CHP not enforcing laws (vehicles, SUV, truck, drivers)

[jimhcom]

I don't know about other places but here in California it seems as if the CHP is no longer enforcing traffic laws the way they did say 20 years ago. We recently had a CHP officer give a talk on safety at work and he admitted when he was using his radar on the freeway he almost never ticketed anyone doing less than 75mph. Truck drivers now drive in the #2 and #3 lanes and routenly do 65-70mph. There are multitudes of pickups and SUV's that have lift kits that jack the bumpers far beyond the legal 31" level, making them lethal to regular height cars in the case of collision. Almost every day I see some moron doing 85+ and weaving thru traffic, usualy with a cell phone glued to their ear. Road rage is everywhere. It just seems alot more dangerous than it used to be. What your opinion?

[Miami Vice]

More people/calls for service, and not enough law enforcement. Traffic enforcement gets pushed to the bottom of the priority list.

[brikag]

OK...hundreds of miles of highway in LA county alone. Tens of thousands of commuters in those highways enraged with anger at anytime of the hour, I wouldn't blame them if they answer to a domestic violence call than a speeding vehicle! Out here, we police ourselves!

[gildossantos]

see the thread and lots of replies here :

driving in California/California drivers, the end of a myth : a French driver's experience

tell me what you think.

[GregW]

When I started driving in the mid 1960's our VW Bug could almost keep up with traffic. That little bug could only do 70 mph on a good day with a tailwind. Now I set the cruise control at 72 mph to keep from getting run over by the traffic. The bug would be a dangerous car on modern expressways.

I have been passed by a police car while cruising at 72 in a 65 limit. He just ignored my old Subie and cruised past. Seemed reasonable to me as there was little traffic and good clear weather. Must have seemed reasonable to him as well.

Traffic is getting faster and the squirrles getting bolder and more disruptive. We need the cops to stop the crazies and leave the rest of us alone.

[jimhcom]

Originally Posted by brikag

OK...hundreds of miles of highway in LA county alone. Tens of thousands of commuters in those highways enraged with anger at anytime of the hour, I wouldn't blame them if they answer to a domestic violence call than a speeding vehicle! Out here, we police ourselves!

CHP ususally don't respond to domestic violence, that is the realm of city police and sheriffs the CHP is supposed to be enforcing traffic.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by jimhcom

I don't know about other places but here in California it seems as if the CHP is no longer enforcing traffic laws the way they did say 20 years ago. We recently had a CHP officer give a talk on safety at work and he admitted when he was using his radar on the freeway he almost never ticketed anyone doing less than 75mph. Truck drivers now drive in the #2 and #3 lanes and routenly do 65-70mph. There are multitudes of pickups and SUV's that have lift kits that jack the bumpers far beyond the legal 31" level, making them lethal to regular height cars in the case of collision. Almost every day I see some moron doing 85+ and weaving thru traffic, usualy with a cell phone glued to their ear. Road rage is everywhere. It just seems alot more dangerous than it used to be. What your opinion?

I totally agree. I don't know what it takes to get a speeding ticket in L.A. - I've never received one. I generally go along with traffic and make sure someone else is going faster than me. Of course most of my commute over the years the traffic was so bad you couldn't go anywhere near the speed limit.

I always wondered about the jacked up trucks. Those seem so incredibly dangerous. I remember back in the '80s you'd see CHP officers measuring the bumpers of jacked up trucks. I figured the law had changed. Now that I've moved to Denver, I never see jacked up trucks/SUVs like that.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by jimhcom

I don't know about other places but here in California it seems as if the CHP is no longer enforcing traffic laws the way they did say 20 years ago. We recently had a CHP officer give a talk on safety at work and he admitted when he was using his radar on the freeway he almost never ticketed anyone doing less than 75mph. Truck drivers now drive in the #2 and #3 lanes and routenly do 65-70mph. There are multitudes of pickups and SUV's that have lift kits that jack the bumpers far beyond the legal 31" level, making them lethal to regular height cars in the case of collision. Almost every day I see some moron doing 85+ and weaving thru traffic, usualy with a cell phone glued to their ear. Road rage is everywhere. It just seems alot more dangerous than it used to be. What your opinion?

Unfortunately, Jimhcom . . . although California may be high on the list, this scenario is being repeated all around the country.

! ! ! !

[burdell]

I don't think speed by itself is dangerous. I'd much rather be on the road with attentive drivers in well maintained vehicles going 10-15 over the limit than with cell-phone yakking, make-up applying, shaving, newspaper reading, lunch-eating drivers in poorly maintained vehicles doing the limit.

[GregW]

Who wouldn't?