Has anyone gotten a ticket yet?

[LEAFfan]

You didn't have crosswalks? Pedestrians always have the right-of-way in crosswalks when there is no light. Here, there are crosswalks at every school so that is no problem at all. I'm surprised you didn't have crosswalks.

Studies have shown that crosswalks give a false sense of security and cities are rethinking their placement and use.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Operations/Traffic/crosswalks.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.azdot.gov/highways/traffic/XWalk.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://ladot.lacity.org/tf_Pedestrian_Safety_at_Uncontrolled_Crosswalks.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation has found that pedestrian accidents are significantly reduced at unmarked crosswalks located at non-street intersections. Pedestrian safety can be improved at unmarked crosswalks because:
-Marked crosswalks give pedestrians a false sense of security
-Motorists disregard marked crosswalks where pedestrian volume is light

We were talking about school crosswalks, not these. There's a BIG difference. And there are pros and cons about other crosswalks. Here is the key for other crosswalks: "The answer, of course, is the understanding by pedestrians that as much caution needs to be used when using a marked crosswalk as those unmarked." Personally, I've never had a problem with a marked crosswalk for Pedestrians because I never trust a vehicle driver. I drive my LEAF the same way.

 

[adric22]

You didn't have crosswalks? Pedestrians always have the right-of-way in crosswalks when there is no light. Here, there are crosswalks at every school so that is no problem at all. I'm surprised you didn't have crosswalks.

No, we didn't have cross walks because there were no sidewalks either. Great combination, huh? Even though I graduated in 1993, I just looked up the school on Google Street View and there are still no sidewalks or crosswalks.

I take it back. It looks like they did add a cross walk down at the far side of the school. It would have been a long way out of my way to walk to it. And since there is no street light, I doubt cars would have just stopped the moment they say a student walking across. Texas is a very bad state for pedestrians. We don't have many pedestrians out and about, few sidewalks, and nobody seems to give them the right of way, when they are. I think in the very downtown areas of Dallas, Ft.Worth, Austin, and Houston there are pedestrians, but that is a very small portion of the state.

 

[Deleted member 3147]

A little bit off topic, but no danger in getting a ticket in that situation. In California police have to be in uniform and driving a properly marked vehicle to issue traffic citations. That's why the CHP has the new all white cars with no logo's anywhere but on the side doors. Really hard to spot those.

Not quite correct. My understanding is that, in California, if a police officer's primary duty is traffic enforcement, then they have to be in uniform and in a marked vehicle. However, if you pass an undercover cop in an unmarked car at 100MPH, he can still pull you over and ticket you.

Jurisdiction doesn't matter either. A local cop from Los Angeles can pull you over on the freeway in San Francisco. Even park rangers can ticket you anywhere if they witness a violation. I assume that they need to be from California but I'm not even sure of that.

 

[jcesare]

Jurisdiction doesn't matter either. A local cop from Los Angeles can pull you over on the freeway in San Francisco. Even park rangers can ticket you anywhere if they witness a violation. I assume that they need to be from California but I'm not even sure of that.

+1

In my area, lifeguards issue lots of parking and traffic tickets. Any law enforcement officier deputized in the state of California can issue tickets in the state.

 

[kevin672]

A little bit off topic, but no danger in getting a ticket in that situation. In California police have to be in uniform and driving a properly marked vehicle to issue traffic citations. That's why the CHP has the new all white cars with no logo's anywhere but on the side doors. Really hard to spot those.

Not quite correct. My understanding is that, in California, if a police officer's primary duty is traffic enforcement, then they have to be in uniform and in a marked vehicle. However, if you pass an undercover cop in an unmarked car at 100MPH, he can still pull you over and ticket you.

Jurisdiction doesn't matter either. A local cop from Los Angeles can pull you over on the freeway in San Francisco. Even park rangers can ticket you anywhere if they witness a violation. I assume that they need to be from California but I'm not even sure of that.

While the jurisdiction thing is technically correct, it's a bit more nuanced than that. If a cop from one jurisdiction writes a ticket in another jurisdiction and then has to go to court over that ticket, his / her home jurisdiction is going to be paying for that time yet not receiving any revenue from the ticket. That's why, as a practical matter it doesn't really happen. The taxpayers would also be questioning why they were paying for another areas law enforcement activity. For the CHP it doesn't really matter, they work for the state.

 

[Deleted member 3645]

Wow, this line of thinking is really flawed, and not accurate. I have been living car-free, without a car, and getting around by public transit, mostly for 8 years now, in Boston, and Montreal. I can tell you that not having a cross-walk in a urban streetscape vs having one is NOT safer, at least your average North American city streets.

While its true that average pedestrians are sometime too secure in jumping out in front of on-coming traffic, with a bit of awareness and practice it is very easy to approach and cross intersections with a cross-walk: you have the right of way even tho you are the smaller entity.

This is next to impossible to do in heavy traffic on a non cross-walked street, you either have to look very carefully for a gap, or really try to stare people down, and slowly move into the path of traffic, hoping the oncoming car slows down.

The only time the Dutch approach of removing all controls from a street-scape works is when you have a very strictly enforced low low speed limit of 25 MPH or less, which hardly works in any of the sprawled urban environments in most of North America today. (which I whole heartedly embrace, but won't be changing here for a long time)

My off-topic 2 cents.

-- Stefan the Bostonian in Montreal (ICE-free but may be EV-ed in the very near future)

Studies have shown that crosswalks give a false sense of security and cities are rethinking their placement and use.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Operations/Traffic/crosswalks.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.azdot.gov/highways/traffic/XWalk.asp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://ladot.lacity.org/tf_Pedestrian_Safety_at_Uncontrolled_Crosswalks.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[TomT]

I had an interesting experience coming home from work yesterday...

I was in the HOV lane doing about 60 (the speed limit is 65) and traffic in the right lanes was doing about 30. As I am moving along I see a CHP car in the lane immediately to my right. When I get about opposite him he flips on his lights and pulls behind me. At that point, I'm trying to figure out what the heck he wants as I'd not done anything wrong to my knowledge...

I pull all the way over to the right of the freeway and stop. I roll down my window and as he walks up he is smiling and asks for my license. Before I can even ask him why he stopped me he says, "I'm doing carpool enforcement and noticed you coming up with only one person in the car. It wasn't until after I had turned on my lights and you had passed me that I saw your stickers." He says that, at that point, he was committed to stopping me and, besides, he wanted to see the car anyway once he realized it was a Leaf. So we chat for a while, he hands me back my license, and off I go! It was kind of fun actually!

He did say that the CHP dislikes the fact that the DMV is no longer issuing HOV stickers for the front of vehicles since it would have prevented just this kind of incident.

 

[Deleted member 3147]

That is my fear in that I'm getting a silver Leaf and I'm afraid the stickers will be hard for the CHP to spot.

I'm thinking of having some sort of decal made to outline the stickers to make them more visible.

 

[LEAFer]

That is my fear in that I'm getting a silver Leaf and I'm afraid the stickers will be hard for the CHP to spot.

I'm thinking of having some sort of decal made to outline the stickers to make them more visible.

Not necessary ... they are very visible ... ( Don't have the car here right now to prove it )

 

[Nekota]

An EV styled license plate would also provide this function.

 

[TomT]

Mine has an EV themed license plate frame. It didn't help.

An EV styled license plate would also provide this function.

 

[TRONZ]

Came REAL close yesterday on Crown Valley towards the PCH. From my street riding I do NOT like being boxed in. But for some reason I found myself surrounded by two major "lane wanderers" and one crazed tail-gater. My gut was yelling to just get away, so I did. I was spooled up over 80 when I spotted the cop. :shock: He was staked out on a side road but looking the other way. Turning back he spotted me immediately and was fumbling all over his radar gun while I throwing out the boat anchor. I thought for sure he was going to grab me anyways but then he just pointed and made a huge slow down gesture with his hand. That was close!

 

[Fabio]

Don't know about the silver, but the stickers on the white LEAF are very hard to see.

That is my fear in that I'm getting a silver Leaf and I'm afraid the stickers will be hard for the CHP to spot.

I'm thinking of having some sort of decal made to outline the stickers to make them more visible.

 

[LEAFer]

Don't know about the silver, but the stickers on the white LEAF are very hard to see.

That is my fear in that I'm getting a silver Leaf and I'm afraid the stickers will be hard for the CHP to spot.

I'm thinking of having some sort of decal made to outline the stickers to make them more visible.

Because the stickers are actually white with black rim/letters they stand out ok on silver. On white ... I can see where that might be less of a good contrast ... Naturally neither white or silver are the ideal colors if your prime objective is for the visibility of the stickers

 

[aqn]

I've gotten at least two tickets in the LEAF, all on my fav twisties. It's RR 2222 between MoPac Loop 1 and Loop 360 in Austin if ya wanna see it on Google Street View. It's about 3.25 miles. Speed limits are 35 and 45, with "caution" speeds of 30 and 35 at every bend. I routinely take the turns at 55-60 and hit 70-75 on the short straights.

I've driven that road for 30+ years, and it's the main route I take to go downtown so I've driven it a lot. I know every bump on it so it's really easy for me go fast despite the limp stock suspension. The key is to be to be smooth which is easy because I know the road so well. (I run summer performance tires, so traction is not the limiting factor.)

Anyway, one ticket was late at night around 23:30 going West bound, for 62 in 45. The other was day time around 13:00 going East bound, I think 58 in 45. I guess I should be thankful the cop clocked me in a turn and not on a straight.

Though, I hyper-mile 99% of the time, not speed.