Dear Crabby,
Why does it seem like police officers give more tickets at certain times of the year? Is there some sort of quota they need to fill? Is this a fundraiser for them?
Sincerely, Caught Red Handed
Dear Caught Red Handed,
If I had to guess, I would say that you recently received a ticket for some reason or another. I have been there a few times in my life as well. I do emphasize that it was only a few times. As a matter of fact, I have a saying that really gets under Mrs. Crabby’s skin – hard to believe isn’t it? My saying is “I’ve never been in an accident and never had a ticket!” I can see her face start to burn even as I write this! You see, it’s a bit of a stretch to say that either is true. I have never had a ticket on my record, but I have been pulled over multiple times. When I was a teenager, I received a speeding ticket and the police officer offered to put me on some sort of probation whereby if I did not receive any other tickets for two more years there would be no record of it.
Every other time I was
pulled over, the officers would always say, “Well you have a perfect record. You do not want to tarnish that now, do you?” And they would let me off with a warning. We cannot say the same is true for a certain female in my family, but we do not want to name any names here. As for accidents, I have never officially had any accidents on my record either.
But I have bumped a few cars by mistake and I did back up into our babysitter’s car when it was parked in my own driveway once. However, a certain female in my family, who again shall remain nameless, cannot say the same thing. As for why it appears that there are more tickets at certain times of the year though, I cannot say with any authority. There may be some truth to the thought that police officers are given a quota and told to issue so many tickets per quarter or per month, but I cannot prove that. I tend to think that it is more similar to when you buy a red car; suddenly you see red cars everywhere on the road.
When you do get a ticket and start talking about it, everyone you run into has a similar story to share. This would make one think that suddenly police officers everywhere are issuing tickets just to pick on people, when in reality that may not be the case. As for it being a fundraiser, I am not even sure that the police department gets to keep the revenue from the ticket. I know that you end up paying the court or the community you were ticketed in, so I’m not sure that fundraiser allegation is legitimate either. I would say that the police have a job to do and if we are legitimately going over the speed limit then they should do their job and write out tickets. I know this isn’t my usually crabby response, but like I said, “I’ve never been in an accident and never had a ticket!”
Sincerely, Dear Crabby
Stuck in a rut? Need some biased advice from a crabby old baby-boomer? Then email me your question at dearcrabby@rochestermedia.com. You can also head on over to my Facebook page and tell me how wonderful I am.
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