The Daily Show with Trevor Noah had a segment called The Police Quota System – If You Don’t Know, Now You Know. “Police officers give people tickets for speeding or running a stop sign, but there’s another reason that people are getting pulled over: It’s the dirty little secret called the quota system.”
Here’s a news story about the Daily Show segment. “Noah explains that police give people traffic tickets for multiple reasons, be it speeding or running a stop sign, or simply to generate ticket revenue. The quota system is illegal in a handful of states, like Florida, at which Noah quipped that if it’s illegal in Florida, ‘then it’s got to be really bad.'”
And the map shown indicated that quotas are likewise illegal in New York. But a friend of mine, a very good driver, I believe was caught up in one of those situations. I wasn’t present but heard all about it. And it’s what they WEREN’T charged with that really caught my attention.
CAUTION
In a small, rural community, there was a school bus riding down the road with its yellow lights flashing. My friend was driving on the other side of the road toward the bus. But since the bus never stopped, my friend slowed down but did not halt.
The local cop soon pulled over my friend. He said, “Do you know why I pulled you over?” “No.” “Because you passed the bus. You should have come to a stop.” This is bogus.
From the NYS DMV manual: When a stopped school bus flashes its red light(s), traffic that approaches from either direction, even in front of the school and in school parking lots, must stop before it reaches the bus. You should stop at least 20 feet (6 m) away from the bus…
Before a school bus stops to load or discharge passengers, the driver will usually flash warning lights, which are located on the front and back of the bus near the roof. When you see them, decrease speed and be prepared to stop. Which is what happened, but the bus NEVER stopped.
Then the cop said he’d give my friend a pass on the bus charge and only give out a ticket for speeding. Unfortunately, this place is four hours away, because my friend would LOVE to see the alleged sign suggesting a lowered speed limit. So going back to challenge the ticket is not cost-effective, especially since my friend has not had a ticket in decades.
