Board 8 > You're driving down the road and pass a police car

(+) Yeah! (+)

2024 is around the corner. How are we feeling?

I feel like a cab

I've had to deal with dick bag patrol cops in PA and WV, so I'm always a little nervous they'll pull me over.

Even though I'm in California now and patrol cops absolutely do not give a fuck and won't pull you over for anything unless you're driving like a complete asshole, I still get a little nervous.

You know my wife saw me do something the other day that Ive been doing since I was 18I guess I dont usually do it when shes in the car. I pass a parked police car speed trap and for about 1000 yards or so down the street Ill flash my headlights rapidly at cars heading towards the police car to warn them to slow down. She thought it was super weird.

junk_funk posted...

You know my wife saw me do something the other day that Ive been doing since I was 18I guess I dont usually do it when shes in the car. I pass a parked police car speed trap and for about 1000 yards or so down the street Ill flash my headlights rapidly at cars heading towards the police car to warn them to slow down. She thought it was super weird.

Is this a thing? If I saw this, I'd have no idea why you were doing that and then maybe I'd be too distracted to see the cop car in time.

junk_funk posted...

You know my wife saw me do something the other day that Ive been doing since I was 18I guess I dont usually do it when shes in the car. I pass a parked police car speed trap and for about 1000 yards or so down the street Ill flash my headlights rapidly at cars heading towards the police car to warn them to slow down. She thought it was super weird.

People do that here in Massachusetts. The backroads are where they pull us over here. On the highway you typically only get pulled over if you're doing like 90+ or otherwise being exceedingly reckless, or if your license plate triggers some RMV flag or something like that.

mnk posted...

Is this a thing? If I saw this, I'd have no idea why you were doing that and then maybe I'd be too distracted to see the cop car in time.

That's definitely a thing and I've done it

I've seen the flashing before but nowadays google maps has speed trap warnings so I usually just follow that

I can be sober af and still get anxious driving near a cop.

I feel safer but more anxious, so I guess no difference? Sounds about right. I don't want to be pulled over, but know that any psychos will be.

I don't drive, but when I did and when I see police cars on my bike it makes me a little nervous, in a "better make sure I'm doing every right" kind of way

It depends on the road I'm driving on honestly.

I get nervous because speed limits are not actually set to the speed of the road. I don't drive some arbitrary number on the signs; I drive at the speed of traffic. Being pulled over for "speeding" is basically just another tax for driving, albeit one that's applied incredibly randomly.

Johnbobb posted...

That's definitely a thing and I've done it

Maybe it's just us oldsters?

I always panic, let off the gas, and check my speedometer. Sometimes it turns out I was doing the speed limit anyway, but you can never be too sure.

people that have been pulled over for speeding: was it reasonable?

Less comfortable, because I'm probably driving too fast

mnk posted...

Is this a thing? If I saw this, I'd have no idea why you were doing that and then maybe I'd be too distracted to see the cop car in time.

This is definitely thing here in Texas and it's honestly saved me from a ticket more than once.

As for the topic question, definitely more uncomfortable considering I don't have a license and my stickers are out of date <_< If I ever get pulled over, I'm almost guaranteed to go straight to jail.

catesdb posted...

people that have been pulled over for speeding: was it reasonable?

Last time was a long time ago, but I was pulling into my work parking lot and got out, and there was a cop car behind me and he said to get back in my car. Turns out I went 12 over a minute before, since there's a pretty steep hill right before the parking lot so I usually just let gravity do its thing and coast into my parking spot.

So he gave me a ticket even though I hadn't touched the accelerator the whole time and was already parked at my destination.

catesdb posted...

people that have been pulled over for speeding: was it reasonable?

every single time I've gotten a speeding ticket was on the highway, so no, I don't think so. I understand giving someone a ticket if they're going 60 in a residential area or something, but all of mine have been when the highway randomly goes from 70 to 65 to 55 for no reason whatsoever

catesdb posted...

people that have been pulled over for speeding: was it reasonable?

I was once going exactly the speed limit on the highway. A cop who was behind another car pulled over ahead ran out into the middle of the highway and waved down the truck in front of me to pull over. The truck did pull over, and I followed because it seemed like an emergency.

Then I got ticketed for speeding????

I said "my cruise control was set to the exact speed limit" and I got "tell it to the judge" in response. Literally that. I was so mad at that fucker.

damn

fuck the police

HanOfTheNekos posted...

I was once going exactly the speed limit on the highway. A cop who was behind another car pulled over ahead ran out into the middle of the highway and waved down the truck in front of me to pull over. The truck did pull over, and I followed because it seemed like an emergency.

Then I got ticketed for speeding????

I said "my cruise control was set to the exact speed limit" and I got "tell it to the judge" in response. Literally that. I was so mad at that fucker.

I hate to be this guy but are you sure your speedometer is accurate?

Changing tire sizes makes your speedometer inaccurate

catesdb posted...

people that have been pulled over for speeding: was it reasonable?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I was pulled over when driving at night one time where the cop straight up lied about my speed so he could do a visual search inside of my car with his flashlight to try and find something to get me in trouble. Then just "gave me a warning" and left when he didn't see anything.

Colegreen_c12 posted...

I hate to be this guy but are you sure your speedometer is accurate?

Changing tire sizes makes your speedometer inaccurate

yeah maybe he was going 3 above instead. fuck you han

NFUN posted...

yeah maybe he was going 3 above instead. fuck you han

depending on how much you change your tires you can easily be going 7-8 faster than you think.

Do I think it happened here? No probably not but its definitely a possibility and just a reminder that a speedometer isn't fullproof

HanOfTheNekos posted...

and I followed because it seemed like an emergency.

Honestly you deserve a ticket for this

Colegreen_c12 posted...

depending on how much you change your tires you can easily be going 7-8 faster than you think.

Do I think it happened here? No probably not but its definitely a possibility and just a reminder that a speedometer isn't fullproof

7-8 faster is also absurd to give a ticket over

catesdb posted...

people that have been pulled over for speeding: was it reasonable?

From an urban safety perspective? Maybe.

From a road design perspective? Absolutely not.

If I drive up a collector whose focus is more on getting people from A to B than it is on the fact that there happen to be houses along it, I'm not going to pay any attention to the "Speed Limit 25" -- especially when that speed limit only exists for the final half mile of the road which I've been on for the last 20 minutes. That just reeks of speed trap, even if yes, people live there and there's a school nearby.

If I'm driving on the highway on a Sunday afternoon, and I'm not tearing up the road, weaving in and out of traffic, why single me out and pull me over? It doesn't "teach me a lesson" and it doesn't make the highway safer because the rest of traffic sees the cop car and drive slightly slower for 10 seconds.

If I'm coming from the highway onto a connector to another highway, why do you set the speed limit significantly lower for the connector and then pull everyone over who doesn't immediately brake from highway speed to this lower limit. That's a textbook speed trap. (I've taken like five trips to visit my friend two states over, and twice I've been pulled over in this exact strip.)

Speeding unto itself should not be illegal. Reckless driving should. It just so happens that excessive speeding is reckless. But how much is excessive? From the driver's POV, most so-called speeding is no less safe than if they were to slow down 10 MPH, even if that difference is considerable to a pedestrian, cyclist, etc. We very much move at the speed that it feels safe to move. Want to change that? Narrow the roads, plant trees to limit field of view, don't build excess lanes that only induce traffic demand.

Less

azuarc posted...

That just reeks of speed trap, even if yes, people live there and there's a school nearby.

That sounds like a place that maybe should be 25. Or at least have a school zone where the speed limit drops depending on the time of day.

Also just because it feels safe for you as the driver doesn't mean you are actually driving safe. That 10 MPH difference changes how quickly you can react to a problem and how much space you need to safely stop or avoid something in the road. It's a bigger deal than it would seem to a drivers POV.

foolm0r0n posted...

Honestly you deserve a ticket for this

For wanting to be available to help in case there was a medical emergency? Yes, fuck me for wanting to help other people.

Colegreen_c12 posted...

I hate to be this guy but are you sure your speedometer is accurate?

Changing tire sizes makes your speedometer inaccurate

Let's be clear here, the guy wasn't checking with a radar - he was giving somebody else a ticket. He took a break from that to run out into the middle of the highway to flag the guy in FRONT of me down.

Based on that information, my speed was irrelevant to him. But if you must know, I was going 65 and ticketed for going 80.

I once got pulled over for not getting out of the left lane fast enough. I noticed a cop coming up behind me with his sirens going, so I started trying to get out of his way but it was right after school so traffic was pretty packed. And there was a school bus to my right that just wouldn't slow down or speed up so I couldn't get over for a few minutes. So I finally get out of the way and the cop swerves over and gets right on my ass, so I pull over. He jumps out of his car and just starts berating me, calling me names and stupid and all kinds of shit. And then he left. I was only like 17 at the time and it was honestly pretty scary. One of my first ever interactions with a cop.

Maniac64 posted...

That sounds like a place that maybe should be 25. Or at least have a school zone where the speed limit drops depending on the time of day.

Also just because it feels safe for you as the driver doesn't mean you are actually driving safe. That 10 MPH difference changes how quickly you can react to a problem and how much space you need to safely stop or avoid something in the road. It's a bigger deal than it would seem to a drivers POV.

I'm well aware, hence all my grandstanding about changing the feel of the road.

HanOfTheNekos posted...

For wanting to be available to help in case there was a medical emergency? Yes, fuck me for wanting to help other people.

Pretty much. You don't need to involve yourself. You're not superman.

I dont drive. After a lot of thought I went for the one above it because the Gardai (Irelands police) are far too much of a joke to be worth worrying about. If I still lived in London I would probably vote for the one above because the Met are monsters, we are all lucky they dont have guns.

foolm0r0n posted...

Pretty much. You don't need to involve yourself. You're not superman.

Trained in and taught first aid. If someone is willing to run out into the middle of a highway to ask for help for something, I'm going to stop because there's a chance I can help.

I don't need to involve myself, but if it helps somebody, I'd rather do it.

I mean you're obviously the good guy in the situation, but it's not a rare to be punished for that when dealing with cops

Police in general make me uncomfortable in this country.

NFUN posted...

7-8 faster is also absurd to give a ticket over

Yeah. I can't speak for anyone else and their local laws, but here it's not actually a ticketable offense until you are at least 11 over, unless it's a school zone.

It's 5 here.

I'm not sure the term "comfortable" was the best word usage for this poll. I'm confused at what you're exactly asking. Like, if I see a cop, I'm going to be more alert about things like my speed and driving and that I'm buckled and so forth. Does that mean I'm more uncomfortable? Well, maybe, by definition. But as far as, do I feel less safe? The answer is no. I don't feel more safe or less safe when I see a police officer because I don't live in a high crime area where a police presence would bring comfort, nor do I personally fear for my safety from the officers I pass on the road.

guffguy89 posted...

I don't feel more safe or less safe when I see a police officer because I don't live in a high crime area where a police presence would bring comfort, nor do I personally fear for my safety from the officers I pass on the road.

In my country, cops are fucked in high-crime areas. Criminals kill cops left and right in those places.