Got pulled over this morning on the way to work in the TDI Fiero. I was in the slow lane on a two lane bridge, had the cruise on set at 47-48, the cop said I was clocked at 50 in a 45.
I questioned this, as people were passing me at least 10 to 15 mph faster in the other lane. The cop asked why were you driving so fast, I said 47-48 wasn't to fast, the others drivers were going to fast. I asked are you sure your radar picked up this plastic body car and not the others that were flying along in the other lane ? I've got a diesel in here & I'm not in the habbit of speeding, and as a matter of fact, I'm 2 hours early for work and I'm certainly not in a hurry to get there this morning !
He asked hows your driving record ? I answered steller, one and only ticket was in 1976 when I was a teenager, told him I'm a retired firefighter and am a safe driver.
He ran my license, I listened in on my scanner, it came up clean. He walked back to the car, said just slow it down and have a nice day. No ticket or written warning.
When a cop lets you go with a warning that's an admission of error. If he had a legitimate reason to pull you over then he would write the ticket no questions asked.
By the way NEVER admit to going over the limit, even if by 1 mph. That is an admission of guilt and he could have written you up for that and any judge in the world will accept your confession as an admission of guilt and your case is lost. If the cops asks you how fast you were going answer " I don't know"
What a joke anyway. I got pulled over in Florida for going too slow. I was towing my Fiero and didn't get out of his way fast enough when he came up behind me. Gave me a warning... which means he had no reason to pull me over in the first place.
@jscott1, a NC State Trooper caught 5 of us at 73 in a 55. He wasn't wrong by a long shot and he let us all go.
@Raydar, I don't think Florida allows anything over like Georgia. They make a killing from tourists on I-75 around the Ocala exit. Not like Georgia that requires 11 mph over before a county or city can write you up using radar. State Police on the other hand can do it at 1 mph over.
OR? The officer appreciated the honesty.I gave less citation for some one being honest than i did for the people who thought i was just out there to harass them
What kind of scanner do you have? I'd like to get one
Uniden HomePatrol , it's a great scanner, is one of the most feature packed scanner on the market, and is the easiest scanner to program. You simply enter your Zip Code, and the scanner does the rest. Has recording capabilities, you can hit record, turn down the volume, let it record overnight, and in the morning, review the 8 hours in 5 - 6 minutes , as it only records the transmissions. leaves out the dead air.
On-line, Uniden sells it for $499 , RadioShack has it for $379 on sale. - If your a veteran or in college, they give an additional 10% off
[This message has been edited by CoolBlue87GT (edited 01-03-2015).]
Got pulled over this morning on the way to work in the TDI Fiero. I was in the slow lane on a two lane bridge, had the cruise on set at 47-48, the cop said I was clocked at 50 in a 45.
I questioned this, as people were passing me at least 10 to 15 mph faster in the other lane. The cop asked why were you driving so fast, I said 47-48 wasn't to fast, the others drivers were going to fast. I asked are you sure your radar picked up this plastic body car and not the others that were flying along in the other lane ? I've got a diesel in here & I'm not in the habbit of speeding, and as a matter of fact, I'm 2 hours early for work and I'm certainly not in a hurry to get there this morning !
He asked hows your driving record ? I answered steller, one and only ticket was in 1976 when I was a teenager, told him I'm a retired firefighter and am a safe driver.
He ran my license, I listened in on my scanner, it came up clean. He walked back to the car, said just slow it down and have a nice day. No ticket or written warning.
Couple of things. You might might want to GPS your speedometer to make sure that it is accurate. Typically, VW clusters read a few miles high calibrated to the tire size meant for that VW model. You can use a tire size calculator to compare the model vw to the tire size you are running to get a rough idea, but the gps is the best way to make sure your speedometer is accurate. Being honest always helps and that is why you probably just received a warning. Other posters used that warning to reinforce the usual tired stereotypes of the cops unfortunately. I always enjoy the usual refrain of the frequently stopped speeder that justify their tickets with the quota/revenue deflection of how it really isn't them weak minded stuff and I would probably stay away from the "everyone was speeding also" heard mentality remembering that objects in the heard (ie in the wild) are targeted and when it is your turn, it is your turn. The cops are there to do a thankless job for a public who are unfortunately increasingly viewing them with hostility. Whats next, beating up on Paramedics? With that same logic, it must be their fault ........
Couple of things. You might might want to GPS your speedometer to make sure that it is accurate. ........
Already done that, and also have an Ultra Gauge hooked up that is calibrated to reflect the exact speed as GPS. Have tested it with many radar speed signs that are in the area.
Just thought it was strange, pull over the red sports car & let the pickups & other cars clearly speeding go by. Glad it turned out the way it did, the officer knew I wasn't trying to lie my way out of a ticket, I expressed my feelings in a calm way, stating I wasn't in a hurry to get to work 2 hours early. I do think if I was 20 - 30 years old, I would have gotten a ticket. When he saw I was 50 something with a clean record and not being an idiot, he let me off.
I get tired of the stereo types people always like to put on cops.
I think this says it best.
What is a policeman made of? He, of all men, is once the most needed and the most unwanted. He's a strangely nameless creature who is "sir" to his face and "fuzz" to his back
He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won.But...If the policeman is neat, he's conceited; if he's careless, he's a bum. If he's pleasant, he's flirting;if not, he's a grouch.
He must make an instant decision which would require months for a lawyer to make.
But...If he hurries, he's careless; if he's deliberate, he's lazy. He must be first to an accident and infallible with his diagnosis. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and, above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued.
The police officer must know every gun, draw on the run, and hit where it doesn't hurt. He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform and without being "brutal". If you hit him, he's a coward. If he hits you, he's a bully.
A policeman must know everything-and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake.
A policeman must, from a single strand of hair, be able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal- and tell you where the criminal is hiding.
But...If he catches the criminal, he's lucky; if he doesn't, he's a dunce. If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he doesn't, he's a dullard. The policeman must chase a bum lead to a dead-end, stake out ten nights to tag one witness who saw it happen-but refused to remember.
The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman.
And, of course, he'd have to be genius....For he will have to feed a family on a policeman's salary.
This was a Paul Harvey writing and he covered it well. A Cop is like the rest of us a flawed human that generally is doing they best they can.
The long and short of it is that most cops are good people doing a nearly impossible job. When ever you have contact just work with them and be honest and it goes a long way. I have been let go 3 times where I should have gotten a ticket just because I was honest. Some of you think you can fool them but you are only fooling yourself.
[This message has been edited by hyperv6 (edited 01-03-2015).]
Take any cross-section of society. Any. Whites. Blacks. Asians. Catholics. Jews. Athiests. Engineers. Teachers. Cops.
Out of that cross-section, the largest percentage of the people will do what they're supposed to do, and be decent human beings. A small percentage will not.
Guess who gets all the press? Sadly, the F- ups. Nobody hears about the people who do what they are supposed to be doing. Only the ones who deviate. (Corollary... Nobody listens to good news.)
tshark... I dunno man. Sounds like you pissed somebody off. Not saying that that was the correct response. Only that I can't imagine why you were getting f'd with repeatedly.
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 01-03-2015).]
Take any cross-section of society. Any. Whites. Blacks. Asians. Catholics. Jews. Athiests. Engineers. Teachers. Cops.
Out of that cross-section, the largest percentage of the people will do what they're supposed to do, and be decent human beings. A small percentage will not.
Guess who gets all the press? Sadly, the F- ups. Nobody hears about the people who do what they are supposed to be doing. Only the ones who deviate. (Corollary... Nobody listens to good news.)
Just an observation. Carry on.
Could you imagine how boring the news would be? I can see it now...
"And today our headline story is a man bought fuel from the local gas station. We also noticed that someone volunteered a bit of time cleaning up garbage at the local park and there will be an 83% chance of weather today. Back to you Erin."
Could you imagine how boring the news would be? I can see it now...
"And today our headline story is a man bought fuel from the local gas station. We also noticed that someone volunteered a bit of time cleaning up garbage at the local park and there will be an 83% chance of weather today. Back to you Erin."
Raydar: Yes, possibly. But I treat the COPs I interact with in the course of my duties professionally...
What do you do? If you don't mind me asking.
I fixed cop radios for ten years. I found them to be just like the cross-section I described. To some it was just a job. Some really wanted to help, and to make a difference. Some (who were fortunately in the great minority) were just cynical - to the point that they had no business carrying a badge or a gun. A couple were just dickheads.
I thought about becoming a cop, on and off, for a while. That ended when I happened to see some "case" photos in the trunk of a detective's car. (No. I wasn't snooping. They were just there. As were the radio "drawer" units.) Nothing unexpected, just... real. I realized that if I had to deal, up close and personal, with how some people treated one another on a daily basis, I would probably become one of the cynical ones. I didn't have the stomach for it.
I had an extremely positive view of cops when I was growing up and I wasn't a perfect kid. I've improved morally a lot since then but my view of cops has gone in a negative direction. My attitude is an acquired one. They seem to be right there if I make a slip up and will harass me for the smallest incident. On the other hand I no longer bother filling out forms that will only get filed when am a victim of theft. Luckily I seem to have found a safe neighborhood now with no thieves. Cops haven't been my friends or of any use to me for many years. I'm sure there is a good cop out there but there has been a sea change during my lifetime.
Hyperv6: I'll grant you that that is the ideal, but we've fallen far from that, and there're bad apples everywhere. I could be called many things, but dishonest isn't one of them. I've noticed that COPs play favorites, have certain ”golden children”, and tend to believe a rehearsed story over eye witnesses and video. Like I've said, our justice system is corrupt. Also, sometimes laws protect the criminals from the victims. You speak from your mental image or whatever, I from my experience. I wish these experiences had been different.
I agree there are bad apples everywhere as we are humans and it is in the nature of many. But generally you will find that there are less bad apples with a badge than with out as a percentage. I have friends who are cops and one a FBI agent and I can tell you what these guys put up with make them stronger than me.
The media has tried to drive a wedge in society with the image of a cop being evil while in turn they praise the people who are the true offenders. Too many people today want to play the victim and not be held personally responsible for their actions regardless of race or economic status.
No one wants to say they did it or take responsibility for it. You see it on Cops all the time that is no my crack pipe or that is not my $500 of meth is the glove box of my car. You see it in the people cheating on their taxes and spouses all the time. You do wrong you should face what you have coming.
Cops on the other hand have to deal with people who lie and cheat on a regular basis. They have to go into a deal where a wife is getting beaten to arrest the husband who bloodied her only to have her jump on them for trying to protect her.
I know these guys and for the most part they are only trying to do their jobs. Sure you may get pulled over and let go because they are wondering what you are up to. But how many times do they prevent a drug deal or find someone on a outstanding warrant?
I worked in a bad part of town for years and I saw what went on and how things can get bad fast. The Hells Angles we had that came in were the nice guys. LOL!
But yet I also saw cops come in and get punched and threatened with guns to try to take some nut case drunk out and from hurting someone else or himself. I saw them chase down a guy I saw who kidnapped a woman and was going to rape her. They found him in less than a Half hour attempting the same thing.
I was even pulled over not long ago for no reason but after I cooperated and was identified the cop was very apologetic and explained they has some one who had committed a crime recently and was driving car like mine. To be honest I told him thanks for checking. I have also been let go when I got nailed for speeding that could have cost me over $150. He asked we if I knew why I got pulled over and I said I was going to fast. He wanted to know why and I told him I was out late and had to be to work early. He came back and said I had a good record and for being honest he was going to let me off with a verbal only. The wife got the same 6 months ago for being honest.
Better behaved people get treated better. Fair or not that is how it goes. I see it with the cops, waiters and even nurses at Nursing Homes. Act better and odds are you will get what you receive.
Also when I had a bad accident a while ago who was the first one there to help me? The guy with a badge. The other guy tried to blame me for the accident he caused and the cop made it clear I was taken care of medically and put the guy in his place by reading the letter of the law he broke so he would stop trying to avoid his responsibility.
The fact is the majority of people are not bad but there is a percentage that is scum and they hold all kinds of jobs and positions in society. They have always been there and they will always be there. But it is time we stop making them the victims and treat many of them for what they are.
But to make blanket comments that the justice system is corrupt, the cops are corrupt or all of society is corrupt is just flat foolish and irresponsible. There is corruption in everything good but it minor in the big picture. The issue is it gets the headlines and we forget about all that is good.
Kind of like web sites on the Fiero. How many people cry they are crap cars and bla bla bla. While the truth is some had issues but most have held up fine and while were not perfect cars they were a lot better than many want to make them out to be. Same thing here with cops.
This is one topic one has to use a little big picture wisdom on and it is a shame we have been too often running short on wisdom of late.
[This message has been edited by hyperv6 (edited 01-03-2015).]
Like I said with the Ferguson thing: You've gone too far when I'm siding with the COPs.
Yes, my profession is also riddled with incompetent people. And I'm not perfect, either.
I'll admit that the police in the city are far worse than in the country. Generally, the big crimes in the country are drugs and DWIs. Drugs really don't pay if you're caught in the country. Speeding usually solves itself--permanently. The COPs know everyone, and everyone knows them. Aside from disappointing the COP, you may be having dinner with him. They were usually crusty old men, unpredictable, and not overly fond of paperwork. Outsiders usually were usually confined to the town until the judge came, so 1-3 weeks.
In the country, a kid ran a stop sign. I'm not saying this is legal, but the community was OK with the result. The COP grabbed the kid by the ear, brought him back and showed him the stop sign. He made sure the kid wasn't color-blind, sight-impaired, or illiterate. The kid had to explain why a stop sign was there. He then had the kid demonstrate proper operation of the brakes and usage of the pedal. No ticket. The COP then thanked the kid for being respectful of the law and sent his best to the kid's parents, then wished the kid a good day. I'd bet that kid doesn't run a stop sign in that town for a while. The same COP had an adult direct traffic at an intersection for a day for speeding in a school zone. I drove through there a few times myself, just to see the poor guy standing in the road waving his arms and yelling at everyone. Legal? Dunno. But I think the lesson was learned.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
The police in a nearby small town have a saying, "If I have to turn on the blue lights, somebody's paying for the electricity." You get pulled over, you're getting a ticket for something. Period. Maybe you get it dismissed or you win. Maybe not. You're getting one anyway.
What kind of scanner do you have? I'd like to get one
Yeah, I'm wondering about that, too. I've been fighting our city on their budget and they claimed that there was a federal mandate that all emergency service transmissions go to digital technology so that it can't be monitored by scanners. We just spent a small fortune for repeater stations and to outfit 15 cars with new digital radios and the officers with digital walk-arounds. We also had to reprogram our early warning sirens to be activated by digital signals instead of analog.
I like Paul Harvey's description of a police officer. So much of it rings true. Demonstrate against them, throw rocks and molotovs at them, but when fellow demonstrators start to loot your business or burn your home, they will come and defend you. Even to their own death if need be. That's not to say that afterward that same cop wouldn't stand in court the next day and fabricate his whole testimony in a case.
Up until 1983, I used to average at least one ticket a year. Beyond that, I begin to fully realize that I had a wife and daughter that depended on me and every bit of my income. I've still been stopped for speeding (a whole bunch of times) and even stopped for running a traffic light right in front of a cop. At that time I was in a little 2-seater gull-wing car. I was cordial to him and after discussing my car, he let me go. Even the woman officer I ran off the road when without warning, I changed lanes in front of her, let me go in the same little gull-wing kit car. I've only been given one ticket where I had to go to court. I got that $125 ticket reduced to $20 by driving 150 mile up to Calhoun, TN to appear in court.
The city of Hazelwood has some 30 neighborhood patrol officers and 1 K-9 officers. With a population of over 25,000, I think it would be extremely unlikely that every citizen and cop know one another. If anyone is getting stopped frequently, there's got to be some factor that stands out. Do the interactions come with only Hazelwood police or does it happen with neighboring Florissant, Berkeley, University City, St. Ann, or any of the other neighboring municipalities you travel into?
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 01-03-2015).]
Yeah, I'm wondering about that, too. I've been fighting our city on their budget and they claimed that there was a federal mandate that all emergency service transmissions go to digital technology so that it can't be monitored by scanners. We just spent a small fortune for repeater stations and to outfit 15 cars with new digital radios and the officers with digital walk-arounds. We also had to reprogram our early warning sirens to be activated by digital signals instead of analog.
I wouldn't be surprised if the radio system salesman told you that. I worked for one for ten years, and have been a customer for another 20. I trust them about as far as I can throw them.
I have been shopping scanners, recently, and it appears that the newest ones will decode digital transmissions. It's only encrypted transmissions that won't be accessible. This includes trunked radio systems. The key to decoding the unencrypted transmissions is usually transmitted on the system Control Channel, if it's like the systems I used to maintain. (Motorola Smartnet Type I or II.) As far as I know, the push to convert to digital is to better utilize the available radio spectrum. Digital is capable of supporting multiple conversations on a single frequency, in some technologies. Still not a bad thing, but not totally private.
Check out the specs for the newest Uniden scanners. CoolBlue can probably elaborate since he sells them. The ones that are labeled APCO P25 Phase 1 and 2 are the ones that will decode all the newest systems, as far as I can tell.
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 01-03-2015).]
I was stretching my 88's legs about a month ago on a strip of lightly used road and ended up being pulled over. He got me when I was slowing down from about 90 in a 55 and got off with a warning. He seemed more interested in the car than giving me a ticket. Anytime I drive away with a warning I always have a fuzzy warm feeling and a smile on my face.
I don't want to bash cops here... they are only doing their job... And cops are human and make mistakes and sometimes show leniency... But what I hate are speed limits that are arbitrary and capricious.
We have way too many places here in Houston where the speed limits are illegally lowered due to emissions...which was ruled illegal but they never raised them back to what they were before. So we have 8 lane divided highways where the speed limit is 60 mph. And then we have two lane roads with nothing but a yellow line in-between opposing traffic, where the speed limit is 75 mph. Those roads have driveways, mailboxes and blind curves and are death traps yet somehow it's legal to drive 75 mph and on a superhighway designed for much higher speeds a person can get pulled over. That's what really annoys me.
Driving through Kentucky last week for the first time in my 30+ years of driving I felt like I had to speed or be killed. There was a section of road where the limit dropped to 55mph but the big trucks were having none of that. I had three lanes of trucks barreling down on me at 75 mph and it was either speed or be killed. That's why I hate speed limits.
When I say "I don't know" what speed I'm going, it's true. I drive at a speed that is safe and reasonable for the conditions, and 99 times out of 100 when I get pulled over it's not for driving unsafe, or weaving in and out of lanes or following too close, it's for violating some arbitrary limits that was set too low in the first place.
[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 01-04-2015).]
I wouldn't be surprised if the radio system salesman told you that. I worked for one for ten years, and have been a customer for another 20. I trust them about as far as I can throw them.
Not only did the city change, but also the county. Since we use the county as a central dispatch to comply with duplication of services taxation laws, we had to convert, too. It was widely reported in the two county newspapers. I would think that they, one leaning to the left and the other to the right in their reporting, would have reported if that wasn't the case.
Referencing the OP, if the officer was still using the old X or K band style radar, it won't pinpoint the speeding vehicle out of a group. It will only pick up the fastest or biggest object within it's cone shaped beam. It's up to the officer to then determine which of those vehicles has given him the warning that something has exceeded his set point.
OTOH, if he was using laser style detection devices, it will pick up plastic bodied little cars if the laser beam is pointed at any part of the vehicle. It will even give a reading off the body of a motorcyclist. You might ask the question as to the type radar used. If there were big trucks close to you, you might have a good argument if you wish to dispute the ticket.
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 01-04-2015).]
I worked for one for ten years, and have been a customer for another 20. I trust them about as far as I can throw them.
