rules

rules?? I like to think of them as guidelines

 

If you're running through heavy rain water, and even going the speed limit, most states have a law pertaining to speeding in unsafe conditions, regardless of what the speed limit is.

When the law changed to ding a CDL even in the POV, it seemed like CDLs were getting the shaft (and they are), and most cops understand. Texas just closed the loophole where a CDL could go to trial in a municipal court, then appeal the decision to county, and get it deferred, equating to no points on DL. They weren't in a big hurry to do it. Even though the county courts were slowly filling up with appeals, it's taken what, 6 years or so?

 

How about the BS that a cop will let another cop out of charges (don't say it doesn't happen because it's made the news in several places as well as video to prove it). Yet a trucker is going to get the shaft. Not only that we can't take a defensive driving course to appease the system just because we're "professional drivers", this further proves the truth is we're rolling atm's to these people.

as far as was said earlier that agencies don't get harped on about not racking enough ticket revenue? I can call bs on this one as well having been friends with several local troopers, and working with the sheriff department we knew when they were going to be doing blitzes in what areas. Funny that local troopers would be pulled for a weekend to go work another area at random.

There are good leo's out there (we have one on this forum I happen to think is a good guy), but the ranks are filling up with pricks who were picked on at school and now see the badge as their way to get even with society.

 

It has to be true for one simple reason. They are laying off cops, period. A lot of states just dont have much money right now and thats one of the easiest costs to cut. Until crime rates go up to compensate, that is!

I am very interested in becoming a motor carrier enforcement officer, because I was inspired by DB and the scalemaster on 3rd shift in Butte, Montana (as soon as i walkd into the scale house he started talkin about the good ole days of trucking..hahaha). I talked to DB in pm a while back, and told him that michigan and indiana weren't even hiring for state police. he says its common and a lot of states are laying cops off....

Laying cops off, and...what are most DOT officers? Cops!

Haha. Did he demand to search your car to find out just how morally impaired you are?
That sounds like an awesome bumper sticker but i hate to ugly up my classic car with stickers. Was hard enough to put a magnetic sign for my business on it.

I got a speeding ticket a while back and i was doing about 47 indicated MPH in a 30...on a speedometer that i know for a fact to be inaccurate. Infact, most speedometers read around 2-3 MPH higher than actual speed at normal speeds (discrepancy goes waaaay up after 100 or so). Cop was rolling towards me with oncoming traffic and apparently had his radar on, and did a quick u-turn and hauled ### after my butt. I know how to take a ticket, so when he asked what speed i was doing...I said I didnt know...then when i handed him my papers, i asked how fast. he said, "oh, i got you at abut 47..".

Here's the problem..it don't matter how accurate that radar/lidar is, if the cop is rolling then the speed has to be calculated from his speedometer. I don't know if it's automatic or if he's doing it, but if the speedometer is not accurate...the radar is not accurate, unless he is not moving.

He wrote it out for 5 over, and i bet it has something to do with what i said above, but in that city they write the actual radar speed in the comments section so you cant BS the judge...the magistrate did knock $20 off the fine. If I knew from that page on blur of insanity what i know now, I would have beat that ticket. Oh well....Atleast they were cool with paying $25 every two weeks on it for forever and a half...

By the way, I've noticed a lot of cops in my home state of Michigan using other methods of speed detection. We have a split speed limit of 60 for trucks and 70 for cars. I've seen on a few occasions, a dot bear hanging out in the center lane doing 65. I guarantee you I know what would happen if you passed him. I remember a while back i was doing 65, dot bear pulls up next to me and just gives me...*THE LOOK*. I was just cruising along, no seatbelt on, leaned forward and looked out my window, and...HOLY SHEEEIIIIITE! THE DOT!!!!

And then the regular bears will sit in the hammer lane doing 77 to 80. I guarantee you i know what would happen if i passed one.

You know what, I bet if i got pulled over in the truck in the counties near where i live, they'd let me off with a warning. Usually they'll write truckers tickets because they think they wont come back to come to court. I'll let the cop know ahead of time that I am local and that I fully intend to show up in court.

Cops dont like coming to court. Can you blame them for that?!

Anyway, I know how, when, and where to speed. The only time I ever got caught speeding, I wasn't even trying to. I just spaced out and forgot that i was about 1/2 mile from where the speed limit increased 15 mph...infact, that's a heavily patrolled area because its a curvy road and the speed limit increases so drastically. They can hide behind a curve while they're driving.. It's also pretty much on the way from the police station to ..anywhere.

For the most part I ride my motorcycle, and....Do you really think I'm keeping it under the speed limit all the time on that rice burner?

Haha. Stop pissing on cops.

Actually, sometimes they absolutely throw the book at them like they wouldnt a regular person. Usually because of rivalries between departments. watch Super Troopers for true but very comedic examples.

Recently it was in the news that a cop in Ontario got busted for "racing" (in ontario, anything over 50kmh over the limit is racing...even if its by yourself...), ticket written for full radar speed, car impounded, etc...

But for the most part, I agree, and it pisses me off. I used to have an alcoholic codriver, his dad was a cop, and he told me about all the times he got pulled over for a DUI and let off because of who he was. Do you have any idea what I thought about that? Ugh. That guy had no business even being near a truck. He works at a cracker barrel now, but I think he should be in a cracker barrel instead! lol...

 

Phroziac-

It was on my '56 Ford.. LOL It wasn't a big sticker, it was in fact one of those helmet stickers you get at bike shows.

He didn't ask to search the car, in fact he didn't even ask for my ID or registration. I think he was just bored.

 

Rules ???? Follow them to the T ????

C'mon old-six-pack, human beings have no desire to follow rules, nor do I believe they even possess the ability.

I only follow the ones I believe in, and regard the others as "the cost of doing business".

No two human beings have ever been on the "same page", but society insists that we follow the same rules...... Ain't never gonna happen.

 

There are three windows on a radar unit, patrol speed, target speed, and locked window. The patrol speed is the actual speed of the police car. The target speed is whatever the radar happens to pick up, and the locked window is if you hit the button to lock the speed of the target on the display. Some of the better units have another window, and there's a button you can hit that will give you the fastest vehicle being targeted in a group. Big trucks are radar magnets and will completely hog the target window. If a little car goes zooming by the big truck, the fastest targeting will allow you to distinguish between the big truck and the smaller car.

Sometimes you'll get an error where the patrol speed and target speed will be added together in the target window. If you see a blank patrol speed, and you're moving, then you don't use the reading until you get an accurate patrol speed. I've seen cops screw up and make this mistake. They get a woody thinking they've got someone really flying, but it's actually just the patrol speed added to the target speed. When cars change lanes to go around another, it will look like the passing car is really moving in those few seconds that it changes lanes around the other. If you get a cop who gets all excited and doesn't see the blank patrol window, and witnesses this visually, they will write incorrect tickets. I've seen it happen, and I've testified in court on behalf of a defendant who got one of these tickets. There are a lot of errors that can occur with a radar, but experience teaches you what to look for, and whether the reading is proper or not.

LIDAR is extremely accurate, but you cannot use it while moving, and you really can't shoot it through a windshield. It lets you check a particular car multiple times from way out. I used an LTI and was able to start getting readings at 2500 feet away, but 1800 feet is about normal.

As far as court goes, where I used to work court time was charged at an overtime rate, and you got a two hour minimum, even if you just pulled into the parking lot, and they told you your case plead out. A lot of truck drivers will fight tickets, simply because they have the most to lose from the verdict.