Speaking of cops.....
 

So this morning, I drop the dog off at the vet for teeth cleaning. It's early and I am in traffic on the expressway when an opening in traffic appears. My wife is following me in the Jetta, so I think to myself, "I better show her what my 911 is all about" and proceed to stomp on it a little. Just a quick blast, then back down to sane speeds. Well, as I am slowing, I see this brown sedan weaving in and out of the lanes to get up to me. UNDERCOVER COP :eek:

He doesn't say much as he is reading over my info. He asks why I was speeding and I told him I was late for work and it was stupid of me to speed for a job. He agreed and after a few minutes back at his car, he comes back and says "Do me a favor Mr. Beers, drive slower"

YES SIR OFFICER SIR !!!!!

Whew!

So, TECHNICALLY speaking, honesty pays off sometimes :)

-Chris

Re: Speaking of cops.....
 

Honesty would have been telling him "I better show her what my 911 is all about and proceed to stomp on it a little"....... instead of your late for work excuse...
;)

Dude, let me clue you in.

A traffic ticket in California has to be given by an officer wearing a uniform and driving a car emblazen with insignia. There are exceptions.

So, the Detective driving the unmarked car to work noticed you being "stupid" and just wanted to give you a warning. Which is fine!

His ticket, if challenged in court, would have gotten tossed in 30 seconds.

i've noticed that undercovers are usually a little more understanding, my sheriff friend tells me thats because they are usually on their way somewhere else and/or usually only stop you for major infraction, but i dont try to test this theory much;)

I think honesty pays every time in that situation:

“Yes, sir Officer.
I’m sorry.
Occasionally I try and exercise my 911 when I feel it is safe.
I know I shouldn’t do it any where near other cars or on the street.
I promise to be more careful and respectful of others.
I know that street driving is the most dangerous thing we all do.
I really appreciate your difficult job keeping us all safe”
And more – all while wringing your hands and looking at the ground, submissive posture.

Just go through the “what ifs.”
What if your wife had tried to keep up?
What if someone really was late and suddenly pulled out?
What if the officer had an accident trying to catch you?
What if … ?

Yes, I have done stupid things and lived to tell about it.
The few minor incidents I have had in 50+ years of driving have been from other’s mal-driving. I am a VERY defensive driver on the street.

The race track is a wonderful resource. Many here in Denver go to the tracks regularly for a half day of exercise. I have been to Second Creek on a week day where there were 50+ cars, more than half 911s.

Best,
Grady

Best advice given was in a book written by an ex-trooper who said to act "Boyishly coy" when stopped. Can't argue with that.

Here in NJ, unmarked cars are very common. Hoever, the trooper inside is in full uniform. Can't tell from the outside as the windows are heavily tinted.

Yeah..... a LOT of exceptions which make this statement pretty irrelevant. The least of which is red-light cameras but go all the way through unmarked vehicles and the definition of 'uniform' for issuing moving violations.

"His ticket, if challenged in court, would have gotten tossed in 30 seconds."

- IF California has that statute, it is unusual. Are you sure of that? i.e. have you read the actual statute itself?

In Oregon, and in many states, any officer can give you a ticket anywhere in the state. They have to go to law enforcement officer school (measured in hours, not weeks or years) and they can ticket you.

Even if an officer cannot ticket you for an infraction, they can surely stop and arrest you for a crime -- in fact, any citizen can do that in most states.

In fact, in Oregon, any citizen can enforce the motor vehicle laws (!) I'm surprised the local anarchists haven't thought of enforcing the motor vehicle laws against the city police here, which they routinely violate (when they aren't too busy beating up arabs, hassling black people and raping women -- all true and reported in the news in the last 12 months).

ticket
 

Yelcab is way wrong on that call. The law is that vehicle used primarily for traffic enforcement must be distinctively marked. A citation is a promise to appear in court to answer charges that are either misdemeanor or infraction. Any peace officer under section 832P.C. can issue a citation for infractions or misdemeanors committed in his presence.

Re: Speaking of cops.....
 

I've got friends who would pull you over to really just check out the car or to watch a pretty babe squirm.

A little like your situation:

I "accidentally" stomped on it in the rain from a stoplight, and did not notice the trooper behind me (could not see out the back). He pulled a rookie mistake and immediately flipped on his lights, at which point I slowed and pulled over. Before he got up to my car, I realized he had no evidence. He did not radar me, I broke no laws other than speeding, and he did not even pace me (because he just flipped on his lights and pulled me over). At that point I realized all he could do was give me a warning, which he proceeded to do, although he was a little ticked off. He asked how fast I was going, and I said "I don't know," which I honestly did not. He did not like that response, but I was certainly not going to incriminate myself either, considering he had no evidence.

Doug

Believe it or not, in NJ this includes prison guards.

(Or it could be NY. A freind was stopped on a bridge over to Staten Island years ago.)

prison guards giving tickets
 

Prison guards are not a whole lot different than the guys on the other side of the bars. Real cops chuckle to themselves when a prison guard says that he(or she), is in law enforcement.

afaik prison guards take a bigger brain beating than cops. Not saying that cops have it easy. The life expectancy of a retired cop is extraordinary short, in general. Retired FD are usually too beat up to last long also.

While we're sharing random stories, a friend of mine came to work the other day with this little gem:

It's New Year's Day, and because he's old and married, he chose to go to bed early (like 9pm) the night before, and hadn't had anything to drink. It's about 9am, and he's running into town to get some groceries. It's pretty much the middle of nowhere, but he's driving like he always does (I've driven with him, it's as boring as watching paint dry) -- half-a-notch below the speed limit, and pretty darned careful.

Well, a cop shows up in his rearview mirror and pulls him over, then harasses him for being drunk. ????? The cop claimed he could smell the alcohol -- an obvious fabrication, as he hadn't had anything in several days. I get this mental picture of a punk cop screaming at my balding senior chief, a man who defines the Navy term "salt." He finally ordered my friend to go home, and not come out for the rest of the day, because he was clearly drunk.

Bizarre.

cbeers, How did he know you were speeding? did it look like it to him? or did he have a device to check your speed, I am always driving thru my Neighborhood in 1st gear and people keep waving at me but not with all 5 fingers, saying slow down and Im only running 25 or less but it sounds and looks fast, $hit these cars are doing 50 just sittin in the garage!!

Craig

I believe one profile of a male drunk driver is speeding, and for females it's driving below the limit. Maybe the profile has changed in your area?

Most Fireman can as well. Even though we don't:cool: .

I was followed around by an undercover a couple nights ago, tailgaiting like no other. Finally just pulled over to see whan he wanted and he just sped away. Later in the night on the way home he did the same thing, this time swerving into the other lane to get next to me?? I just kept going and finally got on the freeway. Guess some of these guys are just bored.

When I bought the 930 I was certain that I was going to the victim of a $hitload of police harassment. How wrong I was.

Even though I have had one really bad ********* cop experience while driving the 930 I have been suprised how many times I have been let off for aggressive driving and speeding by cops who can appreciate a nice car and a polite and honest driver.

I usually take the somewhat honest route by claiming that I was just cleaning out the pipes and not paying enough attention to my speed or acceleration. Many cops seem to understand when you own a 930 and on an empty road or bridge.

:D

This is not true in California. An officer does not have to be in a marked car, nor in uniform to issue a citation. The benefit to wearing the uniform and driving a marked car is to quickly identify that he is in fact a law enforcement officer. However, if he was in a "slick car" (as we refer to them) and in plain clothes, his primary duty was probably not traffic enforcement. He was probably an investigator enroute to something else.

David

See, this is where us 356ers get to have the most fun - we can push our cars to 75% of their limit and not even break the speed limit.

More fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow :)

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/4...selhoffmh4.gif

This is a test...............

No radar pull over 2 weeks ago. I was doing 71 in a 65. I have no clue why he pulled me over. I thought he was going after someone else. It was just dusk and one of the Texas 70 during day, 65 night zones.

He just gave me a warning, then tells my wife in Spanish: "Don't let him Speed." What kind of crap was that? This was in our Jeep Cherokee.

Kenosha is on the coast.. maybe it happened on I-94 west of Kenosha?

I've been thru N Wis once in spring of '99 with the 911. I came in at Iron Mountain on the NE border, then W on hy70, then N on hy 13.

Great slice of the US imo.. and great quick driving without any weekend or tourist drivers, although I was a little spooked by the possible deer action. It was so nice I said to myself "screw it".

As a part time Wisconsin resident and frequent long-distance driver, I can tell you that Wisconsin is the absolute worst place to speed in the U.S., IMO. Almost a guaranteed ticket. And TONS of deer.

Eastern Utah, on the other hand, is about the best. I got a ticket in Southern Utah a couple of months ago, trooper couldn't have been nicer, wrote me for 89 in a 75 when he had me @ 100+ on radar. Warned me about the deer population. :cool:

It helps to drive a Volvo and have grey hair, and give no attitude.

I knew about the deer from seeing so many moms with their pups.

Didn't know about the tickets.. thanks.

my Missouri experience speeding has beed that the last guy definitely gets stopped, and as many of those as he can wave over to the side as he passes those who stop. he will not chase those without a guilty conscience.

No truer words can be written. I haven't had a ticket in awhile, but in my youth I had scores. The Kenosha/Racine area is notorious.

Ronin-quite right, Kenosha is on the coast, but I believe the area that extends west to the highway is considered Kenosha proper. That's what the tickets say at least:). Also correct on I-94. if you take it straight north it turns into I-43 which also runs along the coast and basically to my front door north of Milwaukee. They kind of blend after years of travelling them. I'm glad you enjoyed WI. It is very beautiful.

As for deer, I HATE them. I've hit so many I might as well take up hunting because I've killed more of the critters than most people that do hunt. I had an Acura that was two days old and a deer ran into the side of it-$1200 damage. I had a truck that a deer standing on the icy highway took exception to. It turned and charged me. I won-except for the $1800 damage. My most expensive was a deer that hit the corner of my van and spun all the way down the side of the van causing $7000 worth of damage. Yep-I hate 'em.

Why doesn't Wisconsin open the season on white tails for longer than 12 days with a center fire rifle? Season regs. here: http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/hunt/seasdate.htm#White-tailed

Time to tend to the problem, IMHO.

Boy, wouldn't this just about open the door for anybody who impersonates a police officer and wants to commit some kind of crime?

That's one of those, "not recommended" crimes to commit, the cops will put all of their resources into catching them and then throw 'em in the special cell filled w/ their enemies. ;)

Sebring, you should take up hunting. You could get all of your aggression out against Bambi and also do your state a favor by helping to thin the deer herd. We have a cabin near Hayward, (Minong), in Northern Wisconsin, my Mom hit a deer last year in her new VW but it wasn't too bad, luckily. We also own property up in Madeline Island, that entire state is one big radar trap. :cool:

Just like Speeder said, impersonating a cop is something that undermines the credibility of the law enforcement agencies. We put an enormous amount of resources into going after these guys to lock them up as soon as possible.

David

so ahhh,, how did the dogs teeth look after the cleaning? did his breath improve?

You know, in Texas you will get ticketed for that.

Intention to Speed. They might as well write me that one while i'm still in the house.

QUOTE: cbeers, How did he know you were speeding? did it look like it to him? or did he have a device to check your speed, I am always driving thru my Neighborhood in 1st gear and people keep waving at me but not with all 5 fingers, saying slow down and Im only running 25 or less but it sounds and looks fast, $hit these cars are doing 50 just sittin in the garage!!

Craig

I am pretty sure he was in traffic too, I just didn't notice him. When traffic opened up and I was at the head of the pack and took off, he KNEW I was speeding, doubt he knew how much though...

K-9 - She is as pretty as can be and no longer ruins a room with her breath!


-Chris

In Oregon, the game cops are State Police. They seldom do it, but they have the credentials to write up traffic violations. Game law enforcement is merely a division of the State Police. One of them taught me how to avoid deer hits. Pay attention to the roadsides. Deer cross in areas where there is thick brush on both sides of the road, prefering to remain under cover. Here we have open field areas with lines of trees along fence lines...the tree lines are the deer's highway. If one of these lines has a road cutting through it...beware, especially if it's a curve, that's where deer like to cross.