Sorrychernmax said:
If you were Sheriff
- Thread starter Pete
- Start date
I guess my point with that was how little the Sheriff actually has to do with locking up criminals and reducing crime rates.chernmax said:
Cops can catch speeders/road ragers/drunk drivers all day long, but if they appear before a judge and get no punishment, that's not the Sheriff's fault.
Doesn't the law state that if you are in the intersection prior to the light going RED you are legal? So it isn't like those vehicles are running the light they just got stuck by it.
As to what I would do as a sheriff would be to work with the State Police to aggressively patrol and ticket violators and then petition the legislature to make changes in how the DMV gives points for infractions and maybe change it to get many of the people that willingly pay the fines and increased insurance costs off the road a long time before they get the 8 or so points requiring a DMV adminstrative review. For DUI/DWI - immediate and longterm suspension; causing an accident simply because you were stupid - immediate and longterm suspension; running a red light - immeidate and longterm suspension.
As to what I would do as a sheriff would be to work with the State Police to aggressively patrol and ticket violators and then petition the legislature to make changes in how the DMV gives points for infractions and maybe change it to get many of the people that willingly pay the fines and increased insurance costs off the road a long time before they get the 8 or so points requiring a DMV adminstrative review. For DUI/DWI - immediate and longterm suspension; causing an accident simply because you were stupid - immediate and longterm suspension; running a red light - immeidate and longterm suspension.
thakidistight
Wanker
Its called blocking the box and is illegal.Ken King said:
Pete
Repete
How about this.
Lobby ST Mary's judges to stop the practice of allowing community service in lieu of points.
Begin a "Sheriff's reserve" as is done in many other counties in the country to augment the regular patrol deputies with traffic law enforcement. Pay them a monthly stipend, have a pool of 10 cruisers that are shared by the part timers.
Unmarked car saturation at trouble spots. 5 to 6 cars patrolling 235 from Gate 3 to 245 from 6am to 10pm and 3-4 cars patrolling Gate 1 to LT on Rt 5 during commute times. Ticket imporoper lane changes, excessive speed demonstrations, speeding.
Lobby ST Mary's judges to stop the practice of allowing community service in lieu of points.
Begin a "Sheriff's reserve" as is done in many other counties in the country to augment the regular patrol deputies with traffic law enforcement. Pay them a monthly stipend, have a pool of 10 cruisers that are shared by the part timers.
Unmarked car saturation at trouble spots. 5 to 6 cars patrolling 235 from Gate 3 to 245 from 6am to 10pm and 3-4 cars patrolling Gate 1 to LT on Rt 5 during commute times. Ticket imporoper lane changes, excessive speed demonstrations, speeding.
Exactly.Pete said:
aps45819
24/7 Single Dad
If my light turns green and folks are streaming thru from the intersecting road, I'm pretty dayum sure they're running a red light.Ken King said:
I've wondered how it would fly in court if I stood at an intersection with a camcorder and taped the folks running the light.
Toxick
Splat
Seriously though, I don't think that it's the Sherriff's fault, and I don't really see how he can fix the problem unless he has some sort of say-so when it comes to road-building and transportation policy.
Maybe a county-wide crackdown on aggressive drivers and speeders and things like that would work for a while, but that's on a patch on the larger problem... which is the ill-thought out system of roads and intersections and the non-intuitive rules that govern them.
The road system around here looks like my three year old scribbled on a map. There is no sense of purpose or efficiency to any of them. There are two roads that run from the north to the south, and both of them are so clogged up and frustrating to drive on, that by the time I get home, I need a stiff drink to unwind from the trip. The rest of the roads are meandering winding lines through the woods, that may or may not meet other roads. It's a complete mess.
Plus it seems that it's almost impossible to JUST DRIVE anywhere. There are too many high volume roads that are single-lane, and with the exception of 3 or 4 corridors you just can't put on the cruise-control and leisurely drive somewhere. It always has to be a battle.
None of this is said to dismiss or condone aggressive driving or speeding or anything of the sort - however, it seems that the road-system around here been perfectly engineered to work against the driver.
It is my opinion that the road system should facilitate ease of travel, and frankly - it just doesn't.
Maybe a county-wide crackdown on aggressive drivers and speeders and things like that would work for a while, but that's on a patch on the larger problem... which is the ill-thought out system of roads and intersections and the non-intuitive rules that govern them.
The road system around here looks like my three year old scribbled on a map. There is no sense of purpose or efficiency to any of them. There are two roads that run from the north to the south, and both of them are so clogged up and frustrating to drive on, that by the time I get home, I need a stiff drink to unwind from the trip. The rest of the roads are meandering winding lines through the woods, that may or may not meet other roads. It's a complete mess.
Plus it seems that it's almost impossible to JUST DRIVE anywhere. There are too many high volume roads that are single-lane, and with the exception of 3 or 4 corridors you just can't put on the cruise-control and leisurely drive somewhere. It always has to be a battle.
None of this is said to dismiss or condone aggressive driving or speeding or anything of the sort - however, it seems that the road-system around here been perfectly engineered to work against the driver.
It is my opinion that the road system should facilitate ease of travel, and frankly - it just doesn't.
I was just complaining to Larry about the same thing with the roads up here. It's like the people who designed them don't drive themselves and have no idea what annoys motorists and makes it harder on them.Toxick said:
Texas has access roads all over the place and it is very cool. So, like, on 235 you'd have two thru lanes in both directions, then an access lane on each side for those who want to exit/enter. This gets rid of most of the lights, which clog things up, and eliminates all the left-turn signals.
itsbob
I bowl overhand
GEt rid of the OBVIUOS police cars. Have my traffic cops patrol as incognito as possible, and then just have them drive around waiting for the a-holes to do something stupid.. if you had one just drive circles aroud 235 from Gate 3 to BJ's he'd probably write 20 tickets a day. Put them in Neon's or better yet SRT-4's!! Nobody would suspect a cop would be in one of those.
As far as the other problems, domestic violence.. drugs. gangs.. kick the deputies out of their cars and put them in the neighborhoods. These guys would be in uniform, on foot and on bicycles.. neighborhood policing like the old days. Make sure you give them the old fashioned OAK billy clubs too. Everyone knows where the bad neighorhoods are, except, apparently, the cops around here. They need to loiter in these bad neighborhoods, and follow the problems and stalk the problem neighborhoods until they go away.
ENFORCE the little crimes.. It's how NYC got it turned around, you enforce the small stuff and the big stuff tends to disappear. Drinking in public, jaywalking, loitering littering enforce ALL the laws.
As far as the other problems, domestic violence.. drugs. gangs.. kick the deputies out of their cars and put them in the neighborhoods. These guys would be in uniform, on foot and on bicycles.. neighborhood policing like the old days. Make sure you give them the old fashioned OAK billy clubs too. Everyone knows where the bad neighorhoods are, except, apparently, the cops around here. They need to loiter in these bad neighborhoods, and follow the problems and stalk the problem neighborhoods until they go away.
ENFORCE the little crimes.. It's how NYC got it turned around, you enforce the small stuff and the big stuff tends to disappear. Drinking in public, jaywalking, loitering littering enforce ALL the laws.
