Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

modernhomeowner t1_itxtr2f wrote

”[Police] don't have quotas, just a suggested number of encounters.” - My cousin, a state police officer, when asked about quotas. Lol.

120

RevengencerAlf t1_iu0hbeh wrote

MA state police officers have the most amazing mix of being prolific liars and being so bad at telling convincing lies on the planet.

21

capybroa t1_iu4fz0k wrote

Well you don’t really have to be a good liar when you have the power of the state behind you. Whatever you say becomes the official story by default!

1

RevengencerAlf t1_iu4wdbe wrote

Even if they didn't There are still far too many bootlicking sycophants who fly thin blue line flags and worship police in general. Plus all of the supposed free thinkers who don't explicitly worship cops but ignorantly repeat dumb bullshit about bad apples and believe the lie that there are loads of good cops out there trying to do the right thing at all times.

1

[deleted] OP t1_ityvw2s wrote

[deleted]

35

Chippopotanuse t1_itze4w9 wrote

Keep in mind Sherborn had a fatal car wreck that killed a local HS senior last year in a one car crash in February. Seemed like a great kid who simply lost control going a little too fast around a turn.

> Owen Bingham, a Dover-Sherborn High School senior and captain of the school's state championship golf team, was killed in a crash over the weekend, while four passengers suffered non-life threatening injuries.

> There were four other passengers in the SUV at the time of the crash, police said, including an 18-year-old from Dover, an 18-year-old from Sherborn, and two 17-year-olds from Dover. All were taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

So…while I’m the first to shit on cops…there is a good chance the cops on Sherborn are just trying to help folks keep speeds down, since nobody wants to see a dead kid.

It was hella foggy and slippery roads last night.

15

[deleted] OP t1_itzraiw wrote

[deleted]

3

Chippopotanuse t1_itzs1gm wrote

I’m sure many warnings were also issued.

Feel free to FOIA the department and ask how many citations were issued and how many warnings were issued. My experience with cops in the rich MetroWest towns is maybe 6-8 traffic stops over the past 20 years (Brookline, weston, wayland, Wellesley, framingham). For stuff like barely speeding (40 in a 30), rolling stop sign, expired inspection sticker, u-turn where it wasn’t allowed. Was always let off with a warning.

The cops in rich towns typically aren’t in the business of harassing millionaires and their kids. (Is that shitty and unfair? Sure).

Now, when I’ve been stopped in poorer areas like Southborough or Revere, or by state troopers…strap in for the bullshit harassment and near 100% ticket rate.

1

TheCavis t1_itzqbqu wrote

> I don't know why but the bad weather is causing people to speed and be aggressive when they should be more cautious.

Fog has a weird perception effect where people think they're driving slower than they actually are. That causes people to speed up, especially if they want to keep their eyes focused on the road due to limited visibility rather than glancing down at their speedometer.

It's also a lesser effect with rain, although that mostly seems like a conflict between people who want to slow down in wet weather and those who want to go the normal speed, causing crashes as the faster traffic jumps lanes to get around slower traffic with lower visibility and lower traction.

6

Boston_Stonks t1_iu041j8 wrote

We are days away from Halloween, upped enforcement and visibility should be expected.

9

[deleted] OP t1_iu09osg wrote

[deleted]

1

bionicN t1_iu0gem6 wrote

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/10/28/heres-why-halloween-is-deadliest-day-year-child-pedestrians/

4

[deleted] OP t1_iu0neda wrote

[deleted]

2

bionicN t1_iu15qkp wrote

do we? do you have anything other than feelings to show that trend?

mayyyyyybe people that complain about tickets could try, I dunno, not speeding?

as I watch people blow through my neighborhood with a limit of 25mph at 40mph, I wish there were quotas and I wish they were higher. they clearly aren't stopping enough people, because we've normalized that speeding through residential and urban areas is just fine.

leave the speeding to a track or an empty highway, and if you choose the latter, the risk of a ticket is the price you pay.

3

[deleted] OP t1_iu1jjb4 wrote

[deleted]

3

bionicN t1_iu200bb wrote

yeah, I'm being a little over the top. but I want there to be enough enforcement that people take the hint.

I have a 1 mile trip to take my toddler to daycare, 80% of which is 25mph residential streets with several uncontrolled intersections. no lights, no stop signs. the rest is 35mph local arterial roads that some people go 50mph on if traffic allows it. these aren't empty places - I pass a playground, coffee shop, hardware store, Dr office, etc.

now that he's old enough to walk or be on his bike instead of be in the stroller, it's really nailing in that most of our conversation is "watch out for cars, watch out for that car, watch out for that person that's going to blow the stop sign, look wayyyyy up the street for people going too fast..."

no one cares. speeding is normalized. gotta get to that dunks drive thru 3 min earlier. US has a high pedestrian death rate compared to our peers, and we're getting worse.

I don't care if someone speeds on an empty road. but if you're around people, slow the fuck down.

1

[deleted] OP t1_iu2b84w wrote

[deleted]

2

bionicN t1_iu4zrse wrote

yeah, consistent enforcement would make everyone happy. at least you'd know what to expect. well said.

the point of my first link was to show the relationship between speed and injury/death. those extra 10mph are meaningful. the fact that it's in Florida doesn't change the relationship, and I only linked an old study simply because my quick searching only had newer studies showing basically the same thing in link unfriendly pdf format.

the second link is absolutely anti car, but makes its point with data, and that data is consistent with other trends. would it be better to just quote part of their abstract?

> In 2018, pedestrian fatality rates per km in the USA were 5–10 times higher than in the other four countries; cyclist fatality rates per km in the USA were 4–7 times higher. The gap in walking and cycling fatality rates between the USA and the other countries increased over the entire 28-year period, but especially from 2010 to 2018.

and yes, enforcement isn't the only or even the best way to address this. road design is a better option.

1

Maverick8200 t1_iu0mwf7 wrote

Because Halloween has a significant percentage increase of pedestrian fatalities. So high visibility enforcement helps slow other traffic down by mere presence and awareness that police are stopping people.

1

norbagul t1_itzm9xi wrote

Lancaster cops were out in full force yesterday evening during my drive through. I saw two of them grab people. Must've been a slow day over there.

6

d-dog69 t1_iu195n7 wrote

It’s always a slow day over there

3

frankybling t1_itzvlf6 wrote

if you don’t believe there’s quotas you’re lying to yourself

6

Brodyftw00 t1_iu02bfp wrote

I saw 4 large trucks pulled over in 95N this morning. All by state police in pickup trucks.

5

SamanthaSheehy t1_itxyljr wrote

Awesome post... Thank you for sharing! ❤️

3

Mysterious_Exam1425 t1_iu284bw wrote

Or... Maybe... Don't be ... "speeding"...???

3

Mikejg23 t1_iuicsq9 wrote

The problem is sometimes the speed limit is clearly arbitrary, and heavily condition dependent. 65 on the Mass pike on an early Sunday morning is slow for many people.

1

ItisNOTatoy t1_iu1e3zb wrote

I got a ticket for the move over law the other day. Then another for speeding a couple days later. They’re definitely out there.

2

KingPhisherTheFirst t1_itzopxm wrote

Keep featherin' it brotha 🎸 🎸 🎸

1

Eruditemachine t1_iucloum wrote

I've just got home from a week vacation in the Boston area (we're from the UK) I saw more people pulled over by cops in one week than I've seen in the past year at home. Not exaggerating. We stayed on Nahant for a few days and the causeway had someone pulled over literally every time we crossed it.

That said, I also saw more cops in one day than I see in a year at home. You guys have so many police.

1

TheUnsightlyLocks t1_iudhmdf wrote

> You guys have so many police.

And every single one has a loaded gun on them while on duty. How neat is that?

0

FirstOrderRouge t1_itz5nh1 wrote

It’s not a quota thing but the state and federal does provide grants that require police to make x amount of interactions.

−6

kattt123 t1_itzpe51 wrote

….you just described a quota

20

FirstOrderRouge t1_itzpuhz wrote

Interactions aren’t tickets as far as I’m aware. Just stopping to talk to someone counts. It’s a way to ensure the money is being used to put an active cop on the road and not a lazy scammer who will sit in his car all shift, if he shows up at all.

−7

[deleted] OP t1_itzqzgr wrote

[deleted]

7

FirstOrderRouge t1_itzsxm7 wrote

That’s on the cops being dicks then. But no one was forcing them to do that.

−1

MrRileyJr t1_itzyehu wrote

Your first comment literally said why they are forced to...

6

FirstOrderRouge t1_itzyrm5 wrote

You’re confused. No one is forcing them to put pen to paper and write a ticket. All they have to do is say they spoke to you. They decided on their own to write a ticket.

2