Speed Traps - Beware As The Weather Warms Up

forevereagle · February 17, 2011

Come on man. It's just a 4 hour drive.

Including or excluding ticketing time?

LongJim · February 17, 2011

My apologies. That would have been another poster.

Still, the point remains. If a city government is willing to openly tax people involved in accidents, do you not think that they would put pressure on the officers to generate more revenue in bad economic times (or good, for that matter)?

No worries, man. I have enjoyed this discussion.

I went ahead and talked to 2 cops this morning via phone. One is in the traffic division of a very large municipality. The second is a patrolman in another very large municipality. Disclaimer--I know both personally, and have for many years. I wanted to ask them questions in a blunt manner to see what they’d say, and told them (in generalities) about this discussion. Particularly wanted to address “pressure to write tickets” first:

How long have you been in law enforcement?

Cop 1: (25+) years.

Cop 2: (15+) years.

Do your officers have ticket quotas?

Cop 1: “No. I’m speaking for traffic here…but is there an undercurrent of expectations? Yes. I want to see numbers on the sheet at the end of the day. I don’t want an officer getting paid for 8 hours if he’s not doing 8 hours work. Understand that traffic division writes roughly 80% of all tickets. That’s our job. There were (x) murders in this city last year. There were (over 2 times x) traffic fatalities. Our job is to stop speeding, because it’s a big contributor to this.”

Cop 2: “No. That’s a common thought, but no. Everything is computerized now and we can pull up data at any time. Supervisors can see what the cop is doing.”

Can’t the officer use his discretion? Give warnings?

Cop 1: “Yes, but we want to slow people down and stop it. We want a deterrent, and we’ve found that if you sting people a little in the pocketbook, it is more effective as a deterrent.”

Cop 2: “Yes. Both traffic and patrol can do this. Traffic is all about contacts, though. They write a lot of tickets.

C’mon. You don’t hear about those being pressured to write tickets?

Cop 2: No. I haven’t heard that, ever. Now, does the traffic department look favorably on some “go-getter” that’s out there writing tickets? Some guy with a swinging **** to write tickets? Yes. He would be viewed as doing his job well. Cops know within 30 seconds of the stop whether a warning or a ticket is most likely to be more effective in curbing speeding. That’s how they proceed. Some traffic cops will write a ticket EVERY time they make a stop. He would be viewed as consistent, and no one would ever say he played favorites. (laughs) Patrol cops are answering calls. They have a lot of discretion on whether they write tickets.”

If there were 2 cops, and one turned in 2 tickets and 17 warnings at the end of the day, and one had 17 tickets and 2 warnings, which would be viewed more favorably?

Cop 2: Welllll…traffic? The guy with more tickets probably would. But that’s viewed as a deterrent for those guys. Patrol? Look, everyone has discretion. We have to contact the public. The traffic guys are absolutely EXPECTED to have a lot of contact with the public. Otherwise they are not performing. They have discretion on writing tickets. I would say that a guy writing a lot of tickets would be more favorably viewed as doing his job well.

The second part is the crux of this topic, which was originally "Speed Traps--Beware as the weather warms up, city revenue generators".

Why are “speed traps” set up?

Cop 1: “Much of the time they are set up as a result of CAR’s, which are Citizen’s Action Requests. We also have reports (accidents, tickets) of speeding activity, and we often set up there. We want to slow people down.”

Cop 2: “Public complaints are probably #1. “Hey, there’s people running through here all day, running red lights and stop signs…” that kind of thing. Now, can a cop set up a stop if he wants because he believes he will write a lot of tickets there? Sure he can. But he will stop a lot of speeding, too, and he’s not going to set up in a place where speeding doesn’t occur. Isn’t that the point?” (Laughs)

Have you ever been pressured…like “It’s near the end of the month, and we have a quota to fill, and the city needs to meet X amount of revenue this month” have you ever heard of that happening?

Cop 1: Well, DOES it generate revenue? Sure. But we know what revenue we’re expected to generate at the start of the budget year, and if we meet it, we meet it. If not, we don’t. We don’t worry about that.

Cop 2: No. Has it ever happened? Not in this department that I’ve ever seen. Ever. Now is some backwoods town doing it? Who knows? Of course it will increase revenue.”

Ever?

Cop 2: Speaking for what I’ve seen in (x) years? Never ever, ever, EVER have I heard that, or even heard it filtered down through ranks. You know why? Because cops would have talked about “Hey, I want you guys set up on (highway #) every day this week.” “Why?” “Don’t worry about it, just do it.” Has never happened. Would have heard about it."

So, do cities set up speed traps to meet ticket quotas and generate revenue?

Cop 1: “No.” (chuckle)

Cop 2: “No. That is absolutely not the reason."

Coffee and TV · February 17, 2011

Westbound 114 in Irving they're there everyday lately. Limit is 60 and traffic is always light in the morning, really easy to push 70 and not realize it until its too late. I almost did.

GreenMachine · February 17, 2011

As an officer who is battling weight issues, I am sorry that you have such a narrow minded view that overwight cops are not effective at fighting crime. Im not going to jinx myself and say that Ive never been in a chase or a fight, but I will say that if you try to run on me or fight me, you will get dropped hard.

I was in the military, you won't drop me.

Army of Dad · February 17, 2011

No worries, man. I have enjoyed this discussion.

I went ahead and talked to 2 cops this morning via phone. One is in the traffic division of a very large municipality. The second is a patrolman in another very large municipality. Disclaimer--I know both personally, and have for many years. I wanted to ask them questions in a blunt manner to see what they’d say, and told them (in generalities) about this discussion. Particularly wanted to address “pressure to write tickets” first:

How long have you been in law enforcement?
Cop 1: (25+) years.

Cop 2: (15+) years.
...

Per MeanGreen61, none of this counts since you refused to publicly state what cities where these officers work. :ph34r:

MeanGreen61 · February 17, 2011

Per MeanGreen61, none of this counts since you refused to publicly state what cities where these officers work.

Funny man. :judge:

Forgive me if I just won't take someone's word that they have seen boards giving the same value to a traffic ticket as a felony arrest in a number of police departments without them naming the departments.

Edited February 17, 2011 by MeanGreen61

LongJim · February 17, 2011

Per MeanGreen61, none of this counts since you refused to publicly state what cities where these officers work.

Yeah, I know. Take it for what it's worth. Like the original post. :lol:

UNT90 · February 17, 2011

Funny man.

Forgive me if I just won't take someone's word that they have seen boards giving the same value to a traffic ticket as a felony arrest in a number of police departments without them naming the departments.

Never said that. I have absolutely seen them in one, and not a small one, mind you.

Rudy · February 17, 2011

I was in the military, you won't drop me.

Easy there, killer. You missed the point. I was not saying you specifically, I was saying you as in everbody. But, as long as you obey the law, obey the officer, and don't try to run or fight, you don't have to worry about it.

MeanGreen61 · February 17, 2011

Never said that. I have absolutely seen them in one, and not a small one, mind you.

From your post Boards is plural.

They absolutely do. Some even have large boards showing each officers production in the briefing rooms for all officers to see. I've seen boards that count a traffic ticket the same as a self initiated felony arrest. I've known guys who lead their shift in felony arrests, and still get called in and counseled on their lack of citations (which is completely legal as long as you don't put a number on it.) At some places, you can answer more calls than anyone on your shift for the month, yet still get a bad performance review for a lack of self initiated activity in traffic enforcement.

Edited February 18, 2011 by MeanGreen61

UNT90 · February 18, 2011

Yeah, I know. Take it for what it's worth. Like the original post.

And they both may work at agencies that don't pressure their officers. Let me be very clear. You were asking them about quotas. No police administration is ever stupid enough to bring that term into a discussion. A better question would have been if theey, or anyone they work with, had ever been counseled about their lack of traffic enforcement. Ask them if they have the performance board and if the officers with the most tickets aren't the highest rated on the board.

I want to make it very clear that I am not talking about traffic officers (motorcyle police). There job is by definition to write tickets, and if they don't, they would and should either be reassigned or disciplined (most of these guys want to be a motorcycle cop because they like to ride and for the days off, not because they enjoy writing tickets). I am talking about pressure on the average beat officer who answers calls for service.

We agree on the whole speed trap thing, especially for larger cities. That said, drive slow going through Keene, Texas on highway 67.

UNT90 · February 18, 2011

From your post Boards is plural.

They absolutely do. Some even have large boards showing each officers production in the briefing rooms for all officers to see. I've seen boards that count a traffic ticket the same as a self initiated felony arrest. I've known guys who lead their shift in felony arrests, and still get called in and counseled on their lack of citations (which is completely legal as long as you don't put a number on it.) At some places, you can answer more calls than anyone on your shift for the month, yet still get a bad performance review for a lack of self initiated activity in traffic enforcement.

Ever consider that department had more than one briefing room, hence more than one board?

It has several for each side of town at different sub-divisions, and there is a board in each.

LongJim · February 18, 2011

I asked Cop 2 these very things.

And they both may work at agencies that don't pressure their officers. A better question would have been if theey, or anyone they work with, had ever been counseled about their lack of traffic enforcement.

Cop 2: "Beat cops? Nope. Never. Ever, ever."

Ask them if they have the performance board and if the officers with the most tickets aren't the highest rated on the board. I am talking about pressure on the average beat officer who answers calls for service.

Cop 2: "Nope. We use a computerized system. Beat cops are evaluated on their response to the calls they are dispatched to. There is in no way, shape or form any correlation to their evaluation and writing tickets. We do not have any kind of 'board' or anything like that. Never have."

MeanGreen61 · February 18, 2011

Ever consider that department had more than one briefing room, hence more than one board?

It has several for each side of town at different sub-divisions, and there is a board in each.

Not exactly the way your post read or inferred.

Unless the evaluation process has drastically changed, ticket writing is a small portion of periodic performance and fittness evaluations.

Edited February 18, 2011 by MeanGreen61

LongJim · February 18, 2011

Municipality 3. Tarrant County.

Cop 3: (20+ years)

Cop 4: (25+ years)

Are beat cops pressured to write tickets?

Cop 3: Nope. They evaluate us on contacts. If I write 5 tickets today, it might be flipped and I write 10 the next day, or vice versa. What if some lady is speeding and has a sick kid, or on their way to whatever? Have to make decisions on that."

Cop 4: "Against the law. I can't make them do that, mayor can't tell me to do that, council can't make me do that. Texas penal code doesn't allow amounts of tickets as a criteria for evaluation. Now, if they're writing tickets, are they doing their job? Yes, but we use the "public contact" system. They can issue warnings, or whatever, and are evaluated on their reaction to the stops they are dispatched to. We do that using the "7 step stop" process."

Do you have a "performance board"?

Cop 3: "I'm not going to say I've never seen one, but it wasn't at our department. Law doesn't really allow that stuff to be broken down like that." (Note: I have been in this department MANY times, and have never seen one, either.)

Cop 4: "No. Do we compute tickets, warnings, burglaries, etc.? Sure, and we tally these up by week, month, year, and compare all the time. This gets presented to the mayor and city council to (justify our jobs). It is not broken down by who does what or how many, or by officer, or anything. There may be some departments that use them, but there's been so much dispute on this from a legal standpoint that I'd be surprised if they are still used much."

Edited February 18, 2011 by LongJim

gangrene · February 18, 2011

So, do cities set up speed traps to meet ticket quotas and generate revenue?
Cop 1: "No." (chuckle)

Cop 2: "No. That is absolutely not the reason."

To me, that's analogous to asking a US soldier PFC if we went to war with Iraq to gain control of their oil.

Dallas County constables' growing ticketing said to boost safety - and county coffers

Hartnett, a Republican state representative from Dallas, is concerned with what he sees as a "dramatic expansion" of constables' duties. Constituents, he said, are upset about constables "setting up speed traps and stop-sign traps" - more to write a lot of tickets than to enforce traffic laws."There's a difference between enforcement and traps," he said.

Traffic enforcement by constables is praised by some community leaders as a public service that makes Dallas County roads safer. But for a county that relies heavily on fines and fees to pay the bills, such energetic traffic enforcement also is an important revenue stream - especially during an economic downturn. And traffic enforcement has contributed to an unprecedented expansion of constables' operations.

Some justice of the peace courts also are helping to get money from errant motorists into the county's coffers as quickly as possible. They do so by offering deferred disposition - with a probationary period of just a day - for some traffic offenses. If offenders complete the probationary period without another offense, the traffic violation stays off their record.

Such practices have produced results.

Constables are responsible for the majority of traffic cases that end up in JP courts. Revenue from traffic cases in JP courts was about $7.3 million in 2003. It topped $25.8 million in 2008 - an increase of more than 250 percent.

Constables do not directly benefit financially from traffic-enforcement revenue, but new traffic positions approved by the Commissioners Court have contributed significantly to the expansion of their offices.

The number of deputy constables dedicated to traffic enforcement has gone from zero in 1995 to 76 today - more than half of the positions added to constables' offices during that time. Once virtually invisible to the general public, constables now are routinely seen making traffic stops throughout Dallas County

"It was a money deal," said Duncanville Mayor Pro Tem Grady Smithey, a longtime critic of constable traffic enforcement. "They wanted to do more than they could with what money that the county Commissioners Court was willing to grant them."

University of North Texas Chancellor Lee Jackson, who served as Dallas County judge from 1987 to 2002, said the court initially had concerns about a backlog of warrants when constables first expressed an interest in starting traffic-enforcement programs.

"What the constables would say is, 'Look, if you want to provide us a whole lot more staffing, we can whittle down this warrant backlog,' " he said. " 'But here's a revenue opportunity. Our department could actually do a public service and achieve revenue.' "

Without taking people off warrant service, the additional personnel dedicated to traffic enforcement, commissioners were told, "would more than pay for themselves."

Jackson said there were to be ground rules: Constables would enforce traffic only with the written approval of the city in which it would occur, and they would not get additional personnel for traffic enforcement unless the commissioners agreed to put that in the budget and found the funds for it.

"We didn't want clashes between police departments and constable offices over who was skimming the cream ... doing traffic enforcement in high-traffic areas, taking out large volumes of revenue that were being diverted from municipal courts, and so forth," Jackson said.

The Sheriff's Department also has expanded its traffic duties. The department is gradually taking over freeway patrol duties from cities in the county. The idea was pitched to the city of Dallas and others several years ago as a way to clear accidents faster and allow city police officers to spend more time patrolling.

Since the expansion began in 2004, traffic-ticket revenue from sheriff's deputies has increased 21 percent, to $6.9 million last year, county records show.

Dallas County relies more on fines and fees for revenue than any other large Texas county. Property taxes, the staple of local government budgets, account for only 49 percent of Dallas County's revenue. In other large counties, taxes are between 60 percent and 70 percent of revenue.

The fees and fines allow Dallas County to maintain the second-lowest tax rate among counties in the state. The downside, however, is that fines and fees can fluctuate more during economic downturns.

But Dallas County officials are always looking for new ways to collect.

About a year ago, at least two justices of the peace began offering one-day deferred disposition to clear constable traffic cases - and collect money - much faster. Such a short probationary period is unusual in Texas.

Texas Tech University law professor Charles Bubany, an authority on Texas criminal procedure, said that judges like to think that they're engaged in rehabilitation and deterrence, but that traffic enforcement is "basically a revenue collection device."

And as a general proposition, he said, "there are ways to avoid convictions that people who have some wealth and some sophistication can use." The 24-hour deferred disposition offered by Dallas County, he said, appears to be one of those.

Sy Shamsie, an attorney in The Woodlands near Houston, recently found out about deferred dispositions after he was ticketed in Dallas County by a deputy constable. The deferred disposition, he said, provides an incentive not to fight a ticket. He said he believes that collecting money, not public safety, is the intent.

"They're just saying, 'Write me a check' " he said. "They're looking for any way to just generate revenue. That's the easiest way to do it."

LAPD charging jaywalkers $191 in new crackdown

MeanGreen61 · February 18, 2011

To me, that's analogous to asking a US soldier PFC if we went to war with Iraq to gain control of their oil.

Dallas County constables' growing ticketing said to boost safety - and county coffers

LAPD charging jaywalkers $191 in new crackdown

Constables should be limited to serving civil papers.(As they once were).

Edited February 18, 2011 by MeanGreen61

UNT90 · February 18, 2011

Municipality 3. Tarrant County.

Cop 3: (20+ years)
Cop 4: (25+ years)

Are beat cops pressured to write tickets?

Cop 3: Nope. They evaluate us on contacts. If I write 5 tickets today, it might be flipped and I write 10 the next day, or vice versa. What if some lady is speeding and has a sick kid, or on their way to whatever? Have to make decisions on that."

Cop 4: "Against the law. I can't make them do that, mayor can't tell me to do that, council can't make me do that. Texas penal code doesn't allow amounts of tickets as a criteria for evaluation. Now, if they're writing tickets, are they doing their job? Yes, but we use the "public contact" system. They can issue warnings, or whatever, and are evaluated on their reaction to the stops they are dispatched to. We do that using the "7 step stop" process."

Do you have a "performance board"?

Cop 3: "I'm not going to say I've never seen one, but it wasn't at our department. Law doesn't really allow that stuff to be broken down like that." (Note: I have been in this department MANY times, and have never seen one, either.)

Cop 4: "No. Do we compute tickets, warnings, burglaries, etc.? Sure, and we tally these up by week, month, year, and compare all the time. This gets presented to the mayor and city council to (justify our jobs). It is not broken down by who does what or how many, or by officer, or anything. There may be some departments that use them, but there's been so much dispute on this from a legal standpoint that I'd be surprised if they are still used much."

Now I am starting not to believe you. Either that, or this guy is not a very educated police officer. A lot of your bigger departments use these boards nowadays, and there is absolutely nothing about them that is a technical violation of the law against ticket quotas, but they absolutely put pressure on the officers to write tickets (among other things). Oh, and the ones I have seen IN PERSON have a catagory for tickets, not public contacts.

Any beat cop writing 5 to 10 tickets a day is 1) never going to be counseled about a lack of citations, and 2) Isn't doing a very good job of taking care of his beat. Maybe they work dayshift in Southlake, but most beat cops are FAR too busy to write 10 tickets a shift, and would have to bust their ass EVERY DAY to write 5. Again, this really makes me wonder about your sources.

Again, if your at the game Saturday, lets get together and chat. I think you will find my perspective interesting. If you live 600 miles away, I'm sure you can make it in 4 hours.

Edited February 18, 2011 by UNT90

MeanGreen61 · February 18, 2011

Now I am starting not to believe you. Either that, or this guy is not a very educated police officer. A lot of your bigger departments use these boards nowadays, and there is absolutely nothing about them that is a technical violation of the law against ticket quotas, but they absolutely put pressure on the officers to write tickets (among other things). Oh, and the ones I have seen IN PERSON have a catagory for tickets, not public contacts.

Any beat cop writing 5 to 10 tickets a day is 1) never going to be counseled about a lack of citations, and 2) Isn't doing a very good job of taking care of his beat. Maybe they work dayshift in Southlake, but most beat cops are FAR too busy to write 10 tickets a shift, and would have to bust their ass EVERY DAY to write 5. Again, this really makes me wonder about your sources.

Again, if your at the game Saturday, lets get together and chat. I think you will find my perspective interesting. If you live 600 miles away, I'm sure you can make it in 4 hours.

Times have certainly changed. In the past, patrol division officers usually had a high enough volumn of calls/assignments that writing an average 5-10 tickets a day was virtually impossible. A different story with traffic division officers whose primary responsibility is traffic control.

Edited February 18, 2011 by MeanGreen61

UNT90 · February 18, 2011

This has been fun.

Next up, let's tackle the red light camera. A once very noble idea that has been abused by city government in the name of the almighty dollar?

Thoughts?

LongJim · February 18, 2011

Now I am starting not to believe you. Either that, or this guy is not a very educated police officer. A lot of your bigger departments use these boards nowadays, and there is absolutely nothing about them that is a technical violation of the law against ticket quotas, but they absolutely put pressure on the officers to write tickets (among other things). Oh, and the ones I have seen IN PERSON have a catagory for tickets, not public contacts. Again, this really makes me wonder about your sources.

:lol: The officer is a woman, above. She was throwing an arbitrary number out, as I paraphrased her comments. I don't doubt what you've seen, 90. I'm just stating what I've seen and heard. And I'm not going to call you a liar, either. You would find my perspective interesting as well. I talked to another cop 20 minutes ago, but for the sake of this thread, I will not post his comments.

Again, if your at the game Saturday, lets get together and chat. I think you will find my perspective interesting. If you live 600 miles away, I'm sure you can make it in 4 hours.

Might want to forward this to MG61. I don't know what the "600 miles away" deal is about.

FirefightnRick · February 18, 2011

Ha, just now reading this thread. The xxxx side motor cops come in and write up their tickets at the end of every day over at my station. There are six of them that regularly come in and are some of the greatest folks I know. I'll have to bring this discussion up to them next week.

But here is an interesting question for y'all, and I have asked our motor patrol folks this as well. But bare with me for a second.

If you visit the FW FD and PD training center near downtown, right as you walk in you'll see the "Line Of Duty" death lists for both departments. For FD, prior to the 80's I'd say 90 percent of the LOD's were due to a firefighter being thrown from the engine in route to a fire. Mostly during the horse drawn engine days. Horses and men were killed pretty regularly back then. Then when the motorized versions came about FF's rode on the rear tailboards, and did so until the late 70's. My father and father in law both have some great stories about those days. Still, even once this practice ended and everyone on board had an actual seat to sit in there were seat belts but no one used their seat belt. Today that isn't the case and our department has, through a lot of wrangling and fighting with our members, strictly enforced the policy of using the seat belts. As you can imagine it's impossible to get dressed on our way to a fire, but we do as best we can if we have time. And always wear our seat belts during any other time the truck rolls out the door. It's been hammered into us to do so and disciplinary action has already been dealt to members for non compliance.

On the other hand, If you look at PD's "Line of Duty" deaths at the training center you'll see that a large majority of them were killed due to them having an accident.................ON THEIR MOTORCYCLE!!!!!!!!

So my question is, if SAFETY and all the legal ramifications that come into play due to liability issues with insurance etc are such a major concern to a major city then why are the cops still allowed to ride a motorcycle to do their job? I can get days off for not wearing a seat belt while riding inside a 60 ton truck, but it's perfectly acceptable for a cop to participate on what has to be one of the deadliest activities a human being can do on earth(driving on a U.S. highway)on a motorcycle?

When I ask our motor patrol folks this question their answer is: "Because we can't write as many tickets in a car as we can on a motorcycle".

When I then state that still doesn't justify the risk they take their response is, "Yes it is because we generate a ton of money for the city".

And there you go.

Rick

FirefightnRick · February 18, 2011

And by the way, I'm sure you have seen them set up major speed enforcement attack units in which one guy sits on a bridge with a gun while 10 others are lined up a few hundred yards down the way, waiting for their turn to hammer you. The reason you only see them do that once in a while and not every day is because they mostly only do that when they get a government grant to pay for the extra man power this practice requires.

I thought that was interesting and wished municipalities could afford it every day.

Rick

Army of Dad · February 18, 2011

Constables should be limited to serving civil papers.(As they once were).

See we do have common ground!

MeanGreen61 · February 18, 2011

Ha, just now reading this thread. The xxxx side motor cops come in and write up their tickets at the end of every day over at my station. There are six of them that regularly come in and are some of the greatest folks I know. I'll have to bring this discussion up to them next week.

But here is an interesting question for y'all, and I have asked our motor patrol folks this as well. But bare with me for a second.

If you visit the FW FD and PD training center near downtown, right as you walk in you'll see the "Line Of Duty" death lists for both departments. For FD, prior to the 80's I'd say 90 percent of the LOD's were due to a firefighter being thrown from the engine in route to a fire. Mostly during the horse drawn engine days. Horses and men were killed pretty regularly back then. Then when the motorized versions came about FF's rode on the rear tailboards, and did so until the late 70's. My father and father in law both have some great stories about those days. Still, even once this practice ended and everyone on board had an actual seat to sit in there were seat belts but no one used their seat belt. Today that isn't the case and our department has, through a lot of wrangling and fighting with our members, strictly enforced the policy of using the seat belts. As you can imagine it's impossible to get dressed on our way to a fire, but we do as best we can if we have time. And always wear our seat belts during any other time the truck rolls out the door. It's been hammered into us to do so and disciplinary action has already been dealt to members for non compliance.

On the other hand, If you look at PD's "Line of Duty" deaths at the training center you'll see that a large majority of them were killed due to them having an accident.................ON THEIR MOTORCYCLE!!!!!!!!

So my question is, if SAFETY and all the legal ramifications that come into play due to liability issues with insurance etc are such a major concern to a major city then why are the cops still allowed to ride a motorcycle to do their job? I can get days off for not wearing a seat belt while riding inside a 60 ton truck, but it's perfectly acceptable for a cop to participate on what has to be one of the deadliest activities a human being can do on earth(driving on a U.S. highway)on a motorcycle?

When I ask our motor patrol folks this question their answer is: "Because we can't write as many tickets in a car as we can on a motorcycle".

When I then state that still doesn't justify the risk they take their response is, "Yes it is because we generate a ton of money for the city".

And there you go.

Rick