on my way up to thunderhill raceway today. for those of you familiar with the drive, right when you get off 80 onto 505, 505 has really nice and smooth new pavement for the first 15 miles or so.

speed limit is 70. i was doing 75, going over a small hill and the cop was sitting on the side on his motorcycle with the radargun in his hand.

a few miles down the road, i see him coming up on me from behind. he stays behind my car for a mile or two, then pulls up next to me and gives me the thumbs up!

while i was still going 75 ...
Andy

Outragously cool! Or have you seen the movie Wild Hogs? not that there's anything wrong with that...

I bet that was scary after getting a ticket just a few months back. Must of been quite
a relief when he gave you that thumbs up.

How accurate is your speedo? Mine is off 8%. Just a thought. You were prolly only doing 69mph........ iffin yer off 8% like me.

It's an omen.....

the numbers in the post above are already adjusted for speedo-offness ...
Andy

Wish things had turned out this way last week when a pair of Oakland cycle cops clocked me starting up Claremont Avenue ... That'll teach me to bother trying to go to work after the morning rush is over.

I can't speak for all cops, but I don't always stop everyone I clock speeding. Sometimes we have no choice as the city council or administration says "go write tickets there..." I am generally more concerned with unsafe driving, than someone going a few miles over. I am not a motorcycle cop, however. Traffic enforcement is all they do... good luck getting so much as a warning out of them. If you do, count yourself among the lucky. In most major cities (like mine), cops are much more concerned with catching real crooks than writing speeding tickets. Traffic stops are a means to catching these crooks. My son in law, also a cop, just took 300g of Methamphetamine off of a guy for a busted headlight. I've taken several pounds of weed off a guy for an expired registration sticker.... That's what we're really after. Last bit of advice... don't ask for a warning--the cop's already made up his mind usually. Tears from a female are also an instant ticket from me. Just my $0.02.

--Jaybird

Lucky you Andy, they usually fly past me at 90+ trying to catch the Corvette I was baiting...

I'm not sure what exactly is the measure by which traffic enforcement applies the rules outside of the obvious dangerous driving/conditions/drunk driving, etc.

Returning from a Sears Point race weekend with a Deputy Sheriff friend driving his dually and towing my trailer up the Grapevine (a heavily patrolled stretch), the CHP pulls along side while my friend is towing at 70MPH (a full 15MPH over the limit). My first thought was what the ensuing conversation was going to be between these two? To my chagrin, the CHP officer makes two five finger fgestures (for 55), and accellerates away! If I were driving, I somehow bet I would have been pulled over.

Andys

+ + = sehr gutt

Photo ticket???

haha one time I was way beyond the speed limit on a racing bicycle in Queens. 40 in a 30 and hogging the road.

Cops got up along side of me and started yelling over the loud speaker at me. I thought I was getting pulled over but they were cheering me on. That was pretty insane!!

Must be the haircut.

the VC is yo' PC My best friend is a Long Beach cop, can ya tell? And you know you can just "tell" which car needs a VC stop if you catch my drift.

again, same thing my friend says. The water works really gets him going too - if they start that I think he starts looking for a reason to hook 'em in fact

I suspect somehow maybe that cop just wanted to check out Andy's car... could be another teener cop out there! Back years ago I had a 1970 Mustang fastback that was, to say the least, obnoxious. One night I was on a somewhat desolate street in Irvine, CA and decided to click off a quarter mile. I was hardly done with my tire-roasting 60 ft launch and I saw the cop car come flying. He reamed me a bit, then asked about the car, yadda yadda and ends up complimenting me on the nice burn-out and patting the window sill as he walked back to the car. Some guys get it, some are cops for penis issues. Sounds like there are three cops out there that get it Jaybird

I very much suspect that this is the case. It's a twisty road that goes over a highway tunnel (CA-24) that's always backed up in both directions, and there are homes on the lower slopes. It's also a favorite with bicyclists, so it's even odds whether the homeowners or cyclists complain more about the vehicle traffic.

In California, if you can get the cop to tell you he was sent out to write tickets, thats enough for the court to let you off. Quotas and orders like that are illegal under CA law. (according to ticketassassin.com)

Yeah CHP are great! Whenever I'm going the opposite way on a cement wall divided road doing about 80 MPH they give me the freindly Porsche headlight flash. I dont know how they know I'm a Porsche driver as I'm always in my Mazda?

Since we are on the subject of speeding I have been hearing people are challenging tickets in court with GPS logs from their cars. Of course that only works if youre not speeding and the officer makes a mistake.

Wheww....that was was a close one. (wipe the sweat off your forehead). You actually got away with going 5mph over in a 70mph zone? Slow it down Bud...you're gonna kill someone!

Yes, that's true in Texas, too. They can't tell you to write a specific number of ticktets, but they can "suggest" that you go "work traffic" in a specific area. I'm pretty sure the prosecutor would let you off for that one.

I would agree that any evidence you could provide showing your actual speed would exonerate you. My department now uses the GPS in our patrol cars to calculate our speed on internal affairs complaints. It is also reviewed in officer involved collisions and pursuits. So, when you tell your Sgt. "I think I was going about 60..." and he replies "GPS has you at 95", you don't have much of a leg to stand on....

-bird

I was so proud when I got a speeding ticket in my electric 914. Almost got out of it when he discovered it was electric...but 85 in a 65 was just too much! I did give him a tip though that if he ever pulls over another electric car or hybrid, tell the driver to remove the key from the ignition...

TicketAssassin recommends that whenever you are pulled over you should pull the keys out and put them in plain sight, just to put the officer at ease.

I did it once, and the cop came to the passenger side door, which I wasn't expecting, and then I couldn't roll the window down. So I felt like an idiot.