So I got pulled over today....

[michaelp23]

...on a blind corner in west Ft. Worth on I-30 at the Loop 820 interchange heaeded back to Abilene. I rounded the corner in the left lane and saw a vehicle parked on the left side of the road (keep in mind the following all happened in about two seconds). I see a person standing next to the vehicle, so I proceeded to move over to the right lane to give them some space. As I move over, the person next to the vehicle jumps out into the left lane that I was just in waving his arms at me. Turns out it was a cop who had gunned me and was pulling me over for speeding. But at that instant, I hadn't even realized yet it was a cop (apparently Ft. Worth cops can wear shorts to work). My wife and I are both startled, not sure what is going on as I try to swerve out of his way.

As we blow past him at highway speed, another cop, also in shorts jumps out, is also waiting outside his car about 100 yards from the first guy. He jumps out into the highway and waves frantically at me as well. (Keep in mind that one, maybe two seconds has elapsed since I saw the first vehicle parked on the side of the highway). I finally see the second cars' markings and realize they are cops. Then it dons on me-SPEED TRAP!!

I managed to get my truck stopped in a reasonable distance. The second cop drives a few hundred yards up to where I stopped and hops out in his shorts to write me up. He was obviously in a hurry, didn't even want to see my insurance. When I mentioned that jumping out and scaring drivers might not be the best way to go about pulling them over, and may even cause an accident, his response was, "How else do you suggest we get drivers to pull over?" I told him"How about getting in your patrol car, turning your lights on, and pulling up behind them, just like police have always done." His smart a$* response was, "We'll keep that in mind."

As he finished writing my ticket, the first cop was already flagging down the next startled driver. What a great source of revenue for the City of Ft. Worth!!

By the way, the thing that baffles me more than anything is the speed he claimed I was going. I had looked at my speed just seconds before that curve, and I was going 68 (speed limit was 60). As I realized what was happening I looked down again, still 68. I have no probelm getting a ticket, they caught me. But they said I was going 73! Why did they feel the need to bump my speed up 5 mph? Could it be to raise a little more revenue for the cash strapped City of FT. Worth?:confused:

[injuredinmelee]

fight it. they wont show.

[pirate4state]

Originally posted by injuredinmelee
fight it. they wont show. true story - they'll be busy jumping out in front of cars LOL

okay, okay...I know police = good guys

blah, blah, blah...

we should respect the badge....

blah, blah, blah...

[injuredinmelee]

Originally posted by michaelp23
...on a blind corner in west Ft. Worth on I-30 at the Loop 820 interchange heaeded back to Abilene. I rounded the corner in the left lane and saw a vehicle parked on the left side of the road (keep in mind the following all happened in about two seconds). I see a person standing next to the vehicle, so I proceeded to move over to the right lane to give them some space. As I move over, the person next to the vehicle jumps out into the left lane that I was just in waving his arms at me. Turns out it was a cop who had gunned me and was pulling me over for speeding. But at that instant, I hadn't even realized yet it was a cop (apparently Ft. Worth cops can wear shorts to work). My wife and I are both startled, not sure what is going on as I try to swerve out of his way.

As we blow past him at highway speed, another cop, also in shorts jumps out, is also waiting outside his car about 100 yards from the first guy. He jumps out into the highway and waves frantically at me as well. (Keep in mind that one, maybe two seconds has elapsed since I saw the first vehicle parked on the side of the highway). I finally see the second cars' markings and realize they are cops. Then it dons on me-SPEED TRAP!!

I managed to get my truck stopped in a reasonable distance. The second cop drives a few hundred yards up to where I stopped and hops out in his shorts to write me up. He was obviously in a hurry, didn't even want to see my insurance. When I mentioned that jumping out and scaring drivers might not be the best way to go about pulling them over, and may even cause an accident, his response was, "How else do you suggest we get drivers to pull over?" I told him"How about getting in your patrol car, turning your lights on, and pulling up behind them, just like police have always done." His smart a$* response was, "We'll keep that in mind."

As he finished writing my ticket, the first cop was already flagging down the next startled driver. What a great source of revenue for the City of Ft. Worth!!

By the way, the thing that baffles me more than anything is the speed he claimed I was going. I had looked at my speed just seconds before that curve, and I was going 68 (speed limit was 60). As I realized what was happening I looked down again, still 68. I have no probelm getting a ticket, they caught me. But they said I was going 73! Why did they feel the need to bump my speed up 5 mph? Could it be to raise a little more revenue for the cash strapped City of FT. Worth?:confused:

glad they were gone before I went through there. Thanks for helping them fill their quotas lol

[michaelp23]

Originally posted by injuredinmelee
fight it. they wont show.

How sure are you they won't show? Before I take off work and drive all the way back to Ft. Worth for the court date, I'd like to know others experiences. It's their word against mine on the speed, and if they show I still wouldn't refute that I was over the limit (but not by as much as they say). My main concern is that their method of flagging down drivers just isn't very safe.:thinking:

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by michaelp23
[B I had looked at my speed just seconds before that curve, and I was going 68 (speed limit was 60). As I realized what was happening I looked down again, still 68. I have no probelm getting a ticket, they caught me. But they said I was going 73! Why did they feel the need to bump my speed up 5 mph? Could it be to raise a little more revenue for the cash strapped City of FT. Worth?:confused: [/B]
I learned that the size of your tires can cause your speedometer to register a different speed than you're actually travelling, so maybe that's it?

[garciap77]

That's one way to pay for the high cost of gasoline! Sorry you got a ticket, but I'm with you, they don't need to jack the speed up to make more money! That's dishonest and wrong. I have a problem with that. In the old days it use to be hard to keep your gun calibrated, not sure how it is done now.

[navscanmaster]

Originally posted by garciap77
That's one way to pay for the high cost of gasoline! Sorry you got a ticket, but I'm with you, they don't need to jack the speed up to make more money! That's dishonest and wrong. I have a problem with that. In the old days it use to be hard to keep your gun calibrated, not sure how it is done now.

Almost no need to calibrate with the newer guns. Laser guns and the top of the line Stalker series of guns usually found in the state trooper/revenue-driven constables/pd traffic division cars are practically self calibrating.

On topic, I don't have a problem with speed traps, but in your case, you could call the local news and they would probably love to roll the cameras on that kind of traffic enforcement! Officer safety is such a big concern for departments that the higher ups might not have a good explanation for why such dangerous activities are taking place on their watch.

[michaelp23]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
I learned that the size of your tires can cause your speedometer to register a different speed than you're actually travelling, so maybe that's it?

I hope not. It's a brand new truck with factory tires. If that's the case, my warranty better cover it!:mad:

[rockdale80]

Originally posted by navscanmaster
Almost no need to calibrate with the newer guns. Laser guns and the top of the line Stalker series of guns usually found in the state trooper/revenue-driven constables/pd traffic division cars are practically self calibrating.

On topic, I don't have a problem with speed traps, but in your case, you could call the local news and they would probably love to roll the cameras on that kind of traffic enforcement! Officer safety is such a big concern for departments that the higher ups might not have a good explanation for why such dangerous activities are taking place on their watch.

Officer safety and public safety. That is a crazy and reckless approach to issuing traffic tickets.

[GreenMonster]

I've been told on more than one occasion by a friend of mine that if you ask to see the radar they are supposed to show you and if it doesn't match the ticket then they have to tear it up. Whether this is true or not, I'm unsure. He tells me to wait to ask until they reappear with the ticket in hand because many times they clear the radar when finishing up the ticket. Any law dogs on the board that can confirm or deny this rumor? My friend's dad is DPS so I consider it to be a good source. It also seems to be pretty logical. If they can't show you evidence on the spot that you were indeed speeding I would think that they wouldn't have much of a case anyways. Otherwise they could just pull anyone over and claim any speed that they wanted.

[kaorder1999]

I was told recently that the police officer DOES NOT have to show you the radar is you ask. They say its a safety issue. Makes sense I guess.

[navscanmaster]

Originally posted by GreenMonster
I've been told on more than one occasion by a friend of mine that if you ask to see the radar they are supposed to show you and if it doesn't match the ticket then they have to tear it up. Whether this is true or not, I'm unsure. He tells me to wait to ask until they reappear with the ticket in hand because many times they clear the radar when finishing up the ticket. Any law dogs on the board that can confirm or deny this rumor? My friend's dad is DPS so I consider it to be a good source. It also seems to be pretty logical. If they can't show you evidence on the spot that you were indeed speeding I would think that they wouldn't have much of a case anyways. Otherwise they could just pull anyone over and claim any speed that they wanted.

Most radar guns have a "lock" feature that they use to capture your speed in a separate number display area from the active speed display. On stalker radars for instance, the display on the left is in green digits, and it is the active target speed display, updating continuously. It can single out the fastest speed in a bunch of cars, or the slowest speed. The middle display is not lit up until you press "lock" on the remote. It stays in big red letters until you press "release." The right-most display is in either green or red, and it is the active patrol car speed.

All current radar guns (patrol car mounted) can do the following:
Patrol idle, target approaching front or back
Patrol idle, target leaving front or back
Patrol moving, target approaching front
Patrol moving, target leaving back

Most revenue driven or traffic enforcing agencies have more expensive guns, such as the stalker, that can do:
Patrol/target moving same direction slower
Patrol/target moving same direction faster

Basically, it doesn't matter whether you are coming up behind a trooper or passing him on the side of the road. He can tell how fast you are going in practically any circumstance if he is properly trained on operating the radar, and that is a given that they are properly trained.

However, it is not a requirement for them to let you see the radar. Many cops leave their guns running constantly instead of flicking them on or off when they think they have a speeder. They might not notice you until their gun lights up "85" while you are passing them. They don't have to lock in the speed either. That can only make their case stronger.

Also, many departments have video systems that automatically record the last thirty seconds before they start recording. In other words, if you pass them, and their radar is hooked into their video system, the video will catch you, your speed or violation, the time/date, car number etc... before they even turn on the lights, which will start the recorder.

Whew....

[ibricky20]

I am a police officer and there is nothing written in the books requiring us to show you the speed on the radar. On showing up to court or not if you are going to fight it you probably have a 50-50 shot on the officer not showing up. Where I work we are required to show up for court whether it is our day off or not. I am not saying i agree with the tactics you described to get you to stop but I can tell you I have been an officer for over five years and that is definately not a safe practice.

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
I was told recently that the police officer DOES NOT have to show you the radar is you ask. They say its a safety issue. Makes sense I guess.
:doh: :doh: Yeah, jumping out in front of speeding cars makes more sense. ;)

[SintonFan]

Originally posted by LH Panther Mom
I learned that the size of your tires can cause your speedometer to register a different speed than you're actually travelling, so maybe that's it?
.
Deb, the size of your tire does make a difference. A tire two sizes bigger(from a factory size) can increase your speed by around 10%. So if your speedometer registers 65 you might actually be driving "around" 6.5 miles faster than you see on the dash. Good call.:)
:D :cool:

[Z motion 10 out on 2]

The Professor Speaks:

I would bet that almost every department has a policy that the officers make all court dates, the only chance you have of an officer not showing up is if he has another court date in district or county court at the same time -- don't count on that. The officer will show.

Officers are NOT required to show you the radar.

About the speed, it is possible that the officer got another car. They do make mistakes and if they were writing a lot of tickets mistakes are made. I would suspect that they were using Lidar (Laser Radar which is deadly accurate) but may have been confused on which car was going what speed particulay if one officer was operating the radar and another was stopping cars.

[lepfan]

[i]

By the way, the thing that baffles me more than anything is the speed he claimed I was going. I had looked at my speed just seconds before that curve, and I was going 68 (speed limit was 60). As I realized what was happening I looked down again, still 68. I have no probelm getting a ticket, they caught me. But they said I was going 73! Why did they feel the need to bump my speed up 5 mph? [/B] I got a ticket in Kansas and the cop said I was going 76...I pitched a fit with this guy (he was a jackas$) Like you I too had looked at my speed just seconds before I saw him...I knew I was doing like 71 or 72, but he said I was doing 76...WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL, come to find out my speedometer was off like 3 mph. It seems the faster I go the more off it is. I felt stupid after I found that out...oh well, the cop will never know.

Now I always double check my speed with my Garmin "Trixi".

[BILLYFRED0000]

Originally posted by pirate4state
true story - they'll be busy jumping out in front of cars LOL

okay, okay...I know police = good guys

blah, blah, blah...

we should respect the badge....

blah, blah, blah...

Rita they are just like us bad attitude and all:devil:

[garciap77]

I use a radar detector and stay about 72 miles per hour. When the detector warning comes on I slow down to 68 miles per hour. So far I have not gotten a speeding ticket since 1982 in Sweetwater. And I did not have a Wylie sticker then!:D ;)