If they've a poor driving record, then they will be stopped again before too long.

Some years ago, my insurance agent recommended that I switch insurers. I was warned that the NC DMV would immediately harrass me for not having insurance. The one efficient :rolleyes: thing that the NCDMV can do is process insurance canncellation notices.

As for these checkpoints, there are a number of reasons for them, that the courts have ruled are legal. (DUI, Seatbelts, DL checks, etc) Even in states where they are illegal for the most part they are legal under certain circumstances. For example, in MN, the DUI checkpoints are illegal, but a checkpoint set up to look for a specific vehicle is not. MN has basically said random checkpoints are not ok, but if you know, ahead of time, who you are looking for then they are ok.

Now what to do at the checkpoint(or a straight up stop). In a state where they are legal, only the driver must comply with the officer, initally. The driver must comply with the regulations of the state as it relates to driving. (However, if you are from a state that does not require something that the present state does, then you can most often state that to the officer, such as proof of insurance/registration in the vehicle) If the officers start asking questions or demanding ID from the passengers then there is a question as to whether you have to respond. I personally will not respond to any question presented to me in a car where I am not driving. (exception being at the border, where I am required to so that I can enter the US, Canada or Mexico). There is no requirement that a passenger produce ID or even answer any question. Now the result of doing this is probably going to result in a very very mad officer, and could land the driver in trouble as the cop retaliates. The only thing that you must do is exit the vehicle if the officer instructs you to. If you do not exit the vehicle, odds are they will remove you anyway and you could be charged with interfering.

The above is not legal advise and should not be taken as such.

Who pays for these grants? Is this some kind of make-work program? Sounds like it would be more efficient to just directly transfer the funds from whomever is bankrolling it to the bank accounts of the officers and dispatchers.

Of course, no chance of catching the score of the century without the checkpoints - some kid who forgot to hide his joint before he got to the checkpoint.

You, as a taxpayer in California, do, as they're either from state or federal funds. We've also had grants for alcohol stings at stores, seat belt programs, and DUI programs. One source of grant money in CA is the Office of Traffic Safety:
http://www.ots.ca.gov/grants/default.asp

Not only is the Albuquerque city council installing MORE red light cameras, they are considering allowing APD to use them to also monitor speeders. I didn't realize that the cameras not only take high resolution stills but also full motion video of the intersections. So, when you get a civil notice in the mail, they include a URL that you can go to and view your car running the light! :o

The other bit of news announced yesterday is that they are going to roll out more speed vans: "The vans are equipped with cameras that will shoot video of a license plate of a car being driven over the speed limit. The owner of that car will then automatically receive a ticket in the mail."
http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewe...iewer&id=26820

Just like the red light cameras, the "citations" are civil fines and thus, no points assessed on the vehicle's owner's license. But that also means you have to see some city hall paper pusher to fight the fine...and you know what they say about fighting city hall.

EDITED TO ADD
http://www.krqe.com/expanded.asp?ID=16298
The citations are in the mail. What's worse, it turns out that the "civil fine" of $100 you pay to the city for this type of "ticket" is MORE than the $59 you would pay for a speeding ticket issued by an actual police officer!! :mad: And yet, they still won't admit it's a revenue generation scheme :rolleyes:

Police to breath test pedestrians
"Investigators targeting bars for over serving customers intend to add another tool to their belt in coming weeks: They’ll be asking for breath tests from pedestrians.
...
any pedestrian approached by an agent and asked to submit a breath test is perfectly within his or her rights to refuse. “Then we send them along their way – so long as there are no other violations,” he said.

If however, an individual does submit a breath test that does show a blood-alcohol level of over 0.14, that person won’t be charged with anything – but investigators may use that evidence to try to make a case against the individual’s bar o[r] bartender."

A lot of bar owners were howling over this because of the "last bar" approach this measure takes: What happens when Bubba has 5 beers at home, goes on a pub crawl with his buddies and has 8 more drinks over the course of the night...it's the last bar he was in that gets nailed for over serving.

One bar owner hired a professional cameraman to film what happened to his patrons leaving the bar. The owner and cameraman were promptly arrested for interfering with undercover state investigators. :rolleyes:

If you live in Albuquerque, beware that the soccer-cops are moving out of the school zones! What's a 'soccer-cop'? It's an unmarked van equipped with radar and camera that sits on the side of the road. As part of the speeding crackdown related to school zones, the SCV (Soccer-Cop Vans) would snag both speeders AND folks who passed buses with flashing lights on. 1 mph over the school zone speed limit will cost you $100!!

Oh, and works like the traffic light cams. They don't stop you at the time of the infraction. You just get a nice little citation in the mail.

Now, since the program has been so successful around schools, it's being pushed out to both residential neighborhoods and to interstates 25 and 40. So, if you're driving through the 'Big-I', be sure to watch that gas pedal

Rio Rancho PD has their own tricks as well...
http://www.officer.com/article/artic...&siteSection=1
"Rio Rancho motorists might do well to slow down - that little old man in the electric wheelchair on the sidewalk could be a police officer in disguise.

Equipped with a radar gun, a walkie-talkie and a loaned power wheelchair, police Sgt. Pete Camacho has been cruising residential streets this week, on the prowl for speeders."

Is it legal to use an electric wheelchair (non-road legal vehicle) on a public road if you're not using it as a mobility aid? Shouldn't that officer be cited?

That's nothing. In VA the police will arrest you for public intoxication in a bar if you have a BAC of 0.08 or higher. Even if you are not going to drive. Even if you don't own/lease/rent a car.

Why would it be illegal?

It's time to de-fund police departments.

A motorized wheelchair is not a street legal vehicle. It is however, a motorized vehicle, and thus illegal to use on a sidewalk (I'm not 100% sure of this), just like a go-cart. Exceptions are typically made in many traffic codes if they are used as mobility aids (as treating them like pedestrians).

I wonder what these "other violations" might be? Having your shirt untucked? Hair uncombed? Not providing your name?