Are UP’s the most bored people on campus with nothing to do?
This morning on my way to Reds at 4:50 as I was headed south on Cajun Dome BLVD between Eraste Landry and Congress, the light on Cajun Dome turned red as I approached it. It’s very long for that time of day with absolutely no traffic. Keep in mind there was not a single car on Congress either way as far as I could see and no cars in the Cajun Field parking lot. So I did what I have done 100s of times over the last 10 years, I took a quick right then a quick left and went down the long drive way that goes through Cajun field. The same path that I drove busses on many times working for the transit department from 88 to 92. By the time you do the little waggle and get back on CD BLVD the light back at congress is still red. As I took the right on Johnston I notices what looked like a police unit behind me. When I stopped at the light, at the corner, of Johnston and So College a UP pulled up on side of me with his window down, so I lowered mine. He said cutting through a parking lot is no way to beat a light. I could give you a ticket right now if I wanted. I said “A parking lot? Dude it’s cajun field with a 1/4 mile drive way and not a single car in the parking lot. You can’t be serious right now. He looked a little P___ed off as he drove away.
Any legal experts out there? Is that really breaking the law? People drive through CF all the time.
I could see the whole cutting through a parking lot thing, if I were cutting through the Exxon to get from So College to Johnston or through the circle K to get from Johnston to Doucet. But cajun field? I didn’t drive over one spot that would be dedicated for parking. I was on essentially a rode that goes through the Cajun field parking lot.
For the past 20 years I pass Cajun field on my beaten path at least 15 times a week and that is a low estimate. I have seen countless times where it is obvious parents are teaching their pre licensed young teen how to drive and they cut through the empty parking lots where cars actually do park. Many times while a UP is sitting up on the apron of the CF entrance just killing time and never once have they stopped those people.
IMO it is things like this that gives that UP department the bad rap that they often get.
Id locked you up for a couple months.
Cajun Field is private property and that is not a public roadway. You were probably driving a little quicker than someone who would not be using the parking lot as a cut through.
He saw you, he caught you, he’s doing his job.
My opinion would be….. Why not just wait at the light?…. What’s 2 more minutes vs the cost of a ticket?….. and why risk the possibility of a student crossing that parking lot to meet a bus next time and they don’t see you coming?
Patience is a virtue….
Sounds like the UP cop did you a big favor giving you a warning without even pulling you over and wasting your time.
You did not get a ticket. You didn’t even get pulled over. You were simply given a warning.
This is not something to be enraged about.
Also, not sure what his age has to do with anything. The guy is simply doing his job.
I believe you can be ticketed for cutting through a light
Subtle “I work out at Red’s at 5am” brag.
And bragging about it on two different message boards at that!
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First of all there was no reason for that young buck to follow me down Johnston. It’s not his jurisdiction. 2nd if you would have witnessed the attitude copped by the 21-24 year kid you may have been P____ed too. Very disrespectful. Do you know how many people drive through that parking lot when there is absolutely nothing goin on?
2 different sites means 2 different crowds and opinions. If what you got out of that story is where I go every morning at 5 AM then i don’t know what to tell you.
You are making assumptions that are not true. I was probably going slower than the average car going to park as I always do at that time of the morning. And I know now that I broke no laws according to a lawyer friend. I took a legal turn onto congress and then a legal turn into cajun field. There are no signs saying no through traffic at the gates so he couldn’t get me for that either. It was just a young buck trying to flex his muscle.
I bet you were all hopped up on preworkout too 
(I know I am when I workout that early )
Seriously though, the light cycles in Lafayette before 5 am are way out of whack….. They need some AI technology implemented asap to prevent people sitting at lights for 5 minutes plus with literally no one else on the road. Fortunately I don’t cross any traffic lights getting to/ from Reds anymore, but everytime I have to catch an early flight out of LFT I run into this exact issue
Any street/roadway that borders/goes through University property, is under their jurisdiction (In this case, College, where you were at, would be their jurisdiction). Especially when cutting through their property to skip the light. It is a law that you can not cut through somewhere to skip a light. Same thing as if I am At Bertrand and congress and I cut through shop rite. Just because its a parking lot, it doesn’t matter. In the end, who ever gets pulled over for that, we all do it in one way or another.
Jim I did not skip any lights. I took a legal right turn from Cajun Dome to Congress. I drove about a 100 yards and took a legal left turn into Cajun field and drove slowly to Reinhardt and took a left turn and then a RT onto Cajun Dome. No laws were broken. It was just the same little UPs that stare into the student section at football games trying to create something for them to do, doing the same crap at 4:50 in the morning.
Do you know how many cars cut through cajun field for one reason or another when there is absolutely nothing going on there? I would guess it is upwards of 500 a year. Do you know how many are ticketed are warned? I am gonna go on a limb and say that was a first.
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Why do you feel the need to post this on this board?
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Initially, I thought you wanted other people’s opinions on the situation to help decide if it was you or the officer who was being an azzhole.
I now realize that you just want to argue that you are 100% right and the officer is 100% wrong and there is actually no discussion to be had. So have a nice evening, I’m out.
GEAUX CAJUNS!
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Because if you have been on the Cajuns message boards as long as I have you will know there has been lots of discussion about that group, their general attitude and the role they have played to kill participation in the student sections. I just wanted to show that it is not just in the events or with the students that these insecure pricks are the way they are. They even taunt at 4:50 AM for no reason without another soul anywhere near with in sight. If there was some kind of safety hazard here I could understand but there wasn’t.
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That is what I initially wanted. I have since heard from a lawyer in a private message that I have broken no laws and that ticket wouldn’t hold up in court. I explained it earlier not doing it again. Look back you and find the post if you want. Now I am just correcting people that are making assumptions and adding 1+1 and getting 4.
But I am done hear now that I have gotten my answer.
Actually I was 100% right and the student officer was 100% wrong according to a lawyer friend.
Sounds like he was in front of Albertsons. In my 30 years of living here I have been that Albertsons more than once where police presence was needed. I don’t ever recall it being university police that showed up.