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Hey Ron,

I'm not justifying law enforcement officer’s behavior driving above the posted speed limit (Big Mac Attack or responding to a call) but it is my understanding that while on duty they're “exempt” (within reason mind you) to the traffic laws that govern you & me on public roads. You don’t have to accept it or even like it, that’s just the way it is.

As to officers being a deterrent or not (hiding on the side of the road or out in the open) – I travel hundreds of miles each day along Kalifornia’s highways & byways and can assure you that when folks see a cop – they naturally slow down. It doesn’t mater if they’ve got someone pulled over on the side of the road, cruising along or just sitting on an off ramp – folks will slow down.

Mater-a-fact if in Southern Kalifornia and you’re driving down a freeway in “off peak hours” (ie. NOT rush hour) and you see a bunch of slower cars up ahead clumped together going significantly slower – I’d recommend that you’d better back off. Because nine times out of ten, there’s going to be a cop up there keeping pace with the traffic hiding behind a tractor trailer waiting for some chuckle head to zoom by at warp speed.

So yes IMHO the cop out showing the badge is deterrent.
 
In the State of CT all fines collected through traffic infractions go to the state. Kind of makes the town cops think twice about giving out a ticket because they are the ones who have to appear in court. Actually costs the town. State troopers don't have that problem and it actually helps them with promotion so travel the state highways and certain towns with resident state troopers with care. Oh, BTW I have no problem when they speed past me because then I know exactly where they are! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif

As a side it looks as though a few members may need the free handy how to beat a speeding ticket book. It appears Tony may if he gets as many speeding tickets as he says. One part I found extremely important, "Should you have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, let him know and tell him where it is. Should it be in the glove box with the registration, don't open it until you have explained the situation to the officer."

https://members.tripod.com/freehowtobooks/speeding_ticket_book.htm
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]...they don't train the motor officers here for wet driving[/QUOTE]
In Hawaii?!? You must be kidding!!! It's a tropical island for crying out loud! LOL!

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]while on duty they're “exempt” (within reason mind you) to the traffic laws that govern you & me on public roads. You don’t have to accept it or even like it, that’s just the way it is.[/QUOTE]
I believe there is more to it than that. From what I have been told, they are not immune from any traffic laws, unless during the course of their job they are forced to in order to respond to an emergency. They can't break traffic laws in order to get to MacDoland's faster.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]So yes IMHO the cop out showing the badge is deterrent.[/QUOTE]
True, but Ron has a point. If they wanted to deter speeding by showing themselves, then they wouldn't hide in shadows and driveways. They would sit in the open to slow everyone down, not just the person going the fastest.

On Sunset Blvd recently there was an example of this. It was one time I felt the local police were taking the initiative, and doing something truly good for a neighborhood and separate from their orders to generate revenue for the city. The put a painted wood cutout of a motorcycle officer with a radar gun in a turn known for people speeding past a residential side street, making it difficult for residents to merge into traffic. It worked famously! I wish they would do that more often.

Come to think of it, there was another. On a local mountain road where motorcycles are known to drive a bit crazy, they put a stripped LAPD car on the side of the road where it appeared to be watching a downhill section. That also worked very well.
 
Steve_S said:
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]while on duty they're “exempt” (within reason mind you) to the traffic laws that govern you & me on public roads. You don’t have to accept it or even like it, that’s just the way it is.
Click to expand...
I believe there is more to it than that. From what I have been told, they are not immune from any traffic laws, unless during the course of their job they are forced to in order to respond to an emergency. They can't break traffic laws in order to get to MacDoland's faster.
[/QUOTE]
I didn’t say that it was ok for them to go that fast to go on a Mickey D’s run. Just that they aren’t regulated in the same manner as us mere humans.

I sure this wasn’t legal but one Saturday back in 2003 I had an “emergency repair” on a broken X-Ray system at one of the Seaports up in Long Beach. When I arrived at the dispatch center in Carson I was told to get in my car and follow the escorts to the port. Hitting the road I fell into formation with two marked vehicles from the US Customs' warehouse in Carson down the 710 freeway to Terminal Island. What an amazing sight that was let me tell ya – the two escorts had their lights flashing with one in front of me and another behind me traveling bumper to bumper at an extremely "high rate of speed".

Thank god I was in my 2001 Dodge Intrepid because I don’t think my truck could of kept up the pace.

Also we must’ve passed at least three different cops along the way. One local and the others where CHiPies. I swear it was one of the funniest things I ever saw and if I had to guess we must’ve been doing way over the century mark a couple of times.

Again no emergency and nobody was in any pending danger – just a broken x-ray system. But the good news is I had that system up & running that afternoon.

Steve_S said:
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]So yes IMHO the cop out showing the badge is deterrent.
Click to expand...
True, but Ron has a point. If they wanted to deter speeding by showing themselves, then they wouldn't hide in shadows and driveways. They would sit in the open to slow everyone down, not just the person going the fastest.[/QUOTE]
Like I said it probably varies from department to department, state & local and I'm sure state to state. But again if it was all about money – why didn’t that policemen write me or any of the other drivers that day a ticket when I was clearly in the wrong?

So even if agreed that it was about the money for the city or state coffers to enforce traffic laws – there certainly isn’t a mandate to the guys on patrol to issue a ticket every time they pull someone over.

Nope to me the city & state benefiting from the bad driving habits of motorist - is just a side advantage.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]...if it was all about money – why didn’t that policemen write me or any of the other drivers that day a ticket when I was clearly in the wrong?[/QUOTE]
Valid point and it suggests (correctly I feel) that the decision is left to the officer, not the state, regarding who gets a ticket and who does not. But to back up a bit, I don't believe anyone is saying that the driving force behind speeding tickets is 100% revenue. Additionally, if an officer were to give out only warnings, he would surely not last long at his job! So there certainly some amount of pressure from city hall to hand out citations.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Nope to me the city & state benefiting from the bad driving habits of motorist - is just a side advantage.[/QUOTE]
I still feel that while individual officers are generally concerned with safety, the state has primarily money in mind.

The flip side of this is that even if the state was 100% our for money by means of speeding tickets, it still does little good to complain. If they stopped pocketing the money from speeding tickets, they would have to get it somewhere else instead!
 
Look at it this way. If they don't write any tickets, that's a lot of money NOT coming in. It will come from somewhere. I would prefer it come from people breaking the law as opposed to taxing everyone.

I was stopped several years ago on a strech of road that cuts thru a residential area. This road was posted at 30 MPH, but I was late for church and doing 40+. $100 ticket sure got my attention. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]As a side it looks as though a few members may need the free handy how to beat a speeding ticket book. It appears Tony may if he gets as many speeding tickets as he says. [/QUOTE]

If I'm speeding, which I usually am (not around neighborhood streets but on the open road), I deserve the ticket - doesn't mean I'm going out of my way to get one or rushing to pay it - but, there's also no reason to go out of my way to try with trickery or lies to get out of it either...luck of the draw, I figure.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]One part I found extremely important, "Should you have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, let him know and tell him where it is. Should it be in the glove box with the registration, don't open it until you have explained the situation to the officer."[/QUOTE]

Must be linked to license plate or drivers license in Alabama because the first thing they always ask me is if I have a weapon in the vehicle - like they learned something when they ran my plate....I got stopped by a Kansas trooper a few years ago & he even asked me that question.
 
Cops almost always ask questions that are out of the blue not so much to get an answer as it is to scope out the person's reactions & body language to the question. More off the wall the better.

The US Customs officers at border check points ask a simple but off the wall questions like “are you carrying any weapons?” “Do you have any drugs in the car sir?” And do you only have five people in the car?

I don’t know if their just nervous or can’t think fast enough. But you’d be surprised how many folks come right out & admit things. I’ve seen folks say “yes” the weapons question. Admitting that they have a pistol under the seat or have some drugs hidden in the vehicle.

The best was when the officer was looking at a car filled with five family members (Mom & Dad and three children) waiting in line to enter the US at the port. After looking at the papers and after exchanging some pleasantries walked around the car to inspect the trunk. But just as he was walking back he leaned over and said hi to one of the smaller children.

Officer: So what’s your name?
Little girl: Maria (not her real name btw)

Officer: Well how are you doing today Maria?
Girl: We’re going to seen my Aunt & Uncle today.

Officer: Oh that’s nice, just the five of you?
Girl: Oh no my Grandma is coming too.

Officer: Where is your Grandma?
Girl: We’re sitting on her.

/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif hehehehe....when they ask, I always tell them the truth - & I've only a few times had one of them ask for proof of conceal carry; its like they already know.
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/lol.gif

In my experience, with police ("peace" officers out here /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif) officers, if I'm speeding and I see one starting to pull out of his/her 'hiding' spot, and I ~know~ it's to get me, I pull over ASAP. The last time I got a speeding ticket, I pulled over before the officer had a chance to get onto the interstate. When he finally caught up, he commented on how easy I made it for him, to which I stated I knew I was speeding and he was pulling out to get me. At which point, he let me know I was clocked at 90 in a 65, but he had difficulties locking onto me, thanks to the tractor trailer I was passing. Since I didn't try to make a run for the FL border (I was in GA near the FL border at the time), he was going to cite me for not wearing a seatbelt. To which, I ~almost~ started to protest, but quickly realized that a $15 fine was ~much~ better than the $200+ speeding ticket I could have gotten.

Another thing I found out while in the Marine Corps, traveling in Uniform works wonders for reducing or avoiding fines altogether, especially if you don't make the officer chase you /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
 
tony, in ct. my pistol permit looks exactly like my ct. drivers lic. got pulled over and knowingly handed the officer the p. permit he just asked if i was carrying at the time i told him no and he just told me to slow down a bit most the local officers understand that a person has to be pretty legit. to get a p. license and figure you might be willing to help them in a serious pinch they also know if they give you a ticket you could forfit the permit.
 
I set my cruise control at 5mph over the posted speed limit and have gone through radar all over the state (and several others) and never got a 2nd look.

Of course, I don't have that option in the TR or 230sl. Guess I will have to be careful.



Pete
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]Of course, I don't have that option in the TR or 230sl. Guess I will have to be careful.

[/QUOTE]

Pete, another reason I just need to take that old bucket of bolts off your hands...hehehehe
 
Tennessee is cracking down (or perhaps increasing harassment)on the Tail of the Dragon...

https://www.tailofthedragon.com/

Take your time and read through the entire page....interesting stuff towards the bottom...add to this that there is talk of an interstate highway eating up a portion of the Dragon.....
 
Hello Steve,

I don't know if you are aware that there is an increasing 'anti' movement against speed cameras in the U.K. I am talking more about motorways and 'A' roads where your statement of "speeding citations do help reduce the number of people driving dangerously." is inaccurate. Speed cameras detect speed not dangerous driving, but they are far cheaper, and generate revenue more effectively than patrol cars.

Alec
 
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