NYC Police Department Caught Imposing Traffic Ticket Quotas

A police memo published by the Daily News shows unequivocal evidence that the New York City Police Department uses traffic ticket quotas.  This memo was reportedly posted in the roll call room of the 77th precinct and advised officers how many traffic tickets and the type required.

Interestingly, cell phones tickets and seat belt tickets were, by far, the largest portion of the quota.  Neither of these tickets carry points and present a much lower safety hazard than, for example, disobeying a red light or speeding.

This is not the first time that the NYPD has been caught imposing quotes.  Earlier this year, a whistleblower cop recorded a supervisor in the 81st Precinct vowing to go after officers who don’t make at least one arrest a month.

State law prohibits police from using quotas – or setting a target number for arrests or summonses during a specific time frame.  The practice is illegal because it places pressure on police officers to issue traffic tickets (even when a violation may not have occurred) and removes their discretion.  The NYPD has denied this practice for years despite evidence to the contrary.

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Would You Pay To Drive 90 MPH?

Eugene (Gino) DiSimone, a Nevada gubernatorial candidate, believes that vehicles which pass a safety inspection should be allowed to drive up to 90 mph.  The catch is that motorists would have to purchase a transponder and pay $25 to the state $25 to speed for 24 hours.  If they paid the fee, they would not be issued a speeding ticket by a police officer as their license plate would be in a data base as “paid to speed”.

In some European countries, there are no speed limits but driver safety and accidents seems to make DiSimone’s idea not too “swift”.

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Optical Illusion Speed Bumps

Vancouver, Canada, is experimenting with a unique speed bump that creates an optical illusion that there is a child chasing a ball in the road.

It was installed near an elementary school and officials hope it will get motorists to slow down.

The image is 2-D image but appears 3-D life-like as a driver approaches.

To me this is a bit scary.  Tricking motorists to slam on their brakes or make a hard swerve is dangerous and cruel.  I am just not sure why a traditional speed bump with warning signs wouldn’t do the “trick”.

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CEO Gets Speeding Ticket (91/35) While Test Driving A Super Car (And Couldn’t Care Less)

Claus Ettensberer, CEO of CEC, a luxury car accessories company, was lucky enough to be able to test drive a Lexus LFA, a sports car with a starting price of $375,000.  The FLA has a 4.8 liter V10 engine 9,000 maximum RPM, 202 mph top speed, and goes 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds.

While test driving the LFA for 20 minutes in a residential neighborhood, Claus was stopped and issued a speeding ticket for 91/35.   As the photo and video show, he couldn’t care less about it.  He even thinks it’s funny taking a smiling photo with the issuing police officer Perhaps, when he sees the judge, he’ll feel differently.

In New York, this would be an 11-point ticket in New York and could result in a suspension even with an otherwise clean record.  In fact, in most parts of the state, up to 15 days in jail could be imposed.  The fine, surcharge and driver assessment fee for such a ticket is over a $1,000 (not that Claus has to worry about such pocket change).  In fact, Claus likely would have faced more serious charges such as reckless driving or reckless endangerment, and had his car impounded.

By the way, his speed, while high, is no where near the record speeding ticket of 242 mph.

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Speeding Car And Toll Plaza Don’t Mix

What not to do when you approach a toll plaza.

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Toddler Gets Speeding Ticket?

I am sure that this is a joke but couldn’t help posting it.

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Speeding Motorist Hijacks Police Department’s Website

As a result of Tennessee resident Brian McCrary being issued a $90 speeding ticket from a speed camera, he ended up acquiring the Bluff City Police Department’s website.

In researching speed enforcement cameras, McCrary noticed that the police department’s URL was about to expire.  Apparently, the employee responsible for renewing it was out sick and let it expire (despite various warning emails sent by Go Daddy.com).

McCrary then scooped in and purchased bluffcitypd.com and has become an anti-speed camera activist by using this web domain to post speeding ticket information to help speeding motorists.  The image to the left showing a smiling police badge with a wad of money is the website’s mascot.

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NBA Star Charged With Speeding 100 MPH+

Tyreke Evans is fast becoming an NBA star.  Having finished his first pro season averaging over 20 ppg for the Sacromento Kings, winning the 09/10 NBA Rookie Of The Year award and being selected to play on Team USA this summer.  Evans is only the fourth player (the others being Michael Jordan, LeBron James  and Oscar Robertson) in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists in his rookie season.

He apparently also likes to drive fast having been pulled over on Memorial Day for speeding more than 100 mph.  Because his 2010 Mercedes Benz S550 has heavily tinted windows, the arresting officers approached his vehicle with guns drawn.

Evans was issued a reckless driving ticket by a California Highway Patrol officer, and then released.

In New York, speeding 100+ is an 11-point speeding ticket, the most points you can get for a moving violation and place Mr. Evans in jeopardy of being suspended.  However, a reckless driving ticket is even worse.  While it only carries 5 points, it is also a criminal charge (misdemeanor) in New York.

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Professional Race Car Driver Gets Speeding Ticket Before Indy 500

Professional race car driver Tomas Scheckter was stopped and issued a speeding ticket this Memorial Day weekend, just 2 days before he was to assume the 20th pole position in yesterday’s Indianapolis 500.

Scheckter was cruising down Interstate 65 in Indianapolis, where the speed limit is 55 miles per hour, alleged going over 100 mph.

Police also say that Scheckter was weaving in and out of traffic.  Rather than receiving a reckless driving ticket or being arrested, Scheckter was  given preferential treatment by being issued only a ticket for speed unreasonably prudent, which carries a fine of $175 to $500.

By the way, the extra practice didn’t help Scheckter too much.  He ended up finishing 15th in the Indy 500.

In case you are interested, our traffic ticket law firm has represented professional race car drivers, actors (including an Oscar-nominated actor) and Broadway stars.  Fortunately, we were able to keep their exploits out of the media spotlight and we are able to obtain favorable results for them.

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Motorist Gets Last Laugh On Officer

Two years later, I still think this is really funny.  The motorist getting stopped for a traffic ticket but the tables quickly turn.

We recently re-edited the video to shortened its length.  Enjoy.

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