# Mass State Police issue ticket to woman in labor



## billski (Jun 7, 2012)

Skip to 1:40 of this video,where it starts.



Boston Globe
Dec. 4. 2008: Three weeks ago, stranded in bumper-to-bumper traffic, state troopers told a pregnant woman and her husband they could drive slowly on the shoulder of Route 2 in Boston to get to the hospital faster since the woman was in labor. Todays Worst Person in the World wouldnt let it be that easy.

Jennifer Davis was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Nov. 18, her contractions just 3 minutes apart. Her husband, John, was trying to appear calm for his wife's sake, driving in the breakdown lane of Route 2. They pulled up behind a state trooper to ask whether they could continue using the lane to reach the next exit, near Alewife Station.

Not only did the trooper say no, he gave them a $100 citation for driving in the breakdown lane, made them wait for their citation while he finished writing someone else's ticket, and even seemed to ask for proof of pregnancy, Jennifer Davis said.

"He said, 'What's under your jacket?' I said, 'My belly,' " Davis said. "He waited and gestured with his head like, 'OK, let's see it.' He waited for me to unzip my jacket. I mean, it was so clear that I was pregnant."

(more)


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## Geoff (Jun 7, 2012)

I remember that story.   Even worse, the Clerk-Magistrate tossed the ticket out in the preliminary hearing and the douche State Trooper appealed.   I guess he was pissed that his 15 minutes of fame were as the biggest dickhead in the world.  That ended up back in the Boston Globe.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/02/state_police_dr.html



> Even after the new father, John Davis, appealed the $100 ticket and a Cambridge clerk magistrate tossed it out, the department refused to give up. A lawyer for the State Police challenged the clerk magistrate's decision and appealed to restore the ticket late last month. A hearing was scheduled before a Cambridge District Court judge March 18.
> 
> Davis's attorney, David Lucas, said that in a dozen years, he'd never seen the State Police appeal a traffic ticket. He couldn't quite believe they were going to pursue one against a the husband of a woman in labor.
> 
> ...


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## Nick (Jun 7, 2012)

Bill, don't post this crap, my wife's due date is the day after tomorrow!!!!


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## RootDKJ (Jun 7, 2012)

Shoulda titled the thread "Mass Police State issue ticket to woman in labor"


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## skiNEwhere (Jun 7, 2012)

I'm gonna play devils advocate here.......

*True* offenders will do almost anything to get out of a ticket. People have put dummies in their car when passing by State Troopers so that they can get into the HOV lane on I-93. 

I am sure that an overweight woman who has been speeding or driving in the breakdown lane has tried to act like she is in labor to get out of a ticket. Cops have seen it all, and this cop may have thought this woman was trying to pull the same stunt.

With all that said, I can't see why the police department tried to overrule the magistrate overturning the ticket. Did the couple prove they had a child? It is sad that they have to go to such lengths to overturn a ticket, but like I said people will do anything to get out of a ticket.

Just my .02 and trying to see things from a cops perspective. 

P.S. I am in no way, shape, or form a police officer or similar profession


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## gmcunni (Jun 7, 2012)

husband blew it. should have just called 911 and reported an emergency.


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## steamboat1 (Jun 7, 2012)

Glad I don't live in Mass.


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## Hawkshot99 (Jun 7, 2012)

gmcunni said:


> husband blew it. should have just called 911 and reported an emergency.



When my friend was severely injured in a auto accident he was flown from the local hospital to one about a hour away by car.  There was no room for my friends father, so he drove.  He was pulled over twice for speeding but both officers had heard on the radios of my friend and he was let go.  I drove a bit slower, and didnt get pulled over.


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## billski (Jun 7, 2012)

skiNEwhere said:


> I'm gonna play devils advocate here.......
> 
> *True* offenders will do almost anything to get out of a ticket. People have put dummies in their car when passing by State Troopers so that they can get into the HOV lane on I-93.
> 
> I am sure that an overweight woman who has been speeding or driving in the breakdown lane has tried to act like she is in labor to get out of a ticket. Cops have seen it all, and this cop may have thought this woman was trying to pull the same stunt.



So, my good judgement says its a life or death matter, so it's permissible.   Could be..  So the cop should escort them to the hospital and follow them in to make sure she's all bedded down.  If it's an impostor, then give them two tix: one for driving in the breakdown lane, one for calling a false emergency and a bill for the officer's time and administrative overhead.  Oh, and call the media in too.


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## billski (Jun 7, 2012)

Nick said:


> Bill, don't post this crap, my wife's due date is the day after tomorrow!!!!



Hey Nick.

Take a taxi!  Most Dads are way more stressed out than I you can imagine.

I drove my wife into Boston during a 12" snowfall.  It was quite an interesting drive.  at 1pm in the morning, Rte 128 and 93 were nearly traffic free.  I could drive most anywhere I wanted.  Hell, you couldn't find any lane striping if you wanted to.  Very odd driving down the center of the road.  My wife kept telling me to slow down.  I just wanted to be there and let the pros take over.  Last thing I wanted was to be delivering a baby on the side of a road in a foot of snow!

BTW, during labor, you wife will probably say things to and about you that you could never imagine coming out of your darlings mouth.  Just enjoy the babe.  Good Luck!


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## billski (Jun 7, 2012)

Oh yeah, and don't forget the husband was no angel himself:

"John Davis began using the breakdown lane. Davis - whose driving record has six speeding violations over the past 20 years, according to the state Registry of Motor Vehicles "


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## ctenidae (Jun 7, 2012)

speed bumps are awesome when they coincide with speed bumps. I bet rumble strips would be fun, too.

Edit: That's supposed to be speed bumps are awesome when they coincide with contractions. Yikes.


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## billski (Jun 8, 2012)

ctenidae said:


> speed bumps are awesome when they coincide with speed bumps. I bet rumble strips would be fun, too.
> 
> Edit: That's supposed to be speed bumps are awesome when they coincide with contractions. Yikes.



And then there is the woman who, while in labor rode her bicycle to the hospital.  Or the woman in labor who was taken 8KM to a rural clinic by motorcycle.


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## bvibert (Jun 8, 2012)

billski said:


> Oh yeah, and don't forget the husband was no angel himself:
> 
> "John Davis began using the breakdown lane. Davis - whose driving record has six speeding violations over the past 20 years, according to the state Registry of Motor Vehicles "



6 speeding tickets in 20 years time is not that bad in my book.


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## wa-loaf (Jun 8, 2012)

billski said:


> Oh yeah, and don't forget the husband was no angel himself:
> 
> "John Davis began using the breakdown lane. Davis - whose driving record has six speeding violations over the past 20 years, according to the state Registry of Motor Vehicles "



That's long time frame. I probably have close to that many in the last 20 years, but none in the last 10 ...


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## Nick (Jun 8, 2012)

bvibert said:


> 6 speeding tickets in 20 years time is not that bad in my book.



I was a maniac when I first got my license. In my first 2 years of driving I was pulled over 16 times. Most were warnings though, I received 2 tickets.

Similar to Wa-loaf, I haven't had a ticket now in probably seven or eight years.


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## Geoff (Jun 8, 2012)

bvibert said:


> 6 speeding tickets in 20 years time is not that bad in my book.



This

That's a ticket every 3+ years.  For most insurance companies, that wouldn't impact your save driving discount if you don't have accidents.


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## SkiFanE (Jun 8, 2012)

wa-loaf said:


> That's long time frame. I probably have close to that many in the last 20 years, but none in the last 10 ...



I would have had that many...but being a sweet redhead with an Irish surname and a Boston address pretty much got me out of any ticket in the area...profiled to advantage.  Never saved on the North Shore, for some reason though.


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## Nick (Jun 8, 2012)

I tried showing some man cleavage once to get out of a ticket. It didn't work.


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## bvibert (Jun 8, 2012)

Nick said:


> I was a maniac when I first got my license. In my first 2 years of driving I was pulled over 16 times. Most were warnings though, I received 2 tickets.
> 
> Similar to Wa-loaf, I haven't had a ticket now in probably seven or eight years.



Same here, crazy driver in my youth (many would say I still am).  It's been quite a few years sine my last ticket though.


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## wa-loaf (Jun 8, 2012)

bvibert said:


> Same here, crazy driver in my youth (many would say I still am).  It's been quite a few years sine my last ticket though.



I had just come back from Germany and was used to driving 100mph everywhere ...


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## bvibert (Jun 8, 2012)

wa-loaf said:


> I had just come back from Germany and was used to driving 100mph everywhere ...



At least you have a good excuse...


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## Nick (Jun 8, 2012)

wa-loaf said:


> I had just come back from Germany and was used to driving 100mph everywhere ...



I'm surprised my mother never yelled at my father more. My dad was born and raised in Germany and drove like it here. Super aggressive. I remember being seven, eight years old and we would get into races with other cards on the freeway and be going 100+ mph. 

It's no wonder where it came from. I remember going skiing once we got off the highway in VT he would whip around corners so fast I would be flying left and right in the backseat of the car.


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## skiNEwhere (Jun 8, 2012)

I've gotten 4-6 speeding tickets over my 10 years, only my first ticket stuck though (when I was 18), all of my other tickets I've got thrown out. I have a radar detector now and it works great for speed traps(knock on wood), with that said though the most I'll speed is 20-25 over.


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## legalskier (Jun 8, 2012)

billski said:


> And then there is the woman who, while in labor rode her bicycle to the hospital.  Or the woman in labor who was taken 8KM to a rural clinic by motorcycle.



Or the 8 month pregnant who was tazed for tearing up a parking ticket 2 days ago:
http://www.myfoxny.com/story/187186...for-resisting-arrest-in-walgreens-parking-lot

Or the pregnant woman tazed for refusing to sign a speeding ticket because she thought it would be admitting guilt.  The police technically won the case on the lower level but appealed to "clear their names."  _“It won’t be long,” their brief said, “*before the word spreads throughout society’s criminal underground* that the Ninth Circuit hasn’t simply given them a ‘get out of jail free’ card, but a ‘never have to go to jail in the first place’ card.”
Michael F. Williams, a lawyer [for] Ms. Brooks, said the criminal justice system would endure even if the police were barred from delivering thousands of volts of electricity into the body of a pregnant woman who refused to sign a piece of paper. “The officers are trying to defend inexcusable conduct,” he said. “They inflicted enormous pain on a woman who was especially vulnerable over what was essentially a traffic violation.”_  The SCOTUS was set to hear the case last week.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/15/u...pregnant-woman-goes-before-supreme-court.html

I don't know about anyone else but I'm not aware of any criminal underground of pregnant women.


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## billski (Jun 8, 2012)

bvibert said:


> 6 speeding tickets in 20 years time is not that bad in my book.


Do you get the 30% safe driver's discount?

I'm almost ready for the Sr. Citizen's discount!  

Too bad the Sr. discount is pushed up to 70 years at most ski hills.


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## bvibert (Jun 8, 2012)

billski said:


> Do you get the 30% safe driver's discount?



Being considered a "safe driver" by my insurance company isn't a high priority in my life.


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## hammer (Jun 8, 2012)

wa-loaf said:


> I had just come back from Germany and was used to driving 100mph everywhere ...


You slowpoke...

My only speeding ticket was in CT over 20 years ago.  Was driving back from a business trip and got nabbed on I-84.  Was hoping my uniform would have helped (I was active duty Air Force at the time) but the trooper just wrote me up and said he reduced the speed on the ticket because it was mailable.  The biggest annoyance was that the fine was over $100 which at the time made it reportable on security paperwork.


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## steamboat1 (Jun 8, 2012)

I read that they are considering raising the speed limit to 85mph on a road in Texas.

Does anyone know if there is still no speed limit in Montana from dawn to dusk & 70mph at night. That was the law when I was there about 10 years ago.


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## ScottySkis (Jun 8, 2012)

steamboat1 said:


> I read that they are considering raising the speed limit to 85mph on a road in Texas.
> 
> Does anyone know if there is still no speed limit in Montana from dawn to dusk & 70mph at night. That was the law when I was there about 10 years ago.



When I drove through south states like 10 years ago their was that speed limit it was either Texas(which is huge) or Nevada.


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## Geoff (Jun 8, 2012)

steamboat1 said:


> I read that they are considering raising the speed limit to 85mph on a road in Texas.
> 
> Does anyone know if there is still no speed limit in Montana from dawn to dusk & 70mph at night. That was the law when I was there about 10 years ago.



Montana's state Supreme Court ruled that their "Reasonable and Prudent" daytime speed limit law was unconstitutional in 2008.  Montana has had speed limits since May, 1999.


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## steamboat1 (Jun 8, 2012)

Geoff said:


> Montana's state Supreme Court ruled that their "Reasonable and Prudent" daytime speed limit law was unconstitutional in 2008.  Montana has had speed limits since May, 1999.



Thanks.

Last time there was the 1st year they put in the tram at Big Sky. Probably 98-99.

Couldn't speed anyway, to many bison on the road.


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