Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

In the lane, patrol car lights are glistening.

A horrible sight; I’m upset tonight because the Fresno police caught me speeding through a winter wonderland.

In the meadow we can build a snowman, and pretend that he is Judge Joe Brown…

Unconfirmed reports indicate that this soon-to-be holiday classic, which I am in the process of copyrighting, was on the lips of CHP officers during Christmas 2015, as they issued 14 speeding tickets in just a few hours on Highway 108 near Sonora.

In nearby San Andreas, officers issued eight speeding tickets to drivers who were either headed to or from the mountains.

Heightened Enforcement

These jolly officers, and even the ones who may have been not so jolly, were part of a Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) campaign. MEPs are similar to saturation enforcement programs; in both these instances, officers are pulled off their normal schedules, redeployed in a concentrated fashion in a certain geographic area, and instructed to write as many citations as possible for a specific violation, whether it be speeding or DUI or whatever.

Sustained Traffic Enforcement Programs (STEP campaigns) are basically more formalized MEPs. The department receives a government grant to pay for officer overtime and other expenses, but the goal is the same.

Because of budget cutbacks, STEP campaigns are usually limited to New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, and other “high-risk” holidays, but MEPs and saturation enforcement initiatives are still quite common. These campaigns might affect the case: since officers are under such intense pressure to write tickets, warnings and borderline cases become citations that are difficult to prove.

Getting Legal Help

The aggressive attorneys at Bigger & Harman, APC, are committed to giving individuals a voice when dealing with speeding and traffic tickets. Call today at 661-349-9300 or email attorney@markbigger.com to receive the personal professional attention you deserve. En español, llame al 661-349-9755.