PSA: Gainesville Police Lurking at Odd Places to Fleece Motorists
I don't know about you, but I have noticed a lot more police around Gainesville during the day. And let me tell you, actual crime must be really low because this amazingly large number of police are on traffic duty.
One hotspot is at the intersection of SW 13th Street and South 16th Avenue. There is at least one motorcycle cop lurking there somewhere. I have seen him pull over a lot of people there.
Yesterday, there was so little crime that an additional motorcycle cop came to see what was going on when the assigned lurker pulled over an unsuspecting motorist.
Also, on West University Avenue, heading west, toward 34th street, there is a steep hill. You all know the one. If you don't apply the brake when going downhill, you will end up speeding. Anyway, earlier this week, I noticed a motorcycle cop lurking at the bottom of the hill. That is just wrong -- that cop is going to ticket someone when the laws of physics are working against them. This tells me that the Gainesville police are only interested in money. That makes them no better than Waldo cops.
In case you were wondering, I don't buy the lie peddled by police that speeding causes accidents. Reckless driving causes accidents pure and simple. Speeding is not evidence of bad driving. Very good, safe, precision driving can be done at very high speeds. Police like to say that speeding is what causes accidents because it's easier to tell if someone is speeding. Police are lazy and want to fleece motorists for as much money as possible. If they were actually concerned about our safety, they would be much more concerned with catching the tailgater, or the person cutting someone else off, or the person trying to merge into another car because they did not look when they changed lanes.
If you ask a police officer about my statements on this matter, they will flat out deny it. They will be righteously indignant and say that I'm just bitter that I have gotten a ticket (which is not true -- I go out of my way to obey the traffic laws), or some other ad hominem attack. But the fact is, a ticket for speeding is more than a ticket for reckless driving (unless that has changed in the last 10 years). The police department gets a lot of money from traffic citations. Speeding tickets are easy money; it only makes sense that that officers would make an effort to write them.
One of my huge pet peeves is police misconduct. We the People need to watch the police to make sure they don't get out of line. I will do what little I can, like reporting on the locations that traffic cops like to lurk.
One hotspot is at the intersection of SW 13th Street and South 16th Avenue. There is at least one motorcycle cop lurking there somewhere. I have seen him pull over a lot of people there.
Yesterday, there was so little crime that an additional motorcycle cop came to see what was going on when the assigned lurker pulled over an unsuspecting motorist.
Also, on West University Avenue, heading west, toward 34th street, there is a steep hill. You all know the one. If you don't apply the brake when going downhill, you will end up speeding. Anyway, earlier this week, I noticed a motorcycle cop lurking at the bottom of the hill. That is just wrong -- that cop is going to ticket someone when the laws of physics are working against them. This tells me that the Gainesville police are only interested in money. That makes them no better than Waldo cops.
In case you were wondering, I don't buy the lie peddled by police that speeding causes accidents. Reckless driving causes accidents pure and simple. Speeding is not evidence of bad driving. Very good, safe, precision driving can be done at very high speeds. Police like to say that speeding is what causes accidents because it's easier to tell if someone is speeding. Police are lazy and want to fleece motorists for as much money as possible. If they were actually concerned about our safety, they would be much more concerned with catching the tailgater, or the person cutting someone else off, or the person trying to merge into another car because they did not look when they changed lanes.
If you ask a police officer about my statements on this matter, they will flat out deny it. They will be righteously indignant and say that I'm just bitter that I have gotten a ticket (which is not true -- I go out of my way to obey the traffic laws), or some other ad hominem attack. But the fact is, a ticket for speeding is more than a ticket for reckless driving (unless that has changed in the last 10 years). The police department gets a lot of money from traffic citations. Speeding tickets are easy money; it only makes sense that that officers would make an effort to write them.
One of my huge pet peeves is police misconduct. We the People need to watch the police to make sure they don't get out of line. I will do what little I can, like reporting on the locations that traffic cops like to lurk.
posted by AC Sentinel at 3:05 PM
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