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Automotive News & Views Traffic Laws & Enforcement Tactics
540 messages, Last post on Sep 21, 2009 at 12:22 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: davv62 (Apr 13, 2007 2:24 am) Their reward for winning the race: a slew of tickets (speeding, reckless driving, etc). When I was a truck driver, I got a ticket in Atlanta. I was coming from the local terminal and there was a road block/checkpoint under the overpass before you get on the freeway. I figured there must be an accident/detour so I took off my seatbelt and rolled down the window so I could lean out and talk to the officer when I got up to him. Instead of telling me there was an accident, he told me it was a seatbelt checkpoint and to pull over. 
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Replying to: punkr77 (Apr 13, 2007 7:12 am) |
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Replying to: paisan (Apr 06, 2007 4:24 am) Re-post, with additions, from just after the 2006 Thanksgiving Weekend. Over the long Holiday weekend, I drove ( as I typically do ) from north of Atlanta to visit my friends on the Florida Gulf coast. I now drive a red Corvette. If there is anything any speed law enforcement officer would prefer to stop than a red sports car, I don’t know what it might be. I drove through at least 8, maybe 10 areas where LEOs were utilizing “Detection Devices”. In every case, I was always traveling above the speed limit, but ‘only’ 5 – 7 MPH over. I do find it interesting that the speed limit is really not the speed limit. Meaning: In the eyes of the ( typical ) actual enforcement officer, the speed limit is actually 8 or 9 or 10 MPH higher than the posted limit. Much as I have observed over my past 40+ years of driving. Even with a car capable ( according to GM and most independent sources ) of about 100 MPH more than any currently posted speed limit in this country, 75 to 80 MPH is actually ‘fast enough’ – for me, with typical traffic, on most US roads. Just my 0.02 gallons worth. . . [Added: I now have driven my Red Sports Car for over 7,000 miles. My ‘speeding’ habits remain unchanged. I speed regularly, but ‘respect’ my perception of what LEOs will see as ‘worth ticketing’. And my record of no tickets continues – Now clear since very early 2000. ] - Ray Happy to achieve over 28 MPG in such driving. |
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On my trips between chicago and the suburbs I try my best to cruise at 75mph if the conditions are right. 75% of the time I'd say im the fastest driver on the highway, but oddly enough ive never recieved a ticket. I usually travel non-peak hours/night time. Technically the speed limit is 55mph but that is awfully slow given that cars could safely travel at 80+mph on these expressways/tollways. One time i have seen a tollway tropper set a rolling barrier of 65mph. So cars crowded up behind him since obviously no one will pass a LEO. I'm fortunate my situation is very lax since this allows me to communte in a quick and timely manner without having to worry about silly LEO's trying to extract money out of me just because im traveling safely at a higher speed. |
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Here in Missouri, we've had a seat belt law for quite a few years, with the stipulation that one cannot be pulled over for that violation alone, but may be cited if pulled over for another violation. Yesterday, that condition was revoked and now drivers may be pulled over based on that alleged violation. I'm kinda peeved about this, as I think it simply invites abuse - for example, police may hang around near bars and pull people over for a seatbelt violation even if the driver shows no signs of intoxication. Even if the driver is wearing a seatbelt, the officer can easily claim it was very dark and it appeared that the driver was unbelted. Once the driver is pulled over, they may be asked to do sobriety tests, or have the vehicle searched, etc. I only use DUI testing (absent any suspicion apart from that the driver had been in a bar) because it's the first example that came to mind... NOT because I have any sympathy AT ALL for driving under the influence. I'm simply saying this new regulation, IMO, opens the door for previously unwarranted "investigations." Other opinions? (not the host here)
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Replying to: kirstie_h (May 03, 2007 9:20 am) -Rocky
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Replying to: rockylee (May 03, 2007 10:05 am) It's not like speeding, failure to stop, making a U-turn... those are all violations that an officer can verify BEFORE making the traffic stop, whereas seatbelt wearing? C'mon. In some cases it's easy, but you can't tell me that there's a whole lot of accuracy in spotting that violation at 10pm on a rainy night in relatively fast-moving traffic. The pull-over would be based on, "well gee, it sure didn't LOOK like you were wearing your seat belt."
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Replying to: kirstie_h (May 03, 2007 10:34 am)
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Now the cops wouldn't say they couldn't see a seatbelt just for an excuse to stop someone, would they? grin. Local note about cops: Award-winning cop gets DUI I looked for a link to a news story about a bar patron with many DUIs ran over a woman in the parking lot and then backed over her a couple of times. Good samaritan |
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