[catdad]

Hey guys

I thought I would share the events of one of the strangest weeks I have had in recent years. In a nut shell, since Sunday, I have become very acquainted with the local police force here in (Insert northwestern state here). That's as specific about the location that I will be throughout the post. This is a long story, so it may not be for everyone.

Sunday: {End Speed Zone}

Sunday afternoon I found myself driving into town with my girlfriend on a highway which is technically speed limited at 55 mph (ironically highways in this state often display "end speed zone" signs. If you read the drivers manual you'd come to find out that "end speed zone" is just a fancy way of saying the maximum speed limit is 55, I'm not exactly sure why "end speed zone" is easier to print onto a sign than "55", but I digress).

I was going about 70 on this road because, let's face it, going 55 in our cars is just painful. Anyways, I see a county police car pass me driving in the opposite direction as I'm cresting a hill, and I think to myself, "hmmm well I don't think they run radar in motion like state cops do, so I should be fine, right?" Wrong. About 3 minutes later I see lights behind me, and I promptly pull over to to the shoulder.

Cop: "Hey there do you know why I pulled you over?"
Me: "Well, I'm guessing it had something to do with my speed?"
Cop: "You'd be correct, are you aware that the speed limit is 55 on this highway?"
Me: "Oh, well I thought the end speed zone sign meant I could make up my my own speed."
Cop: *laughs at what I said* "Alright do you mind if I see your license, insurance, and registration?
Me: *Handing him my documents* "No problem, here you go."

He does his usual thing in his car, meanwhile I am hoping he'll take notice of my clean driving record. He comes back 5 minutes later.

Cop; "Alright well i'll let you off with a verbal warning, but just keep in mind that the speed on this highway is 55, alright?"
Me: "No problem, have a nice day"
Cop: "Same to you"

I was relieved to not get a ticket, after clearing a different speeding ticket from out of state with traffic school, I would have hated for this one to screw up my insurance and what not.

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Monday Morning: {Just Having One of Those Days}

My hour long work commute began Monday, so I hop on the freeway at first light and go on my merry way. Now, I'm going to be honest with you guys, I drive fast on the freeways. Say what you want about being responsible and endangering other vehicles, but I genuinely do my best to not drive aggressively, or in a way that would severely endanger other drivers. Generally in the morning there are hardly any cars out, so what does one do with open road and a fast car? You get the picture...

Normally i'm cruising at about 85, with brief blasts to uhhhh...well over the speed limit, but today I was running late. I made the decision to remind my German car that living in America wasn't all that bad, we could at least pretend we were on the autobahn, right?

A few minutes pass and the floor under the accelerator was calling my name, all efforts to resist this command by the car were futile. I could have sworn I heard a voice shouting in German, "Schneller.......Schneller!!!!"

Needless to say, I answered the call to action almost immediately, and I hardly took notice of the pickup truck towing a boat in the right lane as I blazed by going 120+

Seconds later I back it off to my usual cruising speed, and I see that same truck approaching me, and fast. In a few moments he was on my tail, so what do I do? "Schneller......Schneller!!!!" Back to the stratosphere I go, leaving the pickup truck behind in my dust. Just as I pull away, I watch in horror and disbelief as the grill of the pickup truck lights up like a Christmas tree, crap. I found a good place to pull off, and as the officer exited his white, mostly unmarked vehicle, I awaited my imminent doom.

Cop: "Hi uhhhhh, do you know why i'm pulling you over today?"
Me: "Well if I had to take a wild guess, i'd probably come to the conclusion that it might be related to my speed."
Cop: "Do you have any idea how fast you were going?"
Me: "I'm not sure about the exact numbers, but it was pretty fast."
Cop: "Did you not notice my truck or something?"
Me: "I really did not, I don't usually see a pickup truck towing a boat and think it's a cop, guess i'm just having one of those days."
Cop: "It happens man, Where do you work at in X city?"
Me: "I work for X company at their offices up there."
Cop: "You don't say? I worked for X company for 10 years, great place to work."

We chatted a bit more about X company and some other off topic things.

Cop: "Alright i'm going to need to take a look at your info."
Me: "No problem, here you go."

He goes back to his truck to run my info. After a couple minutes the reality that I could potentially go to jail, have my license suspended, and my car impounded weighs heavy on my mind. I start to mentally prepare myself for him to say the dreaded, "can you step out of the vehicle please?" Basically, I was fucked. After 10 minutes in his truck I see him step out and start to walk back to my car, I'm preparing to unbuckle my seat belt.

Cop: "So listen, I'm guessing on an average day in a car like this you are not going the speed limit, I get that. But i'm going to have to ask you to slow it down a bit. I understand there aren't many cars out right now and you aren't really endangering anyone else to a great extent, but that doesn't change the fact that we have a speed limit of 65. i'll give you a warning today but you really need to try and take it easy.
Me: "Of course, I completely understand."
Cop: "Alright thanks buddy, have a nice day."

As he pulls away in his truck, I am left in as state of disbelief, did I actually get a warning for screaming by a cop at breakneck speeds? Yup.

Coolest. Cop. Ever.

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Monday Afternoon: {Singled Out}

After I got off work the same day, I hopped on the freeway to go back home for the day. I Opted not to speed so fast considering the lucky breaks I had been given on two separate occasions, so I decided to travel along with a group of about 4 other cars going about 78 (yeah, yeah it's still speeding I know). 30 Minutes later I notice an old, red Ford Taurus following me fairly closely, so I pulled into the right lane to let him pass. Instead he gets behind me, and proceeds to be creepy and annoying. I decided to floor it and get into the front of the pack to get away from him, and sure enough a minute later he is back on my tail. At this point i'm pretty creeped out, I was trying to remember if maybe I had cut him off accidentally, or if I had wronged him in some other way. Nothing came to mind. After 25 minutes of him following me (despite multiple speed and lane changes), he finally gets off at an exit and I breathed a sigh of relief.

30 seconds later, I see a state cop on the side of the road, he pulls out onto the freeway. I wasn't too worried, at this point I had been in traffic for a while and had been going under 70 for about 10 minutes. He stays back a ways in the right lane for about a minute, and I didn't give it too much thought. All of a sudden I see two black SUVs with aggressive bumper guards and spotlights approaching behind me, FAST. I pulled into the right lane to let them pass, but sure enough they get behind me. The state cop speeds ahead and gets in front, one SUV is on my left, and the other is directly behind me. Soon after, they light me up all at once and "force" me into the shoulder on the side of the road.

At this point I didn't know what to expect and really didn't understand why I was being so aggressively pulled over.

With cops surrounding my car, and both my windows rolled down, one of them approaches my passenger side window. He keeps his feet planted further back and leans in, right hand on his gun. I take notice to the other officers who seem on edge. One thing was certain, they were PISSED off.

Cop: "Any idea why you are getting pulled over today?"
Me: "I'm not sure why you guys felt the need to pull me over the way you did, so you're going to have to help me out on this one."
Cop: "Well, did you notice the officer following you for 20 miles or so a ways back?"
Me: "What officer? You guys are the only officers I have seen."
Cop: "Well, there was an off duty officer that was following you for quite some time, he called us and said you were trying to evade him and that you were changing lanes frequently."
Me: "If you're talking about the sketchy looking guy in the red 90s Taurus, then yeah I was trying to get him off my tail, I was considering calling the police to report him, but fortunately he got off at the exit back there."
Cop: "I'm going to need your license, registration, and insurance please."

He goes back to his car and the other officers follow, they all talk and point in various directions, what is this a pointing contest? 5 minutes later he comes back.

Cop: "So can you explain to me why you were driving so fast?"
Me: "I was in a group of 4 other cars along with the weirdo in the taurus, so if what he is telling you is true, then all those other cars are responsible in addition to him, and you guys are deliberately singling me out for whatever reason. It sounds like it's all hearsay."
Cop: "Well when we get a call from a fellow officer about an erratic driver, we have an obligation to investigate. I'm going to let you off with a warning this time, but I would suggest you not follow the pack if they are all speeding."
Me: *Looking perplexed* "Sure?"
Cop: "Have a nice day."

So, was I speeding? Yes. Had I been cited for speed from radar I would have taken a ticket no problem, that's the law. What ticked me off was how this particular situation played out. They knew they had no direct evidence of the claims being made against me, so they had no choice but to give me a "warning". The officer talked down to me in a rude manner and spoke in a way that implied that I KNEW I was "evading" an officer of the law. Very strange, indeed.

I'm pretty certain that they will have my car on their radar (pun intended) for a few days, so today I decided to drive my girlfriend's car, which blends in a lot better around here.

Moral of the story? Well, I don't know, you can decide for yourself. I am not naive to the fact that speeding will get you pulled over, I deserve to be pulled over if I am speeding, it's the law. I do however consider myself exceptionally lucky for getting pulled over three times in two days without so much as an official written warning. The first two cops were very professional and respectful, the last one not so much.

I should have never sold my Valentine One.....

[cwarren]

Enjoyed the story have to say pretty lucky all in all . I support the cops a 100% in fact a good friend of mine is a cop.I can tell you though they are a very tight group good or bad if one needs a so called favor damn straight they are there for each other . must say I hate it when they flex their power though .

[glachhman2]

csb

[catdad]

Originally Posted by cwarren

Enjoyed the story have to say pretty lucky all in all . I support the cops a 100% in fact a good friend of mine is a cop.I can tell you though they are a very tight group good or bad if one needs a so called favor damn straight they are there for each other . must say I hate it when they flex their power though .

Yes, very lucky. While I did not agree with the way in which I was pulled over the third time, I will say that I definitely support the local police around here. Two actually live in my neighborhood, and with the exception of the last officer I encountered, the majority are kind, courteous, and professional. At least around here anyway...can't speak for other places.