Posted: 10/28/2005 5:29:41 PM EDT
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If you pull someone over for speeding and he has a radar detector in his car do you always give him a ticket or do you ever issue warning tickets to radar detector users? |
| In my city it is still the Officer's discretion when to write a cite or a warning. Having said that, I can't remember ever giving a warning to someone with a radar detector and have never seen the same from another Officer. If you bought a radar detector you bought it to beat the man (especially if you got stopped for speeding) so it is only fair that the man beats you back, so to speak. |
I rarely pull people over for speeding, and if i do its usually becuase its bordering on reckless, or its a pretext stop to a DUI investigation. A radar detector has very little to do with my decision making process. I'll let you in on a little secret though. If i walk up to the car, ask for the driver's license, insurance and registration, and after receiving them I explain to the driver why i stopped him, and his response is something along the lines of "sorry avbout that, i'll slow down." He 99 times out of 100 going to get a warning. If as I walk up to the car and see the driver flip up his rear view mirror in disgust, fidgeting in his seat, turns up his stereo and lights a cigarette, dials his cellphone and lets out a heavy sigh when i get the the car and immediately blurts out a snotty "can i ask why you pulled me over!?" 99 out of 100 times he is going to get a ticket. The reason for that is driver A has indicated that a somple warning will correct the behavior. Driver B has indicated that a warning is unlikely to correct the behavior. |
Even though I'm not a big fan of speed limits as currently implemented, that's actually pretty fair and reasonable. 
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Radar Gun The Bottle Rockets Straight from 12th grade into junior college buddy buddy buddy i passed my exam makin' me a law enforcement person got me a gun and a badge, i'm the man Radar gun radar gun 43 from where i was sitting 30 miles an hour is the law of our land please remove your license, find your registration and what is the name of your insurance man? Radar gun radar gun i'm making money and i'm havin' fun with my radar gun radar gun with my brand new radar gun You know our sheriff, william buckberger says our mayor's got a master plan a new pulse gun means a cost o' livin' and one of them stop lights down on grand Radar gun radar gun i'm making money and i'm havin' fun with my radar gun radar gun with my brand new radar gun Schedule 19 on a special election got our money problems right in hand droppin' them limits like a hot potato fifty down to thirty oh, man, oh, man! Radar gun radar gun i'm making money and i'm havin' fun with my radar gun radar gun with my brand new radar gun brand new shiny simmons radar gun Me and my partner go patrol car cruisin' on the parking lots at the shopping malls scanning those dashes, those mirrors and visors the little detectors that ruin it all Johnny caught one on an '86 t-bird pull up slow just as close as i can milliwatt-seconds on maximum output we'll dust that puppy with one small blast of my Radar gun radar gun i'm making money and i'm havin' fun with my radar gun radar gun with my brand new radar gun <repeat> |
I can understand that thought process. But i try not to involve simple traffic violators in the cat & mouse game of cops & robbers. They are not players on the field so to speak and should be rushed along as soon as possible so i can get back to the 1% that are the real problem. |
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AR15fan - Being polite has worked well for me. I've been pulled over countless times, and have never been cited. Every single time, I knew exactly why I was being pulled over, and I knew that I broke the law. I'm polite, and I fully expect to be cited. I just haven't been yet. Being civil and friendly seems to work wonders. Actually, I have been cited once, come to think of it. It was for not having insurance on a motorcycle I had just wrecked (hit and run). The California Highway Patrolman was visibly upset over being forced to cite me for it (there was no way he could sweep this one under the rug). He was pretty cool, and even gave me a lift to the hospital, so that I wasn't stuck with an ambulance bill. It's kind of funny, because as we started to pull away, he slammed on the brakes, looked over at me, and said "are you going to put your seatbelt on?". I said "Why, who's gonna pull us over?"  He didn't seem to share my sense of humor. I put it on. |
Yeah, I'm always polite to LEOs even when they are being assholes. I have had them let me go and I have had them cite me. All of them seem to be very appreciative when I let them know that I have a firearm with me. |
That is the way I look at it too. I have a radar detector to make it even since they have the radar gun. Therefore if they still catch me it is fair and square. |
| Few people understand the psychology of dealing with a Highway Traffic Cop. Your normal speeder will panic and immediately pull over to the side. This is wrong. It arouses contempt in the cop heart. Make the bastard chase you. He will follow. But he won't know what to make of your blinker signal that says you're about to turn right. This is to let him know you're looking for a proper place to pull off and talk. It will take him a moment to realize that he is about to make 180 degree turn at speed... but you will be ready for it, braced for the G's and the fast heel toe work. |
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| I agree with you, AR15fan, that speeders aren't really 'in play' but I work a K9 on IH35 when I'm on the road. Mostly it is interdiction work and I don't look for speeders or radar detectors as a rule. However it is another tool to use when looking for narco-traffickers on the Intrastate and while I have them stopped, if there is a detector present, it only takesa minute to knock out a cite. When there isn't one present and I'm talking to drivers or running the dog there usually isn't a cite involved. I also agree that attitude plays a role. |