Doesn't bother me that there is "professional courtesy" among law enforcement officers.
The fact that LEO's have this special consideration has no bearing on whether I get a ticket or not....and that's the important thing to me.

Larry
code5coupe

 

Nice picture of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

 

NO, I guess it doesn't bother me tooo much, either. You do the crime.....

But then again....let me hijack for just a sec. Picture this scenariio:

Sunday morning, 7am, Lordsburg, New Mexico (which means very close to the middle of NOWHERE), Interstate 10, Eastbound. No traffic, either direction.

White Suburban only other vehicle---in front of me, going 88 mph, me keeping pace. Speed limit: 70 mph. Two Highway Patrol cars from the rear "paint" US, both of us.

Suburban pulls over on the right shoulder, and keeps pulling over about 20 to 30 feet off the highway on the right. I pull over in front of him by 100 feet, 10 feet off highway. Officer talking to me, reading license, back at his cruiser, etc. Three to four minutes after my stop, Suburban goes by me, on the road, moving at highway speeds -- about 75 mph. I'm there another five to ten minutes.

From the way the Suburban pulled off, I gotta believe he was an officer and was given a "pass". I didn't get that same "professional courtesy".

No one said life was going to be fair....but........

And that is the last time I stopped and bought anything in New Mexico. Great for the state economy. They never missed me at all....

 

Did you receive a speeding ticket?
If you did, were you speeding? (we know the answer to that one)

Entirely possible. However, did his getting or not getting a ticket affect your situation in any way?
(other than to **** you off, of course )

I can understand the frustration many of you feel when certain segments of the population seem to receive preferential treatment. I've felt the same anger at times, too. But....

Hey, life doesn't always seem fair. Think about this, though:
You and I get certain perks (via our jobs, our social standing, our church or club memberships, etc.) that not everyone else gets. It all evens out in the end.

As far as not having "Get Out of Jail Free" cards to use at traffic stops (that the LEO's have), that's why we use radar detectors!!!

Larry
code5coupe

 

Succinctly put. And I guess we could take it one step further: How many of us, if given the opportunity to take a pass on something due to our "jobs, our social standing, our church or club memberships, etc" would insist on being treated no differently than the next guy? Unfortunately, I haven't evolved to that state yet so I guess if re-incarnation is how it works, I'll be coming back to work some things out...

 

No, I already said, no one ever told me/said life was gonna be fair. I did make a point of staring at the Suburban as it passed by so that the kind gentleman handing me my fine knew, that I knew there was "something goin' on". Matter of fact, I think I waved "Hi" to the Suburban.

The real P-ssed-offedness came from the fact that my almost 700 dollar radar detector gave me virtually no warning. I got off the gas, and started to apply the brakes, then said, what the heck. I WAS doing 88, maybe more.

But I'm into the money thing; I figure it just cost them more than that one ticket to me. After that, I went througjh the state at least 50 more times---never bought gas, never stayed over, never ate food, nada (and I'm not talking about little booklets). Lotta tire wear on their roads tho. Gassed up in Arizona, and cruised right on through to Texas. Great ride, nice scenery. Thanks, New Mexico---we still friends?

On the opposite side of the equation, I passed CHP on the side of the road writing a ticket just north of Los Angeles on 5 (what's that big area up the hill called? the mixing bowl or some such?). It was dusk very close to night time. What is it, 5 lanes going southbound? And I am flying fast, well over 85 up hill. Ten minutes later, car's in back of me, kinda close, then, lights up! I'm toast. Pull over. Reaching for my wallet below seat; look in sideview, two officers of the law, hands on guns. Oops. My hands go to steering wheel.

CHP sez, where you from, did a bumper check, you were going fast, slow down, we just vacationed there, be nice, don't speed. Yes Sir. On my way. That's fair, he took my time, and time is priceless. A ticket is not. I'll pay it. I did.

 

[QUOTE=rocco16]

Hey, life doesn't always seem fair. Think about this, though:
You and I get certain perks (via our jobs, our social standing, our church or club memberships, etc.) that not everyone else gets. It all evens out in the end.



But I will tell you In my 18 years on the job I have never given a ticket to a corvette, and yes I have given tickets to other police officers. The reason behind that is if you act like an a** hole and come off with a sh*t load of attitude like you are so much better and the "I pay taxes so I pay you" crap most likly you are going to get a ticket. I will treat you with respect so all I ask in return is the same. On only a few occasions have I already without a doubt knew I was going to write a ticket even before I got up to the car, most times I will listen to the driver before I make up my mind. In about 97% of all stops for minor traffic offenses if the driver is honest and admits to the offense I will only give a verbal warning. It's the ones who give me that stupid look like they have no clue why I pulled them over, when you are going 25 - 30 mph over the limit please don't look at the cop with that who me look, it wont work.

Please remember that in most cases of traffic stops the main focus behind the stop is to alter the future driving habits of the offender. To make them a better driver and make the roads safer for everyone. Driving is not a right, your license is not yours it belongs to the state.

Be safe out their!

 

Sorry to hi-jack for a moment but a question to fast cop. Does the fact that the driver has or doesnot have a radar dector influence in any way whether or not a ticket is issued?

 

Wow, I didn't figure they taught that to cops. I've tried my best but never got off with a warning though. I think the cops attitude can do way more to affect how the person drives in the future than a ticket will.

But then there's those prickly drivers who **** and moan at anyone taking up their time, and don't practice self-accountability. There's really nothing that will change their habits, so you might as well ticket them anyways.

 

A radar dector on the dash will in most cases get you a ticket and in some states they are against the law.

I will however add that there are some cops out their thet would give their mother a ticket. There are *****'s in every job. I try to train my younger officers to show some compassion while doing their job.

 

I'm guessing that in general, there's two types of cops. There's the kids that were hall monitors and narcs and picked on in school, and now they want to be in control...

...then there's the other group that is in it for the right reasons, either because of tradition or influence from family/friends, or just a desire to do something iconic and magnanimous with their time on earth. Just a wild *** guess though, based on my observations.

 

Some good information about laser falsing.

http://valentine1.com/lab/Previously7.asp

Why am I getting laser alarms when I follow some cars?
- J.J., Michigan


Red neon is occasionally used for the CHMSL (Center High Mounted Stop Lamp) on new cars. We know of these models: GM Trailblazer and Envoy, the Lincoln Mk VIII and the latest BMW 3-series convertible.

These lights use a neon-plasma light source. The red lens allows red visible light to pass, and also invisible energy near infrared. The source is powered by a pulsating voltage on a frequency that happens to be similar to the repetition rate of legitimate laser-gun pulse trains. In other words, the CHMSLs have an invisible energy leakage that’s nearly identical to the beam used by traffic laser. If we suppress the interference, we’re likely to damage laser sensitivity.

Another source of alarms: a few new cars have cruise controls that use laser to measure distance to the car ahead. This feature is available on the Lexus LS430, Infiniti FX35 and FX45. This, of course, is real laser, not a false alarm.


Mike Valentine (W8MM) talks about the laser falsing issues over at the Porsche Forum.

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=21599

"The Trailblazer/Envoy thing is caused by neon in the CHMSL. It's a tough nut to crack. The ignition repetition rate is in the many kHz range, which is far outside the normal laser gun rate. However, there is a "squegging" of the neon plasma that occurs at a hundreds-per-second rate that fools the laser detection circuits, since these events repeat in the expected time range for police laser pulses. We're working on this (and have been for years), but there's nothing to report as yet.

A growing-bigger problem now seems to be laser assisted "Intelligent" cruise controls on Infinity FX35, FX45, and QX56 SUVs. What a PItA. They perfectly replicate laser speed-gun signals. We're working on that one, too!"

 

There are illegal in only one state.

http://guysoflidar.com/faq.html#1

Are Radar Detectors Legal?

In the US, Radar detectors are legal for passenger vehicles in 49 states. Radar detectors are illegal in Virginia and Washington DC. Federal Law prohibits the use of radar detectors in all commercial vehicles over 10000 pounds. Radar detector use is also illegal on military bases.