Police warning!!

[Milkdud99]

ok got a question... altho no aviation related... aor maybe i can make it aviation related..


What ever happened to people warning other drivers about cops on the road??? i passed at least 10 people on a road and no one signaled there was a cop ahead! People should definatly give a heads up to others!

ok now this is how it is aviation related! People should give a heads up on ramp checks!

 

[LearLove]

I did it the other day heading home from the Jersey shore on the AC expressway.

 

[Flying Illini]

Those jerks! How much did it cost you? Of course, they are probably the same people who like to drive with their brights on at night on the freeway...they seem to think that that 20' wide median means that it's OK and the drivers heading the opposite direction won't be bothered by their lights. They piss me off sumpin' fierce!

 

[jarhead]

ok got a question... altho no aviation related... aor maybe i can make it aviation related..


What ever happened to people warning other drivers about cops on the road??? i passed at least 10 people on a road and no one signaled there was a cop ahead! People should definatly give a heads up to others!

ok now this is how it is aviation related! People should give a heads up on ramp checks!

Here's a novel idea. Just drive legally, and you won't even care where the cops are. It might also save your life, but more importantly, it might save my life or my kid's lives. But.....maybe that's just me........

 

[Kream926]

i still do it kinda

as far as ramp checks, shouldnt you be legal to fly all the time??

 

[mattpilot]

in the netherlands EVERYONE flashes their lights if there is a cop ahead. In most other countries in europe all you have to do is send a SMS to the local radio station and you'll get the latest reports on the positions of the "radar" positions free of charge. Everyone reports them.

Gotta love it

 

[flyifrvfr]

I don't know about other states but it is illegal in Maryland to warn other drivers of police officers conducting speed enforcement. Even though Marylanders know this we still warn other drivers. I have nbo problem with people who want to drive fast, heck I do it myself. I don't tailgate but I do usually blink my lights once to get the driver ahead of me to move over. If the driver doesn't move over, I just relax and go the flow of traffic.

I have toned my driving down some because things that used to bother me no longer bothers me. One of the things that bothered me the most was when two cars would ride next to each other and neither car would speed up. I used to force my way in between them and go three wide. I used to like the look on their faces as I go by. It scared the crap out of them. Then once I am clear, they usually fall in line behind each other because they never know when another nut would try that again. I don't do that anymore because in Maryland aggresive driving is illegal and this would surely get me a ticket.

 

[PCL_128]

Here's a novel idea. Just drive legally, and you won't even care where the cops are. It might also save your life, but more importantly, it might save my life or my kid's lives. But.....maybe that's just me........

You mean to tell me that you never drive even a bit over the speed limit?

 

[Flywrite]

I gotta agree with Jarhead here...

That cop has a job to do, and while that job may occasionally cause some inconvenience or expense to you, that job also involves protecting you and the people you care about.

Say you flash your lights to warn that oncoming car of a cop ahead. He slows down, passes the cop, then speeds back up and hits a pedestrian a mile down the road because of his .09 blood alcohol content. What if that pedestrian was your wife, son, mother, or best friend?
Suddenly it doesnt sound like such a good idea, does it?

Same goes for ramp checks. People may be getting on that pencil-whiped 421 on the ramp. People with very little aviation knowledge who trust that they will be flown in a safely maintained aircraft with a well trained and conscientious pilot. If their assumption is correct then a ramp check is a non-event.

If you dont want a ticket, slow down. That simple.

 

[Flywrite]

You mean to tell me that you never drive even a bit over the speed limit?

We all drive a bit over the speed limit. "A bit" over wont get you stopped.

 

[PCL_128]

We all drive a bit over the speed limit. "A bit" over wont get you stopped.

That was true when I lived in FL. Down there they have a law that a cop can't give you a ticket unless you're doing at least 5 mph over the limit. It was supposed to account for speedometer error. Here in GA however, they can give you a ticket for doing just 1 mph over the limit. They had an article in the paper the other day about a guy that got a ticket for doing 4 mph over the limit in a small town right next to me. That's why I warn oncoming drivers if I see a cop. Someone shouldn't have to pay $200 because they were a few mph over the limit.

 

[avbug]

We all don't drive over the speed limit...I certainly don't.

People who are concerned about things like this are of the same mentality that write in and question how long they must go without drugs to be safe for a drug test.

Tell me if teacher is coming so I won't get caught cheating on my exam. What happens in vegas stays in vegas. Mix a little redbull with that so it won't wear you down. Don't worry, they don't test for drugs during your flight physical. Flash your lights so others will know about the bad officer doing his job. Warn me if there's a ramp check, will you? I'll hide in the bathroom and do my weight and balance...

Utterly pathetic. I'd have been embarassed to post such pansy candy-assed garbage. And then you want a warning about a ramp check. News flash...doesn't that disrupt the purpose of the ramp check? How about having your paperwork in order, flying within limits, and being prepared at any time to submit to a ramp check, as you should? How about acting like a professional, instead of crawling around in fear of getting caught?

Sad. Very, very sad.

 

[Thedude]

That was true when I lived in FL. Down there they have a law that a cop can't give you a ticket unless you're doing at least 5 mph over the limit. It was supposed to account for speedometer error. Here in GA however, they can give you a ticket for doing just 1 mph over the limit. They had an article in the paper the other day about a guy that got a ticket for doing 4 mph over the limit in a small town right next to me. That's why I warn oncoming drivers if I see a cop. Someone shouldn't have to pay $200 because they were a few mph over the limit.

Totally not true about FL. I once got a ticket from a motorcycle cop for doing 32 in a 30 zone.

 

[PCL_128]

Totally not true about FL. I once got a ticket from a motorcycle cop for doing 32 in a 30 zone.

Really? I'm just going by what I was told in one of those classes you can take to get out of a ticket.

 

[RockyMnt1]

I do flash my lights to warn oncoming drivers of the elk/deer in the road just around the next curve.

 

[avbug]

I don't know of any jurisdiction that has on paper a law permitting a margin over the speed limit...after all, that negates the reason for having established a speed limit in the first place. The only place I can recall that came close was Montana, which had posted signs that read "Reasonable and Prudent."

What you may be referring to in margins over the limit is a general rule; many officers will not ticket unless the speed clocks five over. This isn't to give you a break...if you're in violation, you're in violation. It's to keep from wasting time in court. If an officer tickets five over for everyone and then tickets one over for one person, the ticket will probably be thrown out if it can be shown that he has demonstrated prejudice in failing to be consistent in applying enforcement.

So long as the officer can show the same treatment to all, he may ticket at one mile over, or five over. When he starts going back and forth, his free time spent in court is wasted, and nobody wants that...least of all the officer who is stuck supporting the tickets he's written, on his time off. Police officers have lives, too.

 

[EagleRJ]

There's no margin law on paper, and woe be any motorist who tells the officer that there's a "de facto speed limit" above the posted limit. There is however, and should be, a margin concerning speed limits. A posted 55MPH limit means traffic flow generally around 55MPH. Cars going 59MPH and cars going 51MPH are both in the window, are not impeding traffic flow, and are not speeding.

Very few cops will ticket for five over, and even if they do, the tickets are routinely thrown out in court. Most states don't even place tickets less than 10 over on driving records- and hence they are not known to insurance companies. A good speed policy is one that sets reasonable limits for a given stretch of road, and allows motorists to watch the road instead of keeping their speedometer +/- 1 of the limit.
Montana tried this common sense policy with their "reasonable and prudent" campaign several years ago, but some motorists interpreted that as "no speed limit", and before long, every leadfoot in the country was enroute to Montana to stretch their legs. A better plan would have been defined limits for speeding along with stricter fines, and the campaign could have worked well.

 

[AA717driver]

My attitude on the police has changed dramatically since my wife got arrested, spent the night in jail and spent a year defending herself against a DUI charge.

She was pulled over because she crossed a line and hit a curb that juts out in a bend (and has been tagged repeatedly since the road opened) and she couldn't do the stupid human tricks in her bare feet on the debris-strewn road.

She blew 0's on the breathalyzer. Her BAC was 0 and the confirmatory blood work showed no substances which might have caused impairment in her blood.

Yet, the police in the "Drug Recognition" department at the hospital reported her swaying and slurring and unable to stand up on her own. This after 30 minutes of police video showing her standing perfectly still, not swaying and carrying on a normal conversation with the arresting officer.

The report by the DR officers was pure fiction. In spite of all other evidence to the contrary, the county prosecutor refused to dismiss the case (which frustrated the deputy prosecutor who is deluged with cases like this that are similarly being prosecuted to the maximum extent).

We settled for a reckless driving plea to avoid several thousand dollars in attorney's fees and the remote possibility that the dullards chosen for jury duty that day might be inclined to believe the DR's and disregard the rest of the contridictory evidence and convict my wife.

Both my friend who is a defense attorney and the attorney on my wife's case said that the cops will virtually always lie on the stand and it is a matter of course that they be proven to have perjured themselves before the truth of a case can be exposed. This type of malicious prosecution extends from county courts with increasing vigor up to the highest levels of our justice system.

So, yes, I gladly flash my lights to warn others of the presence of speed traps. It may save someone from the horrors of the cop/prosecutor scam we have endured over the past 13 months.TC

 

[Checknsix]

You know, many cops are good guys that only give tickets when you are sticking out like a sore thumb by driving 20 mph faster than the rest of the traffic. As far as defense of the rest of the cops ( and of some holier than thou non-speeders on this board) the rest of the cops are simply out there as tax collectors...with no regard to whether safety was an issue or not. You can't tell me that a guy doing 10 over, on a dry four lane highway, at 2am in the morning, in a modern day car, is a threat to anybody's safety. If you do, then you need to seriously consider your own lack of simple driving skills.

Small town police departments, state highway patrols, etc. will all tell you that there are no ticket quotas. However, they will give the cop an "unsatifactory" on their next review, if he/she is not bringing in their fair share of tax revenue.

As for flashing headlights to warn others of cops, I always do it. I don't really give a crap if some state finds a way to call this illegal. Seems to me that freedom of speech is at issue here and I will gladly spend the money to ask for a trial by jury on that basis.

Checknsix

 

[avbug]

Both my friend who is a defense attorney and the attorney on my wife's case said that the cops will virtually always lie on the stand and it is a matter of course that they be proven to have perjured themselves before the truth of a case can be exposed. This type of malicious prosecution extends from county courts with increasing vigor up to the highest levels of our justice system.

I take strong exception to the insinuation that sworn officers always lie on the whitness stand, or anywhere else. Certainly every profession has bad actors, and law enforcement is no different. However, I personally know of no such individuals, nor have I ever assocaited with any.

Come on, man. Don't you watch Walker, Texas Ranger?

Seriously...I'm sorry to hear of your wife's difficulties, but to suggest that this is a universal or even a wide spread problem, however arduous it has been, is misplaced and inaccurate.