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Wow, I was reading in my latest Car & Driver how the Detroit cops are doing some serious revenue collecting for da Motor City.  In fact one of the cops there was quoted saying

That's not what I got into law enforcement for to hand out chintzy tickets. Things have changed from when I first started on this job. There was a time when you'd come in do your job and go home.  But I've never felt pressure to bring revenue to the city like we do now.  It's a whole different ball game now.  They're trying to use police officers to balance the budget on the backs of drivers and it's too bad.  The people we count on to support us and help us when we're on the road are the ones who end up paying the bills, and they're ticked off about it.  We might as well just go door to door and tell people, "Slide us $100 now since your 16-year old is going to end up paying us anyway when he starts driving" You can't blame people for getting upset.

Wow this is the first time I ever heard a cop confess to revenue collecting.  Car & Driver used his name too.  He is a vet cop but I wonder if he'll still have his job now that his quotes are out in print?  
Austin Cooper

Yes, it's interesting how things have changed. I believe it is very difficult to get out of a ticket on the side of the road these days. You may be able to get a few mph knocked off but you're going to get cited and pay a fine pretty much no matter what. The cops/jurisdiction need the money.  

Marc in the case of Detroit having a few MPH knocked off your ticket might not even happen.  That's because they're going as far as nailing people speeding 5 MPH over the limit now   I'm not a speeder to begin with but if I was in Detroit now I'd take the speed limit literally there for what it is.  Don't blow off other things too such as not coming to absolute full stop at stop signs or else.  

With the way things are going now, who's to say if this is just a Detroit only thing?  Other communities could be hurting just as bad as Detroit now in these tough times    
Austin Cooper

I've not seen this to be the case per se, but then again, I don't speed through Detroit itself.  Perhaps part of the problem lies with the large stretch of construction on I-75 just south of the downtown area (five-over in a construction zone is a big deal around here) or the fact that talking on a cell phone without some form of hands-free technology is a ticketable offense.  

Yes, there isn't much room to play with if you're pulled over for an honest 5 mph over. Scary times!