OT: Sens Lounge XCVII: "Zorf; 21 times!" Edition

[Zorf]

In Switzerland once, I got a ticket for going 53 in a 50 zone.

The most infuriating $60 I have ever spent on anything in my life.

I have a friend who moved to Australia. They are like that with speed limits too. He said he was constantly getting speeding tickets for going 5 km over the limit. And they were all from speed cameras too.

That would make me go crazy.

 

[Smash88]

I have a friend who moved to Australia. They are like that with speed limits too. He said he was constantly getting speeding tickets for going 5 km over the limit. And they were all from speed cameras too.

That would make me go crazy.

Watch out if you drive in Gatineau, they have a few there too.. They are built on top of a white van and they move them to different locations. They also ticket if you are a couple KM's over the limit.

 

[coladin]

Nice. I am always very pleased when idiots like that get a crazy ticket.

I would rather enforcement for dangerous driving rather than "speeding", but it is just so easy on that stretch of road. They built a highway level road which unfortunately has stoplights. If they would have made on and off ramps it would have been better. I don't always equate speed with reckless, but would much rather they pick off people in school zones instead of long, empty stretches of road .

 

[maclean]

I think the worst thing I've ever seen was a guy who used his lights and siren to get through red lights. I'm not joking or remembering a movie. The roads weren't too busy and I guess he didn't' want to stop so on came the lights and he just blew through the light.

I was pretty shocked. The roads weren't empty and if someone was mad enough they could have written down the license plate quickly.

If that's the worst abuse of power you've seen a cop use then you can consider yourself quite lucky really

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

I once had a cop come into the Tim Horton's I was at, in the middle of the night, cut in line, take the last Boston Cream and leave.

Okay, he didn't so much cut in line as much as he was in front of me in line.

And he didn't so much take the last Boston Cream as much as he paid for it.

And it wasn't the last Boston Cream so much as it was the last one that didn't have dry and cracked icing.

And it wasn't the middle of the night so much as it was mid-afternoon.

Basically what I'm trying to say is cops are such power abusers.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I once had a cop come into the Tim Horton's I was at, in the middle of the night, cut in line, take the last Boston Cream and leave.

Okay, he didn't so much cut in line as much as he was in front of me in line.

And he didn't so much take the last Boston Cream as much as he paid for it.

And it wasn't the last Boston Cream so much as it was the last one that didn't have dry and cracked icing.

And it wasn't the middle of the night so much as it was mid-afternoon.

Basically what I'm trying to say is cops are such power abusers.

I feel like certain types of professions attract certain types of people. So it's not surprising to me.

I mean, I wont even get into police in the united states, ill leave that can of worms alone.

And that's not to say EVERY person is bad, or even the majority, but certain people gravitate towards professions like that.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I would rather enforcement for dangerous driving rather than "speeding", but it is just so easy on that stretch of road. They built a highway level road which unfortunately has stoplights. If they would have made on and off ramps it would have been better. I don't always equate speed with reckless, but would much rather they pick off people in school zones instead of long, empty stretches of road .

Definitely agree that dangerous driving is a problem that doesn't get enough attention.

Not an easy thing to measure though.

Although if it was up to me I think most people wouldn't be allowed to drive. I recently started driving more (didn't drive until I was 30) and it's incredible how bad, reckless and unaware most drivers are.

Like people who signal as they turn. Not a big deal but I definitely think it's dangerous. Same with people refusing to take the right of way to be nice, that is very dangerous.

 

[PatrickEaves]

I feel like certain types of professions attract certain types of people. So it's not surprising to me.

I mean, I wont even get into police in the united states, ill leave that can of worms alone.

And that's not to say EVERY person is bad, or even the majority, but certain people gravitate towards professions like that.

It's sorta like politicians. The sort of people you want to be running a country aren't the type of people to run for office. Instead, the type of people that do run for office are the exact type of people you don't want running the county.

 

[saskriders]

I once had a cop come into the Tim Horton's I was at, in the middle of the night, cut in line, take the last Boston Cream and leave.

Okay, he didn't so much cut in line as much as he was in front of me in line.

And he didn't so much take the last Boston Cream as much as he paid for it.

And it wasn't the last Boston Cream so much as it was the last one that didn't have dry and cracked icing.

And it wasn't the middle of the night so much as it was mid-afternoon.

Basically what I'm trying to say is cops are such power abusers.

It is quite strange to think about how much a persons clothing (uniform), vehicle (cop car), or whatever will influence our assumptions of them and our views of their actions because we associate an identity with those traits. The human tendency to try and simplify and understand things by putting every in it's own little box has a lot of consequences in my opinion.

 

[The Lewler]

I don't think I've ever seen someone do it so blatantly before or since. Usually the cops around my area play by the same rules and often they're in unmarked cars too.

I'm not going to dispute that what you saw was a case of someone doing something they shouldn't.

But for a little bit of context when police respond to different types of priority calls, they have different authorized uses of their lights and sirens, and different reasons for using said equipment.

For example, you don't go screaming lights and sirens to a call of a traffic collision reported with no injuries (yes a lot are handled by collision reporting centres, but its just an example). You get there in a timely fashion, but you don't need to break all the traffic laws while doing so.

You could be en route as a second officer to back someone up, which is a priority but doesn't require you speeding excessively.

On different calls you may not elect to announce your arrival with sirens and lights .. etc etc etc

You could go flying to a shots fired call driving the wrong way down roads and through all the lights.

Sometimes its easier to get around without the lights on, because people get super crazy when they see those lights around them.

What is for certain, is if they are going to go through a red light, they have to turn on their red/blues when doing so... so the officer doing that specific act is actually correct.

Of course what happens is people see it and immediately assume its laziness or entitlement. It could be, or it could also be them responding to a call. We will never know.

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

I've passed a cop on the highway before. He was going exactly 100 in the right lane and the line of cars piling up behind him was ridiculous, so I passed him at 110 and he didn't do anything. Once I did that, every other car changed lanes and slowly passed him. Haha.


I will admit that I was nervous doing it, but it was worth the risk because driving at exactly 100km/h is torture.

I've passed police so many times. I've never been pulled over. Generally I've been driving 115-120 on the 401.

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

In Switzerland once, I got a ticket for going 53 in a 50 zone.

The most infuriating $60 I have ever spent on anything in my life.

The worst ticket I ever got was a ticket for using my phone on the side of the road!

 

[Ray Kinsella]

The worst ticket I ever got was a ticket for using my phone on the side of the road!

Seriously? Isn’t it the whole point of hands free driving??? How did the cop justify that?

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I have a friend who moved to Australia. They are like that with speed limits too. He said he was constantly getting speeding tickets for going 5 km over the limit. And they were all from speed cameras too.

That would make me go crazy.

I'd be down for that kind of enforcement if our speed limits weren't so outrageously low almost everywhere.

Instead we allow people to break the rule because the rule is stupid.

 

[maclean]

Seriously? Isn’t it the whole point of hands free driving??? How did the cop justify that?

I'm going to take a guess and say it was probably on a major highway, where unless I'm mistaken you're not allowed to just pull over to the side outside of a true emergency

 

[YouGotAStuGoing]

I'm going to take a guess and say it was probably on a major highway, where unless I'm mistaken you're not allowed to just pull over to the side outside of a true emergency

Likely the case. It's legal to use a mobile device when you're safely pulled over and not impeding traffic – but if it's a no parking or no stopping zone, you're breaking a different law.

On the other hand, it's illegal to use a mobile device while you're driving, stuck in traffic, stopped at a red light or (interestingly) in a drive-through.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

I'd be down for that kind of enforcement if our speed limits weren't so outrageously low almost everywhere.

Instead we allow people to break the rule because the rule is stupid.

But, are they really?

Speed limits may feel low if you're a professional driver, or the roads are fairly clear, or driving conditions are perfect. Speed limits don't feel that low when you're someone learning how to drive, or when there's a ton of vehicles/bikes/pedestrians/kids around, or when the roads are full of potholes or snow/ice.

You have to remember, the roads are designed for the general public. That includes the 70-year-old with less than perfect reflexes, those damned bicycles that appear out of nowhere, for the driver navigating his way in a new city who has no idea where he's going, for the guy who is late for work but is still not fully awake, for the mother who has to deal with a brat thumping the back of her seat the entire drive, the guy with the u-haul who is finding out the hard way just how differently a 2-piece turns.....

You've got to take all that stuff into account.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

The highway by me just switched from 70MPH to 75MPH, which means I feel comfortable doing about 83-85MPH. I love it!

 

[Zorf]

The highway by me just switched from 70MPH to 75MPH, which means I feel comfortable doing about 83-85MPH. I love it!

Converting to metric, that's about 190KM/H. You're a madman!
































**I've never been good at math

 

[coladin]

Cars today are quite different from 60 years ago when speed limits were 100km/h on the 401. I think there should be a raise to 120 on the 401, but in town even though speeds are slow, I don't see how you can go higher than 80 when there are stoplights involved. Hunt Club could be 100. Easy. But at a stop light, although quite fun, it could lead to major issues.

 

[DrunkUncleDenis]

But, are they really?

Speed limits may feel low if you're a professional driver, or the roads are fairly clear, or driving conditions are perfect. Speed limits don't feel that low when you're someone learning how to drive, or when there's a ton of vehicles/bikes/pedestrians/kids around, or when the roads are full of potholes or snow/ice.

You have to remember, the roads are designed for the general public. That includes the 70-year-old with less than perfect reflexes, those damned bicycles that appear out of nowhere, for the driver navigating his way in a new city who has no idea where he's going, for the guy who is late for work but is still not fully awake, for the mother who has to deal with a brat thumping the back of her seat the entire drive, the guy with the u-haul who is finding out the hard way just how differently a 2-piece turns.....

You've got to take all that stuff into account.

I don't want the 70 year old with less than perfect reflexes on the road. If you can't operate a vehicle with proper motor skills (haha), then get off the road, plain and simple. We recently took my grandfather's keys away because of this.

The whole idea of "the" speed limit is that the roads are in perfect condition. It would be nonsensical to lower the limit for every single day because it snows 50 days of the year. Drive to the conditions, we all do (or should do) this in Ottawa every year, especially on the Queensway.

Basically, I disagree with your entire post.

But that's okay.

Re: learning to drive and the implied intimidation of driving fast, I really think we should have the big N or L on the back of the car for new drivers like they have in Europe. I gave a lot more breadth and had a lot more patience for cars with L on them when I drove over there.

 

[BonkTastic]

Cars today are quite different from 60 years ago when speed limits were 100km/h on the 401. I think there should be a raise to 120 on the 401, but in town even though speeds are slow, I don't see how you can go higher than 80 when there are stoplights involved. Hunt Club could be 100. Easy. But at a stop light, although quite fun, it could lead to major issues.

My major problem with raising speed limits in Canada to 120km/h on major highways is that our winters are not conducive to 120km/h speeds. Quite frankly, our roads are already in terrible condition, and with icy + windy conditions that you just flat-out do not get in most of Europe (where you see most western countries that have adopted 120km/h highways), the potential for catastrophe is huge. Even if I am a perfect driver at 120km/h in winter conditions on bad roads full of potholes, it doesn't mean that everyone else is. You can be the best driver in the world, but it won't stop you from getting sideswiped by some idiot because he tried to drive over a snowbank separating lanes during a snowfall at 130km/h (because everyone will drive 10 over the limit, as they already do now) and lost control of his Civic as a result and now he's in a spinout.

I mean, I lived in Switzerland for 3 years, where they had 120km/h speed limits, and it was totally fine, so obviously I would be in favour of 120km/h in Canada if not for our wildly different climate. If we had Switzerland's milder weather and better infrastructure that governs road repair (not a pothole to be seen in the entire country, I tell ya), I'd be all for it.

 

[saskriders]

Yeah, I see way to many people drive at the limit in terrible conditions (seems to be mainly trucks, but that could be my personal bias influencing that). I wouldn't be opposed to a "summer limit" that is a bit higher in June, July, August thiugh. My biggest issue with speed limits is how the vast majority of cars go a little bit over the limit, but you can still get a ticket for going the speed of traffic. I would rather see the rules adapted or more strongly enforced since it seems ridiculous that everyone breaks the rules and typically gets away with it.

It also bothers me that people can get pulled over and not get a ticket because of the cops mood. But I am just being bitter because the one time a cop pulled me over I got a massive ticket for what I think seems relatively minor compared to what I hear about people getting away with.

 

[megalomania]

In Switzerland once, I got a ticket for going 53 in a 50 zone.

The most infuriating $60 I have ever spent on anything in my life.

Seriously? I've always been going on the 'common knowledge' that the tolerance of mis-measuring is about 10%, so if it's a 50 zone and you're going 55 they can't conclusively prove that you were actually going above the limit and thus don't actually fine you for such minimal transgressions. I may have to adjust my driving ...

 

[Cosmix]

I don't want the 70 year old with less than perfect reflexes on the road. If you can't operate a vehicle with proper motor skills (haha), then get off the road, plain and simple. We recently took my grandfather's keys away because of this.

The whole idea of "the" speed limit is that the roads are in perfect condition. It would be nonsensical to lower the limit for every single day because it snows 50 days of the year. Drive to the conditions, we all do (or should do) this in Ottawa every year, especially on the Queensway.

Basically, I disagree with your entire post.

But that's okay.

Re: learning to drive and the implied intimidation of driving fast, I really think we should have the big N or L on the back of the car for new drivers like they have in Europe. I gave a lot more breadth and had a lot more patience for cars with L on them when I drove over there.

That is an excellent idea. I think they should add an A on the back for those who get speeding tickets!

And an M for those who murder someone driving dangerously.