I've a question for our police officers..

[brtaus]

Originally Posted by Rayner

My belief is if they can be selectively enforced, they are by their nature arbitrary.

Wrong. The definition of arbitrary from dictionary.com:

1.subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one's discretion
2. decided by a judge or arbiter rather than by a law or statute

It means the law is the law but how the law is applied is arbitrary.

The best example of this is you and your lawyer fighting a ticket. The law says the speed limit is 55, you get a ticket doing 70. The law says x, y, z will happen for this violation. You and your lawyer go to court, talk with the prosecutor, and only x happens. That is the arbitrary application of the law. The law remained the same but the application of the law did not = arbitrary.

Originally Posted by Rayner

I mean think of all the laws on the books and how they differ from place to place two examples:

Tint -- In California, you can't have tint on your front side windows. In Texas you can, but you're limited to the level. In other states, they don't give a rat's @$$ what your tint level is. That's arbitrary. Because there is no need for such a law, someone just "decided" it was a good idea.

Front plates -- Some places require them, some don't care. When you're pulled over, the cop is behind you anyway, so why require a front plate?

One state has a max speed of 55 and one has a max speed of 75 on their highways. One state up in the Pacific Northwest doesn't (or didn't as of 10 years ago) have a speed limit at all. Again -- arbitrary.

Each state has there own set of laws, so....? That's not arbitrary. They are their laws. Again, how those laws are applied is arbitrary. And who cares what each state says is or is not legal. The residents of those states voted, in most cases, to enact those laws. I have to agree with Evil Twin on this; if you don't like a certain law in your state, start a movement.

As for you traveling from state-to-state, this is where we agree, it is my firm belief that you/your car should not held to the other states standards if you are traveling through the state. For instance, my car regsitration and drivers license is issued through the State of AZ, and I am a resident of AZ. It was posted in the C5 Fest forum about the tint law in GA which, in short, says all cars, no matter where registered, must abide by thier tint law, which is 32% all the way around. How can I be held to their standard when I don't live there, pay taxes there or anything there other than just visiting. If I were to receiving a ticket for my tint while in GA, you can bet I would fight it.

Originally Posted by Rayner

"Some guy" or group of guys "somewhere" decided what YOU can and cannot do with your car.

Right, its called your government. Whether the laws were enacted before you were of voting age or not is irrelevant. You are of voting age now, so do something about it.

[brtaus]

Originally Posted by Skyman 08

Man some of these excuses are getting so ridiculous...
Only thing to say is.. you have a speed limit. no matter if you are going 1 MPH over or 50 MPH over technically you are breaking the law no matter what YOU think a safe speed is. If you get busted for speeding, and you were even doing 1 MPH over you have no legal argument to why you were doing it, own up to it and pay your fine...
I am done with this crap.

I do have to disagree with this and only for this reason. Speedometers are not perfectly calibrated; there is some degree of error. If my cruise is set to 65, and the limit is 65, I could actually being doing 66 or 64 or 67 or 63. I am not sure about cars, but I know with motorcycles, the higher the speed you go (on the speedo) the more the error can be.

[Jamison711]

I got my first one in my camaro the other week. It was at like two in the morning I was on my way home from work in B F E and got a damn ticket for a rolling stop. So idk ive always been prone to getting a ticket before a warning especially with my new car now

[Blue70SS]

Originally Posted by Rayner

Another misinformed driver. Detectors are useless.

No disrespect but

Depends on what is used in your area and how you accurately interperate and use the warnings. Having it act as an accuracy check to your speedometer with GPS can't be disputed. Also always really pay attention to your speed when your driving alone on the road - your a sitting duck unless radar happens to be on constantly. Best you get in this situation is a confirmation you're about to get a ticket. Its different when driving at same speed as other cars on the road and other cars are being targeted so you actually get a warning..... but the most noticeable car usually gets picked when all other things are equal. This is just human nature..... flashy/bright/loud cars draw attention. On the other hand, I've seen people get more tickets with a detector because they think they're invincible so they purposely speed and also don't have a clue how detectors really work or what law inforcement is using in the area. Last, if you do get pulled over and detector is on windshield or signs of it - your MORE likely to get the ticket. Police love to show you it's worthless. All depends on how you use or abuse it (both detector and speed). Bottom line - if your being reckless, obvious speeding, or not using good judgement.... the law always catches up with you.

[sask-man]

1st - you were speeding and not just a few miles an hour over the limit but 30% faster.
2nd - Be polite, dont be an ass, they are just doing there job ol' hoss
3rd - your a young male driving a sports car. Stats put you right at the top of the accident cause list so sure they will target young males, who in many cases are also up to other things.

I feel for ya, but slow it down and you will have money to buy cool parts instead of supporting the state coffuers

[camarossrs2150]

up in newyork where im from it is usally over 20 mph to get troopers excited .i got pulled 78 in a 30 on sunday trooper pulled me over not for speeding but showing off . 30 secs later i was on my way .tinned him and on my way .i know i was wrong but i had to go for it i havent driven it in a while so i went for it . i know slow down . yes it is easy for all of you to say that, but i bet when you guys are driving there is no one telling you to slow down . it is a sports car and you would be lying if you didnt speed. its only cheating if you get caught right .

[Phantom.5SS]

Originally Posted by camarossrs2150

i got pulled 78 in a 30 on sunday trooper pulled me over not for speeding but showing off . 30 secs later i was on my way .tinned him and on my way .i know i was wrong but i had to go for it i havent driven it in a while so i went for it .

And there is the reason why people get whizzed off with cops....As someone "on the job" you of all people should have taken the ticket!! I agree with you that all of us get carried away, NOOOOO dispute there, but if you dish it...you damn well better take it. Some civi will read your post and get bent that you "used the power of the shield" to get off. Anyone else at 78 in a 30 would be giving an autograph.

[camarossrs2150]

Originally Posted by Phantom.5SS

And there is the reason why people get whizzed off with cops....As someone "on the job" you of all people should have taken the ticket!! I agree with you that all of us get carried away, NOOOOO dispute there, but if you dish it...you damn well better take it. Some civi will read your post and get bent that you "used the power of the shield" to get off. Anyone else at 78 in a 30 would be giving an autograph.

true dat, but you know that would never happen no cop in his write mind would right another

[Phase V]

not speeding isnt all that bad, you can drive next to the people with the beaters and make them pissed and jealous cuz they cant have what we have and flaunt it

[JoshBobGuptaMarley]

Just be careful. At some point you have to know that it isnt personal. It's all about keeping you from ending up dead crashed into a tree. These guys have seen it all and I bet if they ever see a car crash with dead teenagers he or she will want people to be safe for the rest of there career. I love that this car is hard not to speed in. It just wants to be fast. Save the speedIng for when you actually are late for something. The cops in your town must be on it for some reason.

[NoUCantDriveIt]

Originally Posted by JoshBobGuptaMarley

Just be careful. At some point you have to know that it isnt personal. It's all about keeping you from ending up dead crashed into a tree. These guys have seen it all and I bet if they ever see a car crash with dead teenagers he or she will want people to be safe for the rest of there career. I love that this car is hard not to speed in. It just wants to be fast. Save the speedIng for when you actually are late for something. The cops in your town must be on it for some reason.

necrothread?

[Steve Dallas]

I wouldn't ever expect a break from a police officer. I'm always polite and courteous, but that's more because I'd rather not instigate anything.

That being said, I've had three incidents in my life where I was pulled over and didn't get a ticket. I'm 48.

The first time was near Anacortes, Washington when I was driving with my mom. Speed limit was 55, and I was probably doing 65. My mom and dad had just gotten divorced. So my mom was pretty upset. When the officer came up to my window, my mom was just bawling because this upset her even more. He gave me a verbal warning, and let me on my way.

The second time, I was down in Los Angeles. I was going to a technical school there and was working at a Wendy's in the evenings. I was driving home from the Glendale Wendy's where I worked back to Pacific Palisades where I was living with my mom. I was about 23 at the time. I headed on the 101 to southbound 405, and once I got on the 405 I opened it up because there was no traffic at 2am. I was probably doing about 120. I got off on Sunset Blvd, and headed west. At the first light, some station wagon came up behind me and started flashing its headlights at me. I took off when the light turned green, and this guy kept flashing his headlights at me. I decided I didn't need to deal with this guy, so I turned right into the hills and he kept following me. I got to a cul-de-sac and he tried to block me as I was turning around. I went around him and kept going. Got to the next light and he wasn't behind me so I kept heading home. A couple of lights later, he came up beside me and the guy with him pulled out a badge. I pulled over, and they both got out of their car with guns drawn and had me get on the ground. At that point I was scared sh*tless because I originally had no idea they were cops. They ended up not arresting me, but giving me a verbal warning.

Last time was more recently in the Camaro. I was heading along a freeway to a Camaro Club meeting. 3 lanes on the freeway. It wasn't very busy, but the right lane had a long line of cars following a truck doing about 55 in a 60. The middle lane had one car in it...a BMW dong about 62ish. The left lane was clear. My exist was about 3 miles ahead and I usually do about 3-5 over, so I get in the left lane and do about 65 to get by the BMW in a sane manner. The BMW speeds up to match my speed. Now, since I need to get over, I speed up a little to pass him...to 70. He matches my speed. Fine, I slow down to pull behind him so I could get in the right lane. He matches my speed. At this point, I say F*** it, and drop it into 3rd and floor it. The BMW tried to match my speed, but that wasn't going to happen. As soon as I'm a couple of car lengths (and doing about 120) ahead I pull over to the right lane and slow down to the speed limit so I can get off the freeway. As I'm on the off ramp nearing the light, I see cop lights flashing behind me. I make a right turn, and another immediate right turn to pull over where its' safe. This officer was a female cop, and asks me why I was doing 85 (whew). I explained what the BMW did, and that his actions were preventing me from getting off at this exit, but that it was wrong to do what I did. She actually had seen the whole thing, and let me off with a verbal.

[Ladybugsmom]

I'm glad this thread was resurrected - I like your stories, Dennis.....

[myold88]

Here in Ct most cops will allow 10 over on local roads and 15 on the interstates. Any more than that and you deserve a tichet imo. I drive my Camaro like there's an officer around every corner. It's the only was to stay ticket free.