Ask A Police Officer

[Starsky]

I recall a vehicle driving southbound on I35 through Austin at about 100 mph at about 12 midnite. It was weaving in and out of traffic, causing a huge hazard. Though it did have its hazard lights on, somehow those lights didnt really minimize the danger...long story short, we finally got the car pulled over to find out it was a lady driving herself to the hospital because she was having a "high blood pressure attack".

In my opinion, calling 911 for an ambulance to come to you trumps driving like a bat out of hell, stressed out to the max, and trying to care for your loved one 99.9% of the time. I am having a hard time thinking of an incident of a medical nature that would make driving at a high rate of speed and running lights a valid excuse.

[MvCrash]

After reading that story, I would certainly give you a pass on the speeding. Glad your ok, be well and drive carefully.

[Stang6T8]

quick question.... what type of violation is this .......vs27007 sound amp device.

i have a sr 22 and if i get a traffic violation i lose my license..

[IMachU]

27007 CVC is amplified music heard over 50 feet from the vehicle...in other words, bumping your music. It is a $100 fine for the first one, then goes up progressively. This is not really a moving type violation, but if I were you, I'd play it safe. Keep the Dr Dre down a bit!

[Stang6T8]

so my license will be gone? i was never 50ft a way from him and it wasnt even turned up. i have been next to so many police officer with my stereo on and they didn't care. its not that loud. i'm going to fight it but i was wondering if that violation would cause me to lose my license....

[Stang6T8]

Originally Posted by IMachU

Keep the Dr Dre down a bit!

stereotyping........

[IMachU]

Stereotyping? How can I be stereotyping if I have never seen you, heard of you, and know absolutely nothing about you? How about "I was trying to lighten the mood a bit"?

Maybe you are just a little too sensitive after all those cites you got....take it easy, dood! Oh, and you are welcome for answering your question.

[IMachU]

Originally Posted by Stang6T8

so my license will be gone? i was never 50ft a way from him and it wasnt even turned up. i have been next to so many police officer with my stereo on and they didn't care. its not that loud. i'm going to fight it but i was wondering if that violation would cause me to lose my license....

As I said....it is not really considered a moving violation....go ahead and fight it in court. That is your right to do so. Who knows....maybe the officer won't show and you'll win.

The reason this law is in effect is because when a police car, fire truck, ambulance, etc., drives code 3 (lights and siren) to an emergency where someone's life may be in danger, people who have very expensive sound systems up LOUD can't hear the sirens and that creates a possibility of a crash involving that emergency vehicle. That puts the life of the emergency personnel, the other driver, and anyone else that may be hit in danger. That is not good.

So please drive safely, and keep the music at a lower level so you can hear us! Thanks!!

[Stang6T8]

well i would like to say thanks and this thread was a good idea...

[JDraper]

Just injecting some humor... any of you Officers ever use these lines???

Who says the police don't have a sense of humor? The following 15 Police comments were taken off of actual Dallas Police car videos and distributed by Monic Smith, Director DPD Public Relations Officer:

#15. "Relax; the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."

#14. "Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

#13. "If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

#12. "Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of a 9 mm bullet fired from my gun."

#11. "So you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"

#10. "Yes, sir, by all means you can talk to the shift supervisor if you think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"

#9. "Warning? You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you that when you run that stop sign again, I'll give you another ticket."

#8. "The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"

#7. "Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen Pal, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and step in horsey doo!"

#6. "Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."

#5. "No, sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."

#4. "Just how big were those two beers?"

#3. "In God we trust, all others we run through CPIC/NCIC.."

#2. "I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."

And.................... THE BEST ONE !!!!!!!

#1 "Excuse me ma'am? You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? Well, you are right, we don't. Now, sign here."

[dstang]

hello!
i wanted to know if "Blackout Lights" are actually legal. i know many have them, but in case pulled over may one might have a point if they are actually legal
thanks.
peter

[IMachU]

In Calif, your tail lights must be visible for 500 feet when illuminated. If the lens tint obstructs visibility, then yes, illegal.

[Mach&Roll]

Wow this thread is still going. I will have to poke my head in and out as time Allows.

[IMachU]

Originally Posted by JDraper

Just injecting some humor... any of you Officers ever use these lines???

Who says the police don't have a sense of humor? The following 15 Police comments were taken off of actual Dallas Police car videos and distributed by Monic Smith, Director DPD Public Relations Officer:

#15. "Relax; the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."

#14. "Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

#13. "If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."

#12. "Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of a 9 mm bullet fired from my gun."

#11. "So you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"

#10. "Yes, sir, by all means you can talk to the shift supervisor if you think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?"

#9. "Warning? You want a warning? O.K., I'm warning you that when you run that stop sign again, I'll give you another ticket."

#8. "The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"

#7. "Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen Pal, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and step in horsey doo!"

#6. "Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."

#5. "No, sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."

#4. "Just how big were those two beers?"

#3. "In God we trust, all others we run through CPIC/NCIC.."

#2. "I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."

And.................... THE BEST ONE !!!!!!!

#1 "Excuse me ma'am? You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? Well, you are right, we don't. Now, sign here."

Heh! Nice!!!

[kevsrcode]

I've actually used #15,#13, and #4 myself....

[MACH_Daddy_#1]

Hey there IMachU, You helped me out, as far as pointing me to someone who can do my clutch a while back, thanks for that. But I have to ask...how likely are you to pull aver a mach1 that might be going a little too fast? And what about if you had to choose between pulling over a Mach1 or a camaro SS, which would you choose? I mean, you have to be a little biased, right? How about all police officers in general when they see a nice sports car is that a big "red" flag, or are you like "man, there goes a beast!"? BTW I think this is a great idea.


Thanks.

[IMachU]

First and foremost, I'm a police officer. That is always first. If I see a Camaro or Mach, I'd stop both, and probably guage what I'll do based on the attitude of the driver. With that in mind, the Chevy drivers are usually the ones who fail the attitude tests .

Truthfully, if the offense is not serious, I'd probably ask to look at their car, talk a bit about their car from a "car guy" point of view, and give them info on Irwindale Speedway. I have free passes that I can hand out to cars on the street that are going a bit fast to encourage legal speeding and legal racing. This also accomplishes another thing - it slows them down. So, I get them to slow down, I get to talk cars, they get a free pass to race legally, and they get a positive contact with the police. How much better can it get?

[streakn]

Originally Posted by IMachU

First and foremost, I'm a police officer. That is always first. If I see a Camaro or Mach, I'd stop both, and probably guage what I'll do based on the attitude of the driver. With that in mind, the Chevy drivers are usually the ones who fail the attitude tests .

Truthfully, if the offense is not serious, I'd probably ask to look at their car, talk a bit about their car from a "car guy" point of view, and give them info on Irwindale Speedway. I have free passes that I can hand out to cars on the street that are going a bit fast to encourage legal speeding and legal racing. This also accomplishes another thing - it slows them down. So, I get them to slow down, I get to talk cars, they get a free pass to race legally, and they get a positive contact with the police. How much better can it get?

Hey, I do the same thing. Oh yeah, we had the same class together. LOL

[MACH_Daddy_#1]

Originally Posted by IMachU

First and foremost, I'm a police officer. That is always first. If I see a Camaro or Mach, I'd stop both, and probably guage what I'll do based on the attitude of the driver. With that in mind, the Chevy drivers are usually the ones who fail the attitude tests .

Truthfully, if the offense is not serious, I'd probably ask to look at their car, talk a bit about their car from a "car guy" point of view, and give them info on Irwindale Speedway. I have free passes that I can hand out to cars on the street that are going a bit fast to encourage legal speeding and legal racing. This also accomplishes another thing - it slows them down. So, I get them to slow down, I get to talk cars, they get a free pass to race legally, and they get a positive contact with the police. How much better can it get?

Sounds like a good deal to me. I have another question. I got pulled over coming back from Vegas for my B-day in august outside of barstow, officer comes up(nice guy), says there was nothing wrong with my driving, he pulled me over because i have tint on all my windows, gave me a pay by mail ticket.($130 BTW). What's the deal with that? I explained how I recently moved to california from colorado where it's legal to have tint to a certain degree and that I had no idea that it was illegal to have it on your passenger and driver windows. Anyway long story short, what am I supposed to do about it, pay $130 fines all the time? granted it seems to me that cops in and around LA don't really pay me any mind. Better things to do I imagine. Anyway I guess what's your take on this..?

THanks

[IMachU]

Well, like you said, it's illegal in Calif to have tint on windows forward of the driver (including the 2 side windows). In LA we could care less as long as it doesn't impair your driving (or if you are in a Honda!). Other parts of Calif are less tolerant than us southern coppers. So, if you are in Nor Cal, then I'd suggest scraping your windows. Or move to the LA area!

[mach18604]

IMachU I just want to say what you do with guys you see in sports cars is great. The + feedback and the passes would make my day. Even tho I already respect the police, I due tend to have a heavy foot at times..

Any tips about window tint? I am not that far dark form the limit.. You can still see inside the car. Yet if someone put a meter on the window it would fail but not by much.
I like the way it looks on my car and I dont think its unsafe at all.. Anything I can do to help keep my tint??

[IMachU]

Um, maybe get a lighter tint? If you know it'll fail, you are inviting an issue. Maybe when/if you do get stopped, just roll down both windows (regardless of the outside temp) and that'll put the officer at ease a little faster.

Thanks for your support....we don;t hear it all that much, so when we do it means a lot. Especially from car guys such as ourselves!

[streakn]

Originally Posted by mach18604

IMachU I just want to say what you do with guys you see in sports cars is great. The + feedback and the passes would make my day. Even tho I already respect the police, I due tend to have a heavy foot at times..

Any tips about window tint? I am not that far dark form the limit.. You can still see inside the car. Yet if someone put a meter on the window it would fail but not by much.
I like the way it looks on my car and I dont think its unsafe at all.. Anything I can do to help keep my tint??

Along with Dave, I agree that if the window is tinted you are inviting probable cause for a stop. I normally don't stop people if I can actually see driver. Lighten up the tint if you are worried or don't tint the front windows at all. I don't issue cites for tint, but I'm not every cop. Some cops will stop you for the minor things because it is "illegal".

If I stop a driver with an attitude then it's all over for that hombre. He'll get everything I can throw at him.

[Mach1 EH]

I apologize if this has been posted already.

I believe I have read that aftermarket exhaust may not be legal in Calif.
IF (for some fortunate reason) I am required to get to Calif, I would LOVE to drive there in my vert.
My vert has Borla exhaust, would I be pulled over and ticketed.
Would my Canadian tags be a target??

(can I get a Get Out Of Jail Free card? - probably been asked before, eh?)

[Mustanger2]

Originally Posted by Mach1 EH

I apologize if this has been posted already.

I believe I have read that aftermarket exhaust may not be legal in Calif.
IF (for some fortunate reason) I am required to get to Calif, I would LOVE to drive there in my vert.
My vert has Borla exhaust, would I be pulled over and ticketed.
Would my Canadian tags be a target??

(can I get a Get Out Of Jail Free card? - probably been asked before, eh?)

Don't worry about it! There are literally thousands of "illegal" setups running around in Calif. just don't drive to attact any attention & cool it for sure when the officers are in sight. Some areas are cracking down hard on street racers & modified cars, like Sacramento. As far as the Canadian plates... LOL Calif is a melting pot tourist attraction, you will see plates from everywhere... no problem at all.