Pulling people over for Seat Belt Violations... Really?

To FHP troopers...

Please exercise some common sense discretion in choosing the level of violation you deem appropriate in detaining people on their way to work.

Was on my way to work (morning rush hour, around 8:45am) when I was pulled over by an FHP trooper. I was sure he was going to warn me that my tires were low or some such thing in that I was driving below the speed limit and was obeying all traffic laws (well all save one apparently).

He explained that he pulled me over because he noticed I was not wearing my seat belt.

So there I sat, pulled over to the side of the road, 1/2 the cars whizzing by at 5mph or more over the speed limit, many not even bothering to change lanes, as I was issued a $115 ticket for not wearing a seat belt.

you are a total idiot, and why would you get special privlige? the law has been advertised for years, you seem to be 1 of those lazy idiots that don't want to wear the seatbelt then grandstand about O-M-G the bad ole Trooper wrote me a ticket? LMAO i'm glad you got a ticket and lost wages you moron. Bet you wear that belt now

In addition to being late for work and docked pay, I now get to work all day for "free" as my daily wage now barely covers the $115 ticket.

Handed him my license, registration, and proof of insurance - I was fairly certain he would just issue a warning after learning that everything was in order - how wrong I was.

Not arguing against seat belt laws, but how about a little common sense discretion in choosing which traffic violators to pull over? If the only traffic violation this trooper could find during rush hour are seat belt infractions, then we either have a blind trooper OR perhaps our roads are now safe enough to cut back on the amount of money and troopers we employ (or perhaps we have someone trying to pad their ticket counts with ANY violation no matter how small).

Used to remember when there was something called "commuter privilege" when us private sector worker drones who had to be in at work at 9am and didn't have pension or healthcare benefits were given a little discretion in commuting to/from work - not anymore apparently - wonder if this is revenue related.

IMO, such actions just create ill will.

And then troopers wonder why nobody likes them and won't give them a raise! Some of you idiots really need to look in the mirror and realize you are not God because some of you have a serious God complex. After reading some of the responses on here you guys sound like a bunch of Nazi thugs with foul mouths and no professionalism.

That brings me to my second point that someone else already pointed out. Why do we enforce the seatbelt law and enact it as a primary offense yet do away with the helmet law for motorcyclists? I'll tell you why because there is not enough revenue to be made off of motorcycle helmet enforcement because there is not enough of them. But there are plenty of cars with seat belts and the law of averages makes it a much more profitable endeavor to write all of those $115 seat belt tickets. If you think for one moment that the seat belt law is about safety you are wrong.

You see that's what's wrong with law enforcement today. It's been hijacked by the special interest do-gooders who want to protect everybody from themselves and legislate morality. After they pass all these laws they sit back in almost pure anonymity and expect troopers, deputy's and police officers to do all the dirty work of enforcing these ridiculous laws they have passed. It's not the governments job to protect you from yourself, that's an individuals job. Don't try to defend the seat belt law with that B.S. story about "everybody pays" if you are injured in a crash without your seat belt either, that's just a way of justifying a B.S. law.

If the law makers of this country stopped trying to legislate for special interest groups and stopped using law enforcement as road side tax collectors and stopped trying to legislate morality then law enforcement could do the job it was Intended to do and that is protect the public they serve from crime and disorder.

Not save people from themselves because they choose not to wear a seat belt. Like a poster above said, what's next no more driving at night because its to dangerous?

wake up moron, cops enforce the law that's whaty you pay them for you idiot.

Mo money, mo money , mo money...

I write all violations, as petty as they are in the minds of civilians. They hate us anyway, so I just live up to their expectations. I dont care if there's no helmet law. When there is, I'll write those to. Im here to enforce all laws, regardless if I agree with them.

So cry all you want, but sign right here. :evil:

I write all violations, as petty as they are in the minds of civilians. They hate us anyway, so I just live up to their expectations. I dont care if there's no helmet law. When there is, I'll write those to. Im here to enforce all laws, regardless if I agree with them.

So cry all you want, but sign right here. :evil:

Well then pull all the helmetless motorcycler riders for 5mph over warning and then check if they have the required insurance to be helmetless. I doubt many do. :snicker:

To the original poster - You BROKE THE LAW! There is a ZERO TOLERANCE policy when it comes to not wearing seat belts.

Instead of *****ing on a forum, why don't you something a simple as obeying the law, and wear your seat belt...

I write all violations, as petty as they are in the minds of civilians. They hate us anyway, so I just live up to their expectations. I dont care if there's no helmet law. When there is, I'll write those to. Im here to enforce all laws, regardless if I agree with them.

So cry all you want, but sign right here. :evil:

Well then pull all the helmetless motorcycler riders for 5mph over warning and then check if they have the required insurance to be helmetless. I doubt many do. :snicker:

Good luck with that one. The only reason there is a primary seat belt law is because the state was about to loose millions in federal highway money for not having a primary seat belt law. If you are an adult and choose not to wear your seatbelt then so be it, its your right to die or be injured in a car crash and cause everyone elses insurance rates to go up because of all the trips to the hospital. Look at how much it cost to fly to a hospital via life flight.

And then troopers wonder why nobody likes them and won't give them a raise! Some of you idiots really need to look in the mirror and realize you are not God because some of you have a serious God complex. After reading some of the responses on here you guys sound like a bunch of Nazi thugs with foul mouths and no professionalism.

That brings me to my second point that someone else already pointed out. Why do we enforce the seatbelt law and enact it as a primary offense yet do away with the helmet law for motorcyclists? I'll tell you why because there is not enough revenue to be made off of motorcycle helmet enforcement because there is not enough of them. But there are plenty of cars with seat belts and the law of averages makes it a much more profitable endeavor to write all of those $115 seat belt tickets. If you think for one moment that the seat belt law is about safety you are wrong.

You see that's what's wrong with law enforcement today. It's been hijacked by the special interest do-gooders who want to protect everybody from themselves and legislate morality. After they pass all these laws they sit back in almost pure anonymity and expect troopers, deputy's and police officers to do all the dirty work of enforcing these ridiculous laws they have passed. It's not the governments job to protect you from yourself, that's an individuals job. Don't try to defend the seat belt law with that B.S. story about "everybody pays" if you are injured in a crash without your seat belt either, that's just a way of justifying a B.S. law.

If the law makers of this country stopped trying to legislate for special interest groups and stopped using law enforcement as road side tax collectors and stopped trying to legislate morality then law enforcement could do the job it was Intended to do and that is protect the public they serve from crime and disorder.

Not save people from themselves because they choose not to wear a seat belt. Like a poster above said, what's next no more driving at night because its to dangerous?

wake up moron, cops enforce the law that's whaty you pay them for you idiot.

The person who responded to this post is an ignorant and blind fool. A mindless drone who is nothing more than a roadside tax collector who blindly follows the orders of his superiors and government officials like a lemming marching over a cliff.

Ok. For all you safety nazis who claim the primary seatbelt law is about saving lives and reducing insurance claims by reducing injuries injuries; why haven't my insurance rates gone down? Oh, that's because it's not about safety and saving lives and its even less about reducing medical bills by reducing injuries and therefore insurance payouts. It is however all about raising revenue by giving law enforcement another avenue for writing traffic tickets. It's the same reason they passed a law allowing red light cameras. Nothing about safety and all about money.

You troopers tell yourself what you want to make yourself feel better about writing those frivolous and meaningless traffic tickets to people, who outside of a traffic infraction are generally law abiding and productive citizens, but we all know the truth. It's all about the money.

Do us all a favor and hit a tree without your seatbelt on.