Rumors – NJ fear of speeding

So yesterday a friend of mine sends me an email saying that there is a blits of ticketing starting in NJ starting on August 14th..

Me being the gullible one falls hook line and sinker for this annual rumor that is dispersed via emails.  Since this is a good buddy of mine with whom I play tennis with,  I of  course believe that he’s telling me the truth.

Without even verifying the rumor which I’ve excerpted below, I forward it to my closest friends and family. This of course is adding fuel to the fire for this “urban legend”.

The next day, I find out that  I’ve fallen prey to an urban legend in NJ that’s been going on for years! Oh boy did I feel stup*d… *%*%*

Note the first half of the email below is the hoax, the second half where it starts with “August 15th”,  may be true.. still need to verify this..

STATE POLICE – NJ TICKETING

Here’s the latest NJ State Police Initiative(Radio Station 101.5 FM confirmed this info).

Starting today, New Jersey will launch a 30-day speeding ticket frenzy. The state estimates that 9 million dollars will be generated in speeding tickets. One million dollars will go to pay state troopers over-time.

There will be 50 state troopers on duty at all times patrolling the 9 main intersections and highways as follows:

I-295 North and South,
I-95 Jersey Turnpike North and South
I-80 East and West
I-287 North and South
I-78 East and West
I-195 East and West
I-280 East and West
Route 130 – North and South
Garden State Parkway – North and South

5 MPH above the limit can justify a ticket and every state trooper is supposed to pull a car over and write a ticket every 10 to 20 minutes.

They have issued 30 brand new unmarked Crown Victoria cruisers and are bringing in all of their part-timers on full time. If you work in NJ, NY, DE or CT, you will probably be on one of these highways. So, please be on guard and drive safely!

Starting August 15, the price of a violation to show your driver’s license, registration or insurance card at the time you are stopped, increased from $44.00 to $173.00. (Keep these documents in your car). And the fine for not having all three documents is $519.00!

The fine for hand-held cell phone use while driving will be going up to $180.00.

Please forward this to people in N.J.or any one using the N.J. Highways, and let them know of this latest Police Initiative.

The moral for me here is that you should verify, verify, and re-verify anything that you hear, regardless of the source of the information. Now, I’m sure you’ll say hindsight is 20-20, but for me, its 20-15….