jugodegolf;1439916 said:
If anyone (including law enforcement) tailgates me, I slow down. You tailgate more, I slow down more. Either pass me or deal with it.
Status update, 11/24/09 Ridiculous incident, need advice: let it go or take a stand?
- Thread starter lewis15498
- Start date
If anyone (including law enforcement) tailgates me, I slow down. You tailgate more, I slow down more. Either pass me or deal with it.
Supracentral;1439959 said:
This. Then, ready? I got pulled over for driving too slow and "obstruction of traffic" I believe were the officer's exact words. Needless to say, he was bored, and didn't get a ticket. That guy was an asshole, though. It took me two times explaining it to him why I was driving so slow, even though when he started tailgating me I was doing 60mph in a 55.
Supracentral;1439959 said:
I do this too. Two lane road with nobody in the other lane, and they decide to ride my ass, I'll slow down.
Cop did this to a buddy of mine, but couldn't give him a ticket because my buddy's friend got a picture of the officer with a cigarette in his mouth as he was exiting his cruiser. Big no-no is smoking in the cruiser as far as I know
shaeff;1439972 said:
I've had the "because you were tailgating me and putting me at risk" discussion with LEO's before. Most of them had the good sense to say "have a nice day" and leave it at that...
Supracentral;1418679 said:
WIN.
I had an incident while working for Fed Ex. right when the new Xbox's debut. I had a white package van chase me down on a back road. I didn't stop but called 911. They did inform me that I was being followed by and Unmarked State Patrol Commerical enforcment van. They police were on the lookout for a similar van that was high jacking Fed Ex and Ups trucks for their loads of Xbox's. They were following trucks waiting for the drivers to pull over to warn them of the potential threat. Not the best way to get the message across but it was effective.
Supracentral;1439959 said:
I do the same thing, I never really drive more than 5mph over the speed limit, but the cops here ride your ass like no tomorrow.. Just yesterday, I almost got rear ended something fierce by a county sheriff.. I was in the slow lane driving 55mph (posted speed limit) through a construction zone.. He was speeding riding people's tails (with no lights on), cut over without seeing me, almost slams into me, I swerve to the side of the road thinking he had his lights on,hitting a big plastic road cone.. when I seen him give me a long dirty look, speeding again, I called the Sheriffs office with his squad car.. I guess there had been numerous reports of a wreckless county car and he wasnt on a call either.
Here in Oregon its legal to call 911 or non emergency to find out if the person following yo or pulled you over is actually a police officer. I compiled a list of city and county sheriff non-emergency phone numbers to the areas that I frequent, especially at night.. That way if I do get "pulled over" I can verify it.. It might take a little bit, but its definitely useful to have in your car for future reference
jugodegolf;1439916 said:
As I said before I wasnt about to leave my life in the hands of the bridgewater police and try to drive 10 minutes to the police station. I retreated to the closest, safest place I could think of.
Supracentral;1439959 said:
Which is exactly what I did up until the point where he tried to smash me with his vehicle and run me off the road.
I really don't understand why you guys keep arguing that I was in the wrong. The detective said I made all the right decisions to protect my own life. In the eyes of the law, I have done nothing wrong. I even went and reported him to protect his future victims from him. I don't get it guys, I really don't.
lewis15498;1440240 said:
Honestly lewis, I'm not even talking to/about you at this point. We're having a general conversation about how to handle road creeps.
Chill out.
Supracentral;1440293 said:
I'm chill mike, If were speaking generally I agree with you 100%. I just got the impression that people (not just you) were criticizing my actions. Its easy to misinterpret what someone is saying when all you have to go on is text.
Moving on, I think that in any situation, the key to coming out on top is keeping a level head and not making rash decisions without thinking them through.
No, no one on here's criticizing you, in fact we LAUD you for what you did. You handled the situation exactly as you should have (and with better restraint than most of us, let me tell you!!!). The other actions like calling 911 and stuff? Great ideas and all, but not everybody thinks on their feet the same way. Unless it happens to you (meaning others here), then you'll never be sure how to react to a dangerous situation like that, and as a good measure it's helpful to go over scenarios like this, to give people an opportunity to think about what they would do if it happened to them.
So, no. You did the right thing and NOBODY'S bashing you, I swear. And you might get fussed at or even cuffed if you are tailed by an LEO and wait to pull into a safe LIT area, but you're doing it for your safety AND the safety of the cop as well. He would appreciate pulling you over in a safe, lighted parking lot rather than a dusty outback dirt road with nothing but three bright lights and a maglite to assess the situation. LEOs tell women to wait until they are in a safe zone like that before allowing themselves to be pulled over, so the rule doesn't just apply to them.
So, no. You did the right thing and NOBODY'S bashing you, I swear. And you might get fussed at or even cuffed if you are tailed by an LEO and wait to pull into a safe LIT area, but you're doing it for your safety AND the safety of the cop as well. He would appreciate pulling you over in a safe, lighted parking lot rather than a dusty outback dirt road with nothing but three bright lights and a maglite to assess the situation. LEOs tell women to wait until they are in a safe zone like that before allowing themselves to be pulled over, so the rule doesn't just apply to them.
Lewis,
Glad to hear that creep is going to have to answer to his actions. Impersonating a law enforcement officer is a very serious offense. In your situation, if it happened in this state, he would be charged with Criminal Impersonation 2nd which is a gross misdemeanor. The penalty would be a max of one year in jail, and a $5000 fine. What will probably happen, and this is just a guess, is he will plea down to a misdemeanor, get 90 days suspended and have probation for a year.
To all the others,
You guys seem to get all the asshole cops. I've never had to tailgate someone, not even when following (watching for impairment) them. It's just not safe. Conducting a traffic stop on the other hand, yeah, I'm on the guy's ass. I've never been hassled by "the man". I've never been detained, and have had very few social contacts. The times I have been contacted by law enforcement, they were very professional, and courteous.
Glad to hear that creep is going to have to answer to his actions. Impersonating a law enforcement officer is a very serious offense. In your situation, if it happened in this state, he would be charged with Criminal Impersonation 2nd which is a gross misdemeanor. The penalty would be a max of one year in jail, and a $5000 fine. What will probably happen, and this is just a guess, is he will plea down to a misdemeanor, get 90 days suspended and have probation for a year.
To all the others,
You guys seem to get all the asshole cops. I've never had to tailgate someone, not even when following (watching for impairment) them. It's just not safe. Conducting a traffic stop on the other hand, yeah, I'm on the guy's ass. I've never been hassled by "the man". I've never been detained, and have had very few social contacts. The times I have been contacted by law enforcement, they were very professional, and courteous.
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Dunckel;1440481 said:
One of these days I'll mount a camera in the MKIV and show you the film.
Around here minimum safe distance for a cop at 70 mph is about 12" off your back bumper. It appears to be an intimidation move to get you to either move over so the cop can continue to speed (most drive 20 mph over the limit) or to get you to panic and do something stupid so they can pull you over.
I agree, it's dangerous as all fuck, but they do it consistently.
Dunckel;1440481 said:
Honestly, most of my interactions with police have been positive with a few incidents that weren't and one that sticks out clearly in my mind and may explain some things:
Years ago I pulled out of my subdivision ($250,000 to $900,000 homes) in my 90T. I was on my way to work downtown. The car only had 30,000 or 40,000 miles on it, tinted glass, had MKIV wheels, a fairly loud BOV, a triple pillar pod and a Greddy SP Exhaust with no cats. Nothing radical, but obviously modified and in very good shape.
A the time I wore a suit and tie to the office and I guess I was in my 30's at the time.
(Just painting the picture for you.)
A cop immediately flew up on my ass, and lit me up. I pulled over. The cop approached my drivers window hand on the butt of his service piece. Looked in the car, saw me in the suit and tie and said "Sorry sir, I thought you were younger!" and headed back to his car. This caught me off guard so bad I stuck my head out the window and said "Excuse me?!" to which he replied "I thought you were one of these kids, sorry about that." He then got back in his car.
I should have gotten his badge/car number and reported it, but I didn't want to spend my days getting hassled. (And that's the problem right there - you blow the whistle, you will get fucked with - I'd like to see someone deny that)
If I had let my teenage son borrow the car (HAH! - like that would happen, right Berduskian?) what would have happened at that stop? A big fucking hassle I'll bet.
I've had similar things happen in recent years with the MKIV in shopping centers on weekend nights. One time I had my back turned to the cop when he jumped out of the car and started yelling at the kids. He walked up behind me and said "Are you fucking deaf, I said get out of here!".
When I turned and said "Excuse me Junior?" his jaw dropped. That young cop (couldn't have been more than 21-22 himself) seemed to think that it was ok for him to yell and curse at these kids. I pointed out to him that A. I'm a patron of the starbucks that I'm standing in front of (please note the cup in my hand) and B. that he's got no business yelling and cursing at ANYONE.
In the end I got an apology out of him and he turned out to be pretty cool in the months to come (He'd come over the the MKIV guys and ask "So where are the assholes tonight?" and we'd point out the evenings trouble child or children. Usually some asshole in a Mustang laying rubber all over the parking lot. He'd go fuck with them and leave everyone else alone.)
While you may not do it Dunckel, some of your brethren treat younger people in modified imports very differently than they treat a "normal" citizen.
At this point in my life, as a 40+ year old white male, I personally never have problems. I know that sucks but I'm the least likely to get screwed with.
I have seen some of your fellow LEO's act like real assholes when they think the audience is 100% young people, or just people that they think they can get away with it.
Mike, your two stories are exactly why I am trying to keep my MKIII low key. No gauges on the pillars, very mild window tint (maybe, still contemplating this), no body work or paint or graphics or stickers that stand out (all the more reason why I love my gay blue paint), and a quieter exhaust (I really do need to get the BIC exhaust). I start to get any of the things I mentioned and I guarantee I'll be getting hassled by the cops more often.
My MKIV hardtop has dark tint, a suspension, a very loud exhaust (Tanabe Racing Medallion with no baffle) and APEXi EL gauges on the A-pillar. I still don't get hassled. I think a lot of it is who you are, and how you drive.
By the way, on the highway I drive very fast, but I'm selective about where I do it and I run a radar detector & police scanner. On surface streets I'm rarely more than 10 mph over. In parking lots, residential or school areas or any "congested" area, I'm at or below the speed limit.
I know a lot of people who drive slower than I do (in more mundane cars) that get tickets. They just speed at the wrong time/place.
By the way, on the highway I drive very fast, but I'm selective about where I do it and I run a radar detector & police scanner. On surface streets I'm rarely more than 10 mph over. In parking lots, residential or school areas or any "congested" area, I'm at or below the speed limit.
I know a lot of people who drive slower than I do (in more mundane cars) that get tickets. They just speed at the wrong time/place.
Lewis I don't think you did anything wrong. I just agreed with other posters on how to handle similiar situations. Glad you took the time to fill out the report.
Along w/ Mike's comments my experience w/most cops is on the up and up. I've been part of a few exceptions. Times are a changing though.
SC that was a almost 20 yrs ago. Now I slow down and let 'em by.
Along w/ Mike's comments my experience w/most cops is on the up and up. I've been part of a few exceptions. Times are a changing though.
SC that was a almost 20 yrs ago. Now I slow down and let 'em by.
You're a nice guy I would've pulled in my drive way and then when he jumped out to confront me I would've put two of my nice new .45 hydrashocks in his head I don't fuck around with anyone esp. crooked ass cops. Glad to hear that the department is actually doing something about it but probably only because he's a repeat offender.
You guys get the whole "Young ricer" crap... They see me and they're like "Oh, its a chick.. nevermind"... Assholes... Anyhow, when I was in Albany, the police really respected me.. It only took them a few times rolling up to me and having a conversation with me, that they realized I'm not a retard like the others.. They have asked me time and time again to keep my eye out for the wreckless drivers.. For some reason, my supra has always brought out the wreckless jackasses
savannahashlee;1439834 said:
Agreed, and personally i would never do it, BUT unfortunately, it is the truth, and even a maybe/might have/unsure will end careers. Thats all i was pointing out.
Well aware of Perjury, Class D/E Felony (depending on when/extent of action) according to NYS penal law for falsifying written instrument under oath, or statement with intent to mislead public servant.
Supracentral;1440720 said:
One of my routes home from work has a section of single lane 45mph road that opens to 3 lanes in a school zone 25mph. I can't count the number of people that cruise the single lane section going 30mph or slower. As soon as they hit the 3 lane section they speed up to 50+. The school zone is clearly marked but they still speed up.
Even at night when the school zone isn't in effect people still go so slow in this single lane section. Just makes me wanna smack my head into the steering wheel when I get stuck people people like this lol. It's always to busy to pass too and worse when I get someone behind me tailgating thinking I'm the cause.