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Brake checking a cop

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randomrogue said:
The whole point of brake checking is to point out to the driver behind you that they're tail gating.
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Bingo :thumbsup:

Yet at the same time, it is an aggressive behavior. I have since learned to flash my hazard lights or slow down without breaking to 45-50 mph when someone is too close behind me.
 
destrekor said:
Really?
You must hate cops with a passion.
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No, I do not have much use for them but I do not hate them. The cop was driving too close behind the van driver in an aggressive manner to push the van driver aside. In rainy weather on top of it.


EDIT:
A better action for the cop would have been to maintain a respectful distance and flash his police lights briefly to instruct the van driver to pull over to the right. As the van driver pulled over, the cop could have driven past with no aggressive behavior from anyone involved.

A civilian in the cop's situation could flash their bright lights a couple times from a respectful distance, or given up and passed on the right.
 
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randomrogue said:
The whole point of brake checking is to point out to the driver behind you that they're tail gating.
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Yeah, but in the process of enforcing the laws on the road, cops can do that.
It's usually a simple enough tactic to get the driver ahead of them to pull their head out of their ass, all without escalating the issue and forcing paperwork.

On the road, an officer should be able to do things that allows them to "reality check" other drivers, without turning the lights on and pulling them over.
 
destrekor said:
Yeah, but in the process of enforcing the laws on the road, cops can do that.
It's usually a simple enough tactic to get the driver ahead of them to pull their head out of their ass, all without escalating the issue and forcing paperwork.

On the road, an officer should be able to do things that allows them to "reality check" other drivers, without turning the lights on and pulling them over.
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Alternatively he could have A) Honked his horn B) Flashed his lights C) Made that annoying beep sound they make D) Used his loud speaker. He chose to tail gate in bad weather.

I'm siding with the cop regardless since I know they "CAN" do that but I think it's a poor choice.
 
chusteczka said:
No, I do not have much use for them but I do not hate them. The cop was driving too close behind the van driver in an aggressive manner to push the van driver aside. In rainy weather on top of it.
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In this instance, without turning the lights on, being further back would likely not have been an effective approach.

It's rather mind-numbing that it wasn't effective enough as it stands, but being further back would have not have "made a point" to the other driver.

Also, maybe he had a valid reason - he could have been trying to look inside closely at the driver to see if there was a reason for their otherwise lack of intelligence behind the wheel; for instance, checking to see if they were fumbling with a phone, with the radio, or some other means of being distracted behind the wheel?
 
randomrogue said:
Alternatively he could have A) Honked his horn B) Flashed his lights C) Made that annoying beep sound they make D) Used his loud speaker. He chose to tail gate in bad weather.

I'm siding with the cop regardless since I know they "CAN" do that but I think it's a poor choice.
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Generally, I do agree - this was the worst choice of options available. In that position, I have seen videos of cops turning their lights on, getting a driver to pull over a lane or two, all the while following said car, and then turning off the lights and driving off as if nothing happened.
That's usually the more comical option too. 😀

But like I previously stated, there could have been other things that cop was looking for.
Perhaps waiting to see just how long the driver would take to react appropriately? That's a fun enough gambit in of itself, imho. See how long until they realize they are actually in the wrong.
Even better if you get them to antagonize you in the process. 😛

But yes, it wasn't the best choice, but I would hardly call it wrong in any shape or form. Just like on foot, you have numerous "right" choices you can utilize in any situation.
 
Video is listed as "Sullivan County, NY". Given NYS laws, it's not illegal to use the left lane(s) as a travel lane. Law states you SHOULD move to the right if you are "slower" traffic - given the weather conditions and what was on the road, the van was driving perfectly legally.

Dude probably got pulled over for flipping off the cop as the cop passed.
 
SunnyD said:
Video is listed as "Sullivan County, NY". Given NYS laws, it's not illegal to use the left lane(s) as a travel lane. Law states you SHOULD move to the right if you are "slower" traffic - given the weather conditions and what was on the road, the van was driving perfectly legally.

Dude probably got pulled over for flipping off the cop as the cop passed.
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Assuming this is what happened, is that illegal?
 
LTC8K6 said:
I thought the van was behaving oddly.
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What I thought was odd that it did not look like there was a young girl tied up in the back of the van. That did look odd.

FreeCandy.jpg


MotionMan
 
randomrogue said:
Can you please backup this statement.
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He is correct. Brake checking is against the law and driving in the left lane when possible to move to the right is incorrect and possibly against the law.

I still view tailgating as worse than brake-checking but cannot really condone brake-checking as being acceptable.

My statement the van driver did nothing wrong was oversimplified and Alkemyst is correct in calling me on it.
 
The more threads I see about this, the more I want a dash cam. Drove from Tampa, FL to Columbus, OH today, and saw some amusingly bad driving along the way.
 
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