Tyler TX Facebook

Follow Donny on Twitter

Username:
Password:
  Remember Me   Forgot password?  Register
0-9  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  

Find or Refer a Contractor in Tyler

Getting Pulled Over in Tyler Texas– Again!

April 15th, 2011

            Motorcycle patrol officers in Tyler have a dubious reputation when it comes to how zealously they uphold the law. In all honesty I have not exactly helped to smooth things over in the past. As a general rule anytime I get stopped, it’s by a motorcycle officer, and I always get the ticket. But to be fair I recently met with an officer who broke with the stereotype.

            I’ve been driving on expired tags (and inspection stickers) since… well last summer. I know I need to update them, but there are so any other places I can put seventy- five dollars besides giving it to the government. At any rate I’ve been very conscientious of my driving and my routes over the last ten months, knowing I would probably take it on the chin should I encounter a blue and white Harley; until recently. A long night with a sick child made it necessary for me to alter my routine the following morning. Rather than taking my normal route to work, I was forced to take one I knew to be fraught with danger. The area through which I was passing was ideal ground for speed traps and school zone violations, but I proceeded watchfully. Not watchfully enough as it turns out, because as I came around a bend, there he was, and he couldn’t miss my stickers. As his lights burst on, I pulled into a nearby parking lot. The officer approached my vehicle and asked (surprisingly amiably) to see my license and registration, which I produced. As I was looking for my insurance card he informed me that my license had expired! I was aghast. This was in fact a genuine surprise to me.

            So let’s review, of the, really four items I was expected to produce for the officer, I really only had one, my proof of insurance. I suspect by the way that this is really the main item with which he was concerned. At this point in the meeting I was about ready to shrink and hide under my seat. My little boy sat in the back seat endlessly fascinated by the proceedings. Not only did he get to converse with a police officer, but a police officer on a motorcycle! Funny how our reactions can run in diametrically opposed directions. But maybe it was my son’s interest that moved the officer’s heart to mercy. Rather than giving me a huge ticket (or tickets), for a laundry list of my infractions, me gave me the usual span of time to pay my fees and correct my violations. Obviously I won’t use his name and risk ruining his fearsome reputation, but thanks for not being a stickler and for making getting around this town a bit less of a headache!                True, Tylerites are often annoyed by the rigid demeanor of some of its finest. But it’s good to know that at least some of them don’t take themselves too seriously!           

Over Regulation in the City of Tyler

May 24th, 2010

Is it just me or are there any other citizens in Tyler Texas who are beginning to feel… oh overly regulated? Now I grew up in this fair city, and I’m proud to call it my home town, but in the last few years both our state and city are being bombarded with petty new legislation that seems to afford its citizens yet another opportunity to glance over their shoulders in order to see whose watching.

It is well understood that Tylerites like to feel as though they are living in a larger city. The Tyler traffic reports they issue over the radio have always struck me as a silly manifestation of that desire. About two years ago the illustrious Tyler city council enacted its own ban on smoking in restaurants and bars. Yes bars in a city in Texas, are not allowed to permit smoking! Now I gave up that particular vice many years ago, but isn’t this a decision to be made between a man and his bartender, (or bar owner), not between a citizen and his city council? I still maintain the profound belief that this law gathered support on the basis of the fact that “Big fancy cities like New York all have smoking bans!”

In addition to the local regulations there are the new state laws like double fines for using a phone in a school zone, seatbelts in the back seats, etc. Now I understand the desire to encourage safety, but I have a mother! I don’t need the village to look out for my safety! The most annoying thing about these new laws is the condescending ad campaigns that accompany them. The commercials warn the citizenry that local police are now on the lookout for new evil doers! Just this morning I was treated to a reminder that area police are starting their annual “click it or ticket campaign.” Sounds like a fund raising drive to me. Now listen, I “back the blue” as much as any East Texan. I am profoundly grateful for those who pursue criminal threats to our society and help to maintain the peace however I am extremely tired of seeing police cars hiding near the corner of thirty one and the loop hoping to catch drivers five miles over the speed limit. When asked why they were policing the stop so closely, one officer replied “we just really need to get control of traffic on this street.” No you don’t! Its fine! There aren’t any more accidents there than anywhere else. How about getting control of the drug user and meth operator who allegedly lives in my neighborhood!

The most frustrating officers in Tyler are the ones who ride motorcycles. It seems every summer I get a ticket, usually for some petty offence, and it is always written by an officer on a motorcycle. I never ever receive a warning even though my actual driving record is pretty clean.  The officer on a bike basically serves one purpose, raise revenue for the city. When was the last time a trooper on a motorcycle, made an arrest, intervened in a domestic dispute or did something other the write a ticket for expired tags?

I don’t want to turn this article into another rant. I recognize that Tylerites do have a propensity to run a red now and again, and I realize that traffic on Broadway and Old Bullard road tends to be tricky to navigate, but from this citizen’s observation, increasing regulation has not helped. Install new medians, build new toll roads, and synchronize the stop lights. These are just new band aids for addressing the fact that our city is growing. But frustrating the citizens is not going to solve these growing pains.

So to any area police who may be reading let me assure you that we who live in this great community support you, but please, cut us a little slack. We’re all just trying to get to work and home without incident. And to the State and local officials, (particularly the city council), remember Pain’s maxim: “The government is best which governs least!”