Do cops check to see who's speeding in order to save lives, or is it just a money making business?

I see a lot around where I live, that cops like to hide at the bottom of steep hills at night, waiting for someone to speed so they can hand them a ticket. If the speed limit is 45, and your going down hill, if your not paying attention, your speed will jump 5 or 10 miles over, and boom, ticket.

On this street, the road is open, safe, no lights, slim chance of accidents. On other roads, things are more dangerous, more cars, more pedestrians, more speeding, yet, no cops around to help save lives by giving tickets. At least in areas I have lived,

So it seems to me that this is more of a money making business. Someone told me, "well your responsible for paying attention to your speed regardless.". Thats true. But if cops are more interested in waiting at bottoms of hills to witness involuntary speeding, and ignore areas where people speed on purpose and cause accidents, isn't sometimes wrong here?

The laws against speeding where made to save lives. But it seems like cops put more importance on who's breaking the law over who's lives are at risk. They should be concerned with both.

Thoughts?
Additional Details
Fred P - You ask how I don't know if they're patrolling the other areas. the answer is simple. Because at the bottom of the hill, a police car is always parked there .In the more dangerous driving areas, they're are never any police cars. They only show up after someon dies of an accident.

True Believer

Both. They are their to save lives, but I think that more often than not, they are doing it to get money, not because there is any immediate danger going on that they need to protect us from (eg, pedestrians, other cars ect.)

|â–’â–’Kebert Xelaâ–’â–’|

- it is "you're"
not "your"

- Police Officers don't make money off of speeding tickets.

- Police Departments make little to no money off of speeding tickets

- if you're not paying attention to your speed, what makes you think you're doing a good job overall of paying attention to your driving?

- Writing traffic tickets is a great way to run into people doing other, more serious, illegal things.

Just because you don't see the point in something, doesn't mean that there isn't one.

gunsandammoatwork

I love this question. Here is why:

Murder = 1 every 22 minutes
Person killed in a car crash = 1 every 13 minutes

Aggravated assault= 1 every 30 seconds
Person injured in a crash = 1 every 11 seconds

In other words, more people are killed, maimed, and injured from car crashes than crime. The terrible part is they are avoidable! And most are caused by...speed!

As far as money making, I laugh at that. For starters, it's not like the cop gets any money for writing a ticket. The state takes more than 50% of the fines (sometimes near 60-70%), the county then gets the next largest chunk, and finally, if the ticket was written in a city, they get about 15%. And this doesn't go to the police department, that goes to the city general fund.

So, you see, the money making aspect is moot.

EDIT:

Where on earth did you find info that cops get more gear for writing tickets? Let me know so I can get some (not). Please post your source for this info. Since I have been a cop for a while, I have yet to see ANY programs that give money for writing tickets.

If you are referring to grants, that isn't the same thing. Grants are monies awarded from agencies (usually OTS) to combat problem areas or issues. The grant money goes to those specific issues. Most of the money goes to OT or additional training for officer in the problem subject. These grants are not awarded to agencies for writing a bunch of tickets.

As for where the money goes, you can look up 1463 of the CA penal code, which deals with all fines and fees for everything but parking fees. 1463.002 gives the percentage breakdowns by city and county.

As for where people die on the road, the answer is it happens anywhere and everywhere. I have been a major/fatal collision investigator for years. I have seen a lot of fatal collisions on streets with "near zero" traffic.

Using your example, I have seen many people loose control on a grade, crash, and kill themselves or someone else. I have seen people get out of control on a "low speed" city street and roll-over. I have also investigated someone blowing a stop sign in a "low traffic" area and killing a pedestrian. There is no such thing as "involuntary speeding". That's rich.

It's sad you can't look past your bias to see what the truth is. I wish you well.

2nd EDIT:

No, there is no "involuntary speeding". You, as the driver, are responsible for keeping your car under control. You have a speedometer and your own senses to monitor your car. And there is this pedal on the left of the gas called the brake. You can also put your car in a lower gear. With your logic, the inanimate car is responsible for your speeding.

It's ironic with a name like yours you fight so hard against facts. Kind of defeats the name.

Oh, and I posted my sources. I'm still waiting for yours.

Fred P

The posted speed limits wre presumably based on a valid traffic survey being conducted. If the speeds were consistently such that the critical speed was greater than what is currently shown, then it needs to be redone.

That being said - speeding is speeding. I suggest you contact your local PD and let them know of specific areas of concern regarding speeding. They should know, based on the number of complaints they would have (or number of accident reports taken in the other area). If your claims can't match up with their records, then you don't have much of a case.... besides, how do you know they AREN'T patrolling the other areas mentioned?

CA Deputy

leslie S

In my city speeding tickets are a state charge. We get nothing. The county gets a small percentage for the courts but we get zilch, no cars no equipment. It all goes to the state budget.
We do get some money back for equipment from drug related seizures of cars and money. Often those seizure do come from traffic stops but for convenience the prosecutors normally throw out any tickets issued that were probable cause for the stop.
In my large city only a handful of officers have radar. They are on the highway and almost all set the system to detect those going more than 15 mph over the limit.
Each station has a couple of officers using Lidar. With Lidar you can sight on a reckless driver and get their speed. Proving speed infractions is easier in court than showing reckless driving. We only send them out to areas where we have had a rash of accidents.
The city does make a lot of money on parking tickets and some of that is used for the police budget but most is used for the sanitation department budget.
Your good authority isn't an authority or good.

Both. Speeding does kill people. When you get a drivers license - you agree to follow the rules of the road. If you speed - you deserve a ticket.

Pfo

If everyone followed the speed limit, cops would lose this revenue stream.

And yet people keep doing it.....

We have the power to stop them, by simply following the laws, and yet we don't.

Krystalâ™¥Â¸.â€¢*Â¨)Â¸.â€¢*Â¨

It's for the money. (Welcome to corperate america) In all reality it's our constituonal right to travel. We pay taxes, we pay for the roads. The idea of the police is to protect and serve correct? It's the publics own fault for continuing to let them screw us. (Soon enough the'll be huling us away to concentration camps) We are living in a police state. WELCOME TO AMERICA WOULD YOU LIKE FRIES WITH THAT?!?

Dasans

Money making business.

Solving murders would save lives, but it doesn't put any dollars in the state's pocket so they worry more about speeding.

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