Police warning!!

[Brett Hull]

if you are driving on a desolate road where there is nothing, you could probably get away with 15-20MPH over and be just fine.

You'd think so.

About 6 weeks ago my wife's brother walked in their dad's house late one evening and found him lying dead in the middle of the floor. We left BHM around 9:30 p.m. so we could be there in the morning when they told her mom, who lives in a nursing home. Deputy Dewey in Alexander County, IL thought he needed to keep the road that runs through the middle of the cornfield safe, and at 4:15 a.m. popped me doing 70 in a 55. So much for sympathy. And we could not have been more polite to him. Not sure why he didn't just go ahead and spit in my wife's face while he was at it.

Multiple officers have been arrested for DUI.

The one thing that burns my hindquarters more than anything are cops who DUI. I guess it's o.k. for them to do it. But if they have the slightest inkling that you have been, like they did with TC's wife, you're off to the clink.

I can't remember if it was late last year or early this year, but one night in St. Louis an off duty cop left the bar and proceded to get on the highway going the wrong direction. When the 18 wheeler he was approaching head-on swerved to miss him, he exposed the police cruiser behind him and the on duty and off duty cops met head on. Result: 2 fatalities.

I wonder how many people that little pr!ck busted for DWI before he decided to go out and get hammered and kill a fellow officer? And the bar he left, it was the local off duty police officer hangout. And I'm sure they all had designated drivers.

 

[SammyG]

I got pulled over for speeding, except I was looking at the meter and saw I was going 63 (in a 55). The cop said he had me on radar goin 81. I told him he needed to check his equipment. He didn't.

I don't trust cops anymore since then.

If I had known at the time that I was legally allowed to have him show me the radar I would have done it, cause I got boned that day.

 

[Chocks]

I asked a cop about a "speed buffer" over the limit. He smiled and told me:

"5 you drive, 9 you're mine!"

 

[avbug]

its funny how general you can make your statements! NO ONE can fit people into a mold! Your are ASSUMING that because i drive a little fast, that i am a bad pilot, and that i break every rule in the FAR. Well the sad thing is, is that you are wrong. The way i handle myself in the cockpit is completely different from how i handle myself in the "real world!"

I made no assumptions, nor do I do so. I quoted you. If you're upset, get upset at yourself. Your words, not mine, my 250 hour friend. You've got the world all figured out, you know the industry, you know more than the FAA, than employers, insurance companies, agencies, etc. Keep it up, educate us all. You probably won't change the system, but we'll all be very impressed. I know I certainly am.

If your saying that your real life parrallels how you act in the cockpit then i feel bad for you. There is a time and a place for seriousness and a time and a place for humor. The way I handle myself in the cockpit is a serious no BS manner, but when i get down and out of the aircraft, my nice, relaxed, funny side comes out! If you feel you have to be a tight wad all the time then go ahead. but DO NOT be judgmental and throw me in some category by just a few posts on a forum.

In your young, arrogant state, you may not realize that few, if any of us require your validation to lead our lives, nor do we need your pity. Yes, how you act on the road has a big bearing on your professional character. It's for this reason that obtaining a DUI on the road will affect your ability to be insured, employed, to hold a medical certificate, and even a pilot certificate. Have you figurd out why that is?

Have you ever wondered why a felony conviction, having nothing to do with flying, is taken deeply into consideration when contemplating your character as a pilot, and how a conviction for certain crimes or acts entirely unrelated to flying may be held against your ability to obtain an ATP on the grounds of your moral character? Everything you do has a bearing on everything else you do. If you break the law in one area, if you feel you are above the law and some how it does not apply to you, then that's a character problem that doesn't confine itself to one small aspect of your behavior. You may feel it doesn't, but you are wrong. Every authority in the industry, every major force, company, agent for insurance, the FAA, etc, disagrees with you.

But then again, you're here to educate us all...you know more, and you're under an obligation to educate us. Keep up the good work.

You seem to use words like childish and immature in a lot of your posts around hear. So i'll relay them to you. Being Judgemental on first impressions like you have done with me, Is very CHILDISH and IMMATURE! If you really have an urge to see how i act, meet me and you'll be suprised!

I'm hardly judgemental here; I used your own words. I have no desire to meet you, I'm far from impressed by you so far. Your words and language so far has indeed been childish, both in this thread, and the sister thread that was deleted. You brag about that for which you should be embarassed, and that is far from a mature effort at professionalism or responsible behavior. Your own words convict you. Give it up. You stand as an example of one who is far better closing his mouth and appearing a fool, than opening it and removing all doubt.

 

[SUSPilot]

I can't remember if it was late last year or early this year, but one night in St. Louis an off duty cop left the bar and proceded to get on the highway going the wrong direction. When the 18 wheeler he was approaching head-on swerved to miss him, he exposed the police cruiser behind him and the on duty and off duty cops met head on. Result: 2 fatalities.

I wonder how many people that little pr!ck busted for DWI before he decided to go out and get hammered and kill a fellow officer? And the bar he left, it was the local off duty police officer hangout. And I'm sure they all had designated drivers.

Not to say it was right, but just because he had a badge, or we fly airplanes does not make us immune from making mistakes. The drunk cop was a college friend of mine, and that night was completly out of character for him. Steve graduated with honors from college and was president of our fraternity, all while working almost full time not only to put himself through school, but to also help his younger brother go to school. He was always the first one to offer to pick one of our friends up if we had too much to drink instead of driving home, had just bought a house, and would have been getting married next month. While I am not going to say what he did was right, a bad choice none of us that knew him took two great men Steve and Officer Armstrong away from their family and friends and they will truly be missed.

 

[satpak77]

If I had known at the time that I was legally allowed to have him show me the radar I would have done it, cause I got boned that day.

dude too much CSI Miami or Judge Judy whatever.....your statement above is incorrect

 

[aeronautic1]

Speeding

When I was a deputy sheriff in Clallam County, Washington years back, it was the norm that we wrote for 11 MPH and above the limit. Unless of course she was really cute and there was a chance you could get her number, 5 MPH over. Chicken Fokker! Say, "Car Ram-Rod." Super Troopers Rocks!!

 

[FN FAL]

I asked a cop about a "speed buffer" over the limit. He smiled and told me:

"5 you drive, 9 you're mine!"

Sounds like a cop with too much time on his hands. Hopefully when it comes time for layoffs, maybe they'll have something for him to do over at park and rec, like painting picknick tables muni green.

 

[FN FAL]

When I was a deputy sheriff in Clallam County, Washington years back, it was the norm that we wrote for 11 MPH and above the limit. Unless of course she was really cute and there was a chance you could get her number, 5 MPH over. Chicken Fokker! Say, "Car Ram-Rod." Super Troopers Rocks!!

I know one police agency in Wisconsin with 130 or so officers, that has a policy that each officer must write at least one traffic citation or "citizens contact report" (written warning) per shift.

I think that is a fair "quota"...and you really don't have to work that hard to get one without being a jerk.

Usually these officers are backed up with calls when they begin their shifts, so they usually don't have time for sitting around clocking motorists. Once in a great while you'll see them working traffic enforcement, but they are usually pretty busy. They don't use moving radar in this municipality and even when they got donated the temporary use of a LIDAR by some state grant, it made the papers.

 

[FN FAL]

The one thing that burns my hindquarters more than anything are cops who DUI. I guess it's o.k. for them to do it. But if they have the slightest inkling that you have been, like they did with TC's wife, you're off to the clink.

To be fair, cops are people too and they have a stressful job...it doesn't make it right, but there are going to be police officers that get DUI's and it's obviously going to be more punishment for them when get one, than what a citizen is going to get.

I know a guy that was in his probationary period at the Ashwaubenon Department of Public Safety, that got a DUI. He was allowed to drive his patrol vehicle during his work shift on an "Occupational License". Imagine that?

 

[SammyG]

dude too much CSI Miami or Judge Judy whatever.....your statement above is incorrect

Neither of those shows I watch. I was told by a co-worker that in the state of Florida, we are allowed to ask to see it. But perhaps I should look into the matter myself for a more concrete answer.

Even if you're not allowed, you should be, or else the driver is without defense and vulnerable to be abused like I was on that day.

 

[FN FAL]

Neither of those shows I watch. I was told by a co-worker that in the state of Florida, we are allowed to ask to see it. But perhaps I should look into the matter myself for a more concrete answer.

Even if you're not allowed, you should be, or else the driver is without defense and vulnerable to be abused like I was on that day.

Even if you did see what was displayed on the radar, it's the officers word that speed indication displayed, was a result of clocking YOUR vehicle.

If the officer wanted to, he could clock a car doing 70 miles an hour and leave that displayed on the radar unit all day long.

Also consider this, what if the officer takes the hand held radar and points it at something that gives him a nice speed indication and then says it's your speed? There are ways to get hand held radar units to display a speed...point it in the cruiser and cycle the heater/ac fan motor speed control and clock untill you get the desired results.

I have nevere asked to see the display and I would never attempt to hold traffic court on the side of the road with an officer.

Three years ago, I got stopped for doing 11 over in a 55 at 4:20 in the morning. I had my cruise set at 7 over and wasn't going to kick it out, even though the officer was sitting in plain sight on the shoulder. I couldn't believe it when the officer turned his headligts on and came after me.

We get to talking and right away I made the comment that I believed his radar was more accurate than my speedometer (car had 200,000 miles on it) and he let me off with a verbal warning. He was adamant about this though...what really ticked him off was that I didn't hit my brakes when I passed by him. His exact words. So, if you think you're getting clocked, don't be afraid to show them brake lights...

 

[CitationXDriver]

I made no assumptions, nor do I do so.

In your young, arrogant state,

Hmmmmmmmm.........did I miss where he stated his age??

 

[CitationXDriver]

dude too much CSI Miami or Judge Judy whatever.....your statement above is incorrect

In the state of Illinois, I have asked and been shown. Not sure what the law reads on the subject though.

 

[FlyChicaga]

...like painting picknick tables muni green.

Don't mean to nitpick, but it's picnic.

 

[satpak77]

I was told by a co-worker that in the state of Florida, we are allowed to ask to see it. But perhaps I should look into the matter myself for a more concrete answer.

Even if you're not allowed, you should be, or else the driver is without defense and vulnerable to be abused like I was on that day.

Your co-worked is wrong. "Driver without a defense" is not alleviated by looking at a read-out on the radar unit

Its "commissioned peace officer" versus "citizen" testimony in court

I recommend you personally call the court involved and request "deferred adjudication" if you attend defensive driving. That is cheapest. OR hire an attorney to get it dismissed

 

[satpak77]

In the state of Illinois, I have asked and been shown. Not sure what the law reads on the subject though.

thats fine, but its not a legal requirement to show the driver that

 

[satpak77]

best thing is

when you get stopped, pull over to the side of road, almost to the grass, turn on dome light (if at night) and place your left hand on the window sill and your right hand over your left wrist. Seems funky but we are talking "keep the officer happy" here.

put car in PARK and take foot OFF brake. Contrast to "leave it in drive" and "hold brake" while Officer walks up to you. Add in "reach under seat and make lots of movement" to further displease the officer.

If on urban streets, pull into a grocery store parking lot or somewhere that the officer will not be hit by a bus when he gets out of his car. You do NOT need his adrenaline jacked up more than necessary....

if asked for insurance, tell him its in glove box, and ask if you can reach for it. DO NOT practice your latest fast-glove-box-opening-techniques at this time. See adrenaline comment above. Leave left hand in plain view at ALL TIMES.

99% of time, officer (with audio mic and car camera) will ask the violator "do you know why I stopped you"

tell him "yes sir, I am indeed exceeding the limit, but I got paged/a message/etc that my mom is sick due to unknown reasons and I am going home/to office/to friends house/etc to call her"

try not to say this directly into his lapel mike or it will be too obvious you got training in this area

95% of time you will be cut loose. Trust me on this.

no you dont know why she is sick thats why you need to call her, and yes, she is an older lady and older ladies get sick sometimes for unknown reasons. No sir, sorry, I don't know why she is sick. Has she had problems lately? Yes and she is sick or never ever had a problem and now she is sick.

no she is not at hospital she is at home but she is sick and she is my mom and I am expediting my driving to call my sick mom.

figure out your own excuse why you arent using your cell. not enough minutes, she ignores cell calls on Caller ID, whatever.

we are talking "not getting a ticket"....we can talk morality/dont tell lies/the bible/etc on another thread

 

[SammyG]

One day when I am rich I will have designed for me a car that can transform into a flying machine. Will be useful for days when I'm sick of sitting in traffic. I'll just hit the button, ascend into the air, and fly over all the other suckers in traffic, with my middle finger extended out the drivers side window, as I cruise at 300' agl to my destination.

Will also be useful when I see a police cruiser turn on its lights behind me on the road. I'd love to see his reaction when his "quota for the day" stop leaves him in smoke, scrambling for his radio and screaming "This car just took off into the air...really!" Me thinks it'll take him a while to show the video from his cruiser to his superiors, during which I will have already landed, changed out my fake license plate with a new one, and be in bed.

 

[FN FAL]

99% of time, officer (with audio mic and car camera) will ask the violator "do you know why I stopped you"

tell him "yes sir, I am indeed exceeding the limit, but I got paged/a message/etc that my mom is sick due to unknown reasons and I am going home/to office/to friends house/etc to call her"

try not to say this directly into his lapel mike or it will be too obvious you got training in this area

95% of time you will be cut loose. Trust me on this.

Not too long ago a cop asked me the "do you know why I stopped you?" bit.

I told him, "I think I have a pretty good idea."

He said, "Do you want to tell me what that is?"

I said, "No...you go first." (5th amendment).

He was quite pleasant, but he was surprised I wouldn't say what he wanted me to say (I had an idea that he was video taping the traffic stop). Wound up with a citizens contact report on the running of the yellow light (saved me 78 bucks and 3 points and a 10 dollar ticket for not wearing a seat belt.

I have a hard time with story telling, especially should the cop ask for your mom's phone number and whips out a cell phone so he can speak to her about her not feeling well. Cops don't mind if you elect to remain silent, it's your right to not incriminate yourself, but I do believe that cops get mad when you insult their intelligence by lying to them.

I hear what your saying on the excuse...but I would be real carefull about any fibbing when pulled over on the side of the road.

 

[satpak77]

yes all good points

 

[FN FAL]

yes all good points

What's interesting about the drivel concerning a driver that goes a few miles over the posted speed on a road and the quality of their flying decision making, was the fact that the NTSB report for the Pinnacle Disaster pointed out that neither pilot had any traffic records.

 

[Metro752]

My new job requires that I use a program to plot out my route, so I bought microsoft streets & trips with the GPS so I can watch myself on the moving map.............

anyway, My car shows 65, and I am doing 60 according to the GPS, my car shows 70, and I am doing 75 according to the GPS.

Is GPS that reliable that I can count on it to give me an accurate ground speed. It refreshes my position like every second if not faster.

 

[FN FAL]

My new job requires that I use a program to plot out my route, so I bought microsoft streets & trips with the GPS so I can watch myself on the moving map.............

anyway, My car shows 65, and I am doing 60 according to the GPS, my car shows 70, and I am doing 75 according to the GPS.

Is GPS that reliable that I can count on it to give me an accurate ground speed. It refreshes my position like every second if not faster.

You bring up an interesting point. On the beltways around MKE they have put up at least three of those radar speed signs as part of a speed enforcement/awareness program. I usually try and see what difference my speedometer says v. sign. If I go by at 60 it says i'm doing 56. So I'm reading about 4 miles faster than my speed indicates. Which would explain why the Waukesha County guy didn't flinch when I went past him with the cruise set at 14 over on Friday night. I was almost disapointed he didn't pull out, but after comparing my speedometer to the radar signs, I must have only been clocked at ten over.

I would think the gps is more accurate than your speedometer. Are you comparing mph to mph or mph to kts?

 

[Metro752]

MPH to MPH read out, then I tried it with KMPH, same. Maybe its just my car is crappy n old. Not sure.

I had a kid tell me back in high school that speedometers on most older cars, that aren't maintained (the speedometer) aren't very accurate after about 70mph

 

[satpak77]

yeah obviously a 1990 Tauraus has a 14 year old speedometer cable and associated hardware. In reality, it doesnt matter, because everyone else's car on the highway has a similar issue

but no, the speedo on your car is far from exact. Throw in tire size, inflation, etc

my dad always taught me, when in traffic, go with the flow, when solo, follow the posted limit

I can't stand it when everyone is doing 75 (on a 55 MPH road) and one clown in the center lane is doing 55.000 MPH, being a good law abiding citizen but actually being a safety hazard.

Speed itself does not kill. Nor will it hurt machinery thats well oiled and in good condition, and if its within the parameters of the equipment. No, a Mercury Tracer cannot do 100 MPH all day long.

One time I drove my 4.6L Mercury Cougar for 3 hours straight, at 95-105 MPH, on a highway in Mexico, with no problems at all. Got 25 MPG also. With overdrive the engine RPM was pulling the same thing as doing 35 MPH in the city.

 

[satpak77]

What's interesting about the drivel concerning a driver that goes a few miles over the posted speed on a road and the quality of their flying decision making, was the fact that the NTSB report for the Pinnacle Disaster pointed out that neither pilot had any traffic records.

yeah doesn't make sense. Maybe from a "past behavior equals future behavior" standpoint but the PNCL accident proves that is not always the case. Sometimes it takes a few tickets and spankings in childhood to learn a lesson.

Thats why major airlines require 3000-5000 TT before an interview, they want some "learned lessons" and scratched knees and some "I will never do that agains" from their new-hires. Major Airline XYZ Chief Pilot does not want his airline to be the first place you ever saw a thunderstorm or held over a navaid and had to make a fuel decision.

The PNCL crew's lesson that night ended in their deaths, leaving only the rest of us to learn from it.....

 

[CitationXDriver]

. No, a Mercury Tracer cannot do 100 MPH all day long.

One time I drove my 4.6L Mercury Cougar for 3 hours straight

Does somebody have a Mercury fetish??

 

[mattpilot]

No, a Mercury Tracer cannot do 100 MPH all day long.

One time I drove my 4.6L Mercury Cougar for 3 hours straight

Brings back some memories. While living in vienna, austria, i drove a '77 Opel Kadett (do a google search if you are really that interested). Its basically a 28 year old P.O.S. with a 50 HP engine. Back then it was considered a "sportscar". Anyhow, me and my oldtimer (officially recognized too ), went to visit my parents - roughly a 2 hour drive.

I usually filled it up with the poorest quality fuel i could find - 89 octane. Hey, it was P.O.S. car. But on this trip i decided to put some 98 octane (the highest) in it, to see how fast i could get the little bugger. ** I managed to get it up to 90mph with the pedal all the way down! Thats 20mph faster than what i could get it with the 89octane. I drove it at 90mph for the entire trip on the highway. It ran real smooth - ocassionally it sounded though as the engine would explode, but i just kept on going Even though i managed to get 90mph out of that bugger, cars still passed me on the highway, where average speed was ~100mph.

** some may be wondering, why does it drive faster with a higher octane fuel? Well, the lower octane fuel would cause detonation if i drove to fast, and the higher octane delayed it... so there...

 

[FN FAL]

MPH to MPH read out, then I tried it with KMPH, same. Maybe its just my car is crappy n old. Not sure.

I had a kid tell me back in high school that speedometers on most older cars, that aren't maintained (the speedometer) aren't very accurate after about 70mph

If you look in the articles in car and driver where they are evaluating a car, one of the things they put in the data is the speedometer error.

Think about it this way, how else do you think those companies get close to meeting EPA MPG? If you're indicating higher mph than you are really going, then you are clicking off more miles on your odometer...things that make you say mmmmmmmm? No wonder I'm getting 550 miles on a tank of gas!!!