Just got pulled over for going 50 in a 50 zone. WTF?! Quotas?

[CZroe]

I was going exactly the speed limit but the officer said he "paced" me at 60MPH in a 50MPH zone and then proceeded to use every cliche in the book EXCEPT "get your meter checked," even though that was the only one that could even remotely apply. Because I would not just agree with him (lie), he said he was going to give me a ticket but ultimately didn't (probably because he didn't clock me).

He told me to "throw out logic," which I felt that was his way of telling me that he could ticket me for whatever he wanted and could manufacture his own illogical reality. It was a thinly veiled threat. I don't know how I'd fight it if he did ticket me, so I need to know what I can get to document my speed better in the future. I want something that actually shows my meter and correlates it with time, date, and positional GPS data (not just GPS speed calculations). I have a helmet cam on my motorcycle but I'm not going to wear a helmet in the car.

I was very polite, called him "sir," and apologized profusely despite having done nothing wrong. I was visibly scared, certainly not challenging or belligerent. Even so, when the officer said "when you noticed me behind you" I had to reply with "I was aware of you the entire time sir. I came up from behind you at the light. This is why I was so acutely aware of my speed the entire time."

 

[her209]

Did you get his name and badge number?

 

[cherrytwist]

Originally posted by: CZroe
I was going exactly the speed limit but the officer said he "paced" me at 60MPH in a 50MPH zone and then proceeded to use every cliche in the book EXCEPT "get your meter checked," even though that was the only one that could even remotely apply. Because I would not just agree with him (lie), he said he was going to give me a ticket but ultimately didn't (probably because he didn't clock me).

He told me to "throw out logic," which I felt that was his way of telling me that he could ticket me for whatever he wanted and could manufacture his own illogical reality. It was a thinly veiled threat. I don't know how I'd fight it if he did ticket me, so I need to know what I can get to document my speed better in the future. I want something that actually shows my meter and correlates it with time, date, and positional GPS data (not just GPS speed calculations). I have a helmet cam on my motorcycle but I'm not going to wear a helmet in the car.

I was very polite, called him "sir," and apologized profusely despite having done nothing wrong. I was visibly scared, certainly not challenging or belligerent. Even so, when the officer said "when you noticed me behind you" I had to reply with "I was aware of you the entire time sir. I came up from behind you at the light. This is why I was so acutely aware of my speed the entire time."

is your age below 25?

 

[CZroe]

No and no. If I asked for his badge number I'm almost certain he would have given me a ticket. I'm 28. When he asked why I was in a hurry (trap question), I told him I was not because I would have been right on time.

I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt: He isn't crooked, just jumped to conclusions. I *was* going 10MPH faster than the rest of the traffic, but that was because they were still going 40MPH after the 50MPH sign (it always happens on this road because no one expects a speed increase in a neighborhood). He probably assumed that they were going 50 and thus I was going 60. He was actually going slightly UNDER 40MPH, which gave me the opportunity to get in front of him and go 50MPH.

 

[CZroe]

Well, I finished my write-up. May as well post it:

At a red light, I came up and stopped behind a couple other stopped cars in the fast lane (out of three lanes) and the officer was already stopped in the slow lane with yet another car in the middle lane (3 cars + cop + me). After we got going, the three cars in front of me in the other two lanes were going exactly 40MPH, the speed limit, and continued going 40MPH when we entered a 50MPH zone. I moved to the middle lane behind the third car and the officer on my right fell behind by a little more than a car's length. We were STILL going 40MPH so I moved in front of him and gradually accelerated to 50MPH. Being COMPLETELY aware of him, I maintained 50MPH as closely as I could, never varying more than 1-2MPH either way, which is better than the cruise control on this car can do. Of course, the officer who had been going less than 40 began to catch up to me, which means that the officer had to go FASTER than me.

The officer made several incorrect statements and, being as respectful as possible, I had to tell the truth rather than agree. For example, he commented as if I were trying to justify speeding because other cars were too, so I replied saying that I did not base my speed on the other cars. They were not speeding and were, in fact, going much slower than the speed limit.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Simple misunderstanding... like the time i got pulled over in a speed-trap because the cop "ran my license plate and the care came-back stolen". After he pulled me over and noticed my family in the care I asked why I was pulled over, he explained, i retorted "no it's not" and he said "oh, must have been a mistake" and walked away.

Cops pull people over looking for other violations all the time, reasonable search does not necessarily mean accurately based or logically concluded search.

 

[miniMUNCH]

Well he didn't give you a ticket... for all you know their was a call out to watch out for a car of your description. I dunno.

But yeah... probably quotas.

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: DixyCrat
Simple misunderstanding... like the time i got pulled over in a speed-trap because the cop "ran my license plate and the care came-back stolen". After he pulled me over and noticed my family in the care I asked why I was pulled over, he explained, i retorted "no it's not" and he said "oh, must have been a mistake" and walked away.

Cops pull people over looking for other violations all the time, reasonable search does not necessarily mean accurately based or logically concluded search.

If I can get a ticket for a "simple misunderstanding," I'd still like to have something definitive to show that in court. Even if it never happens to me again, I wouldn't want the same guy to go out there and continue incorrectly guessing speeds, issuing tickets, and calling people liars. Heck, I would like to have had it in this case if not just to shake his confidence (make him more careful in the future) and prove my innocence in his eyes (not the courts).

 

[ithec]

what kind of car do you drive?

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: ithec
what kind of car do you drive?

I don't own a car. It was my sister's car... a white 1996 Ford Taurus. Certainly not an attention getter.

My primary transportation is by motorcycle, but my bike needs its 7,500 mile service and I don't have the money yet. When I resume driving the bike I'll have the helmet cam but I want to have something else for when I take the car. Because it's a graveyard shift, I usually have my choice of the two.

 

[smack Down]

Originally posted by: CZroe
No and no. If I asked for his badge number I'm almost certain he would have given me a ticket. I'm 28. When he asked why I was in a hurry (trap question), I told him I was not because I would have been right on time.

I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt: He isn't crooked, just jumped to conclusions. I *was* going 10MPH faster than the rest of the traffic, but that was because they were still going 40MPH after the 50MPH sign (it always happens on this road because no one expects a speed increase in a neighborhood). He probably assumed that they were going 50 and thus I was going 60. He was actually going slightly UNDER 40MPH, which gave me the opportunity to get in front of him and go 50MPH.

The pig was just pissed that you passed him.

 

[fleabag]

It's very possible that you have an inaccurate speedometer, that coupled with parallax error and you could see yourself going 50mph but actually going 60mph..

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: fleabag
It's very possible that you have an inaccurate speedometer, that coupled with parallax error and you could see yourself going 50mph but actually going 60mph..

I doubt that the speedo would under read by 20%, and it doesn't sound like the cop actually clocked him (he would have said clocked you at 60, here is the ticket, since he could testify to that in court).

 

[alkemyst]

I have never heard a cop suggesting a speedometer checked. That's a line dumbass wiggers use.

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: fleabag
It's very possible that you have an inaccurate speedometer, that coupled with parallax error and you could see yourself going 50mph but actually going 60mph..

No, or else he would have been pulling people over already for going 50MPH in a 40MPH zone. As it stood I was only barely going faster than the other cars which had not sped up since the 40MPH zone. If all the cars around me were going the same speed in the presence of a cop and it read EXACTLY 40 in a 40, then I take that to mean it's pretty accurate. If I was going 60 with only a 10MPH indicated increase, then I would have been obvious as I would have left them behind (I was only slightly ahead). That said, I've read that speedometers are typically calibrated for ~60MPH/100KPH. If I were going 60, I would expect it to be its most accurate. OTOH, my little motorcycle's speedo is about 10% optimistic so it says I am going faster than I really am at nearly all speeds.

Originally posted by: smack Down

Originally posted by: CZroe
No and no. If I asked for his badge number I'm almost certain he would have given me a ticket. I'm 28. When he asked why I was in a hurry (trap question), I told him I was not because I would have been right on time.

I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt: He isn't crooked, just jumped to conclusions. I *was* going 10MPH faster than the rest of the traffic, but that was because they were still going 40MPH after the 50MPH sign (it always happens on this road because no one expects a speed increase in a neighborhood). He probably assumed that they were going 50 and thus I was going 60. He was actually going slightly UNDER 40MPH, which gave me the opportunity to get in front of him and go 50MPH.

The pig was just pissed that you passed him.

Then he could have nailed me for passing on the right.

Originally posted by: alkemyst
I have never heard a cop suggesting a speedometer checked. That's a line dumbass wiggers use.

Until now I've heard it every single time I or my family have ever been pulled over for overstated speeding... on both sides of the country. Cops and judges.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: CZroe

Until now I've heard it every single time I or my family have ever been pulled over for overstated speeding... on both sides of the country. Cops and judges.

wow just wow. So the law is taking the retards argument that a speedometer is 10% or more inaccurate? Assuming most are getting tickets for 10 - 15 mph over in 45-55mph zones.

I have been stopped many many times. Never fucking heard that rant except from someone trying to get out of a ticket.

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: CZroe

Until now I've heard it every single time I or my family have ever been pulled over for overstated speeding... on both sides of the country. Cops and judges.

wow just wow. So the law is taking the retards argument that a speedometer is 10% or more inaccurate? Assuming most are getting tickets for 10 - 15 mph over in 45-55mph zones.

I have been stopped many many times. Never fucking heard that rant except from someone trying to get out of a ticket.

What percentage argument? No one discussed meter accuracy until HERE AND NOW. Not only is the 10% I noted on an entirely different vehicle where that is a KNOWN PROBLEM, but I never said anything to the officer except "I was acutely aware of my speed and I kept it locked at 50MPH +/- 1-2MPH." Even if I were driving that vehicle and it indicated 50MPH my actual speed would have been SLOWER so F'OFF'N'DIE, know-it-all prick who can't read.

I'm talking about completely different people in completely different vehicles. A police officer says you were going one speed while you say you were going another. Officers don't want to argue so they tell you that it doesn't matter, you're still getting a ticket, and you might want to get your meter checked. Happens often enough that I've heard it said many times and tehy certainly aren't "taking the argument."

 

[LTC8K6]

Cops pull people over looking for other violations all the time, reasonable search does not necessarily mean accurately based or logically concluded search.

No they don't, because that is illegal. They have to see a violation of some sort to pull you over, or see some suspicious activity. An inop license plate light, for example, or circling the block in known drug areas, or they call in your plate and something comes up.

Not saying that this doesn't happen at all, just that it is not common practice to just pull people over randomly.

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: CZroe

Until now I've heard it every single time I or my family have ever been pulled over for overstated speeding... on both sides of the country. Cops and judges.

wow just wow. So the law is taking the retards argument that a speedometer is 10% or more inaccurate? Assuming most are getting tickets for 10 - 15 mph over in 45-55mph zones.

I have been stopped many many times. Never fucking heard that rant except from someone trying to get out of a ticket.

I've gotten out of tickets with it before, just need a repair bill showing the speedometer was fixed.

My speedo on my bike is wildly innacurate and unfixable. Only options are adding an aftermarket speedo or just pacing myself with traffic. It usually gets me withing 10-15 mph on the highway

 

[LTC8K6]

My speedo on my bike is wildly innacurate and unfixable.

A Garmin or such will tell you your speed.

I use my Garmin to compare with the speedometers in my vehicles, but it also works when you are walking or riding a bike.

 

[SonnyDaze]

So you didn't get a ticket? What's the problem then?

 

[Turin39789]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

My speedo on my bike is wildly innacurate and unfixable.

A Garmin or such will tell you your speed.

I use my Garmin to compare with the speedometers in my vehicles, but it also works when you are walking or riding a bike.

yea, I'm planning on looking at an electronic one I can mount to the hub or something gps based. It would be nice to see how fast I am actually getting it up to.

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze
So you didn't get a ticket? What's the problem then?

Because I could have... the officer even said that he was giving me a ticket. I want to make sure it doesn't happen in the future and have something reliable to prove/fight such an accusation.

 

[CZroe]

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

My speedo on my bike is wildly innacurate and unfixable.

A Garmin or such will tell you your speed.

I use my Garmin to compare with the speedometers in my vehicles, but it also works when you are walking or riding a bike.

yea, I'm planning on looking at an electronic one I can mount to the hub or something gps based. It would be nice to see how fast I am actually getting it up to.

I'm not so sure I trust them seeing how bad the iPhone's speedometer apps are, especially for a specific observed moment rather than a distance/area average. It's why I'd rather use the GPS to show where I was at a given time and a recording from my vehicle instrumentation to show how fast I was going.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: Turin39789

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

My speedo on my bike is wildly innacurate and unfixable.

A Garmin or such will tell you your speed.

I use my Garmin to compare with the speedometers in my vehicles, but it also works when you are walking or riding a bike.

yea, I'm planning on looking at an electronic one I can mount to the hub or something gps based. It would be nice to see how fast I am actually getting it up to.

I installed a TrailTech Vapor on my bike - checked it to +/- 1mph.