I'm just glad you weren't kinda surprised by a little old lady crossing the road. Good thing it was just a cop doing his job and not something harmful.

paulo

Guitarhacker 
 
previously clean driving record for many years .. in my daughters case, her first, in my case it had been 35 years.....
 
 

 
 
Dunno what it being a long time since you got caught committing the same offence should have to do with anything really. All it proves is that you haven't been caught for a long time, not that you didn't do it.

 
35 years without a ticket shows that for the most part, I obey the laws. Folks who tend to speed will get caught a bit more often than every 35 years.  Several folks I know  disregarded the speed limit laws and were getting tickets on a fairly regular basis.  Some people keep points on their insurance and their license.... not me.
 
I drive at or below the posted limit most of the time and use cruise control to keep it there.... If I'm listening to music or thinking about the job I'm headed to,  it's easy to let that foot get heavy so cruise control works for me.... however,  everyone gets distracted from time to time and looks down to find themselves uncomfortably over the posted limits.... it just so happened on that day that there was a patrolman with radar running during that distracted time.

I was driving an old Corolla in a blizzard one night a few years ago.  We had about a foot of snow on the ground, high winds, and a lot more snow pouring down.  I was driving on a tollway outside of Chicago with very little traffic.  I was maintaining a speed of 45-50 mph due to the limited visibility and road conditions.  A police SUV swerved across all three lanes multiple times before the driver managed to get enough control and pull me over. 
 
He said I was driving too fast for the conditions.  I told him that I did not believe this to be true and that I had complete control at all times.  I explained that I had not been skidding or driving erratically.  He said, "You're driving a front wheel drive little car and I'm driving a four wheel drive SUV and I could barely stay on the road."
 
I answered, "I think that has more to do with the skill of the driver, doesn't it?"  There was an uncomfortable silence.  He went back to his SUV for several minutes.  Eventually, he came back, ordered me to slow down, and let me go.  I think I may have hurt his feelings.
 
They can be touchy about things like that.

I once knew a guy who used to be a police officer in Louisiana.  I'll call him, Biff.  Biff told me a story about one guy that desperately needed a ticket.  All the police officers in the area knew this guy.  They all wanted to nail him.  Very badly.  I don't know his name, but I think it was Ferdinand.
 
Ferdinand drove a red Ferrari.  There weren't a lot of those in that area.  He stood out.  Anyway, he had a tendancy to blow past the local constables and vanish before they could brush off the crumbs and turn on their radar guns.  They hated that.  Ferdinand's car was so much faster than their cars, the cops just couldn't catch him.  He would sometimes pull up next to a police car at a traffic light, watch the officer frantically fumble with his gear, and the slowly drive forward, well below the speed limit.  They hated that, too.
 
This went on for quite some time.  One day, Biff pulled up behind Ferdinand at a traffic light.  Ferdinand made eye contact in his rearview mirror and waved.  Biff knew Ferdinand would drive below the speed limit, so Biff pointed his radar gun at his own cruiser's fan blade.
 
Biff gave Ferdinand a ticket for going 90 mph in a 25 zone.

 
 Around here in PA if you get stopped by a local cop and can show error in his  judgement you don't really need a lawyer. Sometimes depending on the local judge , just showing up might get the ticket waved. The state troopers not so much. If they stop you, you were probably doing 85/90 in a 55. 
 
  I got a ticket a few years back for pulling out of the parking lot where I worked and not completely stopping. The cop was sitting in the median facing me when I pulled out. There isn't a stop sign and people continue to do the same thing to this day. Usually almost stopping is good enough because you can see a long distance and the speed limit is only 35mph. The thing I'll never forget about the encounter was that the cop directed me to a building nearby and literally pinned my car with his. You would have thought I robbed a bank. Then you try to get out to show ID and he shouts, " Get back in the car". I really didn't like this cop.  He gives all cops a bad name. Everyone told me I should have fought it and I probably should have but I decided to donate 80.00 to the township because I didn't want the hassle of showing up at court. The cop probably figured as much.Since then I still slow when pulling out of there and so does every one else.I didn't get any points for it so I chaulked it up to one of those things that you just get past and keep on living.
 
 I was warned once for doing 45 in a 35. I thought he was going to give me a ticket then but he just warned me. One other time I was working underneath my car and decided to take it for a spin but forgot my wallet. Wouldn't you know I got pulled over about a mile from my house. Thankfully when I told the officer my plight he let me off.
 
Some of  the roads in GA and FLA. go for miles and miles almost straight as a board. This is no excuse but it's darned easy to go faster than the SL there and most do. Here in PA. Many of the back roads were once goat paths. Drunk goats. Probably a lot like the UK. Our main roads are much easier to speed on. I notice on my commute there are two extremes. Get in the fast lane and expect someone impatient to be on your tail in no time. This doesn't matter how fast you go. Ive been doing 85 and had someone breathing down my posterior. It really doesn't matter, you might as well be on the auto baun in the fast lane. The other extreme is the slow lane. Get in that lane and you get behind all the retired people going out for breakfast. I think some of those cars are pedal powered. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground. The speed limit sign serves no purpose whatsoever. I prefer a back road any day.
 
 

I worked at a factory in the past and a friend of mine came in one morning stating he got a speeding ticket the day before.
 
I asked him was he going to pay it off or fight it. He stated he'd love to fight it but couldn't afford a lawyer or know what to do to fight it.  After talking with him he decided to fight it. A few weeks later he went to court and came back the next day saying the judge had dismissed the ticket.  He asked the cop 2 questions on the stand that I had told him might work.
 
Did the officer know the proper calibration procedure for the radar unit and did he complete that procedure immediately before he allegedly clocked my friend going over the speed limit?
 
And could the officer explain exactly how the power lines overhead influenced the radar unit's calibration and readings?
 
He said the cop stammered a few words before saying No to both questions. My friend then asked the judge to dismiss the charges, which he did.
 
Years ago in high school, we had a state trooper come in and demonstrate the radar unit they were using at the time in NJ (I used to live there).... and that they had to use a non-damaged tuning fork to ensure the unit was properly calibrated to clock the actual speed of the vehicle. Now I'm sure modern radar and laser units don't need calibration any more using a tuning fork..... but that poor cop didn't know that and therefore couldn't answer the questions in front of the judge.
 
You only get to use stuff like that one time.

I was in traffic court once (turning right on a red light because the No Turn on Red sign had been cleverly hidden) when I heard the judge make some rather strange statements. 
 
He said, "Everyone here needs to plead Guilty.  The only way you can plead Not Guilty is if the ticket contains contradictory statements.  If it is your word against the officer's word, you will be found Guilty.  Anyone who wastes my time by pleading Not Guilty will be given the maximum sentence."
 
I didn't know what to do.  I wondered what had happened to the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty?  I had a great argument ready.  There was a sign, but it had been placed hundreds of feet away from the intersection and behind a tree.  It was not possible to see it from the road or from the intersection.  Based on the judge's screamfest, I didn't know how my argument would stand up.  When my name was called, I went up there to accept judgement, ready to plead Guilty.  The judge said, "The officer didn't show up to court this morning.  Case dismissed."  I stood for a moment, uncertain of what had just happened.  He bent down from on high and screamed, "Get out!  Dismissed!"
 
Apparently, traffic court has a different Constitution from the rest of the legal system.

UbiquitousBubba
I was driving an old Corolla in a blizzard one night a few years ago.  We had about a foot of snow on the ground, high winds, and a lot more snow pouring down.  I was driving on a tollway outside of Chicago with very little traffic.  I was maintaining a speed of 45-50 mph due to the limited visibility and road conditions.  A police SUV swerved across all three lanes multiple times before the driver managed to get enough control and pull me over. 
 
He said I was driving too fast for the conditions.  I told him that I did not believe this to be true and that I had complete control at all times.  I explained that I had not been skidding or driving erratically.  He said, "You're driving a front wheel drive little car and I'm driving a four wheel drive SUV and I could barely stay on the road."
 
I answered, "I think that has more to do with the skill of the driver, doesn't it?"  There was an uncomfortable silence.  He went back to his SUV for several minutes.  Eventually, he came back, ordered me to slow down, and let me go.  I think I may have hurt his feelings.
 
They can be touchy about things like that.

Love it!  I give this post the "Stones of the Moment" award. 

I think he wanted to get going.  He had an APB out on a couple of droids. 
 
I'm not sure if he found the ones he was looking for...

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