jrzvette

I was driving south to the Jersey shore on the Garden State Parkway Friday night. It was a little after 8pm and already dark. I was in the left lane doing about 70mph (the speed limit is 65) whan I saw a set of headlights approaching in my rear view mirror. There was a line of traffic on my right so I couldn't pull over. As he got closer I kicked it up to 75 but he stayed with me. I saw a break in the traffic about 1/4 mile ahead so I took it up to 85 pulled into the center lane and slowed down to 70. He stayed right behind me (WTF!!). I didn't want to chance hitting the brakes so I just eased off the gas when suddenly on go the flashing red, white and blues!

I pulled onto the shoulder of the road and waited for him. He came over and asked for my license, registration and insurance card. Then he asked if I knew why he pulled me over. I told him I assumed because I was speeding, but then explained that I had no idea who he was and couldn't get out of his way. He asked how my driving record was and I told him not so much as a parking ticket in the last 20 years. He said he would run a check and be right back.

When he came back he told me that he could have cited me for speeding or changing lanes without a signal but had instead cut me a break and issued a ticket for failing to yield the left lane. I could have argued this since there was no where for me to go at the time but then I realized that when he first got behind me I was speeding (70 in a 65 zone) so I kept my mouth shut. The he tells me "I want you to wait for a break in the traffic then accelerate as quickly as you can back up to speed" Did I hear him correctly? Was he telling (or daring) me to pull a hole shot on the GSP? ("Thank you, Jesus). I thanked him then waited while he got back in his car. When the break came (traffic wasn't too bad that night) I started with a slow roll then put in the clutch, revved it to 2500 rpm and dumped the clutch. I left two black stripes on the asphalt and was gone. A few miles down the road the same trooper pulled up along side me and as I glanced over saw:

redvette6spd

WTF Strange

saniterium

You got really lucky. The last time I was pulled over in the Vette for just 10 over, the cop was laughing as she handed me the ticket. What really pissed me off is that I was one of the slowest moving cars in the area.

SLOWRIDE

Lucky You

Admrl94

Weird...

"here's a ticket for failing to yield the left lane, but please haul *** unnecessarily when you merge back into traffic". Hmm.

That's pretty cool, though, considering everything that happened.

Morley

I wouldn't pay one red cent, fight it in court.

eschoendorff

Lemme see if I get this....
He cites you for for failing to pull out of the left lane into a solid line of traffic and then instigates an "Exhibition of Speed" violation???

kenv

You haven`t tried to fight a ticket issued by a NJ state trooper, have you?-

saniterium

The lawyer will cost more than the ticket, and if you don't win, then you have to pay for both. Just pay for the ticket then do an online class to have the point removed (assuming this is you first ticket within 18 months). It takes like one hour, and costs a whole $15...otherwise, if you have recieved another one recently, fight the ticket as suggested.

Zidane

Dang that is WEIRD.....

corvetteronw

A while back we pulled a huge splinter out of the azz of a Michigan State Trooper (don't ask about the details). The Doc and I at our clinic asked him, "How fast is too fast on the Interstate?" He said that 83 in a 70 was about the limit. He told us that he had pulled alongside a GS (we knew it was one due to the way he described the car's colors) and simply wagged his finger at the driver! The trooper said he let the guy go with only this visual warning because the car was almost the color of his Impala cruiser and the guy was not driving dangerously!

AORoads

I'm not sure why people think you got away lucky, but if that's so, I agree. Too weird for me, peeling out in front of john law onto the highway. And yes, it is hard to fight a ticket in NJ.

As to 83 in a 70, too high for me. In the states I've been caught in, 10 over the interstate speed limit is all they let you go. Anything more and it's ticket time, and usually from a car that's coming at me and does a u in the grassy median (NOT a "meridian") with my valentine one on.

Maryland had some nice, hidden cops all along the interstate corridor going to Philly today. And 3 out of 4 troopers had cars pulled over in the morninng on both shoulders.

too bad not one "officer" was visible in the late afternoon as the 2 wheel rocket sleds went shooting past me on all sides at well over 100 mph doing wheelies, in traffic! i feel so safe with all these troopers around, and not around.

reminds me of "homeland security"---oh, ok, i'll pass on that one.

Sawbone

What's really crazy is I was driving down the Parkway on Friday night and saw a black C4 heading south in the left lanes over that big bridge. (somewhere around exit 120) I tried to catch up to him, but I didn't have ez pass so I lost him at the tolls. A few seconds later I passed that same car but he was pulled over by a trooper. If it makes you feel any better, I did wave when I went by

Cozmo

I once got pulled over by a Texas DPS trooper for a minor speeding infraction in my 88 IROC with a L98.

He ran my plates, my license and then asked me how fast I had driven the car. I asked him on or off the record. He responded with off. I told him 130. We then started talkin about cars. He was getting a new Camaro with a 5.0 and a 6 speed for a pursuit car a week or two later.

He let me off with a warning. Although he was a nice guy, I thought the whole encounter was disturbing.

JrRifleCoach

Oh Yeah. RIGHT!

And he'll REPLAY THE VIDEO of you smoking 'em!!!!

He's no dummy! But try for traffic school anyways....

cv67

Smart cop

85 500 horse

Being a retired policeman, I can tell you that not only was the officer out of line for telling the driver to accelerate as fast as possible, if the driver reported the officer, the officer would be in LOTS of trouble. He literally told the driver to break the law.

In most states, there is a traffic law in the motor vehicle code which states that drivers must obey the orders of a police officer when the officer is giving the driver a traffic-related order. So, the driver is in a catch-22 situation because, if the officer instructs the driver to do something illegal (like accelerating as fast as possible), the driver can get into trouble for violating the law and if he refuses to obey the order, he can get into equal or more trouble for disobeying the orders of a police officer.

This thread doesn't mention the approximate age of the officer, but I'd bet he's young. Boys will be boys, even if they happen to be cops. But, cops are supposed to check their attitudes and feelings at the door when they start their shift. I know and you know, that some officers think they can do as they please and don't believe they need to answer to anyone. And when that type of officer continues on that path, his/her career is extremely short-lived. Thankfully, that type of officer is the uncommon and not of the norm. If it were common, we'd live in a socialist society.

So, as I'm sure we all believe, that officer was from a strange breed. From that kind of request from the officer, I would have expected him to have given a warning and not a bogus citation. Very very strange.

Performance nut

Yeah, those guys on crotch rockets are insane. In California, lane splitting is legal but damn, common sense should apply. Splitting cars at speeds of 80+mph may not be a brillant idea. One guy almost lost it in front of me (lane line reflectors were bouncing him all over the place) when I was driving my SUV. Can we say speed bump?

Hunter16

Read what he stated the cop ACTUALY said, and think about what it could mean.

"I want you to wait for a break in the traffic then accelerate as quickly as you can back up to speed"

The statement to me sounds like he is telling you to be very careful when you pull out, it is an expressway and you dont want to pull out into traffic and get rammed up the rear, so speed up real fast and get up to speed with the traffic.

It is very entertaining to be a Police Officer and read everyone's experiences, thoughts, and ideas. I can tell you there is NO set rule of how much over is an automatic ticket. We may give a ticket for 7 over and give a break on 15 over. The one and only fact that is universally true is that, the nicer and more respectful you are when stopped, the better chance you have of getting off easy.
oh well different ways of hearing and understanding things is what makes the world go round.

jsup

You were set up. He now has you laying rubber on his dashboard camera. Sucker!!!