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am I the only one that does not use a radar detector?
I don't use one- I generally only go between 5 and 10 over (except on really, really rural roads that no cop would ever drive down) and just rely on instinct to avoid tickets (cops are fairly predictable if you really pay attention). Thus far I've gotten one- 83 in a 65 on the New York Thruway in 2007, but that was an abberation. I was also pulled over two years ago in Idaho for doing 57 in a 35, but I knew the cop and he let me off with a scolding
I've got a streak of 16 straight citations that I've talked my way out of, since Oct 29, 2006 when I got pulled over in Arizona for disobeying a speed limit sign in a construction zone that had been knocked down and therefore was unreadable. Near to the end of the month - there's no way out of that one.
Since then, I've talked my way out of a 113 in a 70 - a class III misdemeanor into a verbal warning! The usual is more like 61 in a 55, 71 in a 65, etc. As you may guess, I set cruise control to 6 over!
That's awesome. How do you even pull that off?
I usually set cruise at 5 over as a base, but I hate being that asshat that passes other cars at 1/10th of a mile an hour faster than the other cars, so I'll speed up to 7 or 8 over, then slow back to 5. If it's a four lane road, I'll slow back to 5 as soon as I'm comfortably in front, but if it's a two lane road I'll wait till I'm at least a half-mile or so in front of the other car, so I end up spending a lot of time at 7 or 8 over. If somebody else in front of me on a rural road is going less than 15 over, I'll stay comfortably behind him and match his speed, giving me plenty of time to slow down if there's a cop so the other car gets the ticket.
Quote from: corco on July 09, 2010, 12:16:25 AM
That's awesome. How do you even pull that off?
basically figuring that most police are really not out to issue tickets... a lot of those 16 were really innocent mistakes, like stopping about four feet into an intersection because of the confusing mess of orange cones and yellow tape and temporary signage. For those, you really just say that you were mistaken and you're from out of town and do not know how this intersection looks, and you're sorry and you'll pay better attention later... which is the truth, even - just told in the language they like to hear.
bear in mind that - especially on Friday and Saturday nights - cops pull over confused drivers because they may very well be
drunk. A clearly sober conversation with an apology in reasonable non-slurred English goes a long, long way. Just have your license and registration ready to go, and be able to speak in complete sentences, and you are very likely off the hook for a minor violation, especially one borne of driver confusion in a poorly signed area.
as for 113 in a 70... basically, pulling over when you know you're cooked like last week's turkey is hopefully enough for them to figure you're not a real criminal hell-bent on escape, and then you apologize over and over and over again.
(and figure your next speed escapade will be on an even less populated stretch of road!)
QuoteIf somebody else in front of me on a rural road is going less than 15 over, I'll stay comfortably behind him and match his speed, giving me plenty of time to slow down if there's a cop so the other car gets the ticket.
heh I've raced people doing 120+ before, knowing where to slow up before the double fines "construction zone" trap suddenly appears! sorry, feller, you drive an SUV, so I have no mercy for you.
My dad (a cop) said that by the time a radar detector goes off, the they've already gotten your speed. So there's pretty much no point in having them.
BigMatt
Quote from: BigMatt on July 09, 2010, 12:44:33 AM
My dad (a cop) said that by the time a radar detector goes off, the they've already gotten your speed. So there's pretty much no point in having them.
BigMatt
I cannot parse that. No point in having what? Cops? speed limits?
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 08, 2010, 11:46:21 PMmine too - I am completely self-sufficient on the road except for needing to do laundry - so I pack at least a week of clothes.
I am backpacking through Europe right now, so I have two shirts, two pairs of trousers--including the shirt and trousers I am wearing right now--and 18 changes of socks and underwear. I actually need to do laundry right now--I am tired of the salt stains on my shirt and I can't change into the other shirt because it has salt stains too. That is the price to be paid for being in the southern Mediterranean in late June/early July.
In regard to electronics, I have my camera, my laptop, and my 500-GB "working papers" external hard drive with me. I do not have the 1 TB "archive" external hard drive with me.
Quoteam I the only one that does not use a radar detector? I figure the police are always one step ahead, and they'll nail me using some previously undiscovered frequency band, so why bother.
I used to have a radar detector, but haven't used it for about 15 years and think I have lost it. The "why bother" question I ask is about speeding itself.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 09, 2010, 12:45:15 AM
Quote from: BigMatt on July 09, 2010, 12:44:33 AM
My dad (a cop) said that by the time a radar detector goes off, the they've already gotten your speed. So there's pretty much no point in having them.
BigMatt
I cannot parse that. No point in having what? Cops? speed limits?
Dads
Quote from: BigMatt on July 09, 2010, 12:44:33 AM
My dad (a cop) said that by the time a radar detector goes off, the they've already gotten your speed. So there's pretty much no point in having them.
BigMatt
With all due respect to your dad, I think he's mistaken. My detector is a Valentine One (top of the line), purchased after I got nailed by an Ohio state trooper on one of those roads where I never expected to see a cop. It was on OH 104, which I was told by a friend was a much better alternative to US 23 because you could drive faster on it because all the cops stayed on 23. In this case, a detector would have saved me from a ticket because it would have picked up his reading of a vehicle upon which I was closing, giving me plenty of time to slow down.
The V1 is amazing. It will pick up radar signals when the officer is well ahead of me, out of sight or obscured by a curve or rise. I am confident that it has saved me several tickets since I bought it a couple of years ago.
Quote from: J N Winkler on July 09, 2010, 04:08:26 AMThe "why bother" question I ask is about speeding itself.
there are two ways of getting to point B faster, and A Wrinkle In Time is not a reference manual...
radar detectors are illegal in most of Europe. It's illegal to not fund the state treasury... Thy shall pay up!
In Switzerland it's even illegal to have speed cameras as POI's in your GPS, but I wonder how on earth they want to enforce such a silly rule.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 08, 2010, 11:46:21 PM
am I the only one that does not use a radar detector? I figure the police are always one step ahead, and they'll nail me using some previously undiscovered frequency band, so why bother.
No. However, I find the police to be so obvious, and their hiding places so easy to see, that it isn't worth it. Remember, radar (and other methods) only work accurately at a close range (a couple hundred feet at most). If you can spot them 1/4 mile away, they're none the wiser. They have to have a line of sight to use the devices.
I can't reliably see them 1/4 mile away, that's for sure!
I keep my eyes open and try to spot them at least 1/4 mile out. Radar only works accurately at a close range (a couple of hundred feet).
Other tricks:
1. Keep right. They seem to prefer to target the left lanes.
2. Do not use the brake when you see them. They know then that you know you are guilty. Let up off the gas and coast.
3. Let some real moron go much faster than you. Bear bait is a good thing. They'll trip any trap before you get to it.
4. Keep a keen eye on anything might look like a cop car. Remember the colors of the patrol cars for the state you are in. (i.e. Illinois is white with a gold and brown stripe; Michigan is "State Police Blue".) Watch for the unmarked cars. They tend to be obvious from the number of antennae. :rolleyes:
5. Drive defensively, cautiously, and curteously. Cops tend to give people like that a break and go after folks with a bigger fine potential. :cool:
6. Maintain your lights. Speeding will be combined with a missing tail light or headlight. Again, bigger fine potential and more tickets.
7. For heaven's sake, wear your seatbelt.
8. Don't drive like an asshole, tailgating and cutting off people. If you do so, not only do you piss off other drivers, but you've made yourself a target.
9. Never pass the cop in front of you unless he/she is going slower than the legal speed limit or he/she is way out of his/her jurisdiction (i.e. Cook County Sheriff in Will County - he's busy going to a jail for a visit).
10. Keep in mind the usual locations where they set traps. They get into set patterns and attempt to use the same location over and over again. In many ways, they're too predictable. (for example, the ISP always sets a trap at the median break just south of Thorndale (Exit 5) on I-290). :pan:
11. Watch your speed on surface streets in town. Small towns and suburbs want your money.
Do these and you should be fine. They've served me well for quite some time now and I have a grand total of zero tickets even while I drive at 75-80mph on the freeways and tollways.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 09, 2010, 12:35:59 PM
I can't reliably see them 1/4 mile away, that's for sure!
Here in the Midwest, where the gound is fairly flat, and the freeways fairly straight, I can see them pretty well when they sit in the median at that distance.
Quote from: Brandon on July 09, 2010, 12:39:14 PM
2. Do not use the brake when you see them. They know then that you know you are guilty. Let up off the gas and coast.
alternately, use the e-brake, as that does not trip the brake lights.
Quote3. Let some real moron go much faster than you. Bear bait is a good thing. They'll trip any trap before you get to it.
but not so much faster that they are out of sight and no longer aiding you. If someone is doing 90, speed up to 85 for a minute or two to use them as bait as long as possible. If someone is doing 140... well, some trucker is going to call them in and they'll be by the side of the road in handcuffs 20 miles down the road.
Quote4. Keep a keen eye on anything might look like a cop car. Remember the colors of the patrol cars for the state you are in. (i.e. Illinois is white with a gold and brown stripe; Michigan is "State Police Blue".) Watch for the unmarked cars. They tend to be obvious from the number of antennae. :rolleyes:
oh, there's no way in Hell I can memorize 8 bazillion color schemes, but in general police cars tend to look very similar. Even the unmarked ones. The tinted windows, excessive antennas, sometimes specially colored license plates.
Quote9. Never pass the cop in front of you unless he/she is going slower than the legal speed limit or he/she is way out of his/her jurisdiction (i.e. Cook County Sheriff in Will County - he's busy going to a jail for a visit).
I tend to have barely any idea what county I'm in!
Quote10. Keep in mind the usual locations where they set traps. They get into set patterns and attempt to use the same location over and over again. In many ways, they're too predictable. (for example, the ISP always sets a trap at the median break just south of Thorndale (Exit 5) on I-290). :pan:
as with the color schemes, there's no way I can remember all that. Quick, where are the speed traps in the Charleston WV area? Who the Hell knows??
Quote11. Watch your speed on surface streets in town. Small towns and suburbs want your money.
also, if you drive slowly through small towns, you get to see more interesting stuff. "Hey, is that a cutout junction marker on the side street??" I tend to go about 2-3 below the limit through towns, and I avoid the suburban arterials if I can because those tend to be boring and choked with traffic.
Quote from: Brandon on July 09, 2010, 12:47:15 PM
Here in the Midwest, where the gound is fairly flat, and the freeways fairly straight, I can see them pretty well when they sit in the median at that distance.
in the Midwest, yes, but in a lot of places they are just past the next hill.
also, even on flat ground, a motorcycle cop behind an overpass column is very effectively hidden.
Quote from: corco on July 09, 2010, 12:16:25 AM
I usually set cruise at 5 over as a base, but I hate being that asshat that passes other cars at 1/10th of a mile an hour faster than the other cars, so I'll speed up to 7 or 8 over, then slow back to 5. If it's a four lane road, I'll slow back to 5 as soon as I'm comfortably in front, but if it's a two lane road I'll wait till I'm at least a half-mile or so in front of the other car, so I end up spending a lot of time at 7 or 8 over. If somebody else in front of me on a rural road is going less than 15 over, I'll stay comfortably behind him and match his speed, giving me plenty of time to slow down if there's a cop so the other car gets the ticket.
That's a lot like how I drive. I sometimes drive the speed limit, sometimes 5 over, and occasionally 10 over. Sometimes I just say fuck it and drive 90. Which is only 15 over on the Oklahoma turnpikes but 35 over on Arkansas' 2 lane highways.
Quote from: Brandon on July 09, 2010, 12:39:14 PM
10. Keep in mind the usual locations where they set traps. They get into set patterns and attempt to use the same location over and over again. In many ways, they're too predictable. (for example, the ISP always sets a trap at the median break just south of Thorndale (Exit 5) on I-290). :pan:
Not sure if this holds true for all casinos but there's nearly always a trooper in front of the casino I work at. I assume that such a location would be a prime spot for law enforcement, since they can pick off the people who've drank too much inside, as well as people who've lost/won large amounts of money and are driving erratically because of it, and poor housekeepers who are running late to work.
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 09, 2010, 09:12:02 PM
Not sure if this holds true for all casinos but there's nearly always a trooper in front of the casino I work at. I assume that such a location would be a prime spot for law enforcement, since they can pick off the people who've drank too much inside, as well as people who've lost/won large amounts of money and are driving erratically because of it, and poor housekeepers who are running late to work.
There's a Choctaw Nation gas station/convenience store just north of the interchange between US 59 Bypass/OK 112 and US 59/271. I always see a tribal police car parked there with a cop sitting in it. I'm not sure if the gas station has a small casino in it or not as I'm not a gambler.
Quote
2. Do not use the brake when you see them. They know then that you know you are guilty. Let up off the gas and coast.
9. Never pass the cop in front of you unless he/she is going slower than the legal speed limit or he/she is way out of his/her jurisdiction (i.e. Cook County Sheriff in Will County - he's busy going to a jail for a visit).
I tend to think the whole "never pass a cop" thing is overblown. In the same vain as not braking when I see a cop car, if I'm going 5 over or less I'm not going to adjust my speed at all. If I'm on the freeway and I'm going 5 over and the cop is going the speed limit, I'll pass. I've done this a couple dozen times and not received a ticket or even been pulled over. On a two lane road if the cop is going the speed limit I probably wouldn't pass, however.
It goes to not looking guilty- if I come up on a cop on the interstate and slow to the speed limit, then it's obvious I was going faster and I'm only slowing down because I'm scared of the cop. Why would I be scared of the cop if I weren't guilty? If I were to get pulled over, I'd expect this to give me a bit more leverage if I try to plea stupid as well.
Fortunately, this situation doesn't come up horribly often because more astute cops go about 10 over or 10 under to alleviate the awkwardness of having to be stuck behind/in front of a cop
I don't own a radar detector, so I have to rely on my natural senses to watch out for the cops. The speed at to which I drive depends on the lay of the land, the time of day and the weather (well, that goes without saying). I drive faster in the daytime and in open areas. It's much more easier to look out for cops in the daytime and when there are no trees. I slow down some whenever I'm approaching a vehicle on the side of the road, just in case it could be a cop car. I also driver faster when there are more lanes. For example, I was driving at least 80 on the six-lane portion of I-20/59 between Birmingham and Tuscaloosa on my most recent trip to and from Birmingham. I didn't drive as fast on the four-lane part.
As a side note, are there any places where cop cars sit empty on the side of the road as means to slow motorists down? I remember there used to be on I-10 around Metairie, LA years ago. I don't recall seeing it the last time I drove down through there in October.
I learned the headlight and taillight patterns of all the commonly used cop cars so I can tell what they are at night. Sometimes it is a false alarm, but better safe than sorry.
When I see a black Crown Vic with a blue EZ-Pass, I automatically think it's an unmarked cop. But for me, I get paranoid and get the foot off the gas for any blue EZ-Pass.
Quote from: J N Winkler on July 09, 2010, 04:08:26 AM
I used to have a radar detector, but haven't used it for about 15 years and think I have lost it. The "why bother" question I ask is about speeding itself.
Sometimes one can find himself unintentionally speeding, such as places with poorly marked speed limit reductions, areas where the speed limit is kept artificially low - such as any rural interstate in Illinois, or even better, NE 2 around Nebraska City, or in cases where one must merge into a highway full of speed limit violators - I-465 can be a real fun example of this case, especially in the west side work zones, with everyone doing at least 65 in a 45 mph work zone.
Quote from: golden eagle on July 09, 2010, 10:45:59 PM
As a side note, are there any places where cop cars sit empty on the side of the road as means to slow motorists down? I remember there used to be on I-10 around Metairie, LA years ago. I don't recall seeing it the last time I drove down through there in October.
There is a (the?) McClain County sheriff who lives on OK-74 in Goldsby. He seems to make it a point to back his cruiser(s) up into the driveway when they are not in use so as to make people not familiar with the area slow down.
I got close a couple of times. In general, I go 5-10 over or basically the flow of traffic. Honestly, being the fastest on the road is too risky. I'm also a teenager, so I'm a natural target from the get-go.
The fastest I've gone was 87 MPH on I-280 near Los Altos Hills. I rarely see cops North of CA-85 on I-280, and I was actually going the flow of traffic.
Anyways, in Oregon, all government plates are yellow, so they're pretty easy to spot. In the Portland Metro area, they usually patrol the freeways in motorcycles and hide on the onramps. In California, I notice CHP tends to camp out on onramps as well, and they rarely use unmarked vehicles. Chargers are starting to become more popular in California, but black Crown Vics are still the primary cars to look out for. Washington State Patrol uses white Chargers and Crown Vics, and they tend to use a lot of unmarked vehicles that are either blue or beige. Their license plates have an XMT. In my junior year of high school, I would go 85 MPH on I-205 everyday, but I stopped in my senior year. Now, I barely do 70. (Speed limit 60).
I should have been pulled over in Southern Oregon. I was doing 75 MPH on a 55 zone on US-101, and a cop barreled behind me. I pulled on the e-brake a little bit all the way down to 50. Fortunately, the cop passed me and joined a bunch of other cops around a van with a bunch of drugs. Needless to say, I got lucky. Also, on I-80, I started to speed up from 45 to 70 after I found an open lane in traffic, but a cop immediately jetted out of an onramp when I was going about 67, so I slowed down (I actually used my brakes). He followed me a bit, probably noticed the Washington license plate and changed lanes. I notice different state patrols tend to avoid pulling people over from other states, unless the violation was significant.
I'm a fairly inexperienced driver, since I've only driven for a little over a year, but I'd definitely watch out for tinted windows, antennaes, and special government plates. Most cops drive American cars, and common cruisers include Crown Victorias, Dodge Chargers, and Chevy Impalas. Often, Ford Explorers are used. CHP does use BMW motorcycles, but typically, I'd advice caution to any motorcyclist behind you, as they may be a cop, particularly if the helmet is white. Avoiding the left lane is smart, and make sure someone is behind you when you pass a slow vehicle.
Anyways, I have yet to get a ticket or even pulled over for that matter. I probably won't be driving much in college, but I won't be surprised if I get a ticket soon enough.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on July 10, 2010, 02:15:00 AM
The fastest I've gone was 87 MPH on I-280 near Los Altos Hills.
a hell of a road. Amazing construction for 1962 - gotta love those 100mph sweeping curves. (And yes, I've made it from the 880 in San Jose to the 101 in San Francisco averaging 106 mph.) You definitely need to go a tad faster than 87! :-D
QuoteI notice different state patrols tend to avoid pulling people over from other states, unless the violation was significant.
nah, the exact opposite is true. Who from all the way across the country is going to hop on a plane and come back to Deer Tick County to contest their ticket? Out of state plates are free money!
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 10, 2010, 02:27:37 AM
Quote from: KEK Inc. on July 10, 2010, 02:15:00 AM
The fastest I've gone was 87 MPH on I-280 near Los Altos Hills.
a hell of a road. Amazing construction for 1962 - gotta love those 100mph sweeping curves. (And yes, I've made it from the 880 in San Jose to the 101 in San Francisco averaging 106 mph.) You definitely need to go a tad faster than 87! :-D
QuoteI notice different state patrols tend to avoid pulling people over from other states, unless the violation was significant.
nah, the exact opposite is true. Who from all the way across the country is going to hop on a plane and come back to Deer Tick County to contest their ticket? Out of state plates are free money!
Eh, no thanks. I don't want to lose my license when I'm only 17.
I thought it's impossible to win in traffic court if you're a local.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on July 10, 2010, 02:48:06 AM
Eh, no thanks. I don't want to lose my license when I'm only 17.
I thought it's impossible to win in traffic court if you're a local.
I dunno, I've never been to traffic court. I should've gone when the speed limit sign was clearly knocked down and rendered unreadable - but, again, why would I bother springing several hundred dollars on a plane ticket just to return to sunny Unspeakable Goat County?
the easiest way to get out of a ticket is right there on the spot before the officer writes you one.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 09, 2010, 12:54:10 PM
Quote from: Brandon on July 09, 2010, 12:47:15 PM
Here in the Midwest, where the gound is fairly flat, and the freeways fairly straight, I can see them pretty well when they sit in the median at that distance.
in the Midwest, yes, but in a lot of places they are just past the next hill.
also, even on flat ground, a motorcycle cop behind an overpass column is very effectively hidden.
Motorcycle cops are so rare that you're more likely to get struck by lightening here. Midwestern police forces use them for parades, large groups, and areas where they have massive traffic congestion in decent weather. No cop here wants to be on a motorcycle when it is,
90F and a dewpoint of 75F
-10F and a windchill of -20F
a blizzard (common in the winter)
a thunderstorm (average of one to two a week here)
Nor can a motorcycle be used effectively for DUI arrests or drug busts (common in my area on both I-55 and I-80).
They're only good for a few areas of the country consistently, and this isn't one of them.
Quote from: golden eagle on July 09, 2010, 10:45:59 PM
As a side note, are there any places where cop cars sit empty on the side of the road as means to slow motorists down? I remember there used to be on I-10 around Metairie, LA years ago. I don't recall seeing it the last time I drove down through there in October.
The ISP tried doing this about 15-20 years ago. It worked for the first couple of weeks. Then people wised up when they never saw the car move and that it got a layer of dust on it. Needless to say, the tactic went by the wayside.
Quotenah, the exact opposite is true. Who from all the way across the country is going to hop on a plane and come back to Deer Tick County to contest their ticket? Out of state plates are free money!
I live some of the year in Valley County, Idaho, which is kind of a hick county, and it's really no secret at all that we target people from out of county (namely Ada and Canyon within Idaho, so 1A or 2C plates) and out of staters. We want the California money, and if the cops harassed the locals, the locals would get pissed and have the cops ousted. Locals tend to only get pulled over when they're actually doing something unsafe (ten over on a wide open road in broad daylight is not unsafe) that puts other cars in serious danger (so near accidents caused by inattentiveness or whatever).
This especially holds true in the winter. The general assumption is that if you have V (Valley County), 2A (Adams), or I (Idaho) plates you know how to maneuver a vehicle in snow, but if you have any other license plate you're probably retarded and will end up in the ditch within a mile, so those folks tend to get pulled over at far lower speeds than the locals simply on the grounds that it is assumed they don't have any idea how to drive on bad roads. As a teenager, it was easy to capitalize on this- we'd borrow my friend's dad's F-350 and drive around pulling people out of the ditch in the winter, charging $50 to tourists and offering the service free to locals. In five winters, we made $2000 and gave out exactly three free tows, so there's probably some merit to the profiling. This isn't to say that everybody who doesn't live in the mountains is an idiot in snow, but a whole lot of them are.
The clincher on that is that a lot of local residents know all the police officers- I know most of the cops, enough to the point that I wave at them when they drive by, and it's harder for a police officer to give somebody he actually knows a $200 ticket for dubious reasons. Giving a ticket to some jackwagon with California plates- no problem!
Here's how I avoid tickets:
I drive the limit. :spin: :spin: :spin:
Quote from: Brandon on July 10, 2010, 08:59:35 AM
The ISP tried doing this about 15-20 years ago. It worked for the first couple of weeks. Then people wised up when they never saw the car move and that it got a layer of dust on it. Needless to say, the tactic went by the wayside.
I certainly would have no idea! I am not Rain Man; I cannot keep an internal running log of "the police vehicle at mile 13.62 on Illinois state route 119 is empty", seeing as I may pass by it precisely once in my life.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 10, 2010, 12:10:39 PM
Here's how I avoid tickets:
I drive the limit. :spin: :spin: :spin:
hopefully not to the point of holding up traffic.
I've had two speeding tickets, both of which were, of course, my fault. Both were over three years ago when I first started out driving.
Now, I pay attention to the surroundings; don't stick out; and don't drive like a maniac.
Be well,
Bryant
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 10, 2010, 12:58:10 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 10, 2010, 12:10:39 PM
Here's how I avoid tickets:
I drive the limit. :spin: :spin: :spin:
hopefully not to the point of holding up traffic.
Unfortunately, that probably does happen every so often, but I stay to the right as much as possible. I don't have the money to even risk getting picked out at this point.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 10, 2010, 03:39:04 PM
Unfortunately, that probably does happen every so often, but I stay to the right as much as possible. I don't have the money to even risk getting picked out at this point.
better than being in the left lane, but at the same time, if the posted limit is 70 and everyone's doing 80, you're actually being a road hazard doing 70. Perverse but true. Welcome to the mystical world of speed limit enforcement.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 10, 2010, 03:49:04 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 10, 2010, 03:39:04 PM
Unfortunately, that probably does happen every so often, but I stay to the right as much as possible. I don't have the money to even risk getting picked out at this point.
better than being in the left lane, but at the same time, if the posted limit is 70 and everyone's doing 80, you're actually being a road hazard doing 70. Perverse but true. Welcome to the mystical world of speed limit enforcement.
I had a friend who was driving 60 mph in the left lane of I-75 in Monroe County, Georgia -- just north of Macon. The posted speed limit's 65, but most traffic's going 80, at the very least. She was quite oblivious to traffic passing us on the right.
Be well,
Bryant
QuoteI had a friend who was driving 60 mph in the left lane of I-75 in Monroe County, Georgia -- just north of Macon. The posted speed limit's 65, but most traffic's going 80, at the very least. She was quite oblivious to traffic passing us on the right.
Be well,
Bryant
I've found that a lot of people who do that aren't even oblivious, they just don't care- they fail to distinguish between "clogged suburban arterial" where passing on the right isn't a big deal and lane position doesn't really matter and "quasi-urban interstate" where lane position is very important and don't see a significant difference between these situations. These people are idiots
Quote from: corco on July 10, 2010, 04:04:06 PM
"clogged suburban arterial" where passing on the right isn't a big deal
maybe if people used freeway-style lane discipline on the arterials as well, they'd be a bit less clogged!
Quote from: corco on July 10, 2010, 04:04:06 PM
I've found that a lot of people who do that aren't even oblivious, they just don't care- they fail to distinguish between "clogged suburban arterial" where passing on the right isn't a big deal and lane position doesn't really matter and "quasi-urban interstate" where lane position is very important and don't see a significant difference between these situations. These people are idiots
This is the sad part when you don't have a keep right-pass left law. I see this too often on I-76, especially when you get to three lanes. The reason for this: the Central Interchange, which is nearly 4 miles ahead.
Even if they are going to I-77 SB (which is a left exit), that in itself is NO EXCUSE to just hang in the left lane going 55 to 60 (60 is the speed limit for cars, 55 for trucks) or even lower. Add in a semi truck, even if they are passing, and it is a mess.
The Ohio Turnpike has a sign informing trucks and slower vehicles to stay out of the left lane. (https://www.aaroads.com/midwest/ohio077/i-080_wb_exit_216_02.jpg) This is something ODOT will have to do to prevent this mess. There are two signs that I created to inform motorist on I-76, and on any freeway in Ohio in general:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg541.imageshack.us%2Fimg541%2F9580%2Fleftlanepassingonly.png&hash=a76734a322bc6bf167045df681b00f2c697a6c35)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg34.imageshack.us%2Fimg34%2F1961%2Fnotrucksleftlane.png&hash=29610229d7e1b926cc3585b2c97930465dcd9946)
The first one is posted on overpasses reminding traverlers that the left lane is for PASSING ONLY. The second is the sign based on the ones used in Florida (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=28.419108,-81.47432&spn=0,0.006899&z=17&layer=c&cbll=28.419483,-81.474326&panoid=5v1DrLXcBA-Wk4lcH0MRnA&cbp=12,206.38,,2,-0.39) to inform trucks to stay out of the left lane.
I would LOVE to see giant overpass style signs exactly like that posted on interstates all around the country. Something about a giant overhead yellow sign is more meaningful then a little "Keep Right Except to Pass" sign posted on the left side of the road- I suspect that would be far more effective.
I couldn't agree more. :cool:
Quote from: corco on July 10, 2010, 05:42:13 PM
I would LOVE to see giant overpass style signs exactly like that posted on interstates all around the country. Something about a giant overhead yellow sign is more meaningful then a little "Keep Right Except to Pass" sign posted on the left side of the road- I suspect that would be far more effective.
I would LOVE to see the law actually enforced. Unfortunately, cops sit by the side of the road, half asleep and looking at donut porn, until their radar detector beeps because it's been set to trigger on anyone going, say 90. So someone crawling by doing 55 in the left lane is, literally, under their radar.
it would be excellent if those going 15 under the limit were prosecuted just as vigorously as those going 15 over the limit. Excessive speed differential is a two-edged sword.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 10, 2010, 06:18:00 PM
I would LOVE to see the law actually enforced. Unfortunately, cops sit by the side of the road, half asleep and looking at donut porn, until their radar detector beeps because it's been set to trigger on anyone going, say 90. So someone crawling by doing 55 in the left lane is, literally, under their radar.
it would be excellent if those going 15 under the limit were prosecuted just as vigorously as those going 15 over the limit. Excessive speed differential is a two-edged sword.
Any big speed difference is a potential danger on the road, really. From what I've heard, that's why the national speed limit (55) was so dangerous, since some people still went 70, while others went 55.
Anyways, am I the only person who goes to the left lane when there's someone on the shoulder? I always change out of the right lane (unless there's heavy traffic in the other lane) if there's a car on the shoulder, yet no one else does that.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on July 10, 2010, 06:27:54 PM
Anyways, am I the only person who goes to the left lane when there's someone on the shoulder? I always change out of the right lane (unless there's heavy traffic in the other lane) if there's a car on the shoulder, yet no one else does that.
I do it politely, but not religiously. Some truckers do it without thinking - woe to anyone who may be in the left lane when they decide that the car that's been parked on the right shoulder since the Nixon administration (complete with glaring orange parking ticket taped to the rear window) is suddenly to be given a wide berth because you never know, THIS could be the day that someone's actually changing the tire.
QuoteAnyways, am I the only person who goes to the left lane when there's someone on the shoulder? I always change out of the right lane (unless there's heavy traffic in the other lane) if there's a car on the shoulder, yet no one else does that.
Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Depends on the situation. I tend to do it moreso lately since the whole "change lanes for stopped emergency vehicles" thing went into effect, and I don't want to risk there being an emergency vehicle there that I don't see.
I usually do though on wide open freeways- not so much in the city.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on July 10, 2010, 06:27:54 PM
Anyways, am I the only person who goes to the left lane when there's someone on the shoulder? I always change out of the right lane (unless there's heavy traffic in the other lane) if there's a car on the shoulder, yet no one else does that.
No. I get over when I can. I've sat on the side of the road and had cars fly by me and I know how badly it sucks. So I try to get out of the way.
^^ From time to time I do. If I can't or don't, I try to move as far left as I can in the right lane.
Be well,
Bryant
I try to get over if I can. I also have been in the position of having people blow past us while sitting on the shoulder and it sucks.
Quote from: Brandon on July 10, 2010, 08:56:35 AM
-10F and a windchill of -20F
a blizzard (common in the winter)
Tell that to the Motorcycle cops here in Pittsburgh. ;) They would probably just laugh at the wimps out there.
Instead of a radar detector, I now use Trapster (http://www.trapster.com/) on my phone which will give me a heads up on potential hiding spots, as well as other issues that might affect my trip.
I used to have a radar detector in my youth. It frankly didn't matter much - all it seemed to do was piss off the officer pulling me over. Oh yeah, and it likely tipped off a thief to my nice Blaupunkt stereo, since it and my radar detector became history one night.
I've been pulled over about a dozen times in my driving career. Two of those times was because I was doing exactly 10mph over, and both resulted in just a warning. Every other time was because I was doing more than that. I can't count how many times I've driven past cops doing 10 over on the highway.
I make several exceptions to my 10-over rule:
- School zones
- Work zones (much to the irritation of others)
- Unfamiliar cities (particularly small towns in rural areas - it's insane how many small towns have cops with nothing better to do then ding out-of-towners for 5mph over)
- If weather conditions prohibit
- Passing - if I'm in the passing lane, the foot's on the floor until I'm safely back in my lane. The minor risk of a ticket for speeding while passing is outweighed by the very real danger of a head-on collision.
I decided several years ago that having a radar detector wasn't worth it. Generally 10mph over is sufficiently fast on most highways, and trying to go faster with a radar detector was just too stressful.
Connecticut has the "move over" law now, so I've gotten in the habit of doing so.
Only if I see flashing lights or people, though. I don't think you're required to move over for just a stopped car.
And yeah, if one person passes me on the right, I take the hint and speed up or move over.
Quote from: JREwing78 on July 11, 2010, 10:07:16 AM
- Work zones (much to the irritation of others)
work zone speed enforcement silliness is like regular speed enforcement, times 100. If you slow down for the cone zone, you *will* immediately get someone on your tail, expecting to continue to go 70, even if the road is now signed as 35, not 65.
if you don't slow down, you are running the risk of getting utterly ravaged by the next traffic cop. Slow down! Fines double! Hit a worker, get summarily executed by the side of the road! Safety enforcement corridor! Walk to your destination like a good comrade!
Of course, the locals somehow "know" which construction zones are phantoms, and which ones are real - I have no such luxury, as I'm usually from many hundreds or thousands of miles out of town.
also, add to the construction zone woes the nature of temporary signage. When I got pulled over for disobeying a sign that was
knocked down, it was in a construction zone. Every other construction zone on I-40 in Arizona had been signed as slow down to 55, but this one was, apparently, a 45 (despite the fact that the last
standing speed limit sign was, indeed a 55), and my speed of 51 past the officer was deemed worthy of a ticket.
I'm willing to bet good money it was Officer Nice himself that walked over to the 45 sign on a temporary easel, temporarily eased into the horizontal position, and watched the coffers fill.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 10, 2010, 12:10:39 PM
Here's how I avoid tickets:
I drive the limit. :spin: :spin: :spin:
That's what I was gonna say. Kinda, I don't drive, well I can't legally. But I saw gonna say "here's a good way to avoid tickets - drive how you're supposed to. Unless you're in a National Park in Texas. Or if you're in West Texas. One of my friends has driven up to 80-85 in a 70 mph zone, nothing happened. And in Big Bend, he drove like 70 in a lot slower speed limit. I forgot what it was...
BigMatt
Quote from: BigMatt on July 12, 2010, 10:24:01 PM
I don't drive, well I can't legally.
I was driving legally when I was 14. I had to have a licensed driver with me, but I had a restricted license which was identical to a regular license except under "restrictions" it had the number for the under 16 restriction. In Arkansas, at least when I got my license in 1988, you first take a written exam and you then are given a permit, which is a piece of paper. Then you came back after a week or two and took a driving test and then you got your regular restricted license. The driving part was a joke, I just had to drive the 4 blocks around the courthouse. And I started driving on back roads when I was 11, so I aced that part of the test. The written part wasn't that hard either. The moral of the story is that it's way too easy to get a license in the US, and that all kids should drive on one lane Forest Service roads starting at a young age.
Quote from: BigMatt on July 09, 2010, 12:44:33 AM
My dad (a cop) said that by the time a radar detector goes off, the they've already gotten your speed. So there's pretty much no point in having them.
BigMatt
If he's referring to laser (LIDAR) then yes, that's 99% of the time true. For radar, that's absolutely false. If there's a cop sitting with the radar on, like any other radio wave, it carries, and they reflect especially well on the metal bodies of most cars. Unlike LIDAR which is a small point, radar RF signatures are conical. The farther away from the car, the wider the cone. You'll often find that you can detect the radar gun well before cresting a hill or going around a corner, especially so if there's a car in front of you which does an excellent job reflecting the RF, giving you plenty of time to slow down before the cop can get a radar lock. On a flat road, I've detected the first radar signatures up to a mile ahead of the speed trap, well above the limit for the officer to determine my speed.
Now again, this assumes that the cop is sitting with the radar on, as is usual. Some fancy radar guns have instant-on mode where they don't emit until a car is in sight, but I haven't seen police use this mode very often.
Of course, I'm an engineer, not a cop. I do know a good bit about radio waves (and have owned a radar detector for many years), but not as much about how the police actually utilize radar guns in the field.
Quote from: bugo on July 12, 2010, 11:12:47 PMI was driving legally when I was 14. I had to have a licensed driver with me, but I had a restricted license which was identical to a regular license except under "restrictions" it had the number for the under 16 restriction. In Arkansas, at least when I got my license in 1988, you first take a written exam and you then are given a permit, which is a piece of paper. Then you came back after a week or two and took a driving test and then you got your regular restricted license. The driving part was a joke, I just had to drive the 4 blocks around the courthouse. And I started driving on back roads when I was 11, so I aced that part of the test. The written part wasn't that hard either. The moral of the story is that it's way too easy to get a license in the US, and that all kids should drive on one lane Forest Service roads starting at a young age.
Same in NY, except you have to be 16 and need 20 hours of driving to take the driving test. Still way too easy to get a license - the most difficult thing on the test is parallel parking, and they do that in an area that isn't crowded.
Quote from: realjd on July 13, 2010, 12:21:44 AM
Quote from: BigMatt on July 09, 2010, 12:44:33 AM
My dad (a cop) said that by the time a radar detector goes off, the they've already gotten your speed. So there's pretty much no point in having them.
BigMatt
If he's referring to laser (LIDAR) then yes, that's 99% of the time true.
Here in the UK virtually all mobile speed enforcement is laser based. Radar had its day years ago.
I never bothered with a radar detector but my last two cars had a laser jammer fitted. It is quite expensive at around $300 but has saved me on several occasions. Of course, the key to not raising suspicion is to slow down to the limit upon hearing the jammer go off and switching it off. This allows the cop to get your speed at the limit. If you leave the jammer on and the cop can't get a reading after repeated attempts he is likely to get suspicous. When I went to Europe at the weekend I removed it as I heard the French police will confiscate such equipment.
Quote from: Truvelo on July 13, 2010, 03:15:35 PM
Here in the UK virtually all mobile speed enforcement is laser based. Radar had its day years ago.
We don't see laser too often here in the states. The equipment is more expensive, it can't be used through a police car window, and I don't think it can be used while the car is in motion the way radar can. Police will also sometimes just use a stopwatch to measure a car's time between two fixed locations (usually white lines painted across the road) to calculate speed, which is of course completely undetectable. They'll even do it from aircraft here in Florida!
Quote from: realjd on July 13, 2010, 06:18:04 PM
Quote from: Truvelo on July 13, 2010, 03:15:35 PM
Here in the UK virtually all mobile speed enforcement is laser based. Radar had its day years ago.
We don't see laser too often here in the states. The equipment is more expensive, it can't be used through a police car window, and I don't think it can be used while the car is in motion the way radar can. Police will also sometimes just use a stopwatch to measure a car's time between two fixed locations (usually white lines painted across the road) to calculate speed, which is of course completely undetectable. They'll even do it from aircraft here in Florida!
I got laser'ed on I-44 in Missouri last year, early on a Sunday morning. Missouri state cop was sitting on an overpass shooting eastbound I-44 traffic. Guy must have had a crappy Saturday night at home to be out before 9 a.m. on a Sunday looking for speeders on a wide open interstate.
I was doing more than 5 mph over the limit but they made no attempt to stop me.
With all due respect to the previous commenter's, my dad has pulled people over who were using radar detectors, maybe it was a cheapo one, but he's done it. So Imma stick with what he said. Just throwin that out there. :spin:
BigMatt
^^^^
I don't doubt your father. There are some REALLY crappy radar detectors out there (*cough*Whistler*cough*). They just aren't as sensitive. And even good radar detectors aren't fool-proof. I know a few folks with good ones who were pulled over. But they do work in many situations.
Usually, when approaching a cop with radar on, I'll get a very weak radar signature for a few seconds followed by a very strong blast. That weak signal usually gives me enough time to slow down to the limit before they actually get clocked, but I'm not going too far past it. If someone's going a significant amount over the limit, they won't have time to slow down.
Remember, they aren't necessarily police-detectors. All they do is look for transmissions in certain frequency ranges. Usually, there's enough reflection or leakage from a police radar to get a small amount of advance warning. Sometimes you get more (if on top of a hill for instance), sometimes less to none (usually around corners). And automatic doors and some stop lights will also set them off. But on the whole, they're usually effective.
Did you all know that people with radar detectors are 28% less likely to be involved in an accident than people without one? http://driverstechnology.co.uk/Morisurvey.pdf
Quote from: BigMatt on July 18, 2010, 11:42:19 PM
With all due respect to the previous commenter's, my dad has pulled people over who were using radar detectors, maybe it was a cheapo one, but he's done it. So Imma stick with what he said. Just throwin that out there. :spin:
BigMatt
I got nailed on I-64 in Woodford County, Ky. several years back while using a radar detector. It never even went off. I can't remember the brand of it now, as it quit working and I never bothered replacing it until a couple of years ago when I got the Valentine One.
Cop said he clocked me doing 75 or 76 in a 65 mph zone. I had my cruise set on 70. I never even saw him until the blue lights popped up behind me so I don't know if I met him and he turned around, or if he was hidden somewhere.
A few years after that, a Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement officer got killed very close to the spot where I got pulled over when he lost control when he cut through the median to go chase a speeder. The desire to write a speeding ticket cost him his life, cost his wife her husband, and I think cost their child its father if I remember the details correctly.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 19, 2010, 05:45:13 PM
The desire to write a speeding ticket cost him his life, cost his wife her husband, and I think cost their child its father if I remember the details correctly.
don't forget the uncles, nieces, coworkers, household pets, traveling salesmen, and intestinal bacteria that were also affected by his untimely demise.
I've had my share of speeding tickets in both New York and Florida, but thankfully no place in between. So you'd think I'd get a radar detector, but with so many states and other municipalities making them illegal, I never saw the point of having them. One time I in North Carolina, I took my old Toyota Corolla to the 100 mph mark, just to see if it was possibe to do it, and I did... and no cops caught me. On my recent road trip from Florida to New York and back I thought I was going to be nailed in Southern Virginia, but they instead pulled somebody else over. On the way back in Southern Georgia, I saw local cops out in force ready to take down any drivers before they got to Florida. One of them pulled over on the left-hand shoulder right in front of me, and I almost got into an accident with him.
My brother gave me a GPS device a couple of years ago, which I've never used. But earlier this year I found out about a couple of websites that act as speed trap detectors that you can use on your GPS, and I considered using it for the first time.
The only state I'm aware of that bans the use of radar detectors is Virginia. The District of Columbia also prohibits them. I love driving in Virginia but it's a PITA to have to take the V-1 down and only drive 5 over the limit.
Quote from: hbelkins on August 23, 2010, 11:07:58 AM
The only state I'm aware of that bans the use of radar detectors is Virginia. The District of Columbia also prohibits them. I love driving in Virginia but it's a PITA to have to take the V-1 down and only drive 5 over the limit.
Isn't 80 MPH a felony in Virginia? If so, that's quite fascist and ridiculous. In Oklahoma, 80 is five over on the turnpikes.
Virginia is an awful place. I've gotten a speeding ticket for 73 in a 65 fifty feet over the state line from West Virginia. I'd been doing 74 in a 70 on 81 in West Virginia and eased off a bit since the speed limit dropped a bit. Too late.
28th of the month. that should tell you all you need to know.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 19, 2010, 05:45:13 PM
Quote from: BigMatt on July 18, 2010, 11:42:19 PM
With all due respect to the previous commenter's, my dad has pulled people over who were using radar detectors, maybe it was a cheapo one, but he's done it. So Imma stick with what he said. Just throwin that out there. :spin:
BigMatt
I got nailed on I-64 in Woodford County, Ky. several years back while using a radar detector. It never even went off. I can't remember the brand of it now, as it quit working and I never bothered replacing it until a couple of years ago when I got the Valentine One.
Cop said he clocked me doing 75 or 76 in a 65 mph zone. I had my cruise set on 70. I never even saw him until the blue lights popped up behind me so I don't know if I met him and he turned around, or if he was hidden somewhere.
A few years after that, a Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement officer got killed very close to the spot where I got pulled over when he lost control when he cut through the median to go chase a speeder. The desire to write a speeding ticket cost him his life, cost his wife her husband, and I think cost their child its father if I remember the details correctly.
hbelkins--- was that the one that crashed into a 18wheeler trailer? I've witnessed several KSP going thru the median and directly in front of traffic to catch a speeder, and not a 100mph speeder either! They seem to feel everyone should lock up their brakes when they come thru median....very dangerous!!! IIRC a couple of KSP have died because of this practice. Not setting a good example are they??
Quote from: corco on July 09, 2010, 12:16:25 AM
I usually set cruise at 5 over as a base
I don't have cruise control in my car, so I try to keep my speed between the speed limit and 5 over.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 09, 2010, 12:49:01 PM
Quote from: Brandon on July 09, 2010, 12:39:14 PM
4. Keep a keen eye on anything might look like a cop car. Remember the colors of the patrol cars for the state you are in. (i.e. Illinois is white with a gold and brown stripe; Michigan is "State Police Blue".) Watch for the unmarked cars. They tend to be obvious from the number of antennae. :rolleyes:
oh, there's no way in Hell I can memorize 8 bazillion color schemes, but in general police cars tend to look very similar. Even the unmarked ones. The tinted windows, excessive antennas, sometimes specially colored license plates.
When you see a car that is typically used as a cop car (Chargers, Impalas, Crown Vics, etc) treat it like it is a cop car until you can see that it isn't. If it's a foreign-badged car, it's most likely not a cop car because police departments usually buy American marques. If it's a small compact or subcompact car it's most likely not a cop car. If it's a sports car (Corvette, Mustang, etc) there's a chance that it could be a cop car. Pickup trucks and SUVs can be cop cars if there're Fords, Chevys, or Dodges, especially in rural areas. If you see an Accord or a Jetta, you don't have anything to worry about. Also learn headlight patterns. This helps out when a car is behind you at night.
Quote from: bugo on August 23, 2010, 12:37:37 PM
Isn't 80 MPH a felony in Virginia? If so, that's quite fascist and ridiculous. In Oklahoma, 80 is five over on the turnpikes.
I don't think it's a felony, but it is a crime (reckless driving) rather than an infraction, which means a court appearance and potential jail time. Ditto for going 20mph or more over a speed limit of less than 60mph.
Now that Virginia is starting to post more Interstate segments at 70mph, having only a 9-mph cushion between driving at a 70mph limit and getting slammed with a reckless driving ticket is going to become more of an issue.
Quote from: corco on July 09, 2010, 09:21:21 PM
Quote
2. Do not use the brake when you see them. They know then that you know you are guilty. Let up off the gas and coast.
9. Never pass the cop in front of you unless he/she is going slower than the legal speed limit or he/she is way out of his/her jurisdiction (i.e. Cook County Sheriff in Will County - he's busy going to a jail for a visit).
I tend to think the whole "never pass a cop" thing is overblown. In the same vain as not braking when I see a cop car, if I'm going 5 over or less I'm not going to adjust my speed at all. If I'm on the freeway and I'm going 5 over and the cop is going the speed limit, I'll pass. I've done this a couple dozen times and not received a ticket or even been pulled over. On a two lane road if the cop is going the speed limit I probably wouldn't pass, however.
If I come up on a cop car doing the speed limit, I will slow down to about 3 miles below the speed limit. I'd rather have a cop in front of me than one behind me.
And as somebody else noted, never hit your brakes if you're just going a few miles an hour over. Just take your foot off the gas (or turn the cruise control off) and slow down to the speed limit. Hitting your brakes just draws attention to you.
Quote from: bugo on August 23, 2010, 02:56:46 PM
And as somebody else noted, never hit your brakes if you're just going a few miles an hour over. Just take your foot off the gas (or turn the cruise control off) and slow down to the speed limit. Hitting your brakes just draws attention to you.
you can use a brief touch of the emergency brake - not too much, or you'll skid, and certainly don't do it while turning unless you know what you're doing. It does not flash the brake lights. I got myself down from 60 to 40 in a 35 with much haste once in Mississippi as I observed a cop car turn out of a side street behind me.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 19, 2010, 05:45:13 PM
A few years after that, a Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement officer got killed very close to the spot where I got pulled over when he lost control when he cut through the median to go chase a speeder. The desire to write a speeding ticket cost him his life, cost his wife her husband, and I think cost their child its father if I remember the details correctly.
That happened on the Will Rogers Turnpike a few years ago. U-turns should be illegal for everybody. But if the cop is stupid enough to do that, then he deserves to die. Too bad they take somebody else out with them.
Post Merge: August 24, 2010, 08:13:21 PM
Quote from: allniter89 on August 23, 2010, 02:14:29 PM
hbelkins--- was that the one that crashed into a 18wheeler trailer? I've witnessed several KSP going thru the median and directly in front of traffic to catch a speeder, and not a 100mph speeder either! They seem to feel everyone should lock up their brakes when they come thru median....very dangerous!!! IIRC a couple of KSP have died because of this practice. Not setting a good example are they??
I saw a cop very nearly cause an accident on I-40 in Arkansas when he did just that. If a civilian did that, they would go to jail. But cops are rarely held accountable for what they do, and as a result they believe they are above the law.
Quote from: bugo on August 23, 2010, 02:56:46 PM
If I come up on a cop car doing the speed limit, I will slow down to about 3 miles below the speed limit. I'd rather have a cop in front of me than one behind me.
Be careful doing this at night. In one city I lived in, the cops would cruise below the speed limit on a 4-lane road and anyone who wouldn't pass them got pulled over on suspicion of DUI.
I've only used the e-brake once, and that's when I was going 77 on a 55 in Southern Oregon (US-101). The cop obviously knew I was speeding, but he passed me to take care of a drug bust with other Rozzers. :P (A mile down the road, I saw the cop that passed me with 5 others around a white van with white bags.)
That was called luck.
Yeah, while driving at night, I speed a lot less. I just did a 12 mile night ride from San Jose to Portland, and I did all of my serious speeding in California (particularly the mountains). In the Shasta and Siskyous, if the road was empty, I would try to take the sharpest turns on the road. Mind you, I still signal (since I believe people who lane change without signalling are child molesting murderers).
Anyways, I rarely see cops in Northern California and CHP is painfully predictable. Southern Oregon cops aren't as predictable, though, but once you get in the Willamette Valley at 3 AM, it doesn't really matter anymore. Unfortunately, I dropped down to 70 most of the way through Oregon.
Another trick to speeding is to have a flusher and stick with him. There's still a chance you'll be pulled over, but it's less likely if you stick about 500'-1000' behind someone speeding.
Quote from: bugo on August 23, 2010, 03:34:30 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 19, 2010, 05:45:13 PM
A few years after that, a Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement officer got killed very close to the spot where I got pulled over when he lost control when he cut through the median to go chase a speeder. The desire to write a speeding ticket cost him his life, cost his wife her husband, and I think cost their child its father if I remember the details correctly.
That happened on the Will Rogers Turnpike a few years ago. U-turns should be illegal for everybody. But if the cop is stupid enough to do that, then he deserves to die. Too bad they take somebody else out with them.
One time, when my dad was driving, we were heading NB on I-79 in the Morgantown, WV area. A trooper was right infront of us and a few other cars were behind us and we all were in the left lane passing some slower cars. Then all of a sudden, the IDIOT cop decided he didn't want to go NB anymore and wanted to go SB instead..... So, he slams on his brakes infront of us with about 2-3 more cars behind us!! And we had a car on our right preventing us from dogging to the right to avoid a wreck. Thankfully, my dad was able to slow down and avoid the cop as well as the cars behind us so no wreck happened. I have no freaking idea what that state cop was thinking because that could have caused a dead or two because we all were going 70mph because that was the speed limit.
Following distance. If you weren't tailgating, you wouldn't have an issue unless he went below 55 MPH. You're supposed to keep a 3-5 second distance from the car in front, but most people don't.
He went down to 25 mph (or maybe less) to make a U-Turn....
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on August 23, 2010, 11:58:43 PM
He went down to 25 mph (or maybe less) to make a U-Turn....
probably less. not even a Crown Vic Police Interceptor can make a u-turn at 25mph across a standard median.
Quote from: KEK Inc. on August 23, 2010, 11:37:18 PM
Following distance. If you weren't tailgating, you wouldn't have an issue unless he went below 55 MPH. You're supposed to keep a 3-5 second distance from the car in front, but most people don't.
2 second distance. Most people keep closer to 1, at least now. That's why theoretical capacity is now 2400 vehicles per hour per lane on the fastest highways (40 vehicles per minute = 1.5 seconds per vehicle), and sometimes you see volumes even higher. Back in the 60s, theory said first 1800 vehicles per hour (2 seconds per), then upped it to 2000.
QuoteFollowing distance. If you weren't tailgating, you wouldn't have an issue unless he went below 55 MPH. You're supposed to keep a 3-5 second distance from the car in front, but most people don't.
Good luck with that on an urban road- I don't even think it's possible. If you leave a gap that big, somebody(s) will fill it as quickly as it opens up.
Morgantown, WV doesn't really sound like an urban road. And following distances should be dynamic based on your speed and amount of traffic. Regardless, you shouldn't tailgate unless you're at low speeds.
But we weren't tailgating. That's not my dad's style. And as I've said before, the State Trooper slowed down to under 25 mph in the LEFT LANE of I-79 to make a U-Turn...
QuoteMorgantown, WV doesn't really sound like an urban road. And following distances should be dynamic based on your speed and amount of traffic. Regardless, you shouldn't tailgate unless you're at low speeds.
Morgantown is a reasonably large city that certainly has a good amount of traffic. It's not downtown Portland, but there are cars there. I define urban road as anything multilaned that is within a community of some kind.
It would be like driving in Laramie- if I left three full seconds of following distance, I guarantee somebody would enter the gap within a few seconds.
QuoteAnd following distances should be dynamic based on your speed and amount of traffic.
Exactly, but that's an entirely different claim than "we all need to keep a 3-5 second cushion." That giant cushion works if you're out in the middle of nowhere and going the same speed as another car and aren't passing or in the middle of the night on an urban road, but during most driving time in urban (and yes, I may use that term loosely) areas the giant cushion just isn't that feasible. Example- I-25 in Front Range Colorado from Fort Collins down to Denver. Traffic goes about 80 down that road, but there's enough traffic most of the time that it's simply impossible to maintain more than a car length's gap. Dynamic based following distances are just "the faster you go, the more cushion you should leave, and the more traffic there is the smaller that cushion will be." That's almost impossible to assign an arbitrary driver's ed book numeric cushion to. 3-5 is ideal, but the vast majority of driving situations aren't ideal.
Quote from: realjd on August 23, 2010, 05:26:10 PM
Quote from: bugo on August 23, 2010, 02:56:46 PM
If I come up on a cop car doing the speed limit, I will slow down to about 3 miles below the speed limit. I'd rather have a cop in front of me than one behind me.
Be careful doing this at night. In one city I lived in, the cops would cruise below the speed limit on a 4-lane road and anyone who wouldn't pass them got pulled over on suspicion of DUI.
Now that is bullshit incarnate. "You're not driving faster than me, so you must be drunk".
When driving on local roads (Virginia and North Carolina), I do no more than 5 over on surface streets and go the flow of traffic on interstates. I've flown past cops doing 20 over on I-64 before, but only when the left lane is doing 40 over, and not often at that. However, even this system isn't foolproof. My city (Hampton, VA) is infamous for having a cop who writes tickets for 1 mph over the limit, and I got a ticket back in May for 10 over (I was passing someone I suspected of being either lost or drunk, and briefly sped up from the speed limit for about a minute). From every experience I've ever had with a cop, regardless of who was driving, I've learned that cops are almost all assholes (trust me on this one, my mom's first husband was a Norman, OK cop), and have never successfully witnessed talking oneself out of a ticket. However, if you get a ticket in Hampton Roads for speeding, DO go to court. I chose to just prepay it rather than go to court, and all was good for 3 months, until I got a notice of license suspension in the mail, which I got out of by taking a driver improvement class and paying another fine. At said class I discovered that EVERYONE else had gone to court and the judge said "take driver improvement and I'll dismiss the ticket", even for one woman who got a ticket doing 82 in a 55, which is a Class I Misdemeanor.
While I've never even considered a radar detector (probably because they're highly illegal here), I've found that cops are almost always highly conspicuous. I'm not sure whre the one who pullled me over came from (I never saw him until he was behind me--he followed RIGHT on my bumper for about 2 miles--during which I did exactly the speed limit--before pulling me over), but I suspect he was sitting at a speed trap and got me while passing, because I did the speed limit before and after.
So, yeah, now I am just always VERY cautious, because I do NOT want to deal with another cop any time soon. People who fly up behind me and then around me on the right,
SCREW YOU.
I don't hog the left lane, and do 5 over, so anyone who needs to go faster and ride right on my bumper are just being aggressive.
Anyway, rant over.
Quote from: deathtopumpkins on August 28, 2010, 11:00:45 PM
However, if you get a ticket in Hampton Roads for speeding, DO go to court.
because I can afford to do that.
I've never been to traffic court, because every time I get pulled over it's way out in the middle of nowhere far from home.
Quote from: AlpsROADS on August 24, 2010, 06:40:08 PM2 second distance. Most people keep closer to 1, at least now. That's why theoretical capacity is now 2400 vehicles per hour per lane on the fastest highways (40 vehicles per minute = 1.5 seconds per vehicle), and sometimes you see volumes even higher. Back in the 60s, theory said first 1800 vehicles per hour (2 seconds per), then upped it to 2000.
It has been observed since the 1950's at least that observed maximum capacities (2400 VPLPH being observed by Moskowitz et al. on a slight falling grade on US 101 around 1955, IIRC) are inconsistent with maintenance of the recommended minimum following distances. This is part of the reason it is good practice to fix DHV at a level which corresponds to a significantly better LOS than that associated with maximum capacity. Some drivers will choose to follow others too closely, but it is better that they do so without the tacit encouragement of the public authority having responsibility for the highway.
In general I try to stay off highways during their hours of LOS D (or worse) operation. Of course I cannot always do this, and sometimes wind up following other vehicles too closely. My own approach is to try to adjust speed and position so that my following distance is
increasing whenever it is close to the two-second minimum. On the open road, when I am cruising at the speed limit (which is generally the highest steady speed I will choose), I tend to maximize following distance.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on August 29, 2010, 08:07:03 AM
Quote from: deathtopumpkins on August 28, 2010, 11:00:45 PM
However, if you get a ticket in Hampton Roads for speeding, DO go to court.
because I can afford to do that.
I've never been to traffic court, because every time I get pulled over it's way out in the middle of nowhere far from home.
Well of course that's only if it's feasible to do so, and not as important for out-of-state drivers.
Quote from: deathtopumpkins on August 28, 2010, 11:00:45 PM
From every experience I've ever had with a cop, regardless of who was driving, I've learned that cops are almost all assholes (trust me on this one, my mom's first husband was a Norman, OK cop), and have never successfully witnessed talking oneself out of a ticket.
My dad talked himself out of a ticket to a warning once in SC. Was in Olar, SC on US-321 where the speed limit drops from 55 to 25 for an insanely small town that, IMO, doesn't need a speed drop that low (maybe 40 at the lowest). And they had 2 cars patrolling it! Waste of tax payer money right there!
Quote from: deathtopumpkins on August 28, 2010, 11:00:45 PM
(trust me on this one, my mom's first husband was a Norman, OK cop)
Yikes!
Quote from: Scott5114 on August 31, 2010, 03:32:50 PM
Quote from: deathtopumpkins on August 28, 2010, 11:00:45 PM
(trust me on this one, my mom's first husband was a Norman, OK cop)
Yikes!
He's still there too. I think he's a detective now though.
I never really noticed before this post that you were from Norman. My mom's side of my family is from there, and my grandmother still runs a gas station on Alameda St. that's been in the family for a LONG time. You might have stopped there before even.
We may have even had the displeasure of dealing with the guy during the recent debacle involving my Cavalier getting stolen and wrecked. Norman PD is pretty awful. They didn't even have the report ready for two weeks after the incident. It took three days of pestering the captain before it was released. And then, it was obvious the officer couldn't remember the details of the incident and was just writing shit down to get the captain off his back.
What kind is the gas station? If it's the 7-11 at the intersection with 24th E., I was just there today!
It's a franchised Shamrock: B&B Country Store. Has old gas pumps, and lots of random stuff for sale outside like sheds and used cars.
Hmm. Might have to drop in next time I'm needing gas and around Alameda.
Quote from: BigMatt on July 09, 2010, 12:44:33 AM
My dad (a cop) said that by the time a radar detector goes off, the they've already gotten your speed. So there's pretty much no point in having them.
BigMatt
Knowing a cop personally, I've tested this theory. It's not entirely (i.e. mostly not) true. The only place it can prove even remotely close to truth is a flat, straight roadway with absolutely nothing sitting between you and the cop. And in that situation, the only reason it's true is because that condition usually means you're practically the only one on the road and the cop is using Instant-On/POP mode due to the extremely low traffic volume.
Protip: radar waves travel much further away than the maximum lock distance, i.e. the point that you become close enough for the gun to lock onto you and, thusly, clock your speed.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on July 09, 2010, 12:49:01 PMalso, if you drive slowly through small towns, you get to see more interesting stuff. "Hey, is that a cutout junction marker on the side street??" I tend to go about 2-3 below the limit through towns, and I avoid the suburban arterials if I can because those tend to be boring and choked with traffic.
This. The speed limit on Court St. through downtown Florence is 40(!) and I drive 25.
Quote from: US-43|72 on September 03, 2010, 04:08:43 AM
Quote from: BigMatt on July 09, 2010, 12:44:33 AM
My dad (a cop) said that by the time a radar detector goes off, the they've already gotten your speed. So there's pretty much no point in having them.
BigMatt
Knowing a cop personally, I've tested this theory. It's not entirely (i.e. mostly not) true...
With radar I believe a detector can pick up the scatter giving you advance warning before you're in the cop's line of sight. The most useless device is a laser detector as there's no stray signal to pick up before you're in the line of sight. Laser can be jammed quite easily though and jammers are freely available over here. Radar has been virtually abandoned over here in favour of laser.
Quote from: Truvelo on September 07, 2010, 04:11:36 AMWith radar I believe a detector can pick up the scatter giving you advance warning before you're in the cop's line of sight. The most useless device is a laser detector as there's no stray signal to pick up before you're in the line of sight. Laser can be jammed quite easily though and jammers are freely available over here. Radar has been virtually abandoned over here in favour of laser.
The radar guns just emit a spray of waves. Those waves will travel quite a ways, but in order to be clocked you have to be within something like ~1000ft of the gun. The waves can travel a mile (5,280ft) or more depending on the frequency and the terrain...