Stopped by the police

[kphoger]

As is the case in other states as well.

[Brandon]

Minnesota drivers are, in my experience, not typical of drivers in the Midwest.  They go closer to the speed limit, and they have absolutely no concept of slower traffic keeping right.  In Iowa, in contrast, I hardly ever see anybody hogging the left lane or doing less than 5 over the limit on the Interstate.

I've noticed that with Minnesotans as well.  Michiganders are rarely any lower than 10 over the 70 mph limit (especially in Metro Detroit).  However, Chicagoans are all over the freaking place.  Left lane slow, right lane fast, jackass trying to do 45 in the middle lane while another goes 95 up his ass.

[webny99]

I agree about Minnesota. It's generally a weird combination of big-city entitlement vibes (even on rural interstates), insistence on the speed limit, and toss in some follow-the-leader for good measure. They seem to just be totally OK with a whole bunch of lanes moving at the same speed.

Not always slow, though! I've been in a whole pack moving at an 85 mph clip in a 65 mph zone - and not in the middle of nowhere either - it was on MN 77 in Eagan, as I recall.

I have also had relatives from the upper Midwest express shock that we would thinking nothing of doing 80 mph on the Thruway.

[DJ Particle]

--current car--
2016 - 70 in 60 on I-35E in St. Paul, MN - ticket

You've gotta be kidding me

I wish I was....

My ex's father once got a ticket for 32 in 30 on  a street in Deephaven, too.

Did such occur towards the end of the month and/or on a holiday weekend?  Such tickets, on the surface, appear to be quota-induced.

My 2016 ticket was in mid-June

[J N Winkler]

That's the earliest reference I can easily find online.  If you have an older file of Mexican traffic laws, I'd be happy to thumb through them.

I'm afraid I don't have any files for traffic laws, but I did dig up the 1986 edition of the MDCT and it has SR-10.  I now suspect that sign is to be used to mark right-turn channel lanes similar to those that in the US do not require a full stop.

[kphoger]

That's the earliest reference I can easily find online.  If you have an older file of Mexican traffic laws, I'd be happy to thumb through them.

I'm afraid I don't have any files for traffic laws, but I did dig up the 1986 edition of the MDCT and it has SR-10.  I now suspect that sign is to be used to mark right-turn channel lanes similar to those that in the US do not require a full stop.

Article 78, which I quoted up-thread, specifically says that traffic in a "carril de flujo continuo" still has to come to a complete stop and yield to other traffic and pedestrians.  Furthermore, my own personal experience is that right-turn channel lanes are signed merely with yield signs, stop signs, or nothing at all (example, example, example with both).  I've only ever seen the SR-10 sign (and I've seen many of them) at normal stoplight intersections without channel lanes (example, example, example, example).

They seem to just be totally OK with a whole bunch of lanes moving at the same speed.

This describes Minnesota perfectly.  Nobody bothers to keep right at all, but nobody seems to be bothered by it either.  It drives me nuts when I'm up there, however.

[debragga]

My first time getting pulled over was when I was 16 by the local city police (Crandall PD). The inspection sticker had expired on my car. I told them I would get my stepdad on that since he was the owner of the car and I didn't know how to do it since I was 16, and he let me off with a warning.

My second time was Crandall PD again, this time because my "back license plate light was uncovered". Crandall PD is known in the area for being racist and profiling, so if I wasn't a white guy I'm sure it would have went differently.

The third time was Crandall PD again, for going 83 in a 70 and possibly trying to enforce curfew. This was around 1am on a Saturday night and I was a minor, but there was an exception for kids who were working, and I had just finished closing at Sonic. He let me off with a warning.

Fourth time was for speeding, he didn't tell me how fast exactly but it was probably low 60's in a 45. The cop said "if I catch you speeding in my town again, you're getting a ticket" in a thick Southern accent. This was Combine PD, not far from Crandall.

The fifth time was Crandall PD yet again, for 87 in a 55. I know it was stupid, and I was a dumb 18-year-old. Obviously I got a ticket for this one.

The sixth and most recent time was a Louisiana State Trooper, on I-20 near Ruston. He told me "We normally don't give tickets unless you're going 10 over or higher. You were going 81 [in a 70], so you're getting a ticket." Somehow I resisted the urge to call him an asshole.

[sprjus4]

The sixth and most recent time was a Louisiana State Trooper, on I-20 near Ruston. He told me "We normally don't give tickets unless you're going 10 over or higher. You were going 81 [in a 70], so you're getting a ticket." Somehow I resisted the urge to call him an asshole.

Meanwhile somebody else flies by doing 90 mph while he's wasting his time with you.

I've driven that segment of I-20 before, people routinely do well over 80 mph, many out of state plates.

[SectorZ]

Don't believe anyone who tells you cops don't have a quota. They do, especially if there's a federal grant involved. A hometown friend of mine, now deceased, was a cop. I ran into him one morning when I was off work; we had both moved to the same town then but hadn't run into each other in awhile. He said he didn't have time to talk long; that he had to write a certain number of speeding tickets because he was being paid on a federal overtime grant for his work that day. Sure enough, I passed by him with a driver pulled over just a few minutes later.

The big NHTSA campaigns ("Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over," and "Click It Or Ticket") have quotas attached to the grants as well. Participating agencies are expected to report a certain number of tickets written.

In Massachusetts, the state troopers are ripping us off by claiming they worked OT and a chunk of the money comes from federal grants. The good news is since our AG is completely useless, the feds can and do indict them instead. Now the state has finally started going after them as well. So... they find multiple ways of banking off the grants.

[MNHighwayMan]

2000 - 76 in 55 on I-35E in Eagan, MN - ticket (cop was sitting right at thepoint where limit dropped from 70 to 55)

That is one of the dumbest speed changes in the Twin Cities. I too have been pulled over for that one, although I only got a warning.

[webny99]

Enforce 55 mph on a freeway that's actually flowing in the NYC area? *chuckles*
...

FYI, the maximum in NYC is 50, not 55.  Even here.

I was actually thinking of just the NYC area in general, but yes, 50 is even more egregious than 55, so there's that.

[Tonytone]

My god, how do you get pulled over 16-21 times by the age of 21?  I was only pulled once in High School for doing donuts in the High School Parking lot after a snow storm.

You can thank the people around my age of 16-25 for behaving like idiots and causing people our age to be looked at differently, I am glad its happening less now though.

[Max Rockatansky]

My god, how do you get pulled over 16-21 times by the age of 21?  I was only pulled once in High School for doing donuts in the High School Parking lot after a snow storm.

You can thank the people around my age of 16-25 for behaving like idiots and causing people our age to be looked at differently, I am glad its happening less now though.

I might buy that would lead to you getting pulled over maybe once, twice, but over a dozen times?.... 

[Tonytone]

My god, how do you get pulled over 16-21 times by the age of 21?  I was only pulled once in High School for doing donuts in the High School Parking lot after a snow storm.

You can thank the people around my age of 16-25 for behaving like idiots and causing people our age to be looked at differently, I am glad its happening less now though.

I might buy that would lead to you getting pulled over maybe once, twice, but over a dozen times?.... 

I really would like to say otherwise I dont want to make my color be the reason for it..........

[webny99]

Generally, after a few times getting pulled over, you would think 1 of 2 things would happen: (1) (if you're unlucky) you would lose your license, or (2) (if you're lucky enough to avoid (1)) you would figure out what type of problem is causing you to get pulled over, and figure out how to keep it from happening again.

That's after a few times. After a few more, and a few more, and a few more, in a span of five years, it is strange, and even borderline unbelievable, that neither of those things happened.

[X99]

I've only been pulled over once, for doing 45 in a 35 on Old US 1416 eastbound into New Underwood. The state trooper that pulled me over said that when I came over the hill I was doing 42 and he would have let that slide if I hadn't (for some dumb reason I don't even know) coasted down the hill back up to 45. He also said that most state troopers in SD only care if you're doing 10 or more over unless it's the Interstate (the 80 mph speed limit portion). I was let off with a warning.

Here's the best part: I wasn't in my own car. I was in a maroon Ford Taurus with state plates and a brake pedal on the passenger side. The cop was a little surprised by this. I guess driver's ed cars aren't that common here.