Traffic Violation

Re ("Shooting Probe Was a Charade," Letters, June 16): It's very clear to me that the writer allowed his fingers to do the typing before engaging the brain he should have between his ears. He talks about "just a traffic violation" and that the police murdered a man. But what he fails to realize is that more police officers are murdered or injured by people who the officer stops for that minor traffic violation. He also states that the police were "obviously stupid" for standing in front of the vehicle.

Ndamukong Suh is in trouble for something he did on the football field ... again. The Detroit Lions defensive tackle has also been cited for a traffic violation ... again. His most recent on- and off-field incidents weren't even his worse. Lathrup Village Police Chief William Armstrong told the Associated Press on Monday that Suh's driving on Nov. 15 may not fit the charge of driving without due care and caution for which Suh was cited. Armstrong said he was waiting to discuss the case with the city attorney before deciding whether or not the citation would hold up. Suh has been involved in numerous traffic incidents over the years.

It is obvious that in the case of the Korean motorist who was shot by the police, the Orange County district attorney's office did not at any time consider that any of the policemen should be prosecuted ("Officers Justified in Killing Driver, O.C. D.A. Says," June 8). The putative four-month investigation is therefore a charade. As I recall, the information at the time was that another motorist alerted a policeman that the Korean motorist cut him off. You now report that one of the policemen found the Korean driving recklessly.

Matt Barnes, a free-agent forward who spent the last two seasons with the Lakers, faces a felony charge of threatening a public official after being arrested Monday night, said Lt. Steve Tobias of the Manhattan Beach Police Department. Barnes, 32, was arrested in Manhattan Beach after an officer who was aware he had an outstanding warrant for a misdemeanor traffic violation approached him on foot, Tobias said. When the officer attempted to arrest Barnes, Tobias said, "Mr. Barnes did not cooperate and threatened" the officer.

The reason for the explosion in graffiti is that historically the authorities never took the problem seriously, satisfied with just letting taxpayers pay the clean-off costs. The main perpetrators are, of course, young male gang members who usually make their marks at night when most people are sleeping. Too often, the few who are caught doing it are given only a verbal warning by police because they are only "kids." Is that enough? This nuisance will stop when these graffiti "artists" and/or their parents are fined for their "art."

Re ("Suit Over Shooting by Police Is Dismissed," April 4). Hong Il Kim's brother-in-law states: "The most tragic part of this dreadful incident is that the policemen murdered a man over a traffic violation." This dreadful incident need not have happened at all if Kim had just pulled over to the side of the road when requested to do so. He chose to lead police on a 95-mph chase through several cities. He chose to put the car in gear and drive toward the officer in that parking lot. Was he not responsible for these choices?

Most people when stopped for a traffic violation have enough common sense to stay put in their cars. The very act of exiting a car when stopped is enough to warn the policeman that he is going to have a problem, and with the wave of violence in our society, he would have to be lacking in judgment not to be prepared for the worst possible circumstance. The fact that the sequence of events was taped by a TV station is sufficient evidence that the whole confrontation and its results were programmed by those involved in elicit exactly what transpired or worse.

I attended the Academy of Defensive Driving traffic school over two years ago. The opening remarks by the instructor were that he was doing the class just for the good money he could make. A true statement no doubt, but hardly one to inspire the attendees. Throughout the day there was a lot of "clowning" around by this individual. Recently, I was cited for a traffic violation. Being eligible to attend traffic school, I was handed the class schedule for the Academy of Defensive Driving by the court assistant clerk and was told that no other school would be accepted.

Matt Barnes, a free-agent forward who spent the last two seasons with the Lakers, faces a felony charge of threatening a public official after being arrested Monday night, said Lt. Steve Tobias of the Manhattan Beach Police Department. Barnes, 32, was arrested in Manhattan Beach after an officer who was aware he had an outstanding warrant for a misdemeanor traffic violation approached him on foot, Tobias said. When the officer attempted to arrest Barnes, Tobias said, "Mr. Barnes did not cooperate and threatened" the officer.

Question: How long does a misdemeanor traffic violation remain on your record? --D.B. Answer: If you are ticketed for one-point misdemeanor offenses such as speeding, running a red light or failure to obey a stop sign, the violation will stay on your driving record for 36 months, the California Department of Motor Vehicles reports.

The driver of a big rig that plowed into an Amtrak train in Nevada on Friday had five traffic violations since 2008, four of them for speeding in California and Alabama, according to records from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Lawrence R. Valli, 43, of Winnemucca, Nev., was identified Monday by the Nevada Highway Patrol. He was driving a truck owned by the John Davis Trucking Co. The official death toll remains at six and seemed unlikely to rise as Amtrak lowered its number of missing.

In less than eight years, fines for red-light traffic violations in Los Angeles County have jumped nearly 65% from $271 to $446, about three times the region's rate of inflation, a Times review shows. With traffic school fees, the total penalties now exceed $500. Ever-vigilant photo enforcement programs run by more than two dozen agencies across the county have added a new degree of efficiency to catching violators and capturing revenue. In November alone, Los Angeles County's Superior Court system processed an estimated 13,000 red-light tickets.

Re "Ocean of Cars Clogs PCH in the South Bay," May 9 As long as Los Angeles County is installing cameras at intersections, let's do what's necessary to start issuing red-light and speeding violations from automated systems. I live half a block off Pacific Coast Highway, and I'm delighted when traffic is backed up. Every other time of day, when I'm walking around town with my 6-year-old boy, we stand a good risk of getting pasted by the inconsiderate commuters and drunks who treat our town as a freeway.

Talk about a case of mistaken identity. Abel Acosta lives in Bakersfield. He works nights for a rail line that runs through town. So imagine his astonishment when he received a letter from the administrator for an Orange County toll road, demanding $1,700 in fines for allegedly failing to pay the toll on the 91 Express Lanes -- at a time when he was on the job 200 miles away. The letter, from a New York collection agency, said the fines would increase to $14,409.

The district attorney's pursuit of charges against protesters who shut down the city as the war in Iraq began is off again. Prosecutors decided Friday to drop cases against 407 people charged with traffic violations for blocking city streets during the first days of fighting. Police in riot gear arrested 2,300 demonstrators. Prosecutors still plan to pursue charges against 20 people allegedly involved in acts of misdemeanor violence or vandalism, Assistant Dist. Atty. Mike Menesini said. Dist.

In response to a sharp upswing in vehicle crashes, sheriff's deputies in Camarillo are planning a monthlong program to crack down on traffic violators. In the first 10 months of this year there were 722 crashes, up sharply from 627 in all of 2001, officials said. Of the 722, more than 500 were caused by driver negligence, including speeding, drunk driving, failing to yield for a stop sign and other right-of-way violations, officials said.

Ndamukong Suh is in trouble for something he did on the football field ... again. The Detroit Lions defensive tackle has also been cited for a traffic violation ... again. His most recent on- and off-field incidents weren't even his worse. Lathrup Village Police Chief William Armstrong told the Associated Press on Monday that Suh's driving on Nov. 15 may not fit the charge of driving without due care and caution for which Suh was cited. Armstrong said he was waiting to discuss the case with the city attorney before deciding whether or not the citation would hold up. Suh has been involved in numerous traffic incidents over the years.

Faced with an embarrassing list of scofflaws and no jail in which to incarcerate them, the County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday declared a three-month amnesty for people who owe an estimated 250,000 delinquent fines for traffic violations.

An apparently angry motorist dragged a foot-patrol officer 40 feet by her arm in the midst of Huntington Beach's downtown shopping district Sunday afternoon, police said. Police allege that Jose Hernandez, 20, of Garden Grove grabbed the arm of Officer Kirstin Innis after she attempted to stop his beige 1997 Toyota Camry for a traffic violation. Innis and another officer stopped the car in the 100 block of Main Street at 3:53 p.m.

Hearing arguments in a case that could affect anyone who drives a car, Supreme Court justices debated whether people can be arrested for traffic violations punishable only by a fine. A Texas woman who was arrested, handcuffed and jailed because she and her children weren't wearing seat belts asked the justices Monday to rule that the police violated her constitutional protection against unreasonable arrests.