jd40

I am a police officer and a Z owner. I find it funny that some of you feel that your are entitled to break the law. If you speed and get caught...be man (or woman, or BOTH, i work in Los Angeles) and pay the penalty. Also what make me laugh is the "don't you guys have something better to do?" question. Well...not really. When we pull someone over we are trying to find bad guys. You would be amazed at how many bad guys speed, run stop signs...etc. It just irks me when i put my life on the line for you and you get pissed when I'm just doing my job. Sure there are A-hole cops out there, but how do you think they got that way?

If it makes you guys feel any better i have not given one Z owner a ticket.

If you guys have any questions as to why "this and that" about police work, ask away.

SB Track

Well just as fate has it, I got pulled over tonight. I was trying to make a yellow light, cleared it, and I guess I got a little too much over the speed limit. It was in a 50 zone right where I turn into my house. Well, I started tapped the brakes a few times and started slowing down, but not before I see a car quickly come up behind me. As fate has it, I barely made it out to be a black and white (thanks auto-dimming Homelink...). Turned into my street, he was right behind me and I just started pulling over before he even flashed his lights.

Turned off the engine, and the lights. Hands in the air. He was so stern at first, I really thought there was no way he would let me off. He told me I was doing 80, but I think I was closer to maybe 70. He thought I wasn't from around here because I stuck my hands in the air, but I figure this just makes the cop more comfortable. My wallet was in the center console, so I told him I before I got it out, to make sure he didn't think I was pulling a gun. He took my license., Then he asked me questions about where I lived, what school I went to. I told him I was a senior from the local high school and I lived right up the street. He started to walk to his car, and I was thinking just how done I would be when my parents found out. But for some reason he walks back, and says "You got a break this time." Then gives me back my license.

I was sooooooo relieved. I didn't believe in cops being nice, and I'm not sure what changed this man's mind because he was so stern at first. Now, I know that some cops out there have some kind of heart, and I'm definitely grateful for it. He could have busted me so bad right before I went on vacation (it's spring break).

For some reason, I keep thinking to myself he might have wrote me up still or something and just pretended to let me off. But this can't happen right? I'm still paranoid from the whole thing. Never been pulled over before.

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

yeah i've been pulled over a total of 5 times in my 9 years of driving. 2 of them the cop let me off with a warning and were pretty cool, laid back guys.

I never thought any of them were being unreasonable, but this last thing was just crazy for me - it really is slightly traumatizing when it actually happens to you and you think you're going to jail. I know I would've made bail and all that, but it's humiliating being treated like some sort of serial rapist/murderer when all you were doing was going 13mph faster than everyone else.

Jason@Performance

iTrader: (11)

Ouch sorry to hear that!

It could have been worse!

I had a similar cituation when I was 17 in my Honda Civic

I was in a 45 zone leaving a gig (was in a Tux)... He clocked me at something like 90... Put me in cuff's, in the back of his cars... la de da... said... "Your young, this will really screw you up, you seem like a nice kid, just dont do it again..."

Year later clocked 105 racing an eclipse on the florida turn pike at 5am the day before i moved to boston for college (no car in boston so had to have some fun before)... They set up a road block for us... Didnt know the guy in the eclipse, but he didnt look to happy when i pulled away... The cop said to me... "Son, since my superior clocked you I must give you a ticket, so I am going to give you a ticket for not wearing a seat belt to let you off easy"

But now... For those of you who see me driving around cali... im hittin cruse control at 65

westpak

iTrader: (19)

Give me a break, you guys are the most hipocritical bunch, you give tickets looking for bad guys wow, and you want us to believe that you and the others always drive at or below the speed limit?!?!

jd40

No we dont always drive the speed limit, when did i say that. We get tickets too! And where did i say we give tickets looking for bad guys, we pull people over looking for them.

westpak

iTrader: (19)

Your excuse for pulling people over was looking for bad guys so you give tickets while you are at it, why not let the guy go once you see he is a good guy.

And tickets right, just show the badge and get professional courtesy.

JCat

iTrader: (4)

I got this warning earlier this year (some cops are nice).

fahrenheit350

iTrader: (15)

hahah.. citation for "way too cool vehicle" i knew i was gonna find something out of place.

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

What I don't like is how if the speed limit is 65, and traffic is moving at 80, if for any reason whatsoever, a cop and pull you over and cite you for moving at 15mph over the speed limit.

On the I-10 here, there's a point where the speed limit changes from 65 to 55. Yes 55mph on a city highway. Does traffic slow down? Nope, not at all. But if traffic was moving at 80mph, a cop can pull you over for criminal speeding because it was in a 55 zone even though you're just going with the flow. It really seems up to whether or not the cop is on the rag that day or is getting pressure at the end of the month to bring up his pull over count or not. And of course in court it looks bad. You were going 80 in a 55 zone, that's 25mph faster than the speed limit, that must be dangerous.

Ok so maybe we should all drive 55 or 65 then right?

Well a few years ago I was taking the driver's class for a ticket. In it was a girl that was pulled over because she was going 55mph on the highway in a 55mph zone. She was obeying the speed limit law exactly. But the reason was because she was moving dramatically slower than traffic because traffic was moving at probably 75-80mph.

See the irony?

They don't teach that crap in driver's ed in high school.

Speed limit laws **** me off.

not only that - and I heard this straight from an ex cop. If he wants to pull you over, he'll FIND something to pull you over for. Either a technicality in your driving, or something about your vehicle's tail lights/reflectors/signals not being up to code in some way etc even though it's a stock car. He know's it's pretty much a bogus reason, but he can't just pull you over for no reason at all. He'll just ask you if you've modified any of those items, and if you say no, he'll say he was just checking because he thought they looked suspicious.

He'll use it as an excuse to pull you over then he can procede to hassle you because he needs to meet his quota for pulled over vehicles. He might let you go though because he just needs to get his numbers higher to show how many people he pulled over that month to show he's out doing his job. Otherwise the state has no way to really track that they're actually out doing their job and not sitting home watching TV. They don't have a quota for number of tickets they give, just how many cars they pull over.

maybe jd40 can tell me if I'm wrong on any of this, if he's willing to admit it

I don't appreciate the use of intimidation and scare tactics by officers. It might be a statistic that 1 out of every 9 people that they do it to will crack and confess something that otherwise they wouldn't have, but those other 8 people are being falsely accused and it's offensive

Hupperware

I live here in Arizona also and a year ago my girlfriend was pulled over in her Benz 320 SLK doing 106 in a 55. She was actually lucky she got tagged with "criminal speeding" because it helped her walk. With a criminal offense the DA must prove BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT that you were actually going as fast as you were. A judge in Arizona will look for 3 things, #1 Officer was trained in use of equipment #2 Equipment was calibrated correctly #3 Officer having actual visual contact of you breaking the law. Most DAs that are put on these cases are idiots or rookies and think can't prove these three concepts beyond a reasonable doubt. If they do happen to prove it, I would look into the letter of the law about speeding in Arizona... reading "reasonable or prudent"... not both. Either of these 4 concepts should help you walk... and if it does, come join the Desert Z Association (www.desertzassociation.com)

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

yeah that would normally seem like the thing to try to prove, but I had 2 cops see me in my case

jd40

We do all the time. I would say about half the time I pull someone over I give a warning. But you never hear about the nice cop...just the a-hole cops.

Why is everyone pissed at the cops. You should be pissed at the law makers.

Do you guys realize that we get complaints all the time about certain areas where people are breaking traffic laws. Thats right, your neighboors call into the station and complain saying there is speeding going on on XYZ street. People are running the stop sign on XYZ street. I never knew that before.

Pulling someone over for going 5 mph over the speed limit is just crazy. I dont do it, and most cops in LA dont, but im sure you have your **** retentive coppers out there.

jd40

To answer sentry

1. We have no quotas for anything. In LA all we care about are felonies. I wrote less than 10 tix last month. Some cops do 30 in one day.

2. If i want to pull someone over i'll find something
Well what i think your ex-cop friend really meant was most people know nothing about the traffic laws. There are way too many...hell i dont even know half of the crap on the books. We break traffic laws everyday and dont know it. If you have nothing hanging from your rearview mirror and you use your left/right turn arrow everytime you change lanes and follow the speed limit you will never get pulled over. But who does that?

3. If you have a car with all your equip working you should never get pulled over. What for?

4. Scare tactics. Ask me more specific questions about that and ill try to answer.

And dude ill answer any question you ask me. I have no prob with that.

fahrenheit350

iTrader: (15)

http://www.local10.com/news/4325477/...s=mia&psp=news

...and the cop still gave him a ticket after all that. that cop was an @$$. thats the stuff i'm talking about.

WangDoodle

Ok jd40, here's a question; All things being equal (weather is good, visibility is good, etc) how far over the speed limit does a person have to be before you personally would say 'he's driving way too fast' and pull him over for speeding?

Here's another one; If you pull someone over for speeding (not reckless, just speeding) is there anything they could say or do to make you change your mind about giving them a ticket? For instance, I KNOW it has to p1ss you off when someone says something stupid like 'I had no idea I was going that fast', or 'are you sure you got my car and not someone elses?', it would p1ss me off too. Would it help if someone said 'well, you got me. I know I was driving too fast, I'm very sorry, I'll try to slow down'?

One more; I live in Virginia and I've never heard of criminal speeding. It that the same thing as reckless driving? What are the rules to applying criminal speeding to a potential offender (30 over, 40 over)?

hypeiv

iTrader: (2)

Even though jail time is very unlikely since there is a chance of it I think you need a lawyer... It will be well worth the money.

jd40: I have never met a jerk cop. I have only been pulled over two times and both times everything out of my mouth ended in sir, lights on in the car and both hands on the wheel. I knew they were just doing their job and one of them was nice enough to give me a warning. I wouldn't have been upset if he gave me a ticket... I was being stupid and he busted me.

sentry65

iTrader: (11)

here in AZ, anything over 20mph over the posted speed limit is criminal speeding

the penalties for it are dependant on the judge and prosecutor, but maximum penalties are:

cop takes you to jail and impounds your car if he chooses to
must appear in court
3points on your record
$500 fine
30 days in jail
1 year probation
(and of course your car insurance will go thru the roof)

a regular speeding ticket is
up to $200 fine
2 points on record
(and raised insurance rates)


I'm going to guess that reckless driving here in AZ would be a subjective thing for generally driving dangerously. Like speeding by multiple cars on the highway at 150mph while they're driving 70 might be considered reckless. But that's my guess

we also have fun laws such as Aggressive Driving

"Arizona is one of three states that has an aggressive driving law that identifies and defines aggressive driving. ArizonaÃÔ aggressive driving statute 28-695 was added to the Reckless Driving Section and amended the name of the statute to Reckless and Aggressive Driving. The Arizona statute defines aggressive driving as a situation in which a person commits a violation of speeding and at least two other traffic violations (i.e., failure to obey traffic control devices, improper passing, driving off the pavement or traveled portion of the highway, following too close, failure to yield right-of-way, or driving in a way that is an immediate hazard to another person or vehicle)."


here's the points taken from these laws
8 - Reckless driving
8 - Racing on highways
8 - Aggressive driving

AZ is tough on speeders

ZIABLO

iTrader: (7)

all the police officers i've ever run across have been awesome

once i was stopped out of nowhere to make sure i wasn't drunk (3 am, socal, bar/club area) - i thought that was very respectable

and being out in the country for school in southwestern va, the cops here seem very laid back.

at home in northern virginia...i dont hear any good things about any cops there.

just treat em with respect and you'll probably be fine, unless you were doing some crazy things on the road....

Lerxst

iTrader: (2)

I've only been pulled over once and the cop was an a$$... just bought the car (my first RWD)... made a u-turn, tightened up the turn in the middle to avoid another car that was thinking of entering the street and had the back end kick out a bit before I could correct. There was no squeal or smoke.

The car coming out turned out to be a cop ghost car. He pulled me over and proceeded with "What really pisses me if is I'm a car enthusiast and it's guys like you that ruin it for the rest of us" He looked really pissed, so I figured my best move was to keep my mouth shut and just take the ticket.

Ended up pleading guilty with explanation... the fine and demerits were dropped cuz of my plausible explanation and my 10-year clean driving record. Still a pain in the butt though and it goes on my record.

Apparently this cop is well known to my buddies who are also cops... they think he's an a$$ too