last night i got pulled going 31 in a 20, but the cop was parked in a private driveway with all of his lights off. someone mentioned to me that cops have to at least have their parking lights on, anyone know how true this is?

1/15/2007 2:11:15 PM

this sounds like the "highway patrolman has to put on his hat before he gets out of the vehicle"

MYTH

1/15/2007 2:12:07 PM

1/15/2007 2:12:43 PM

It's actually true. Typically, they sit with their lights off and at the last second put on their parking lights after you've already been busted.

1/15/2007 2:13:14 PM

considering a cop can pull someone over if he happened to have his car OFF when he sees someone do something wrong i would say this is incorrect

1/15/2007 2:13:37 PM

i see them sitting in the dark with just the glow of their laptop quite often.

[Edited on January 15, 2007 at 2:18 PM. Reason : haha, stting in their dark]

1/15/2007 2:18:38 PM

dont go 31 in a 20 mph zone and it doesn't matter if he has his lights on or not.

1/15/2007 2:19:23 PM

pwnt

it isnt hard to just drive less than 10 over

1/15/2007 2:23:32 PM

ive been pulled for doing less than 10 over
but he probably just recognized my car description from when i was pulled a few minutes ago

1/15/2007 2:28:56 PM

I see cops with all their lights off all the time. I don't think it's an enforced rule.

1/15/2007 2:36:25 PM

ditto

1/15/2007 2:45:12 PM

I think they have to have permission to sit in private driveways, too (seriously)

1/15/2007 2:49:01 PM

You: Well he didn't have his parking lights on so the ticket is invalid.

Cop: I had my parking lights on and clocked him doing 31 in a 20

Judge: j00=pwnt

1/15/2007 2:50:39 PM

this is just like last year on the inner beltline when cops just hid inside abandoned cars on the highway median and tagged folks for speeding....then communicated to some cop up the road....they are getting smarter.....

[Edited on January 15, 2007 at 2:53 PM. Reason : k]

1/15/2007 2:53:08 PM

Not to go too off topic, but I got pulled once for rolling through a stop sign. The kick in the pants is that I didn't roll through the stop sign, because I saw the cop before I reached the stop sign and made sure that I didn't roll through the stop. In fact, I let a car pass through the intersection in the time that I was at the stop.

She gave me a ticket anyway.

1/15/2007 3:14:53 PM

a cop does NOT have to have his lights on.

a cop can be hovering if he wants.

a cop can be in a private driveway. you were on a public road breaking the law, get over it.

1/15/2007 3:17:47 PM

Police officers look for your car to rock back, otherwise you did not come to a complete halt and it's a roll through.

1/15/2007 3:17:54 PM

Yeah, but I could have practically been in park. It's a moot point anyway, because the judge dismissed it for some reason unbeknownst to me.

[Edited on January 15, 2007 at 3:23 PM. Reason : i]

1/15/2007 3:22:50 PM

wow

1/15/2007 3:25:59 PM

this thread reminds me of the time baonest asked a cop if its true that "if I get pulled over but didn't see the cop where he was hiding, do i still get a ticket"

1/15/2007 3:33:30 PM

31 in a 20 is a gay ticket to give... but thinking that the cop needed his lights on is gayer

1/15/2007 3:36:33 PM

i never go more than 9 over nowadays

1/15/2007 5:09:52 PM

Quote :

"Police officers look for your car to rock back, otherwise you did not come to a complete halt and it's a roll through."

If you brake correctly, your car shouldn't rock back.

1/15/2007 5:12:25 PM

Quote :

" If you brake correctly, your car shouldn't rock back."

Seriously. I got pulled and given a ticket for that crap 5 years ago. The dumb thing was the cop was a state trooper who was doing about 70 on a 2-lane country road at night. He was so far away when he saw me stop that there's no way he could tell if I actually did stop or not. So I was given a ticket by this toolbag who was recklessly endangering the lives of others.

1/15/2007 5:22:28 PM

I asked a cop (a friend), in charlotte meck there is no rule about having your lights on, its a completely bullshit myth.

1/15/2007 5:33:42 PM

I honestly think the cop pulled me because of how I was driving after the stop. For some reason, there was a ping pong ball under my brake pedal, and I bent down to get it out and managed to swerve a little bit. It wasn't until after that, a couple blocks away, that she pulled me over.

She was trying to look into my car (perhaps to see if I had bent down to hide something?) and was asking me where I was coming from. I was like "uh, bojangles". It was maybe 10am on a Saturday.

1/15/2007 5:34:24 PM

I just remembered something that happened to my cousin in Wilmington a while back. He was being followed by a cop late at night who was driving w/out lights. The cop rode his bumper for a while, then suddenly flipped on his headlights, blue lights and siren, did a u-turn in the middle of the road and pulled somebody over. So apparently they can drive without lights on if they want.

1/15/2007 5:47:01 PM

even us meager folk can park with all of lights off so i'm pretty sure it's ok for a cop to do so too

1/15/2007 5:49:39 PM

another rule is that if the police car goes airborne, you automatically are set free.

it's called the rosco p. coltrane exemption.

true story.

1/15/2007 5:55:17 PM

I <3 TallyHo

he is something I'd be interested in

1/15/2007 5:58:25 PM

Cops may be "supposed" to use their parking lights in certain situations for safety, but that doesn't have anything to do with you speeding.

1/15/2007 7:07:01 PM

Quote :

"I just remembered something that happened to my cousin in Wilmington a while back. He was being followed by a cop late at night who was driving w/out lights. The cop rode his bumper for a while, then suddenly flipped on his headlights, blue lights and siren, did a u-turn in the middle of the road and pulled somebody over. So apparently they can drive without lights on if they want. "

police are supposed to abide by the law.

1/15/2007 7:20:30 PM

Quote :

"Police officers look for your car to rock back"

So I can just floor it through a stop sign?

1/15/2007 7:35:31 PM

Quote :

"highway patrolman has to put on his hat before he gets out of the vehicle"

is that really i myth? If it is, I just bought the bridge

1/15/2007 8:23:32 PM

Quote :

"I <3 TallyHo he is something I'd be interested in"

[Edited on January 15, 2007 at 9:36 PM. Reason : omg bob ryan the channel 4 weatherman in dc?]

1/15/2007 9:35:45 PM

My first speeding ticket the guy was sitting on a country at like 10 pm with no moon out. He had everything blacked out just waiting for somebody and busted me wide open. Also he put the wrong date/time on the ticket. But I just got it reduced. The DA just laughed when I pointed out these two things.

1/15/2007 9:41:39 PM

On 40..i passed a cop going 85....i didn't realize it until i passed him. I saw him in my rear view mirror and then slammed my brakes. he saw the whole thing but didn't pull me over... phew...

[Edited on January 15, 2007 at 10:48 PM. Reason : .]

1/15/2007 10:47:10 PM

actually, according to North Carolina statutes, cops dont have to abide some traffic laws. They arent required to go the speed limit or wear seatbelts, and they sure as hell dont have to keep their parking lights on when clocking for speeding. They dont have to wear their seatbelts at all times because they might have to get outta the car fast. And they dont have to have their lights on when speeding because most calls that are responded to are not "emergency" calls that require lights and siren but they still need to get there quickly.
This is as dumb as the myth that says a cop has to tell you how fast you were going. *newsflash* most officers in NC dont have radar but will still pull you.

1/15/2007 10:55:59 PM

I heard all cops have flat feet

1/15/2007 11:10:14 PM

Quote :

"a cop can be hovering if he wants."

bous

They often are scanning from the skies. It ain't paranoia if they really are out to get you.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/01/03/AR2007010301725_2.html

Similar crackdowns have been conducted by the SHP on I-40.

1/15/2007 11:30:27 PM

I noticed the link is messing up. Here's the full article:

Quote :

"That Eye in the Sky? It Sees You Speeding As Congestion Worsens, Virginia Police Are Expanding Aerial Enforcement to Help Curb Aggressive Drivers By Eric M. Weiss Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, January 4, 2007; Page B01 To a state trooper on the side of the road, the gray minivan would be a blur mixed in with the rest of rushing traffic. But from 1,500 feet above Interstate 95, the speeding van immediately stands out, tailgating, weaving from lane to lane, blowing by everyone else. As the van crosses a white horizontal line painted on the highway, a state trooper in an airplane circling above flips a switch on a timer. When the van crosses a second line a quarter-mile away, he flips it again. The van's speed: 91.4 mph. Its position is radioed to police on the ground, who pull the van over. 'That's the kind of guy you're cussing out and asking why the cops aren't catching him,' Sgt. Michael J. Clark, a Virginia State Police pilot, said during a recent mission. 'Well, we're here.' The airborne effort is the latest offensive against aggressive drivers, who lawmakers and police are increasingly targeting because of their roles in causing accidents, highway deaths and everyday driver frustration. Maryland increased penalties against aggressive drivers in 2001, and Virginia passed a law in 2003 designating highway safety corridors and funding additional airborne missions to fight aggressive drivers. 'The recent upsurge in enforcement is a direct result of the department placing an increased emphasis on speeding and reckless drivers,' said Lt. Nick E. Saunders, commander of the Virginia State Police aviation unit, which has a fleet of four Cessna 182s based across the state, including one at Manassas Regional Airport. West Virginia, Indiana and Minnesota have passed aggressive driving laws in the past two years, according to Andrew Delmege, who tracks state legislatures for AAA. He said an additional 10 to 12 states are expected to consider the issue this year. Police in Virginia said that complaints from commuters have jumped considerably in recent years as congestion has worsened. 'Now, it's like every day,' Virginia State Police Sgt. Terry W. Licklider said. 'It may not necessarily be pointing guns or getting into fights but calls about little things: 'He blew his horn, he cut me off, he gave me the finger.' When out of their cars, he said, many aggressive drivers are 'just normal, everyday people.' Signs warning drivers about speed-detecting aircraft are planted along the region's interstates. But the unit had only nine missions resulting in 111 tickets statewide in 2004, compared with 48 missions and almost 70 tickets when aerial enforcement began in 2002. From January to October 2006, the unit flew 31 missions and issued 437 tickets, not including the 23 reckless driving citations issued on a recent Saturday when only those traveling faster than 80 mph were targeted. Police in Virginia have turned to aerial enforcement because it is one of the most effective ways to spot aggressive drivers. Using a trained trooper's eyes and what basically is a high-tech stopwatch, this type of enforcement is immune from radar detectors and jammers. And few drivers look skyward when scanning for speed traps. 'Everybody speeds,' said Virginia State Trooper Michael S. Hackney, 26, who is specially trained in using the Visual Average Speed Computer and Recorder detection system, which employs a time and distance computer to clock speeds. But the speeders Hackney and Clark are searching for are the ones who wait for no one and are stopped by nothing except flashing blue lights in their rearview mirrors. 'They'll whip in different lanes. They're not signaling, they're whipping through. They're the guys you're cursing at,' said Clark, 49, a former Marine helicopter pilot. Three years ago, Virginia increased penalties on stretches of road with higher-than-average accidents and injuries. In Northern Virginia, an 11-mile stretch of I-95 near Potomac Mills mall in Woodbridge is designated as a highway safety corridor, where speeding fines are doubled. Virginia's aggressive driving statute, approved in 2002, makes the offense punishable by up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine and a mandatory anger-management course. Aggressive driving in Virginia is defined as being 'a hazard to others with the intent to harass, intimidate, injure or obstruct another person.' Police said they tend to avoid using the statute, however, because it is much easier to prove reckless driving. In Maryland, an aggressive driving conviction comes with a five-point driver's license penalty and the possibility of a $370 fine, on top of other consequences. Aggressive driving is defined as committing three offenses at the same time or during a continuous period of driving, such as speeding, improper passing or following too closely, said Maryland State Police 1st Sgt. Russell Newell. Maryland used to conduct airborne enforcement, but the state's fleet of fixed-wing aircraft is now used exclusively for homeland security missions, and its helicopters do not have compatible technology. On a recent Saturday, during an aerial mission over the I-95 Woodbridge highway safety corridor, aggressive drivers were not hard to find. Before Virginia State Police cars could be placed in position, an orange sedan was clocked going 84.9 mph and could be seen passing vehicles on the shoulder. In a four-hour shift, the unit snagged almost two dozen drivers -- almost one every 10 minutes -- going faster than 80 mph, including four exceeding 90 mph, which could mean jail time. During one speeding stop, troopers found drugs in a vehicle, which led to additional charges. Across Virginia, there are about 20 stretches of road used for aerial enforcement that have the white horizontal lines. The most disadvantaged drivers in aerial enforcement are those with yellow, red, orange and pink vehicles, which stick out on a highway filled with silver sedans and black trucks. From above, a yellow Nissan Xterra could be seen from miles away, weaving from lane to lane and traveling far faster than the vehicles around it, making it easy to spot and even easier to pull over. Other vehicles with distinguishing characteristics, such as Hummers, Chevrolet Avalanches, convertibles and even cars with sunroofs, can make detection from the sky easier. Meanwhile, a silver Honda Accord, sans sunroof, is virtually invisible. Clark said that when he tells people what he does, they are surprised to learn that all those signs posted along the interstate are not just scare tactics. 'They are like, "You guys really do that?" And I say, "Yeah. We do.""

1/15/2007 11:41:53 PM

Quote :

"I just remembered something that happened to my cousin in Wilmington a while back. He was being followed by a cop late at night who was driving w/out lights. The cop rode his bumper for a while, then suddenly flipped on his headlights, blue lights and siren, did a u-turn in the middle of the road and pulled somebody over. So apparently they can drive without lights on if they want."

Man, that shit happened to me in high school. I used to work on the tech crew at the auditorium so after a late load-out we went to WH for some food. Ended up leaving at twoish. Driving down I40 and all of a sudden this car appears out of nowhere with his brights on, riding my ass like a motherfucker. I was MAYBE going a few over. I slowed down to let him pass, but he stayed on my tail. So I hit the turn signal and hopped in the other lane, and BAM blue lights.

He checked license and registration, and asked me why I changed lanes, and I of course said "because someone was tailing me with their high beams on and it was distracting". He asked me where I was coming and going from and gave me some shit for not signing my registration and sent me on my way.

So moral of the story... unless you're one of the few COOL cops out there, FUCK da police!

(I wear a uniform too, but when I'M in uniform I respect civilians 100%... even if they don't deserve it)

1/15/2007 11:54:04 PM

Do not use a PJC for that.

1/16/2007 1:37:37 AM

man that's crazy.

[Edited on January 16, 2007 at 1:51 AM. Reason : eh spelling]

1/16/2007 1:51:37 AM

Quote :

"He was being followed by a cop late at night who was driving w/out lights. The cop rode his bumper for a while, then suddenly flipped on his headlights, blue lights and siren, did a u-turn in the middle of the road and pulled somebody over. So apparently they can drive without lights on if they want."

i had a deputy do that. it was really late at night and he was following so closely that i could see him clearly from the glow of his dash lights. of course, he rear ended me. totalled the hell out of my new car, injuries all around. police did tests on the fragments of his exterior lights proving that they were not on. i got a huge settlement.

insta-bling. i'm sure that deputy never did that again.

1/16/2007 1:56:34 AM

They were suppose to give me a hat too???

1/16/2007 4:08:23 AM

lol, so many law experts on TWW

1/16/2007 4:11:03 AM

Quote :

"insta-bling. i'm sure that deputy never did that again."

insta-bling. i'm sure that deputy never did that worked for that department again.

1/16/2007 9:28:39 AM

Quote :

"This is as dumb as the myth that says a cop has to tell you how fast you were going. *newsflash* most officers in NC dont have radar but will still pull you. "

They don't? I never knew that. Then how do they clock you for speeding? Isn't there a law that says cops can't "clock" you by judging how fast you are going compared to them or to other cars and that they have to actually clock you with their gun? or is that just another myth?

1/16/2007 9:36:18 AM

The cop has to have a method of measuring speed. In court you can bring up the fact of how he or she determined the speed you were going.

1/16/2007 9:42:03 AM