"Do you know who I am?"

[KevShmev]

Note to celebrities, athletes, etc. everywhere: if you have to ask that question (or something along those lines), the person you are asking either doesn't know or doesn't care.

To that end, Reese Witherspoon was arrested last night: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/04/22/reese-witherspoon-arrest-fallout/2103425/

[Nel]

Ah, I love it when they think they're above this stuff. Nope.

[El Barto]

And cops in particular don't want to hear this sort of thing. Unless you're the mayor's wife, that's only going to result in a bad experience.

[Perpetual Change]

Or if you're a hometown sports hero who one of the cops happen to love.

"It's just some girl trying to say Ben raped her."

[kirksnosehair]

I can't hear this chick's name without craving peanut butter cups 

[Scorpion]

You'd think that most people recognise that saying something like that is pretty futile?

I mean, maybe that's naive, but I can't imagine going all like "Oh my god, Reese Witherspoon! I'm sorry to ever have looked at you the wrong way! Can I have your autograph, while we're at it?" if a celeb asks them if they know who they are.

[yorost]

You'd think that most people recognise that saying something like that is pretty futile?

In defense of her lack of reasoning, she was drunk.

Or if you're a hometown sports hero who one of the cops happen to love.

"It's just some girl trying to say Ben raped her."

He isn't from Georgia, nor has he ever played for a Georgia team as far as I know. His dad played for Georgia Tech, but I don't think Ben has any direct connection to the state, or even the South.

[Tick]

"I'M GUMBY DAMN IT!

[El Barto]

Or if you're a hometown sports hero who one of the cops happen to love.

"It's just some girl trying to say Ben raped her."

Didn't work for Ed Belfour, and he even offered up a billion dollars, to boot.

[TAC]

I can't hear this chick's name without craving peanut butter cups 

Don't tell me you eat them with a spoon!

[gmillerdrake]

 

I can't hear this chick's name without craving peanut butter cups 

" Try the new Reese Witherspoons, same peanut buttercup taste only in the shape of a spoon"

[King Postwhore]

Got pulled over last week.  A bunch of yes sir, no sir and he let me go.  I was driving 40 in a 30 not plastered like Reese.

[Beowulf]

Or if you're a hometown sports hero who one of the cops happen to love.

"It's just some girl trying to say Ben raped her."

Didn't work for Ed Belfour, and he even offered up a billion dollars, to boot.

HAHA!!!  I forgot about Belfour!  That was funny!  Something only a Dallasite would really remember.  Nice memory, Barto.

[black_biff_stadler]

On her 50th birthday I'm gonna have a biplane fly over her party towing a "Reese Witheredpoon" banner.

[j]

Or if you're a hometown sports hero who one of the cops happen to love.

"It's just some girl trying to say Ben raped her."

Didn't work for Ed Belfour, and he even offered up a billion dollars, to boot.

HAHA!!!  I forgot about Belfour!  That was funny!  Something only a Dallasite would really remember.  Nice memory, Barto.

Nice, I had forgotten about that too. 

-J

[73109]

Got pulled over last week.  A bunch of yes sir, no sir and he let me go.  I was driving 40 in a 30 not plastered like Reese.

I know the speed limit is the speed limit for a reason and it's part of the law and all that, but being pulled over for doing 40 in a 30 seems somewhat unreasonable.

[Nel]

They do it here too. Got a quota to fill I suppose.

[KevShmev]

You guys are kidding, right?  Going 40 in a 30 means you are going 33% faster than the posted speed limit.  Would you have a problem with being pulled over for going 90 in a 60? 

Besides, when it comes to speeding, I think of that as one of those things we all do and we all get away with almost all of the time, so on the rare occasions you get caught, suck it up and take it like a man.  It's not like you got caught going 1 or 2 over the speed limit (and there are areas here in St. Louis where they will pull you over for that, so I make sure to never go over when I have to drive there).

[black_biff_stadler]

Bad analogy. Most people drive at least 5 over the limit unless it's a known speed trap area anyway. 40 in a 30 is only 5 more when you look at it that (more realistic) way. It ain't like folks routinely drive 85 in a 90.

[King Postwhore]

Totally my fault.  I was not paying attention.  That damn Steven Wilson albums is so awesome while driving!

[Orbert]

Bad analogy. Most people drive at least 5 over the limit unless it's a known speed trap area anyway. 40 in a 30 is only 5 more when you look at it that (more realistic) way. It ain't like folks routinely drive 85 in a 90.

I think the analogy is fine.  If the limit was 30, it was a residential or commercial area.  People walking around, possibly kids, people on bikes, etc.  Going through a place like at 40 is a lot different than going through it at 30, in terms of reaction times and stopping distance required, especially if (as it turns out) you're way the hell drunk. 

Out on the highway, going 70 or 80 instead of the posted 55 or 60 just means you're speeding.  There isn't much danger that someone's gonna walk out in front of you.

[bosk1]

Bad analogy. Most people drive at least 5 over the limit unless it's a known speed trap area anyway. 40 in a 30 is only 5 more when you look at it that (more realistic) way. It ain't like folks routinely drive 85 in a 90.

I think the analogy is fine.  If the limit was 30, it was a residential or commercial area.  People walking around, possibly kids, people on bikes, etc.  Going through a place like at 40 is a lot different than going through it at 30, in terms of reaction times and stopping distance required, especially if (as it turns out) you're way the hell drunk. 

Out on the highway, going 70 or 80 instead of the posted 55 or 60 just means you're speeding.  There isn't much danger that someone's gonna walk out in front of you.

Rather that say that I disagree, I'll just point out that I'm glad police give tickets (or not) based on how many MPH over the speed limit you are going, not on what percentage over the speed limit you are going.

[El Barto]

Totally depends on the street. All drivers drive at the speed they feel safe at for the given road conditions, right up to the point where concern about a ticket supersedes. Cops who are just being cops get that. They know that everybody drives 75 on this section of highway, so they're only busting the people at 80. Cops who are told to go out and write tickets today also get that, so they find chunks of roads where the speed limit is lower than the average accepted speed. That's always been my problem with speed enforcement. When it's just intended to be a cash grab, it's never done in an area that would actually benefit from it. They're set up in places where people are naturally inclined to exceed the speed limit, which is almost always in a place that's quite safe to do so.

In fact, of all of the speeding tickets I've gotten (which is a startlingly high number), I can only think of one that was a genuine public safety issue. The only ticket I've ever plead guilty to.

BTW, I got a ticket for 40 in a 30 a few years back. Hardly a residential thing. Three lanes each way, super-wide median, no intersections for nearly a 1 mile stretch. The natural inclination for any driver is going to be about 45 or so. Excellent place to write 30 or so tickets over breakfast.

[snapple]

I've only gotten one speeding ticket. 45 in a 30. Cop actually didn't have too much of an issue with it, other than the fact that people in the area had been making a ton of complaints about people speeding in the area. So, I guess I'm some number to show those residents the police did something.

[Fuzzboy]

there's a highway here where the speed limit is 55 mph (as low as 50 in parts), yet everyone always does 65-75, because it's a massive four lane well maintained highway with a 6ft barrier in the middle. I dunno, sometimes it's totally justifiable I think.

[yorost]

I just wish speed limits were strictly enforced. You'd know whether or not you could get pulled over no matter where you are. Signs would have to unilaterally change, but it would become a transparent system. Perhaps even making signs have 2 or 3 numbers on them. The middle number is the speed, then smaller max and min numbers which indicate strict ticket thresholds.

[El Barto]

The solution is to set speed limits at the 85th percentile mark, where they belong, and then enforce them strictly. That's where everybody drives anyway, and it's because that's what road conditions allow for. The problem is that the number of drivers you can jack up drops to only 15%, which is bad for business.

[KevShmev]

Bad analogy. Most people drive at least 5 over the limit unless it's a known speed trap area anyway. 40 in a 30 is only 5 more when you look at it that (more realistic) way. It ain't like folks routinely drive 85 in a 90.

I think the analogy is fine.  If the limit was 30, it was a residential or commercial area.  People walking around, possibly kids, people on bikes, etc.  Going through a place like at 40 is a lot different than going through it at 30, in terms of reaction times and stopping distance required, especially if (as it turns out) you're way the hell drunk. 

Out on the highway, going 70 or 80 instead of the posted 55 or 60 just means you're speeding.  There isn't much danger that someone's gonna walk out in front of you.

Very true.  School zones are often 30, so if you are going 40, if someone runs out in front of your car, the odds of stopping and not hitting them are much lower if you are going 40 as opposed to 30 or even 35.

[Ħ]

The solution is to set speed limits at the 85th percentile mark, where they belong, and then enforce them strictly. That's where everybody drives anyway, and it's because that's what road conditions allow for. The problem is that the number of drivers you can jack up drops to only 15%, which is bad for business.

You are pretty much the biggest cynic I've ever encountered. Every. Single. Post.

[yorost]

The solution is to set speed limits at the 85th percentile mark, where they belong, and then enforce them strictly. That's where everybody drives anyway, and it's because that's what road conditions allow for. The problem is that the number of drivers you can jack up drops to only 15%, which is bad for business.

That would not be bad for business, you could pull over one out of every 7 cars you see on average. Strict enforcement would allow a 1 mph violation to hurt a lot more than they do now.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

The solution is to set speed limits at the 85th percentile mark, where they belong, and then enforce them strictly. That's where everybody drives anyway, and it's because that's what road conditions allow for. The problem is that the number of drivers you can jack up drops to only 15%, which is bad for business.

You are pretty much the biggest cynic I've ever encountered. Every. Single. Post.

He isn't cynical.  He's realistic.  Sometimes, it's hard the find the line between the two.

[Orbert]

BTW, I got a ticket for 40 in a 30 a few years back. Hardly a residential thing. Three lanes each way, super-wide median, no intersections for nearly a 1 mile stretch. The natural inclination for any driver is going to be about 45 or so. Excellent place to write 30 or so tickets over breakfast.

It sounds to me like that was intentionally set up as a speed trap.  If the road is as you've described, there's no logical reason for the speed limit to be 30 mph.  I consider those to be anomalies and not really part of the "how fast is too fast?" discussion.

[MetalJunkie]

[El Barto]

The solution is to set speed limits at the 85th percentile mark, where they belong, and then enforce them strictly. That's where everybody drives anyway, and it's because that's what road conditions allow for. The problem is that the number of drivers you can jack up drops to only 15%, which is bad for business.

You are pretty much the biggest cynic I've ever encountered. Every. Single. Post.

That's great. Now, do you actually disagree with me that speeding tickets are more a function of revenue generation that public safety? Just because I'm often cynical (I prefer to think of myself as pragmatic, BTW) doesn't mean that I'm not often right.

[Ħ]

The solution is to set speed limits at the 85th percentile mark, where they belong, and then enforce them strictly. That's where everybody drives anyway, and it's because that's what road conditions allow for. The problem is that the number of drivers you can jack up drops to only 15%, which is bad for business.

You are pretty much the biggest cynic I've ever encountered. Every. Single. Post.

That's great. Now, do you actually disagree with me that speeding tickets are more a function of revenue generation that public safety? Just because I'm often cynical (I prefer to think of myself as pragmatic, BTW) doesn't mean that I'm not often right.

I am not sure what I think. Can you cite any evidence for your claim? In my experience, I've found that (1) the people I've seen get pulled over were speeding, and (2) the speed limit usually matches the flow of traffic anyway.

EDIT: And (3), can you show that this applies to most cities? I've no doubt there exists corruption somewhere, but do you think this is true pretty much everywhere?