@Spargett: Thanks for pointing out I was coming across as having an axe to grind with law enforcement. In fact I have had what seems like more than my share of pointless 10 mph over the limit tickets (one was just dismissed in court last month). I do care about the issue, but it’s not personal. I don’t have any issue with officers in general, just the practice of causing hazards and ticketing people for safe driving that technically breaks the law.
It’s about liberty and freedom from tyranny. Looks to me like a breakdown of Separation of Powers. I agree that officers have some discretion and that the courts are a recourse. But in local (and I suppose, most) jurisdictions, the legislature passed laws that prohibit the judges from considering many defenses to speeding infractions. Tickets are also a revenue source (in some areas, a major source).
On the executive end, officers could be trained and instructed to only give out speeding tickets for a reason such as when they have an actual safety concern or other reason for pulling over a technical offender. Instead, they (some of the traffic squads, at least) are directed and trained to hide in ambush with radar guns and go after technical offenders when they haven’t even seen the circumstances because they’ve been hiding out of view around a corner.