What if very minor traffic violations were more like Red Light cams?

[alphafemale]

You get a ticket in the mail or on online?

I am near certain with dash cam videos this would be possible.

A tape of the violation and a view of the license plate is all that is needed.

[randys1]

1. Nobody would get a ticket for what this Woman did.

But we do need to fire every single cop in America, every single supervisor and union head, rehire them all with so many changes.

[CANDO]

5. Though most people don't get pulled over for this...

Well, I should say I've never been pulled over for this...because I learned the rules of driving safely and responsibly, and signaling lane changes is one of them. I also have 26+ years of commercial truck driving experience, and this is something I see so many times per day I couldn't possibly count....people too (I'll swear here) fucking lazy to lift a finger literally a couple inches to engage the turn signal lever. But you know what I also see far too many times to keep count?.....People NOT too lazy to be on their smartphones or doing makeup while steering with their knees. And they drive right on by and don't give a shit who sees them doing this stuff. So I'm not casting aspersions on this situation, but overall there is a problem with piss poor adherence to safe driving rules and practices.

[randys1]

6. The cop was just waiting for her to do anything so he could get her

[CANDO]

7. You are probably correct

As someone else posted below, any cop can follow you far enough until he/she even so much as imagines an infraction. Be that as it may, everyone please think before you do stupid shit like change lanes without signaling before and during your lane change. Letting others know what you are about to do is a safe thing to do. I do it even if it's just me out there totally alone in the middle of the night. Back to this woman...and really for anyone...don't just blatantly give any cop a good reason to pull you over, like something as simple and stupid(on your part) as not using your signals for lane changes or turns. This cop was just another typical alpha male authority seeker with a badge and went off the rails when he felt challenged. Totally unacceptable.

[randys1]

8. If the driver were white there would be no stop.

[CANDO]

11. You may be correct on that as well

But I'd be willing to bet white people get pulled over for this unsafe action as well. Why not use your turn signal and remove that as a valid reason for them to pull you over? He may well have found something else, but she blatantly gave him a reason, minor as it seems.

[randys1]

12. For christ sake, the cop was gonna pull her over no matter what

do you not get that?

she did NOT belong there, get it!

[CANDO]

15. Well Gdamn, aren't you the omniscient one?

I said you are probably correct. Now, did she not use her signal for the lane change? She as much as admits it in her dialog with the cop. It matters not whether she's a martian, or cuban or black or white. She gave the cop a valid reason to pull her over. Where it goes wrong from there, is where the cop wrongly escalates when she gets pissy over why she was pulled over. Everything after that is unfuckingcalledfor on the cop's part. It still does not invalidate his valid reason for pulling her over. Since when is it against the law for cops to enforce traffic laws? Let me tell you something, if I were to be pulled over for this infraction, maybe I'd be more pissed at myself for being so stupid to give him reason for doing so. I've been pulled over many times in my life, and every last time was for good and valid reason regardless of how I felt about it. And I also know the very last thing I should do at that point is get pissy or argue with the cop. Nice as pie has gotten me let loose with a warning on more than one occasion. So I see where you're going with this....because of everything post traffic stop, the traffic stop was invalid or bullshit. Well, you are wrong, my friend. She violated one of the most basic and easily obeyed traffic safety rules/laws... using your turn signal when making a turn or lane change. I don't give a rats ass what her race or gender is, she violated the law. When I violate the law, I get pulled over and charged. Simple as that. For not using a turn signal? I would never be so fucking absentminded as that. Speeding is my vice, and when I get caught, I respectfully deal with the cop and dutifully pay my fine. Hell, I got speeding tickets from two black PA State cops over the years. Did I whine and throw a fucking hissy fit because they were black? No, I treated them respectfully and paid my fines. Simple concept really, give a cop a valid reason to pull you over, they probably will!

[dsc]

2. only if they don't go against a license

The reason they let the camera thing go is that those tickets don't cause points on a license or an increase in insurance. More than one person often owns and or drives a car.

[villager]

3. Cops should no longer be allowed to pull people over for "minor infractions," period.

All the nonsense of "improper signaling" is is vague language for "pulling you over if we feel like it."

And then what they're really doing is not acting out of "concern" for the lane change, but going on their usual fishing expedition.

Pullovers for such minor transgressions need to be prohibited.

[HFRN]

4. I saw a video of a veteran cop turned law student

who said when he was in uniform, if he followed someone long enough, he could find a legal reason to pull them over - that it's almost impossible to drive for any length of time, with committing at least a tiny infraction - all they need, to light you up. cops do it fishing for DUI on weekend evenings all the time

source

[villager]

9. Exactly why you should never stay in traffic near a cop car, per another DU thread today

Cops are mostly shakedown artists looking for an excuse to levy their "asymmetrical taxes" (or worse) against the 99%ers.

If one is around you in traffic, just quietly find another route, pull into a store for a few moments, etc...

[Skittles]

16. not to mention the fact that people can get very nervous just from being followed

I know I do - if you get nervous it doesn't mean you've done anything wrong

[Chemisse]

10. OR - cops could behave like the public servants that they are.

I'd still prefer to get pulled over and given a warning that get auto-fines from red-light cameras.

[DesmondFoster]

13. What if technology was properly applied?

All you need to do is actually watch any episode of Cops ever produced.

"I see this guy just weaved a little bit, I'm going to go ahead and initiate a traffic stop".

Never mind the fact that, oh, that's right, dash cam video in most cases won't start until the lights come on.

Technology being what it is today, there is ample ability to record every second of a cop's shift, and ample ability for that officer or his department to retain video of every single second a car is behind a vehicle that they eventually pull over.

It'd be great to see the dashcam video from my locals - when they spend 45 minutes chatting up the girl that works at the local convenience store, or when I see them sitting for literally hours at a time on their cell phones likely chatting up whatever woman swoons whenever they seem them in those form fitting bulletproof vests and their pseudo-military haircuts.

Back to my main point - at this juncture, I believe that virtually every single traffic stop regardless of the infraction should be reviewable during the entire time an officer is following someone. So that when the tape shows that a cop followed someone who drove flawlessly for twenty minutes waiting for them to roll through a stop sign or change lanes without signalling, the judge can throw the case the hell out.

[jberryhill]

14. Will self-driving cars issue themselves their own tickets?