Avoiding tickets

[Bryant5493]

^^ 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

[TheHighwayMan3561]

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.

[rickmastfan67]

-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.

[PAHighways]

Instead of a radar detector, I now use Trapster on my phone which will give me a heads up on potential hiding spots, as well as other issues that might affect my trip.

[JREwing78]

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.

[Duke87]

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.

[agentsteel53]

- 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.

[BigMattFromTexas]

Here's how I avoid tickets:

I drive the limit.      

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

[bugo]

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. 

[realjd]

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.

[vdeane]

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. 

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.

[Truvelo]

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.

[realjd]

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!

[hbelkins]

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.

[BigMattFromTexas]

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.  
BigMatt

[realjd]

^^^^

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

[hbelkins]

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.  
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.

[agentsteel53]

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.

[D-Dey65]

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.

[hbelkins]

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.

[bugo]

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.

[agentsteel53]

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.

[allniter89]

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. 
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??

[bugo]

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.

[bugo]

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. 

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.