Traffic citation by and large are nothing more than a way to drive revenue and seperate people from their money. The vast majority of citations have no victim, and if their is a victim it is the responsibility of the victim to file the cause of action on their own behalf as the injured party and the basis for the action must allege that “but for the person’s action the victim would not have been injured , or have had their rights usurrped, or violated. So when the officer files a cause of action (Ticket) he is claiming that the state is the victim, or injured party, which is impossible. Traffic citation has not a single shred of validity to them what so ever and as such have no standing in court, but most folks will not challenge this , rather they will just pay the fine like good little sheep. 99% of ticket can be beaten in court, see http://www.marcstevens.net for more info on this subject, there I did a little work for you sheep now click the link and learn something from my friend Marc.

The right to travel has never been overturned in the US supreme court. Having a driver license is by choice , but has been manipulated to the extent that everyone believes that you must have one in order to travel in the mode of conveyance that is popular at the time . All licensing is for use of commercial traffic and to drive means to operate a vehicle for monetary gain. I am sure this will automatically be condemned by those who think they know law ,yet are unwilling to cite any court cases to rebutt my statement due to laziness. It is so much easier to just let something incorrect spill from your sewer rather than put time in to seek truth. Traveling with guests is much different than driving passengers in legaleese. Just as their is a huge difference between a lawyer, attorney, or counselor.

Yeah, an officer that has known me since I was young pulled me over once for avoiding a road block, but when he saw who I was he just made fun of me and sent me through.

kxvicious, I understand that aspect as well.  While I was born and raised here, I lived in Virgina for 25 years.  The checkpoints there were more numerous and more intensive than here.  In addition to the items they check for here, they also checked the vehicle safety inspection sticker (yearly safety inspections in VA).  They were a bit more time consuming and most were not pre-announced.  My wife ran into one with about a 30 car back-up and made a u-turn.  A motorcyle cop pulled her over and though everything turned out ok, he treated her as if she was trying to avoid the checkpoint.  The checkpoints here are quicker and they will have the violators pull off the road for ticketing.  I guess I would feel they were more time-consuming if I had not been used to the methods in other states.

Sheltie, not everyone opposed to these things are criminals or driving illegally. I am not a criminal, nor do I drive illegally. However, these checkpoints DO take a long time to get through and they DO make me late for work/school.

Checkpoints serve a useful purpose by arresting or ticketing a percentage of the criminals who drive on suspended licenses, have no tag, have no insurance, or have unsafe vehicles.  These are laws, not options. If you choose to drive illegally, guess what, you’re a criminal. NO ONE forces a person to drive illegally, it is a choice.  If you follow the laws of the road, you will have no problem.  If citizens chose to obey the law, the need for checkpoints would be diminished.  If you check the Mobile County Sheriff website, you will see that numerous people are booked into the county jail for these offenses EVERY day.  It is a problem in the county.  If a person has a suspended license, obviously they have a problem with driving safely.  If they continue driving, without insurance and a tag, is it not logical to think they will be involved in an accident.  If they hit you, who will be responsible for the damages to your property and health?  So yes, bring on the checkpoints!

I can not speak for the ones you see or what they were doing. If I saw one throwing a cigg. butt out the window I would not be too happy. Seeing one that does not pull a car over that is breaking the law, they could be on another call or another unit. At times it is easier for them to get to whatever call they need to without blaring their sirens because some people panic and jam up the roads. If you are seeing an officer not obeying the rules of the road take the number of the car and call it in.

Why is it then that I constantly see police not inforcing these laws? There have been many times I’ve wanted to pull a cop over for various things (talking on cellphone while driving, throwing cigarette butt out the window, failure to use blinker when turning or changing lanes, speeding, running redlights, and the list goes on…)

The point is that when they are performed it does not take away from other issues or situations. Yes LE has more dangerous issues to deal with, but they also have to address any kind of crime or violation. Does it suck when you are going over the speed limit and get a ticket? Yeah. When you get the ticket is there a mass murderer or rapist that got off because of it? No.

Various. They can patrol for driving violations. Make sure that people are obeying a newly set speed limit or making sure that they are driving safely if workers are present in a certain area.