OT: undercover cops in construction zones
 

Schaumburg Illinois cops are masquerading as construction workers while radaring traffic. The unmitigated greed of these municipalities never ceases to amaze me. This is all about maximizing revenue generation, as currently fines are $150 and are about to be raised to $200. What's next, cops as pizza delivery guys peering into your home looking for "safety violations," cop bartenders, ad nauseum. This is America, not the UK or Australia, where you get a ticket by mail from their "speed cameras." BTW, the mobile speed readouts are just a way of warming us up for speed cameras. Stand up for your rights, fight every ticket in court, use up as much of these municipalities' resources as possible thereby cutting their profits, signal fellow motorists of the approaching hazard, etc. Government's got their hands so deep in our pockets our feet don't touch the ground anymore!

Don't do anything wrong and you don't have to worry about it!!!!!:D

Let me guess, you have a radar detector though ? I give em credit.

I got another one. Read a story the other day where the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (don't know the town) are posing as squeegie bums to check for seat belt violators. Now it'll cost you to get busted !!!! :D :D

Mr. Cig,

Government is slowly pecking away at our rights insidiously with seemingly minor gestures. The attitude of "don't do anything wrong and you won't have anything to worry about" makes you a loyal subject of your government. Remember who's in charge.
My point was to illustrate the lengths being taken to "lower the bar" between right and wrong.

Regards,

Mark S.

I would think that slowing traffic down in a construction zone would be a goal of our law enforcement dudes and dude-etts.

Having cops pose as construction workers does not fullfill that goal. That does NOT slow traffic down.

So Breathe Later has a point. They are in it for the money and not the saftey.

That is pathetic. If I were a construction worker, I would much rather have the officers sit in there MARKED car to slow vehicles down rather than have them pose as workers to trick us.

Now i dont condone the cops for hiding as construction workers.....but whos "right" is it to speed through a constructon zone endangering the lives of the road workers???
I applaude them for doing so to help them do their jobs safely. if on the other hand they are sitting around during non-work hours doing this well then that a different story.

Indiana has been putting cops in those Orange DOT pickups for years with a radar gun and a red light on the dash. They also will park a dumptruck on the shoulder, and hide the cruiser in front of it. I guess they have to do this to do their job of keeping us safe. Also, watch out on the Ohio and Pennsylvania Turnpikes. If you make it from one booth to another (or end to end, or whatever), in too fast a time, they KNOW you were speeding, and they will not open the gate for you to leave. A trooper WALKS over from the office and writes you a ticket. I have seen it happen.

Is it about safety or revenue?

In Illinois, its not about revenue. The average speeding ticket is $75. That does not even cover the costs of enforcement, processing, courts etc. Look at the fines in other states that are 3-4 times as much. Think about how much money it costs to set an Officer out there with a radar gun in his hand. I would be willing to bet that Schaumburgs approach is in response to a legitimate problem. There are other towns in the area, such as Buffalo Grove, who will pull over every car they can on a weekend night and ask the driver to take a breath test (portable units are used). I dont agree with thoses practices or their Chiefs desire to remain at the top of the DUI enforcment stats every year. And yes, I am a cop in a town in the area. I dont agree with alot of things that are done, but I can tell you that most things like this come as a response to a phone call made by someone to the Chief, Mayor, or Village Manager. In general, most of us would have as little contact with the general public as possible.