "200 percent," interdicting drugs on
the interstate and protecting children by getting golf carts off the
roads, Jones said. Court records show his officers wrote more tickets in
June. Jones said ticket citation numbers sometimes drop for the state
patrol on I-95.

Of Deverger's assertion that his office harassed golf cart drivers,
Jones said, "They had 12-year-olds driving golf carts with no lights at
night."

His officers cracked down on golf cart traffic violations in response to
complaints and not to harass anyone, Jones said.

Jones questioned the legality of the county's recently adopted golf cart
ordinance because state law imposes limits that counties cannot override
including requirements for lights, horns and brake lights on the
highway. The speed limit on the roads where the county wants to allow
golf carts is 45 mph, too fast for the carts to mix with auto traffic,
Jones said.

necromancer wrote:

It's not about safety THAT time, perhaps.

But it overwhelmingly usually is.

wrote:
> It's not about safety THAT time, perhaps.
>
> But it overwhelmingly usually is.

You're deluding yourself if you really think that. Statutory speed
limits that have little, if any basis, on a traffic and engineering
study have nothing to do with safety.

In article et>, necromancer wrote:

> Seems that the Sheriff in McIntosh County, GA (Sheriff Charles "Chunk,"
> Jones) has decided to put public safety over revenue generation and the
> politicians on the county commission are none to happy about the sharp
> drop in revenue. Maybe more cops should follow Sheriff Jones' lead.

It would be nice if more did. Every so often there is a news story of a
cop being punished in some manner when he decided that safety
was to come before revenue.

> And ofcourse, the couty commission's response: let's lower speed limits
> some. What a bunch of losers they are. They all deserve to be voted out
> of office.

Funny thing is that article is also proof that speed limits aren't set
by an engineering basis, but rather just politics. Further erroding the
safety argument to obey them.

Brent P wrote:
> In article et>, necromancer wrote:
>
> > Seems that the Sheriff in McIntosh County, GA (Sheriff Charles "Chunk,"
> > Jones) has decided to put public safety over revenue generation and the
> > politicians on the county commission are none to happy about the sharp
> > drop in revenue. Maybe more cops should follow Sheriff Jones' lead.
>
> It would be nice if more did. Every so often there is a news story of a
> cop being punished in some manner when he decided that safety
> was to come before revenue.
>
> > And ofcourse, the couty commission's response: let's lower speed limits
> > some. What a bunch of losers they are. They all deserve to be voted out
> > of office.
>
> Funny thing is that article is also proof that speed limits aren't set
> by an engineering basis, but rather just politics. Further erroding the
> safety argument to obey them.

Maybe where you live. Here, I'm glad they are pretty much what they
are. 45 is fine for residential thoroughfares, thanks, and not the
50-60 plus that some people think they can handle. If you drive 45 on
the 1-block long street where I live, I'll call the cops and put out
the stop-strips myself. And those nutcases at 120mph on 101 should be
jailed for a couple years, and their licenses revoked for life.

A couple obvious political situations doesn't mean that all of them are
like that. Too many people are just using those unusual cases as an
excuse to do as they please, MFFY.

Besides, even if you were right, too bad. I have to follow lots of
laws I think are stupid, and made for the wrong reasons. That's the
price of living in a society, and having a road to drive on. Now
follow the rules until you get them changed.

In article . com>, wrote:

>> Funny thing is that article is also proof that speed limits aren't set
>> by an engineering basis, but rather just politics. Further erroding the
>> safety argument to obey them.

> Maybe where you live. Here, I'm glad they are pretty much what they
> are. 45 is fine for residential thoroughfares, thanks,

I've never seen one posted that high. Most major arterials don't even
get 45mph speed limits. There is one here that is 6 lanes wide, with
little feeding into it. It's got a 45mph speed limit.

> A couple obvious political situations doesn't mean that all of them are
> like that. Too many people are just using those unusual cases as an
> excuse to do as they please, MFFY.

These aren't unusual cases. The town I grew up in, the mayor made the
newly improved 5 lane road 30mph speed limit. The previous two lane road
was 45mph. Stated reason? To be able to ticket people doing 46mph.

> Besides, even if you were right, too bad. I have to follow lots of
> laws I think are stupid, and made for the wrong reasons. That's the
> price of living in a society, and having a road to drive on. Now
> follow the rules until you get them changed.

Why don't you stuff it where the sun doesn't shine? Seriously. I am
tired of being endangered every day obeying these assinine speed
limits. I am tired of the accusation that I must be driving a 100mph in
a residential area because I don't like the assinine underposted speed
limits. I'm sick of you and the other assholes who do that time and
time and time again.

Yeah, I exceed the speed limits on the interstates, because I'm not
sucidial. Occasionally I go the speed of traffic on the arterials
for the same reason. I can tolerate going 5-10 mph under the flow speed
because I can accelerate away from the danger, but I am not about to
drive upwards of 35mph under the flow speed.

I am tired of normal, acceptable, reasonable behavior practiced by
aproximately 99% of the driving population being illegal. I am tired of
beinf forced to make the choice of a ticket or my sheet metal. I just
want to drive the speed of traffic legally.

So **** you and the horse you rode in, I'm not driving recklessly,
lawlessly or anything else like it. In fact I probably follow aspects of
the vehicle code and driver's manual you've never even heard of. Little
details like turning into the near lane, real small things that make a
big difference in throughput and congestion.

And as far as living in a 'society', this is supposed to be a free
society that reflects the will of the people, not a society where laws
come down from on high to be obeyed. When a law is nearly universally
disregarded by the people, that law shouldn't be in this nation. It's
not that the people are bad, it's that the government is wrong.

All of you speed kills types just can't seem to grasp that it's supposed
to be by the people, for the people, and the people vote with their
right foot every single day.

necromancer wrote:
> http://tinyurl.com/ougym (pertinent part of the article reproduced below
> the .sig)

I would think the pertinent portions would include the sections upon
which you commented... but snipped. Snipping requires more effort than
not snipping, and may omit information relevant but undetected by
yourself.

<unsnip> "Some law changes coming"

"Acting County Administrator Doug Alexander said the county will soon
lower the speed limit to 35 mph and, in the future, may change the age
limits to mirror those of state law for licensing drivers."

> And ofcourse, the couty commission's response: let's lower speed limits
> some. What a bunch of losers they are. They all deserve to be voted out
> of office.

Spurious conclusion.

Nowhere is it written or inferred that the planned reduction of SL's is
a reaction to the reduction of revenue from a lack of speeding
citations... any more than is changing "the age limits to mirror those
of state law for licensing drivers".

Although mentioned in the same "report" it is not indicated that it is
a "response" or "reaction". For all you know it's been planned and
going through committee for 5 years.
-----

- gpsman

"necromancer" > wrote in message
th.net...
>

This is the part that caught my eye:

> His officers are enforcing DUI laws "200 percent," interdicting drugs on
> the interstate and protecting children by getting golf carts off the
> roads, Jones said. Court records show his officers wrote more tickets in
> June. Jones said ticket citation numbers sometimes drop for the state
> patrol on I-95.
>
> Of Deverger's assertion that his office harassed golf cart drivers,
> Jones said, "They had 12-year-olds driving golf carts with no lights at
> night."
>
> His officers cracked down on golf cart traffic violations in response to
> complaints and not to harass anyone, Jones said.
>
> Jones questioned the legality of the county's recently adopted golf cart
> ordinance because state law imposes limits that counties cannot override
> including requirements for lights, horns and brake lights on the
> highway. The speed limit on the roads where the county wants to allow
> golf carts is 45 mph, too fast for the carts to mix with auto traffic,
> Jones said.

The Great Georgia Golfcart Brouhaha?

I've never heard of this being a bone of contention before.

brink

>> Jones questioned the legality of the county's recently adopted golf cart
>> ordinance because state law imposes limits that counties cannot override
>> including requirements for lights, horns and brake lights on the
>> highway. The speed limit on the roads where the county wants to allow
>> golf carts is 45 mph, too fast for the carts to mix with auto traffic,
>> Jones said.
>
> The Great Georgia Golfcart Brouhaha?
>
> I've never heard of this being a bone of contention before.
>
> brink

What I'm wondering is, what are the golf carts being used for? For one job
I held, I had to drive a golf cart regularly. (don't ask). Other than
being able to cut across lawns for shortcuts sometimes, I thought that golf
carts were a terrible form of transportation. OK, I can see where they'd be
useful during golf where you've got long distances of open fields to cover
and all day to get there. Other than that, they are slow, clunky,
high-polluting gas-guzzlers not good for much. I sure as heck wouldn't want
to drive a golf cart on a main road, even if they dropped the speed limit to
35MPH. It wouldn't be safe. Come to think of it, I wouldn't want to use a
golf cart while playing golf, either. I'd much rather walk to get the
excercise, thank you. I'd probably finish 18 holes faster walking the
course anyway.

Anyway, as the article mentions nighttime use of golf carts, it's probably a
safe assumption that the carts are not being used for golf, so wtf are they
being used for? You want kids driving on the main road, get them a small
used car or a motorcycle, something minimally street legal. Certainly a lot
less risky than turning kids loose to play in traffic in a GOLF
ART!!! -Dave

On Tue, 8 Aug 2006 17:38:50 -0400, necromancer >
wrote:

>
>
>http://tinyurl.com/ougym (pertinent part of the article reproduced below
>the .sig)
>
>Seems that the Sheriff in McIntosh County, GA (Sheriff Charles "Chunk,"
>Jones) has decided to put public safety over revenue generation and the
>politicians on the county commission are none to happy about the sharp
>drop in revenue. Maybe more cops should follow Sheriff Jones' lead.
>
>And ofcourse, the couty commission's response: let's lower speed limits
>some. What a bunch of losers they are. They all deserve to be voted out
>of office.

So let's stop giving out fines for traffic crimes and instead hand out
DL suspensions and jail time. I'd love to see that but i bet
hypocrites like you don't.