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8/26/2008 1:06:18 PM

Statewide
Enforcement Action Taken by Driver's Sex, Race, and Ethnicity
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Report From 1/1/2008 through 6/30/2008

White Black
410037 184524
(64%) (29%)

From 2006 census
White 74%
Black 21.7%

This a neat little tool. You can check up on your police deptartments where you live (in NC):
http://trafficstops.ncsbi.gov/Default.aspx?pageid=2

[Edited on August 26, 2008 at 1:38 PM. Reason : Rule 10: Be white]

8/26/2008 1:37:14 PM

Undercover cop cars = Dodge magnums/rams

8/26/2008 7:20:12 PM

Quote :

""Do you know how fast you were going?""

What's the polite way to say "no comment" here?

8/26/2008 7:29:54 PM

Quote :

"7. Always be more cautious at the end of the month. Cops have quotas, they need to meet them."

That's completely false. It's actually illegal for a quota system like that to exist.

8/26/2008 7:50:25 PM

Quote :

"That's completely false. It's actually illegal for a quota system like that to exist."

It is illegal for many of those systems to exist.....on paper. In reality, they are everywhere.

8/26/2008 8:01:27 PM

I mean, there is a system in place, but it's not a "quota system." If a cop doesn't give out shit as far as speeding tickets for an entire month, then he's obviously just being slack. There's nothing saying you have to give out x number of tickets over a period of time.

8/26/2008 8:36:58 PM

If possible, try to keep up with the type of cop cars. Chargers, Mustangs, Crown Vics...etc

A charger was coming up on me on a two lane highway...I didn't know whether or not it was a cop, so I slowed down. Sure enough it was and he clocked me...

8/26/2008 9:02:44 PM

I've seen an undercover blue 350z with gold wheels on 485 in charlotte.

8/26/2008 9:17:33 PM

^^^HP officers will look slack unless they get a certain amount of tickets per month, which is one way of measuring their performance. There ya go, quota

^^Totally. If there's a suspicious fullsized domestic car on the road, I treat it as a cop until I can tell otherwise. That being a closer visual inspection or the way other cars are acting around the car in question. Also, don't forget about Chevy Tahoes & Ford Explorers.

8/26/2008 9:32:18 PM

SHP drives a lot of unmarked dodge chargers. Crown Victorias are still in use by a lot of county & local departments; on the interstate I'd rather be stopped by the SHP than one of these rubes, most of them are crooked. And yeah, chevy blazers and ford explorers are used as well. Chevy Impalas and even Luminas are still in use. I don't know whether anyone still uses Camaros.

Things to look for on a suspected unmarked unit:
Extra antennas - may be on the roof, trunk, or hood. May be 3' tall to 6" tall. If it's not permanently mounted (exposed coax cable) it's probably not a cop.
Absence of non-official bumper or window stickers.
Strobe lights - look for box-shaped or reflective objects in the top or bottom of the rear windshield, the top or bottom of the front windshield, on the rearview mirror, in the front grille, or above the rear license plate.
Driver who looks like a cop (buzz-cut or shaved head, uniform shirt or jacket with sleeve patches & badge, polo shirt with embroidered insignia).
Driver keeps looking down (running license plates on his computer).
Reflective safety vest or jacket hanging on one of the front seats.
Prisoner cage partition.

Use your judgment based on all the visual clues. If it has a lot of antennas but has a fat white dork at the wheel, it's probably an amateur radio enthusiast.

Of course I've mistaken civilian cars for cop cars. I freaked out when the headlights behind me looked just like a crown vic and followed me closely for several miles, then turned out to be a bitch in a goddamn volvo. Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car headlights look just like a Crown Vic at night.

A radar detector combined with a state of alertness will help. Don't rely on the detector alone.

If you're on a road other than an interstate and you see a cop in the distance behind you, if you can, pull into a business parking lot, like a restaurant, gas station, strip mall, something that's open at that hour, and wait for him to pass by. I did that in Ellerbe when a county mountie was driving erratically 2 cars behind me.

8/27/2008 9:40:13 AM

Don't speed in Virgina:
"Speed limit enforced by aircraft"
Also radar detectors are illegal and the cops know if you have one turned on, even if it's not visible.

Quotas are illegal but "performance goals" are not.

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 11:17 AM. Reason : []

8/27/2008 11:16:02 AM

Quote :

"1. Don't excessively speed in the first place. Most cops set up in speed traps don't bother pulling anyone over unless you're doing 15+ over the limit."

i'd argue that it's 9+ over since that's what it takes to get points on your license. if you are 9mph or under you just pay a fine & 0 points on your license.

when i speed i peg it at 9 over, no more. but since the speed limit is 75mph in CO (most places) that's still 84mph

although i think anything over 80mph and they have the right to suspend your license for 30 days, fine is higher, and points on your license (i think).

i got pulled going 74mph on a VERY VERY VERY straight and VERY VERY flat road in pitch black darkness in the middle of nowhere near CO and NM border. got pulled by a dodge charger SHP at like 12 midnight. got off with a warning.

he pulled me over, just me and him and no one else in a 10-mile radius i'd imagine, and he said "i have you clocked at 74 in a 65" (i think it wasn't 75 b/c it was a US route, not an interstate).... i couldn't think of anything to say, so I just said, "ok...." he looked a bit baffled, took my license/registration, came back and just gave me a warning

[Edited on August 27, 2008 at 12:50 PM. Reason : .]

8/27/2008 12:47:50 PM

Quote :

"he pulled me over, just me and him and no one else in a 10-mile radius i'd imagine, and he said "i have you clocked at 74 in a 65" (i think it wasn't 75 b/c it was a US route, not an interstate).... i couldn't think of anything to say, so I just said, "ok...." he looked a bit baffled, took my license/registration, came back and just gave me a warning "

my response would have been SOO......

In a construction zone on I77 my dad was pulled for going fifty fucking nine 59 in a 55.

I am certain the steady state error of the radar or the speedometer could account for this at the least.

8/27/2008 1:01:47 PM

Only time I've ever gotten a (real)* ticket?

Cop (RPD) walks up, immediately asked for my license and registration, walked back to his car, and came back and said "your court date is []. 58 in a 45, and expired registration."
No chance for me to ever be polite, or even say hello.

a couple hundred more feet, and it would have been ~58 in a 35 - this was on Gorman

*:the other was for an expired registration, on my car (the speeding ticket was before I had a car, and drove my bf's), at avent ferry and western. I was in the left lane at the light, and since this jackass behind me with his brights was clearly impatient, I got in the right lane right as I passed Nazareth, and he gets behind me. I'm sitting here going 'WTF JACKASS' when I realized
1) there's print on the front of his hood (state capitol police)
2) that's not a rack on the top of his car

8/27/2008 1:20:58 PM

Someone told me about to keep stuff off you insurance. It sounds bogus to me but when you go to pay off your ticket:

1 Mail in your check but write it for 2 dollars more than the amount needed ($77 instead of $75)
2 They will send you a check for $2
3 Don't cash the $2 check and your ticket will remain pending
4 Pending tickets won't transfer to your insurance company
5 ???
6 Profit!

8/27/2008 2:19:07 PM

^ Ive heard the same, anyone know if this is true? If it is, any chance of it screwing me over down the road?

8/27/2008 7:01:37 PM

^ There's no way that can be true.

8/27/2008 7:25:07 PM

Quote :

"i'd argue that it's 9+ over since that's what it takes to get points on your license. if you are 9mph or under you just pay a fine & 0 points on your license. "

[NO]

first of all, license points and insurance points are two different things. Besides that, a 9-over ticket results in you getting both license and insurance points. However, if you have a totally clean slate within the last 3 years (at least in NC) otherwise, insurance companines are required not to charge you for a 9-over ticket or less (and also very minor accidents, resulting in less than a certain amount of damage. i think it's $1000). However, if you get even a second 9-over ticket within the following 3 years, you get charged for both of them.

Quote :

"IMHO traffic infractions should have no effect on insurance."

True. Supposedly, insurance companies charge you more if you get tickets because you are a greater risk for having an accident and causing them to have to pay out money. If that's the case, why not just hammer people who ACTUALLY CAUSE ACCIDENTS?

Quote :

"don't speed in the city, ever. if speeding on the highway, go 9 over. "

you can pretty much always go at least 9-over anywhere, in the city or not. In fact, if you really want to gnat's ass it, get a GPS and do 9-over on GPS, not speedo indication (prob buy you an extra couple MPH). In reality, it's rare to get ticketed for <15 over, but it does happen occassionally.

Quote :

" What's the polite way to say "no comment" here? "

Don't say "No comment". Say "No, I don't know."

Quote :

"Don't speed in Virgina: "Speed limit enforced by aircraft" "

that's in lots of places...but yeah, VA is a bunch of bitches about traffic ticketing.

Quote :

"Also radar detectors are illegal and the cops know if you have one turned on, even if it's not visible"

Depends on which RADAR detector-detector he's using, and what RADAR detector you're using. You can beat the system here if you want (i.e., spend enough money and use the device carefully), but if you DO manage to get caught, you'll buy the ticket 100% of the time and get your detector confiscated at a minimum.

Quote :

"although i think anything over 80mph and they have the right to suspend your license for 30 days, fine is higher, and points on your license (i think). "

Varies by state, but yes, these things are pretty common.

8/27/2008 10:53:09 PM

Quote :

" If you're on a road other than an interstate and you see a cop in the distance behind you, if you can, pull into a business parking lot, like a restaurant, gas station, strip mall, something that's open at that hour, and wait for him to pass by."

Interesting. I got a speeding ticket once from a cop who was heading the other way on the interstate. I didn't think twice about it until I saw the blue lights (he got me and another guy). Now, if I see a cop going the other way on the interstate and I'm relatively alone and speeding egregiously, I'll get off for a minute or two or get off and take back roads to the next entrance if I know the area. I usually keep my speed to ~7-9 over, but sometimes on longer drives it creeps up a little higher.

Speaking of multiple people being pulled over at once, twice that has been the case for me: the time mentioned above and another time in South Carolina.

[Edited on August 28, 2008 at 1:14 AM. Reason : ]

8/28/2008 1:12:00 AM

So should I stop going 80 in a 45 on the bike? I keep noticing that I'm going way too fast (According to the law) on it, it's weird. It's nothing super fast in terms of bikes, but it's not what I'd call slow either. It's got enough power and torque to roll out quick in pretty much any gear son, so I keep noticing that I'm moving kind of quickly. I also hate being around cars if I don't have to be so I go the fuck around and put some distance on them, maybe that's part of it.

8/28/2008 7:17:46 AM

Quote :

"Speed limit enforced by aircraft""

Ah yes, forgot to mention this one. I'm always leary of low flying slow moving planes (think Pipers, Cessna's, etc.). Sure there are amateur flyers out there, but when they're hanging around interstates that is just too much coincidence to me.

Quote :

"Someone told me about to keep stuff off you insurance. It sounds bogus to me but when you go to pay off your ticket: 1 Mail in your check but write it for 2 dollars more than the amount needed ($77 instead of $75) 2 They will send you a check for $2 3 Don't cash the $2 check and your ticket will remain pending 4 Pending tickets won't transfer to your insurance company 5 ??? 6 Profit!"

Thats BS, it doesn't work.

Quote :

"Also radar detectors are illegal and the cops know if you have one turned on, even if it's not visible."

Radar detectors are only illegal in a few states, VA comes instantly to mind. Radar detectors are legal in NC. Of course if the cop notices you have a detector you are far more likely to get a ticket. So try to keep it in a low visibility area, and if you think you're about to get pulled take it down and try to keep it out of sight from the cop.

A 9 over ticket is nothing to worry about. They're rarely given out and are easy to argue in court.

9/1/2008 12:41:17 AM

9/1/2008 12:48:11 AM

overpaying for your ticket in fact does work.

my worst ticket was doing 60+ in a 30. Pretty much i was being dumb, trying to see how fast i could take a twisty mountain road. no one else was around. Will never do that again, but the overpaying trick worked, still not on my insurance.

9/1/2008 1:10:22 PM

^overpaying a ticket DOES NOT work. Check Snopes if you don't believe me: http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/ticket.asp . Just b/c you didn't get any points doesn't mean anything. I've gotten tickets in VA where I didn't get any points, and I paid the tickets in full.

9/1/2008 4:58:38 PM

This would suck if it is brought over here:
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/61491

Basically there are two cameras a few miles apart and if you reach the second camera too fast, you get a ticket. Not sure how you'd beat that.

9/15/2008 12:31:53 PM

That probably will not be coming over here. It'd face the same legal issues the red light cameras are dealing with now.

Besides, most areas of the country that have toll booths with EZ-Pass wouldn't need this. You could easily set up EZ-Pass to time you between two toll boths. They've done this in other countries for years. If it was gonna happen over here it already would have.

9/15/2008 1:17:25 PM

be friends with the police chief

9/16/2008 10:50:09 AM

fuck that

be friends with the DA

9/16/2008 11:41:31 AM

fuck that

be friends with the DA President of the United States of America and get a Presidetial Pardon.

9/16/2008 1:24:30 PM

In NC, MOST of the unmarked trooper cars on the highway have plates that say SHP-****. If you come up behind one and can't tell if it is a trooper or not, thats one way to help determine it. Saw one yesterday in fact on 540, normal NC license plate with red letters.

9/16/2008 3:53:49 PM

Quote :

" Sure there are amateur flyers out there, but when they're hanging around interstates that is just too much coincidence to me. "

plenty of non-instrument rated pilots just out flying for fun use highways as a prominent feature to navigate by. this accounts for a lot of the light civil aircraft flying near interstates.

9/16/2008 5:17:04 PM

Whenever I come up behind a possible unmarked cruiser I check for certain things...
- The obvious..."SHP" as the first letters of the license plate, antennas, etc.
- Dealer stickers. If it says "Don Murray Chevrolet" it's probably not a cop.
- License plate frames. From the dealer, aftermarket, etc. Cops just don't have them.
- Any personalization items from stickers to magnets, etc.
- Things hanging from the rear view mirror. I have yet to see a Christmas tree air freshener in a cop car.
- Upgrade rims. If it was an optional factory part or an aftermarket part it probably isn't going to be on a police car.

As I approach to pass I look at the driver. Does he have a cop haircut? Is he wearing a patterned shirt? Is he in a short sleeve shirt?

How many people are in the car? If there are two then look at the passenger. If it looks like an official vehicle, but there is someone in the backseat they're probably just transporting a prisoner and they won't be concerned with your speeding (within reason.)

9/16/2008 5:53:40 PM

They have speed cameras in D.C.

shift+6 however many

9/16/2008 7:30:25 PM

Stay in a pack of cars and don't stand out. Try and stay out of the passing lane and if you are passing don't do it at light speed. Be smooth in your driving and don't make erratic lane changes.

9/20/2008 6:17:56 PM