are Cedar Park cops ticket happy? (Austin, Leander: vehicle registration, insurance, inspections)

[justanothercalifornian]

I've been driving for 16 years and have only had one ticket during that time....until I moved to Cedar Park. I have been pulled over, in the exact same spot, 4 times in the last month. I was driving borrowed cars for two of the occasions since my car was in the shop. So I have two tickets for expired inspection, one for a rolled stop (two doors down from my house) and one proof of insurance (I had my own but I didn't have the borrowed cars insurance on me).
Does anyone else get pulled over this much? I'm going broke! And I'm starting to resent the cops for sitting in the shadows waiting to find any little mistake. There are freaking child molesters on the loose. Wouldn't that be a better use of their time?

[AustinSpartan]

Originally Posted by justanothercalifornian

I've been driving for 16 years and have only had one ticket during that time....until I moved to Cedar Park. I have been pulled over, in the exact same spot, 4 times in the last month. I was driving borrowed cars for two of the occasions since my car was in the shop. So I have two tickets for expired inspection, one for a rolled stop (two doors down from my house) and one proof of insurance (I had my own but I didn't have the borrowed cars insurance on me).
Does anyone else get pulled over this much? I'm going broke! And I'm starting to resent the cops for sitting in the shadows waiting to find any little mistake. There are freaking child molesters on the loose. Wouldn't that be a better use of their time?

If that's your luck, watch yourself at the airport. They're sitting around waiting for people like you (and me) to pull through passenger pickup, or roll into the parking lot. With the number of red light runners in this fair city, I'd imagine they could be keeping me safe on the road, but instead they want to ensure there's a sticker in my car that has the 11 on it.

[TexasHorseLady]

Well, the ones for the expired inspection are pretty obvious - your infraction is right there on the windshield of your car waiting to be noticed, saying "ticket me!". So we can't count those, even if it was a borrowed vehicle, the policeman who pulls you over doesn't know that when he pulls you over, he just knows you're driving a car with an expired inspection. (Yes, I've been pulled over for that, and figured I earned it. After all, it's not the cop's fault that I didn't get my inspection done on time, and it's his job to make sure that there aren't people around there driving around with brakes that are going to fail, etc., thus insuring our safety just as much as in the case of folks who run red lights, etc.)

So that brings us down to two. As for the rolled stop (doesn't really matter where it was, don't get why you mentioned that, if you rolled the sign, you rolled it), did you do it? If so, you apparently did it in front of a cop (else he wouldn't have pulled you over), so you only have yourself to blame for that one, too.

So that brings us to one. I find it hard to imagine the cop pulling you over for proof of insurance - was that one perhaps as part of one of the others?

I've gotten my fair share of tickets, while also going years without them. But I have to say, in every single one, I really WAS doing what I was ticketed for, and rather than resent the officers, just pulled up my big girl panties and accepted the consequences of my own actions (or inaction, in the case of the expired inspection sticker).

[10scoachrick]

Doesn't sound like speeding was your problem; but, I am very aware of the speed limits in Cedar Park, especially in the work zones. I've been stopped on 183(for 4 mph!) well north of CP but never in the city limits. The stretch of Parmer/Ronald Reagan from CP to Leander is a little tricky, as well.

I grew up where we HAD annual vehicle inspections(South Carolina) and they got rid of them. Georgia had emission inspection but not safety inspection; I'm happy to see ALMOST every vehicle around Austin has working brake lights and headlights. In GA, every third vehicle had non-functioning lights and probably lousy brakes to match, not to mention the 'hand-made dealer tag' . It's not a perfect system, but I like the Texas inspection and tag program.

I wouldn't mind if they enforced the 'sound barrier' codes for some of the motorcycles and big trucks around town!


I've noticed cars pulled over just beyond the passenger pick-up/drop-off almost each time at the airport...wondered what they did...still not sure .

[AustinSpartan]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Doesn't sound like speeding was your problem; but, I am very aware of the speed limits in Cedar Park, especially in the work zones. I've been stopped on 183(for 4 mph!) well north of CP but never in the city limits. The stretch of Parmer/Ronald Reagan from CP to Leander is a little tricky, as well.

I grew up where we HAD annual vehicle inspections(South Carolina) and they got rid of them. Georgia had emission inspection but not safety inspection; I'm happy to see ALMOST every vehicle around Austin has working brake lights and headlights. In GA, every third vehicle had non-functioning lights and probably lousy brakes to match, not to mention the 'hand-made dealer tag' . It's not a perfect system, but I like the Texas inspection and tag program.

I wouldn't mind if they enforced the 'sound barrier' codes for some of the motorcycles and big trucks around town!


I've noticed cars pulled over just beyond the passenger pick-up/drop-off almost each time at the airport...wondered what they did...still not sure .

Expired vehicle inspection.

If the system were better executed for vehicle inspections, I'd have no problem with its presence. You only need an inspection to receive a vehicle registration the very first time you register your vehicle. After that, it's completely arbitrary as to when the inspection is done. If the system was done right, each vehicle would need to be inspected prior to registration being issued for the following year. This would guarantee that everyone has up to date inspections and registration. Instead, the APD uses it as a means to fill their coffers.

[TexasHorseLady]

And, yet, they wouldn't be able to fill their coffers if people took responsibility for getting the inspections done when they are supposed to be for their own vehicle.

Again, trying to put the responsibility on the police when it should be resting square on the shoulders of the person who didn't get their inspection done on time.

Wonder why people keep trying to do that?

[justanothercalifornian]

I do realize that I deserved the tickets. My resentment is regarding cops hiding in the same spot trying to find offenses. I feel like there are far more important things they can be doing with their time and making money off of expired inspection tags seems like a waste to me.

[TexasHorseLady]

Perhaps it is, until the time that someone who didn't get their inspection done has a brake failure and crashes into your vehicle, harming your property and perhaps you and yours. Then, it will seem to you like a VERY important thing for them to be doing.

[CptnRn]

In the 33 years I have lived in Austin, the area of 183 including Cedar Park and Leander has always been known for its aggressive speed traps, and any other excuse for writing a ticket. Those communities have come to relay on tickets as a source of income for the municipality.

[inthecut]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Well, the ones for the expired inspection are pretty obvious - your infraction is right there on the windshield of your car waiting to be noticed, saying "ticket me!". So we can't count those, even if it was a borrowed vehicle, the policeman who pulls you over doesn't know that when he pulls you over, he just knows you're driving a car with an expired inspection. (Yes, I've been pulled over for that, and figured I earned it. After all, it's not the cop's fault that I didn't get my inspection done on time, and it's his job to make sure that there aren't people around there driving around with brakes that are going to fail, etc., thus insuring our safety just as much as in the case of folks who run red lights, etc.)

So that brings us down to two. As for the rolled stop (doesn't really matter where it was, don't get why you mentioned that, if you rolled the sign, you rolled it), did you do it? If so, you apparently did it in front of a cop (else he wouldn't have pulled you over), so you only have yourself to blame for that one, too.

So that brings us to one. I find it hard to imagine the cop pulling you over for proof of insurance - was that one perhaps as part of one of the others?

I've gotten my fair share of tickets, while also going years without them. But I have to say, in every single one, I really WAS doing what I was ticketed for, and rather than resent the officers, just pulled up my big girl panties and accepted the consequences of my own actions (or inaction, in the case of the expired inspection sticker).

There is such a thing as revenue generation, ala redlight cams, nightly prowls for expired tickets, and pulling over for minor infractions, such as those rolling stops...its more about the money than anything else. I think that one should be automatically fined for not keeping the sticker current via the mail....picking up big girl panties is a lot harder when you get 100 buck tickets for going over a white line faster than 1 mile an hour making a right turn...that's just down and dirty revenue generation, along with the nightime alleycat prowls in the dark looking for expired anything, when they should be patrolling the streets looking for crime..