Re:How fateful?
by throwaway2037 on Tuesday October 04, 2022 @08:59AM
(#33079672)
When I stopped driving in the United States, I noticed a sharp drop in interaction with the police. Years would go by with zero interaction. In a car: A few times a year (or month if unlucky). All of those automobile-related interactions are an opportunity for you to make a small mistake that will be blown up by the officer.
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It seems like the US has a real problem with this.
I've been driving for almost 15 years in the UK, and I've only been stopped once by the Police at a heavily advertised drink-driving checkpost set up during the Christmas season.
Re:How fateful?
by elliottcarlson on Tuesday October 04, 2022 @10:50AM
(#33081212)
I recall a road trip with my father (this is at least 30 years ago), where we went to see my grandfather a few states away. As we drove through some small rural town, we were tailed by the local police for quite some time until we hit the county line and they simply turned around -- my dad told me at the time that they must have been following us to see if they could find a reason to pull us over. As I grew up, and started driving myself, I believe that to have been the case. Quotas for tickets and arrests are definitely a problem in the US.
Re:How fateful?
by throwaway2037 on Tuesday October 04, 2022 @03:26PM
(#33085463)
Real question / No trolling: How do you feel about "holiday season" motor car stops? On the surface, it sounds great (reduce drink-driving), until you are an ethnic minority and the police person is discriminatory. Thoughts?
Seems like another US-centric problem.
Discrimination does happen in the UK, but I don't think there's the same motivation from the Police to arrest people for trivial matters during this sort of campaign.