[upstatedoc]

speed, get pulled over

but seriously, in my youth I was travelling in a "convoy" with a bunch of friends coming back from a basketball game. the road was snowy so no one saw the double yellow line when they all passed the snow plow. well, I was the last car and I got yanked over. I told the leo "but everyone else did the same thing" and his response was "well, I got you"

[Salty Dog]

Originally Posted by Littlebear

We all have stories like this, so it's just too easy to dismiss this one as a case of privilege or arrogance. I have a few more if needed!

One sunny Sunday morn before 9a on the Taconic Parkway (a road lined with towns that feed off of the parkway traffic), I was traveling for many miles with a huge SUV in front of me, and the same behind me. The cop pulled me, saying I was going fastest.
1) This was obviously a 'convoy'. Pull the leader?
2) Why pull the safest vehicle, a sports sedan, rather than the huge trucks which are so much more dangerous to self & others, & more likely to have children inside?

Murf

The reasons that officers pull cars over in a situation like you're describing are going to be situationally specific, the officer will likely have reasons based on road and weather conditions and which car he feels is the one that is offending. Also, which is safest to stop from his safety and the other cars on the road's safety. So I'm not 100% clear on your question with respect to the order of the cars where he was, which one he got with his measuring device etc.....but I would often answer the "why didn't you pull that guy over" with when you go fishing do you catch every fish in the lake?

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by Salty Dog

The reasons that officers pull cars over in a situation like you're describing are going to be situationally specific, the officer will likely have reasons based on road and weather conditions and which car he feels is the one that is offending. Also, which is safest to stop from his safety and the other cars on the road's safety. So I'm not 100% clear on your question with respect to the order of the cars where he was, which one he got with his measuring device etc.....but I would often answer the "why didn't you pull that guy over" with when you go fishing do you catch every fish in the lake?

I still think a response of "Every fish I see!" would be interesting. Because its sort of true isn't it? You only see them when you reel them up.

And then the officer has to come up with something else....because he did see all those other numbnuts do exactly the same thing you just did.

But honestly I've never gotten upset or blamed an officer for pulling me. I know the consequences and I chose to do it anyways. I might try to get a reduction in the fine via prosecutor if the officer didn't already reduce it to 15 over, but that's just common sense.

[Salty Dog]

Originally Posted by Joekerr

I still think a response of "Every fish I see!" would be interesting. Because its sort of true isn't it? You only see them when you reel them up.

And then the officer has to come up with something else....because he did see all those other numbnuts do exactly the same thing you just did.

But honestly I've never gotten upset or blamed an officer for pulling me. I know the consequences and I chose to do it anyways. I might try to get a reduction in the fine via prosecutor if the officer didn't already reduce it to 15 over, but that's just common sense.

I'll take your variation. It just doesn't have the flow.....

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by Salty Dog

I'll take your variation. It just doesn't have the flow.....

I understand that...I'd agree.

[Littlebear]

Originally Posted by Salty Dog

The reasons that officers pull cars over in a situation like you're describing are going to be situationally specific, the officer will likely have reasons based on road and weather conditions and which car he feels is the one that is offending. Also, which is safest to stop from his safety and the other cars on the road's safety. So I'm not 100% clear on your question with respect to the order of the cars where he was, which one he got with his measuring device etc.....but I would often answer the "why didn't you pull that guy over" with when you go fishing do you catch every fish in the lake?

Forgive me, but I expect better from the cops. The idea is not to punish speeders, but to keep the people safe. Big SUVs on a parkway are not as safe as a BMW at the same speed. The cop said I was going faster than the two trucks, but since I was between the trucks...?
My take: No cop wants to deal with scared children & stressed parents. Pull the single guy in the red BMW instead of the huge white trucks filled with children. It will look just fine in the book.

When I was a kid, the cops who stopped my Mom & Pop would often check the tires for safety. Now they just look at their little video screen machines (ie: radar guns). They used to seem like safety officers, but now are often little more than tax-men-in-cute-uniforms.

Murf

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by Littlebear

Pull the single guy in the red BMW
Murf

maybe try a different color

[Littlebear]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

maybe try a different color

Don't you know, cops are color blind.
HAHAHAHAHA............

Murf

PS: Sorry for the cheap shot, coppers!

[Salty Dog]

Originally Posted by Littlebear

Forgive me, but I expect better from the cops. The idea is not to punish speeders, but to keep the people safe. Big SUVs on a parkway are not as safe as a BMW at the same speed. The cop said I was going faster than the two trucks, but since I was between the trucks...?
My take: No cop wants to deal with scared children & stressed parents. Pull the single guy in the red BMW instead of the huge white trucks filled with children. It will look just fine in the book.

When I was a kid, the cops who stopped my Mom & Pop would often check the tires for safety. Now they just look at their little video screen machines (ie: radar guns). They used to be safety officers, but now are often little more than tax-men-in-cute-uniforms.

Murf

There are many different factors to consider when commencing any investigation regardless. You are looking at this from your perspective and not the officers. He might be looking at a number of different things that you aren't or couldn't be aware of. Cops are people, they make mistakes as well, don't always show the best judgment but have to make split second decision....you may have been travelling at the same speed as the other vehicles but perhaps you did something to draw his/her attention to you and you can't know that. Maybe he has a hard on for the type of car you drive, who knows. But the notion that his stopping you was completely wrong, or lazy, or he should've stopped one or both of the trucks is your opinion and is clearly informed differently than his. And some cops are assholes, that doesn't mean they all are, in fact very few are. Thats life my friend.

Murf

[Maynard]

I'm thinking that anybody who owns an M3 for 7 years and is claiming to have only been speeding for a single 3-second blip should get some kind of mental status eval - that's just not normal. Or healthy. .

[Littlebear]

Originally Posted by Salty Dog

... Cops are people, they make mistakes as well, don't always show the best judgment but have to make split second decision.... Maybe he has a hard on for the type of car you drive, who knows..... And some cops are assholes, that doesn't mean they all are, in fact very few are. Thats life my friend.
Murf

Murf,
I appreciate the honesty that lead to the above answer.
My formative years were in the '60s & '70s. I had long hair. The cops were not nice to us then. Fast forward to my life in Brklyn. I have had two contacts with the police in NYC; both were bad, the cops being lazy at best. One contact I alluded to saying that with my name they can always find an outstanding warrant. Hell, they can check age, address, & other trivialities at the station, right?
"That's life, my friend", is only advice for someone who has stopped fighting the good fight.

Murf

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by Salty Dog

There are many different factors to consider when commencing any investigation regardless. You are looking at this from your perspective and not the officers. He might be looking at a number of different things that you aren't or couldn't be aware of. Cops are people, they make mistakes as well, don't always show the best judgment but have to make split second decision....you may have been travelling at the same speed as the other vehicles but perhaps you did something to draw his/her attention to you and you can't know that. Maybe he has a hard on for the type of car you drive, who knows. But the notion that his stopping you was completely wrong, or lazy, or he should've stopped one or both of the trucks is your opinion and is clearly informed differently than his. And some cops are assholes, that doesn't mean they all are, in fact very few are. Thats life my friend.

Murf

Agreed!

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by Maynard

I'm thinking that anybody who owns an M3 for 7 years and is claiming to have only been speeding for a single 3-second blip should get some kind of mental status eval - that's just not normal. Or healthy. .

For me it was the 1 second blip that had him from 40mph to 80mph "almost instantaneously"...or either it took 3 seconds to do that, not entirely certain reading the post.

But either way, even a 3 second 40-80mph time is darn impressive!

[Salty Dog]

Originally Posted by Littlebear

Murf,
I appreciate the honesty that lead to the above answer.
My formative years were in the '60s & '70s. I had long hair. The cops were not nice to us then. Fast forward to my life in Brklyn. I have had two contacts with the police in NYC; both were bad, the cops being lazy at best. One contact I alluded to saying that with my name they can always find an outstanding warrant. Hell, they can check age, address, & other trivialities at the station, right?
"That's life, my friend", is only advice for someone who has stopped fighting the good fight.

Murf

So I grew up in the 70's as well, long hair fast cars....almost as fast as my mouth. Many of my friends ended up on the other side of the law. I came to know the cops and was lucky that I didn't end up in the shit, (nothing serious anyway), I had distain for the cops. Fast forward many many years and what I know now and understand. My friend, are there lazy cops....sure, but what might look lazy to you might just be a response based on experience. When I started my career I worked for a Regional Police Force, (kind of like a sheriffs office), then I moved to the big city. All the quys I worked with told me how lazy the city cops were.....they were so wrong, we worked non-stop regardless of the day of the week or the time of day....and I loved it. The public has precious little understanding of what the job is, what it entails and what happens behind the scenes. I ended up working in the neighbourhood I grew up in for 5 years, arrested guys from my grade 3 class. It was a bit bizarre at times.

I try to look at the world through other peoples eyes all the time, when I'm dealing with people I always put myself in their shoes and try to understand how they are looking at our interaction.....you might want to try that when you look at what the cops do and maybe why they do things the way they do.

Peace,

Murf

[Littlebear]

Damn, I wish I could arrest some from my 3rd grade class!

Murf, you seem to imply that you matured out of attitudes like wot I still have about cops, but say nothing about the behavior of the cops back then?
Truth:
As a kid, I did not sit the line between good & bad. The nuns thought I read too much, but that's another story. I was brought up to be military, like my god-father who was exec officer on a nuke sub. I went to the comissioning & lunched with Admirals!
When a pre-teen I hung with the local cops often. During the day they worked for my BFs dad, doing construction & making dirt-track race cars (small town, no full time cops). During the summer my family went to Fire Island, & my BF there had a dad & two uncles, NYC lt. & capts. They had lots of time off in the summer, & they played ball, took us fishing, etc, often.
As a teen & into my early 20s, I was probably naked in front of cops more often than anyone here!
I rest my case. I realize we need some traffic enforcement, but I draw the line at certain things, like when pulled for no license plate light:
"Can I get out & look?"
"Yes"
"But it's on!?"
"You must have just done that...."
Said cop didn't show on the court date. 'Nuf said.

Murf

PS: Q: Why do they do that? (Yes, I have more stories!)

[chetman7]

I had a close call with a police cruiser today and I would like to pick a law enforcement's brain

I'm on a double lane major route. Singlr lane going north . Single lane southbound. Speed limit 45 at that part.

I am driving south bound and when I get to the intersection I signal to make a left turn eastbound. As I am about to make the turn, I suddenly have a state trooper flying southbound probably 60mph in the north bound lane with his lights on, but no siren. If I hadn't seen the glimmer of lights in my side mirror he would have probably killed me as who is looking in their side mirror while waiting for turn and I couldnt hear him coming as he didnt have any siren going.

In what situations would a cop have his lights on and no siren while.moving?

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by chetman7

I had a close call with a police cruiser today and I would like to pick a law enforcement's brain

I'm on a double lane major route. Singlr lane going north . Single lane southbound. Speed limit 45 at that part.

I am driving south bound and when I get to the intersection I signal to make a left turn eastbound. As I am about to make the turn, I suddenly have a state trooper flying southbound probably 60mph in the north bound lane with his lights on, but no siren. If I hadn't seen the glimmer of lights in my side mirror he would have probably killed me as who is looking in their side mirror while waiting for turn and I couldnt hear him coming as he didnt have any siren going.

In what situations would a cop have his lights on and no siren while.moving?

Lights and sirens are a Code 3 response. Maybe he wasn't rolling Code. When I activate the lights in my patrol unit, the sirens don't automatically come on (...programmable; vehicle dependent). I will activate the wail/siren/horn using my steering wheel horn if sirens don't come on automatically.

[Littlebear]

Originally Posted by chetman7

I had a close call with a police cruiser today and I would like to pick a law enforcement's brain....

As I am about to make the turn, I suddenly have a state trooper flying southbound probably 60mph in the north bound lane with his lights on, but no siren. If I hadn't seen the glimmer of lights in my side mirror....
In what situations would a cop have his lights on and no siren while.moving?

Whoa cowboy!

[chetman7]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

Lights and sirens are a Code 3 response. Maybe he wasn't rolling Code. When I activate the lights in my patrol unit, the sirens don't automatically come on (...programmable; vehicle dependent). I will activate the wail/siren/horn using my steering wheel horn if sirens don't come on automatically.

Is that a legal maneuver ? I figure if you're speeding and on the wrong side of the road people has to see and hear you

[Salty Dog]

Originally Posted by chetman7

Is that a legal maneuver ? I figure if you're speeding and on the wrong side of the road people has to see and hear you

There is no hard and fast rule for lights and siren. The roof lights are often used on their own. I'd often run at above the speed limit without either as they could sometimes cause more problems then they solve.....

Folk, I know you all think you have it figured out, but it's not black and white (couldn't help myself), when you're driving along and see the police doing something, anything it may have nothing to do with you and what you're doing, the cops might notice you but you are nothing more than another car on the road to be avoided while they are getting to where they are going.

Just for perspective. You get stopped and charged with a minor moving or equipment violation. I get that has an impact on you and you might be bothered or affected by it for sometime, hours, days weeks....hell I've had people come up to me at a party when they find out I was a cop and complain about a ticket they got in the 80's and did I think the cop should've charged them. About 99% of the time, when the cop hands you the ticket and send you on your way he has stopped thinking about you by the time he gets back to the scout car.....he's likely thinking about what he's going to get for lunch.....

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by Salty Dog

...About 99% of the time, when the cop hands you the ticket and send you on your way he has stopped thinking about you by the time he gets back to the scout car.....he's likely thinking about what he's going to get for lunch.....

Cut the shit. He's thinking about Prancersize.

[pennsiveguy]

Originally Posted by Salty Dog

So I grew up in the 70's as well, long hair fast cars....almost as fast as my mouth. Many of my friends ended up on the other side of the law. I came to know the cops and was lucky that I didn't end up in the shit, (nothing serious anyway), I had distain for the cops. Fast forward many many years and what I know now and understand. My friend, are there lazy cops....sure, but what might look lazy to you might just be a response based on experience. When I started my career I worked for a Regional Police Force, (kind of like a sheriffs office), then I moved to the big city. All the quys I worked with told me how lazy the city cops were.....they were so wrong, we worked non-stop regardless of the day of the week or the time of day....and I loved it. The public has precious little understanding of what the job is, what it entails and what happens behind the scenes. I ended up working in the neighbourhood I grew up in for 5 years, arrested guys from my grade 3 class. It was a bit bizarre at times.

I try to look at the world through other peoples eyes all the time, when I'm dealing with people I always put myself in their shoes and try to understand how they are looking at our interaction.....you might want to try that when you look at what the cops do and maybe why they do things the way they do.

Peace,

Murf

I've said it before but it's worth saying again. I'm so thankful that you and a whole bunch of other smart and conscientious and hard-working folks are willing to go out on the streets and try to keep order. I'm way too impatient for such duty. You hear bullshit stories one after the other all day long, from people who are their own worst enemies. I couldn't and wouldn't do it, for any wage.

Thank you.