Washington State again - Bill to restrain cops on traffic stops

[TedKennedy]

Man, I can’t believe some of the comments I’m reading here. If you don’t want to get pulled over then don’t drive with burned out taillights and wear your darn seatbelt. If you can’t afford to replace a headlight then get a job. If you have a job and still can’t afford a headlight then get a second job or learn a skill/further your education making you a more valuable employee and get a better paying job. This is nothing but more BLM/WOKE nonsense. If you don’t want to get pulled over then don’t drive dirty. If you don’t want to get tuned up then don’t run from the cops, this isn’t rocket science. As responsible drivers enjoying the privilege (it’s not a right) we agree to a few things like carry insurance and keeping up on the maintenance of our vehicles. Not sure why certain people think they shouldn’t be held responsible for their own actions but it started with the participation trophy generation/“time out” generation. Not sure what world you grew up in but I was appropriately punished by my parents for the wrongs I did and rewarded for my successes. Today we say “oh it’s okay Johnny, we know you didn’t mean to steal that candy bar.” “While sitting in your room thinking about this I want you to polish that soccer trophy you received for showing up to most of the games last year.” Gimme a break!

Love it.

 

[BobbyV]

Window tint is one that really strikes me as BS, as I had a cop comment on our tint, while his tint was black as night.

This is definitely aggravating. Back in college we had to dodge Ada cops on a regular basis because they had a bug up their butt about tint.

 

[TedKennedy]

This is definitely aggravating. Back in college we had to dodge Ada cops on a regular basis because they had a bug up their butt about tint.

Don't you care about their safety? The comment I heard from one was "we don't know how many people are in the car".

 

[Letfreedomring]

Ha! My neighbor a county sheriff never wears their seatbelt in their POV. I'm sure if they had a private jet, they would help save the world like the rest of the jet setters.

Note: pronouns used to protect the guilty....

 

[Coug91]

There are reasons I'm occasionally sad to say I was born in Washington. This is one of them. SMFH

 

[TedKennedy]

I wonder what Hancock, Adams, Jefferson, Henry and the rest of those guys would think of random stops, stops for taillights, tinting, and subsequent searches....while you're simply trying to drive down the damned road.

 

[Bob White]

If my house was burglarized and the suspect was driving around with an expired tag or broken tail light, I’d be happy with an officer making a “random” stop of the suspect and recovering my stolen guns.

 

[Snattlerake]

I wonder what Hancock, Adams, Jefferson, Henry and the rest of those guys would think of random stops, stops for taillights, tinting, and subsequent searches....while you're simply trying to drive down the damned road.

It was kind of funny to me because a really high percentage of my attempts to stop someone just to tell them their tail light was out ended up with the guy rabbiting. It didn't matter if it was a crappy car or a Rolls, the driver usually attempted to run. Most of those were because they also were DUI, suspended, or had a warrant. Some were they just didn't want to be stopped as in the Rolls Royce. I could almost tell you when the guy was going to run or not before I lit them up.

 

[TedKennedy]

It was kind of funny to me because a really high percentage of my attempts to stop someone just to tell them their tail light was out ended up with the guy rabbiting. It didn't matter if it was a crappy car or a Rolls, the driver usually attempted to run. Most of those were because they also were DUI, suspended, or had a warrant. Some were they just didn't want to be stopped. I could almost tell you when the guy was going to run or not before I lit them up.

How high was that percentage?

 

[Bigdawg90]

Man, I can’t believe some of the comments I’m reading here. If you don’t want to get pulled over then don’t drive with burned out taillights and wear your darn seatbelt. If you can’t afford to replace a headlight then get a job. If you have a job and still can’t afford a headlight then get a second job or learn a skill/further your education making you a more valuable employee and get a better paying job. This is nothing but more BLM/WOKE nonsense. If you don’t want to get pulled over then don’t drive dirty. If you don’t want to get tuned up then don’t run from the cops, this isn’t rocket science. As responsible drivers enjoying the privilege (it’s not a right) we agree to a few things like carry insurance and keeping up on the maintenance of our vehicles. Not sure why certain people think they shouldn’t be held responsible for their own actions but it started with the participation trophy generation/“time out” generation. Not sure what world you grew up in but I was appropriately punished by my parents for the wrongs I did and rewarded for my successes. Today we say “oh it’s okay Johnny, we know you didn’t mean to steal that candy bar.” “While sitting in your room thinking about this I want you to polish that soccer trophy you received for showing up to most of the games last year.” Gimme a break!

This has nothing to do with generational differences. The whole safe space generation stuff just distracts from poor arguments. Why does the government enforce my interest in my own safety? Seat belt laws are ridiculous. It’s the state charging you a fine to make sure you protect yourself. It’s asinine. Same thing applies to motorcycle helmet laws. The only law that should apply is for parents to buckle up their children.

If you don’t register your vehicle properly and on time, you already get fined at the DMV when you attempt to register. You just get an additional fine from the state from a ticket. That’s ridiculous.

The amount of people willing to use generalized concepts of punishments astounds me. “I’ll let the cops stop people and that will make me feel safer.” “If I give the cops more reasons to stop people they can stop more criminals. It’ll never lead to violations of civil rights.”

Criminals don’t care about punishments. That’s why they’re criminals. An additional ticket won’t do anything. They’ll just throw it away. When they get a suspended license they’ll just keep driving. When they go to jail for that, they’ll just get out and drive again.

I don’t want government intrusion into my life. Leave me alone. That’s not woke/BLM stuff. That’s me saying I’ll take care of myself you take care of yourself. Stop getting the government involved. I’ll call the cops after I’ve shot an intruder. I don’t need a cop right by my house to “stop the bad guys.”

Cops should focus on things that actually cause public safety issues. Their ever expanding set of functions only lends itself to corruption. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Cops should have a defined function in our society and not deviate from it. Minor traffic violations do not serve a public safety function. They are administrative.