i did not take it that way

the fact that you responded means more people will be curious about what i have posted

i recognize and appreciate that

I have handed out my share of fija pamphlets

http://fija.org

Florida Case #1, during the fifth month after relocating from Ohio, got pulled over for running a yellow light. Aside from 5 months worth of culture shock, I had not yet fully realized the difference in the culture there, which I eventually pegged as a place a little south of New York and a little north of central & south America. More on this in a moment.

Each state has requirements for operators of motor vehicles to update their papers upon relocating to a given state, such as the timeline for taking care of same. Part of this learning experience was, in Florida at that time it was something like 45 days. On day one hundred fifty and something I got pulled over in suburban FTL /Miami, with vehicle, operators license, plate and insurance all registered in Ohio. The road cop that pulled me over came to window right away, took my papers and went back and sat in his cruiser for a good 30 minutes when a second cruiser pulled up and parked behind the first. In my ignorance I sat there wondering why they seemed to be making a federal case out of running a light. Months later, after I'd had better chance to discern the twilight zone that was the southern Florida scene at that time, it came clear to me but at that moment my main thought was, i dunno whats taking so long but give me the bleepin ticket and lets get on with life. Just shy of a 45 minutes the second cruiser left and the other cop returned with my papers plus a carbon copy of a new one. He gave me quick instructions on how to schedule my mandatory appearance in traffic court plus an invitation to traffic school that has the added benefit of reducing my crime if I attended.

At that time in Florida, a person who was months late in updating papers got bumped into a higher category. Running a yellow light is not a crime, it is a moving violation. Doing the same with papers more than three months late for being updated is considered a criminal offense. I was sober when this happened, so the yes sirs and no sirs were I gave were mostly genuine. I would eventually discover this road cop had doodled a couple smiley faces on the citation and these types of field notes get relayed to the judge that hears the case if one is required. That was among the many useful tidbits I learned from the judge who presided over my case in Fort Lauderdale. By the time the case was heard, all papers had been updated, a two hour, one-time Saturday morning traffic class had been attended, these in conjunction with aforementioned relayed doodles ended in a case that lasted all of 120 seconds with the judge waiving all fees and penalties except the standard fine for running a light.

The judge came off as a quite likable person. Criminal cases were heard last, which means I sat through all the lesser traffic cases ..... Im estimating 40 or so. Before the first case was heard, the judge appeared, sat at his elevated desk and explained to everyone in attendance his ground rules. He had a packed courtroom of cases to hear one by one, his rules were intended to streamline the repetitive aspects. This man was actually well known in the FTL area for being a fair-minded judge and comedian. For instance, he pointed to a white line on the floor to his right, the on-deck line for the case to be heard next after the case in front of him. Upon concluding the case before him, the defendant was instructed to exit right where the pay booth was located, the person on deck stepped up to bat and the next case was to walk to the on on-deck line.

I was one of four criminal cases heard after all of the routine cases. Before hearing the first, the judge talked a few minutes about some of the more important skills helpful to people who sit at the wheel of a car AND also helpful to anyone who happens to be near wherever this person manages to drive their vehicle ..... through a wall and into somebody's living room, across a sidewalk where several people had been standing, perhaps straight down the road as the case may be. He told of the scant requirements in Florida at that time for a person becoming licensed .... basically anyone with the wherewithal to get in their vehicle parked on one side of the driver's license office building, navigate it around the back of the parking lot to the opposite side while loosely staying within the yellow lines
....poof! the State of Florida considers you worthy of an operator's license.

This was the preamble for criminal case 1, a 63 year old man who had only recently got his license for the first time in his life. Within the month he'd caused a serious accident. The judge was actually pantomiming this poor soul as he slowly wandered around the courtroom trying to find the on-deck line. Judge had to yell at him while pointing to it. After his case he needed to be led by hand to find the pay booth. Before next case judge quickly segued into the story of his elderly mother. Over some period of months, the judge had figured out that every time his mother got behind the wheel of her large sedan, she was effectively a missile headed generally in the direction of the grocery store. He and his siblings discussed and agreed on the difficult decision to take away her keys. This gets back to the aforementioned twilight zone, part of the character of SOFLA culture that I had been accumulating observations of while living there.

That area is populated by a lot of transients. Between the elderly transplants from the north and those fleeing from south of mainland, there are a LOT of people in SOFLA behind wheels of cars who simply exhibit few of the requisite skills for safe driving .... like using headlights at night or turn signals any time .... the kind of drivers that lay on the horn as a substitute for taking their foot off the gas while stepping on the brake pedal. For people who cannot speak the language it makes sense they cannot read the language relevant to driving. Aside from these there are the common criminals, driving stolen vehicles or perhaps driving vehicles they own that are not sound vehicles missing important parts like mufflers, substantial rubber or break pads, driving around without license and without insurance possibly because these were revoked after their previous crash that left several maimed and dead excluding themselves. The elderly, like the judges mother, tend to hedge their lack of driving skills by operating large, tank-like sedans wherein many of them can barely reach the pedals or see out through the windows more than a couple feet in any direction. It us unfortunate they have a tendency for stroke, severe spasm or other momentary lapse of consciousness that sends their tank out of control in search of the right amount of mass to stop its progress. The worst I remember hearing was the old person who forgot the gas pedal was not a brake pedal, plowed through a front yard and hedge on its way to touching down into a backyard swimming pool on top of the owner who had been lounging.

Yes, driving in the 21st century is not like it was in the 80's. getting old and learning lessons along the way has allowed me to avoid getting pulled over fir close to 20 years and counting. Post 911, probable cause is a thing of the past, pulling somebody for a moving infraction is merely the entry point to search and seizure because after all, each if us citizens is potentially a terrorist, drug runner or the like.

Good luck fighting the man but you might want to consider slowing down a bit and if necessary, try tweaking your daily schedule enough so that you can regularly hit the road with enough extra time that speeding by habit is not necessary.

so little respect for the person who pays their salary

convicting them???

a man with a gun on his hip stops your car and tell you to give his boss $283 or go to jail

and you get a criminal record to boot
you are convicted

something wrong with criminalizing taxpayers to get more money than they are paying in taxes