Brad writes:
Sajeev, fellow travelers, and the best and brightest: due to my job, I spend a great deal of time on I-70 between St Louis and KC. I often see the police of one sort or another staking out the highway looking for speeders. I have been warned many times by drivers going the opposite direction flashing their lights and I usually do the same when I can.
The question is, is flashing the lights illegal or immoral or for some other reasons not a good idea?
Do you do it? How long do you keep it up, 1/2 mile, 1 mile, more?
Sajeev Answers:
Flashing your car’s brights is necessary for several reasons, especially with the left-lane hoggers in the United States . That said, flashing to rob the Five-Oh of some precious game is not always a “bright” idea. Some municipalities don’t take kindly to taking food outta their mouths: as the wiki link above shows, perhaps the Police can bust you for “obstructing a police investigation?” I don’t know, and I sure as hell don’t wanna find out.
But I still flash when possible. Giving good karma to fellow motorists is nice, provided you spot oncoming Police Interceptors from about mile away. This is one reason why I stop flashing before traveling a mile from the bogey. I don’t fear gang initiations from my actions, but as a kid growing up in South West Alief Texas, I’m not going out of my way to help every motorist avoid a ticket. No need to get that risky with my own license.
Bonus! A Piston Slap Nugget of Wisdom:
Sort of like condoms for your car, don’t rely on the high beam flashing of others: buy a frickin’ radar detector. Just make sure it is legal in your state. While any unit will do fine, I’ll go out of my way and give mad props to my Valentine One. And the V1’s amazingly easy to “hard wire” power cable: it’s just a telephone cord. Once you get used to V1’s multi-directional threat indicators, you realize that some items are truly worth the insane asking price.
Get used to the communication method(s) of your radar detector, mount it near your rearview mirror, and you’ll use it as a gauge just like your tachometer. They are that necessary.
(Send your queries to mehta@ttac.com)
Given his highway miles, for this driver the best fuzz-buster is probably a CB.
In Ontario, Canada, you will get charged with “Imitating an Emergency Vehicle” or some similiar nonsense under the Highway Traffic Act. If you fight the ticket it will be immediately dropped, because unless your lights are flashing on one side, then the other, you are not imitating an emergency vehicle.
The prosecutor will drop the ticket because they know they can’t win. They keep on charging people though because most of them will just pay without fighting it. Nice system.
And I’m not a lawyer, but I pretend to be one on the internet.
Ontario also has a law that its illegal to transport, not just use, a speed detection device. Meaning If I drive across the country and have a radar detector, I can’t even put it in my trunk. Some provinces have a rule that the speed device cannot be within reach of the driver but Ontario is ruthless. I heard a horror story where a guy had a jammer, drove into ontario, pulled over, disconnected the heads (just behind the grill) thus rendering it useless and continued on, thinking he was in compliance. Nope. OPP saw his heads, could not rip the unit out so they towed his car. Only way you can have a jammer/radar detector in your vehicle in ontario is if your a the fedex man and have a waybill for delivery outside the province.
And another point… if speeding is SOOOOOOOO dangerous, why would the police have a problem with me telling others to slow down!!!
Another example of the government using fear to take away our freedoms.
If you are pulled over for flashing your headlights, you can always try: “I was signalling a lane change and pulled up on the lever accidently, officer.”
I have a Escort X50 which is pretty useless as more Colorado cops have switched from radar to laser guns. When the detector goes off from a laser hit, it’s too late to slow down. Laser jammers (not legal in every state) are the only effective counter-measure.
Twotone
I’ll toss my V1 when the highway patrol switches to laser, but right now I’ve only been hit with it by the Houston PD. And they only use it in high traffic areas that really need slower drivers.
Last time I checked, laser transmissions are not regulated by the FCC like radar waves, but are instead regulated by the FDA because of growing usage of lasers for medical purposes. What this means is the police cannot broadly say “no laser jammers,” because the light spectrum that is used for laser jammers is not “reserved” in any way like radar guns are, although I’m sure they would find something to charge you with if they want to.
I had a built In system in my last car, and never once got a ticket, even when traveling at triple digit speeds, coming up on a cop, and slamming the brakes. (amateur of me, I know). Sadly, my new car is too slow to justify such an expensive installation, so know I make do with a dash mounted STI.
I gave up on all radar detectors after receiving a ticket courtesy of an aircraft timing me. Before walking away the cop told me he liked my radar detector.
Maybe it’s just me getting old but now I just set the cruise 5-7 above the limit and go. Makes my trips much less stressful…well…..save for the left lane bandits.
The V1 is indeed effective in providing laser warnings on occasion. It has saved me many times. It comes down to three scenarios:
1. You’re alone in clear line of sight, and tagged with a laser. Basically you’re toast.
2. You’re in traffic. I’ve had the LIDAR warning go off far enough down the road and with enough traffic in front of me to know that it was an errant beam from a reading on a car FAR ahead. Count this one as a win.
3. I’ve been laser’ed from hiding spots. In reaction I have adjusted my speed to within reason of the limit and continued on. Eventually Officer Friendly appears in my rear view, no lights or siren, but follows me for a while. One of two things happen, they pull off and go away, or they pull me over and issue a warning (I assume because once they caught up to me they noted that I was no longer speeding?) without a citation. That’s a win too.
The other trick to avoiding the LIDAR trap is to stay the hell out of the left lane. That’s where the low-hanging fruit is found and the laser’s field of fire is VERY narrow.
I had a California Highway Patrolman tell me that he woudl turn his radar on whenever he took a break just so all the drivers with radar detectors would slow down. Otherwise, he only “shot” cars that he already thought were speeding in order to confirm their speed.
“I was reaching into the instrument cluster for my cell phone, which fell in when I zipped myself in my fly and reflexively hit the brakes.”
Morally, warning others of an immoral tax doesn’t bother me.
Traveling interstate, I’ll flash cars within a minute of hitting the speed trap.
I flash my low beams or corner lights a few times for this, but never my brights. I wait until I’m out of the cop’s sight line, and only when I have enough space in front of me that oncoming cars know I’m alerting them directly.
Of course, this is harder than it used to be now that most cars are DRL-equipped, but I still prefer it. Flashing brights can only mean “get over” when driving, or “please go ahead” when stopped. IMHO.
In my DRL-equipped car, pulling the handbrake up one click turns off the DRL beams. That’s what I do. It avoids the possibility of the cops writing you a “failure to use dipped beam” ticket – I’ve heard of that one happening.
@Brian
I finally have a car with DRLs and I don’t like them. I’m not sure why, but they annoy me. In my car, a 2006 Grand Prix with automatic lights, I can shut the DRLs off by turning the stalk, which would normally be used to turn the lights on in a car with manual lights, towards me. This shuts them off and prevents them coming on until the next time you start the car, which then resets them. If you have manually disengaged them the car will start to yell at you after dusk with the message “HEADLAMPS SUGGESTED” and an annoying beep.
I bought a detector several months ago after a moment of inattention cost me at the hands of the state troopers. And that’s what it was: if I had been truly paying attention, there is no way I would have been doing that velocity through that section of highway. At first I saw the detector as something that would remind me when I forgot to remind myself.
However, in the last several months it has gotten to the point where I feel kind of naked driving a car without it. I had no idea how much monitoring we’re subject to in Pennsylvania (btw, I know that not all alerts are speed monitoring). Put the thing in my glove box when I drove through VA in July.
It’s also fun now to see people speed up to get behind and follow me when they see the extra lights on my dash. I’m performing a public service ;)
Is a preacher immoral for warning his flock against adultery if one of them heeds the lesson, but later goes down the path of perdition when he is tempted? No, my brothers, no. The sin is the speeders alone.
On a more serious note, flashing your lights to warn people of cops is nearly a civic duty. We’re all in this together, and a random help from total strangers is part of the glue that keeps society working.
Can I get an Amen?!
Hallelujah!
A possible excuse for flashing the lights:
“Your honor, I was alerting oncoming motorists to the presence of a police officer working in the area. I am always concerned for the safety and well-being of our officers working on our roads. My warning allows motorists to slow down and move out of lanes that might jeopardize the safety of the officer working in that area. This is similar to a warning given to motorists as they approach a road repair crew working on our roads. Ensuring the safety of all those on our roads is all of our responsibility.”
If you can say that in court with a straight face, you may just get out of it.
If you see a motorcyclist patting the top of his/her helmet, that’s a clear signal that there’s a cop ahead…this has saved me several times.
I do this, too. But most riders will only do it for other motorcyclists, knowing that car drivers generally won’t know what this means. Still … if you are in a car and you see a motorcyclist giving another one the pat-on-helmet signal, now ya know what it means.
The hand extended to the side in a patting motion, “slow down”, is pretty much universal, too.
Well radars are illegal in Brazil, so I’ll flash my lights to oncoming drivers for more than a mile if I see cops. Don’t know if it’s illegal, but I’ve never heard of anybody being busted becuase of it.
Flashing lights warns of other stuff too. It can mean that there are animals loose on the road, children walking on the road, that the traffic ahead of that curve is all stopped for some reasons, that there is a huge crater in the asphalt ahead, etc., etc., etc. So if you’re in Brazil and see people flashing their lights, slow down! It may be anything but it’s danger. Do the same if you see people turn on the emergency lights but keep on moving. Something is wrong, slow down now!
If the actual STATED goal of police enforcement is public safety, and NOT revenue generation, then flashing your fellow speeders is a DUTY because it removes the enforcement burden from the police.
Hahahahahaha!
I was thinking along the same lines. If you flash your light to indicate that people should obey the speed limit, how can that be illegal? “Your honor, I flashed my lights so to tell people to slow down and obey the law. Is it a crime to tell people to obey the law?”
I’ll flash a warning, but I don’t see it happening much in the Pacific Northwest. I’ll also flash warnings to people if I see some kind of pedestrian ass hattery or animals on the road. I figure the “car”-ma will come back to me.
I’m in the PNW and extend warnings to my fellow motorists all the time – at least on rural 2-lane highways. It is fruitless to do this on Interstates around here. Works fine in wide open country like the original questioner lives in, but not here.
“The question is, is flashing the lights speeding illegal or immoral or for some other reasons not a good idea?”
There, I fixed it. (Oh, the irony)
All speed limits are statutory. Speeding is only illegal if you get caught. You can be cited for speeding UNDER the limit if it’s too fast for the conditions (snow, rain, fog, sleet, gloom of night) so logically, you can go faster when conditions allow. JUST DON’T GET CAUGHT.
It should be perfectly acceptable to flash other motorists not to break the law by getting caught. Just as many motorists avoid tickets by telling the officer they were only trying to keep up with traffic, a motorist stopped for light flashing need only explain that someone flashed them first, and it was taken as a warning that their high beams were on, and they were checking them.
My mother told me this one time as we went over a toll bridge into Jersey, and she was doing it as we crossed to warn drivers of the Crown Vic hiding behind the bridge maintenance office. The Crown Vic on the other side nailed her and when she mentioned it was legal in PA/NJ, the office informed her the bridge was private property. Hefty fine too for what it was, about $300.
I’ll do it, but I make sure not to do it when crossing any bridge-authority bridges. If you get pulled over for it around here you just tell the cop the court case name and they leave you alone…
I also flash my lights to warn others but got a big surprise one time. I was pulled over on I-95 in Florence County South Carolina for doing this by a blue ’03 or ’04 Mach I Mustang. He was going the opposite direction and I just assumed he was a fellow motorist. I was pulled over and asked if I had an electrical problem with my car but was let go with no problem.
I will continue to do this and I greatly appreciate others that have saved me. There are times everyone needs a reminder to check their speed but there’s times people do deserve a ticket.
Given his highway miles, his best option is a CB.
I don’t flash unless there’s some bonehead without their lights on at all (when it’s dark enough to require them) and I’ve never noticed motorists flashing warnings to me either. I also flash to allow truckers over when they’re unsure of where I am.
A long time ago, in a land far, far away…actually in a bowling alley in Indiana, an aged long haul trucker told me ‘all truckers’ prefer that you just flip your low beams on and off to signal clearance, even at night. The high beams blind the them since he is staring in the mirror to look for cars. I use this technique and have never had any bad outcomes.
Another option is a portable GPS unit with the speed cameras POI added in. I have a Navigon 7200 that I love and I can purchase the third party software for $40 or so. I think it even includes a menu button to nuke the speed camera POI info in case you get pulled over. Reinstall later that night at no new cost. How does the police office know you’ve nuked the POI info or simply tuned down the volume on the steering instructions?
I (and alot of other people) avoid one neighborhood in a nearby large city b/c that neighborhood’s mayor installed multiple speed cameras and redlight cameras. Nobody speeds there now but the neighborhood shops are paying the price as the city bypasses it on the nearby highway. Last Christmas as we stopped there for a redlight we were surprised as the camera flashed off as if we had run the red light. I was below walking speeds and had no crossed the white line yet. NOBODY was around (nearly midnight). Fortunately our little Brenderup trailer blocked the view of our license plate and trailers aren’t required to have license plates here.
Back when I traveled alot I had a radar detector. Didn’t speed that much but the radar detector was a great reminder to check my speed any time a police officer was trying to boost the revenues of his department… GRIN! Managed one ticket in VA. I was bombing along at ~80 mph following a group of fast cars in rolling hills. They got off the highway and I did not notice until I crested the hill. There he sat. Busted. Radar detector skipped the warning tones and went to full freak. I just pulled over. Luckily I had time to ditch the detector in the floorboard under my jacket while he had to pull out.
Another time one “got me” while going north while I was going south. I sped up and got off at the next exit. As I parked behind a gas station the trooper blew past the exit running near triple digits trying to catch me. I got a Coke to drink and waited. Now seriously – is his speeding like that really making the world safe from my ~10 mph over the speed limit?
Shame we have to have so many gadgets to protect us from the “revenuers”. My favorite tool is cruise control. I find that the longer that I travel the faster my speeds creep up. These days I set it at 72 mph and forget about it. Just had to get used to the whole world passing me in the left lane. Don’t even own a radar detector anymore.
I do continue to “chase the rabbit” by waiting until a car with a heavy right foot passes me. I then let them get 1/2 of a mile or more head and pace them with the cruise control. On one stretch of rural highway i have witnessed about six or seven of them get tickets “for me”. Usually we are running 10 mph over the speed limit. No unsafe though. Huge highway, wide lanes, smooth, relatively straight. 55 mph. Seriously? I could run 100 mph out there. Usually content to run the legal limit though.
Heh. I use that too. Great for reminding one of speed cameras. I used to use a nifty thing called navalert but the company who makes it has to supply updates for it for new camera locations. After having it for 4 months and no updates, I sold it. I can update my garmin whenever I want….plus I know I am getting all the locations.
I have a V1 and Blinder M27 (upgrade from M25 I had before). Never had a ticket since I got the devices. Nuggets of wisdom….
1) As said STAY OUT OF THE LEFT LANE. Its a passing lane, use it for passing. The more time you spend with cars in front of you the better. They block the rader/lidar
2) I have never seen a laser trap pointing to cars in the right lane. I drive by them all the time in the right lane, jammer and V1 never go off.
3) Where I live, the airplane only comes out during high traffic long weekends. Not profitable to fly it unless there is lots of traffic. Don’t speed during holidays.
4) Rabbit rabbit rabbit. Get a rabbit. Follow them as long as you can. Owning a V1, lots of times I will see people following me because they see it through my back window. I let them for a bit, but then make them take their turn at flushing out the cops.
5) Something that has been awesome where I live (alberta) is testosterone infested guys in trucks. They make great rabbits. I like to groom them by passing them, slowly. They hate being passed and speed up. Once I got them doing a speed I would never do without a rabbit, I let them in front and ride behind them, safe as can be. They never want to trade spots either, they can’t stand people in front of them. They ride the left lane too which further distracts police from me.
The V1 is awesome though. Its great in my city too as the police only use Ka band so I can turn off x and k-band. The only time my V1 makes noise is if there is a leaky radar detector near me (best-buy detectors cause false Ka alerts), there is an oncoming infinity (laser based cruise control causes laser alert) or there is a cop ahead.
So, it’s better to be behind than in front? I always figured that if a cop jumps out to pull someone, he’s gonna pull the last guy in line… If you’re in front, zing over to the right lane post-haste and let the dude behind you get the lights. Haven’t been eager to test that theory, though…
But as I don’t generally go above traffic speed and am not nuts, I’ve only been pulled once – when I went 62 in a 45, at 2:30am, not having seen the sign. And my policy is 10 over in 55s and up – or traffic speed, whichever is higher, assuming normal conditions.
Anyway, do they have more sophisticated techniques than I’m assuming for pulling people? Not being a sanctimonious concerned ticket-hater, I haven’t considered the options too thoroughly. I do, however, wonder what those opposed to speeding tickets consider a viable alternative – criminal penalty seems a bit excessive, and you have to admit that the roads would probably not be a great place for those wishing to live a long life if there were no enforcement whatsoever.
The National Motorists Association could certainly tell you if the light flashing thing is illegal anywhere. Google and call them.
Some municipalities don’t take kindly to taking food outta their mouths: as the wiki link above shows, perhaps the Police can bust you for “obstructing a police investigation?
I am not a lawyer but it seems to me that they’d have a hard time getting a conviction. To begin with there’s the little matter of the First Amendment. The prosecutor would have to essentially argue that you don’t have the right to tell people that a police officer is in the area.
Let’s say that I tell you that the cops are looking for you. If he went on the lam, LEOs and prosecutors would claim that I interfered with their investigation. If he goes into the police station for questioning, they’d characterize the same statement as completely legal.
It’s all a matter of whether the cops see benefit in your actions. If what you do is seen as contrary to their professional interests they’ll hassle you. If the same act is seen as helping them, even though it may indeed be illegal, they’ll be just fine with it.
Also, criminal prosecutions require evidence of mens rea, criminal intent. To form criminal intent to obstruct a police investigation one would first have to have knowledge of that investigation, and since cops can be at the side of the road for many reasons besides surveillance (he pulled over to make an appointment with a hooker), the prosecutors would have a tough time proving you intended to interfere.
Of course, when they’re hassling you for protecting people from their revenue enhancement methods, they don’t really care so much if you’re convicted or not, just so long as they can tag you with the cost of paying or fighting a ticket.
I’m all for flashing, as long as you can do so safely. I always appreciate the warning, especially on town or state roads off the main interstate. Since flashing your lights is a form of communication with other drivers, as long as it is not a safety hazard, it should be well within our first amendment rights in the U.S. In Canada, your rights are long gone, so good luck with that.
That said, I try to stay 5-7 MPH above, which gives them enough other faster targets to acquire. I’m Jerry Reed, let somebody else be Burt Reynolds. In New Hampshire, with common multi-car traps, caution is required. In Massachusetts, my only contact with the state police is when they fly up behind me while I’m doing 80 in a 65, and tailgate me until I get out of their way. Not much to worry about here, unless you don’t move.
You are actually protecting the public welfare by flashing your lights.
1) Cars slow down and become more attentive of their surroundings.
2) You make it far easier for the police to pull over distracted and reckless drivers.
3) Insurance costs, gas consumption, and in certain cases, unjustifiable revenue sourcing all decline dramatically.
4) Plus you inflict less stress on the police officer and his vehicle. No need to levy fines on folks who are good natured and just getting by. Just sit down, profile the nutters, enjoy the cold air and listen to the CB radio.
Pretty soon the county will bring taxes to a reasonable level and America’s finest can go on solving crimes, busting meth labs, and giving everyone all the benefits of their good work.
I’ve done good so far with the cheap little one my girlfriend gave me. Planning on upgrading to a Valentine 1. I’m sorry but if the weather’s good and the roads are largely empty and my vehicle is in good shape, some of the speed limits are stupidly low. I don’t speed in my old pick up truck (sucks too much gas at the limit even) but in my girlfriends Vibe I’ve found that it loves to cruise at about 85mph.
I learned about using lights to warn of cops from my Dad back in the 55 days. I still do it when possible but most times I use my lights it’s to signal trucks on the highway that want to change lanes. They usually appreciate it.
First time I heard of this. I’d do it whenever I get the chance, unless saw someone travel in a very reckless manner perhaps. I got pulled over last week, and I had no proof of insurance (old receit), no license (old one only) and no registration (expired recently), I was doing 80 in a 50 zone, got caught doing 70 he says. I was pretty cool with the cop, friendly, honest, meager (lol), cooperative, and my happy go lucky self. He just told me to bring my proof of license to court and were good. Perhaps the fact that my car is 20 years old helps. Awesome I said. This is like the 3 third time I get off without a ticket. I like cops a little more now. but I still don’t want to see tickets excessively given, so may flash soon.
I have lived in Houston a long time and the use of headlights to warn others of radar and such does not seem to be as prevalent as it used to be but still alive and well.
Lots of good advice. I too stay pretty much 5mph over the speed limit using cruise control.
Stay out of the left lane.
Follow, don’t lead, especially over an overpass or blind corner. (let the youngn with the coffee can for a muffler on his import get the ticket).
Watch for sudden brake lights ahead as cars go over an overpass. (Especially in the left lane)
The few times I used radar, I hated it. Too many false signals in such a large city.
Never seen aircraft used in Texas. Only in New Mexico. The wide lines crossing the highway are a dead give a way. That is how they pace you.
Now I have one idea to pass on to law enforcement. If you ACTUALLY want to provide a safer environment on the highways for EVERYONE, including peace officers and emergency crews, try enforcing “left lane for passing only” instead. It would all but eliminate road rage (probably the most dangerous part of driving in a large city like mine), it would free up traffic, and it would make emergency response a much safer undertaking. I won’t even get started on “failure to signal a lane change.”
If you want respect, try enforcing laws that actually make it safer for all of us. And if you call yourself a law enforcement officer, then meeting quotas is contrary to your title.
Now I have one idea to pass on to law enforcement… If you want respect, try enforcing laws that actually make it safer for all of us.
A wise old cop who left speed enforcement to investigate real crimes once told me that Departments know that statistically speaking, speeders pay.
Unsafe drivers, on the other hand, are statistically more likely to lack a license, have outstanding warrants, or have similar problems that may require a costly arrest. That such drivers are more likely to maim or kill others is irrelevant to the primary mission: efficiently generating revenue.
I flash my lights to warn oncoming traffic about officers running radar all the time. And I’m a cop myself.
As to whether or not a radar detector is a good investment, my professional opinion is to save your money. A dedicated motor cop worth his salt isn’t going to hit you with the radar until he’s already visually taken note of your speed. Your radar detector won’t alert you to him until he’s already seen you and hits the “Instant On” button. A radar detector will alert you to the officer running radar just to slow everything down or to catch the low hanging fruit doing 15+ over while they put their makeup on or update their Twitter account.
A better strategy is to simply pay attention and not drive too stupid. Frizzlefry’s advice about finding a “rabbit” is dead on. There’s always some idiot willing to do more than any sane person would want to do on a public road. Most of us really will give you 10 or more over on a limited access roadway and you easily do 12- 15 over if you have a rabbit. Like Frizzlefry said, let those guys get your tickets instead.
I never do this, except to warn of a danger.
I usually drive 10kph over the limit, and now and then have to pass someone else on the 4-lanes. These would be the odd people who, for various perfectly good reasons may even be driving at the limit. I stay out of the left lane unless I’m passing. I’m fed up with the large number of people driving 20kph and faster over the limit, who think they have the right to bully me because I’m not driving as far above the limit as they are. What kind of citizens would endanger someone else because they’re not breaking the law and being reckless and wasteful to an equal degree? It seems there’s a lot of them. Perhaps their brains have become saturated with fumes to the point they can’t think straight anymore.
So since the people driving at the limit and within 10kph never get speeding tickets, I’m happy for the aggressive speeders to get caught. Pi$$ on them.
20kph = 12.5 mph. Down here, that’s nothing. Might not even get a cop’s attention in some areas. 42.5 in a 30 might. 67.5 in a 55 less likely.
And no one driving within 6.2 mph of a limit should ever get a ticket, IMHO.
Exceeding the speed limit on a limited access highway is not dangerous or “reckless.” Most people drive 75-80 mph on these roads. Anyone who can’t handle that needs to stay home; anyone who believes that these speeds are “reckless” needs to become better informed. It’s 2010, not 1940.
+1 frizzlefry. I always want to be the second fastest guy the cop sees.
In college I would make road trips back home from Berkeley to Anaheim along California’s infamous I-5. Plenty of people wanting to prove what muscle they have. Once I was doing 80-85 in the left lane and a cop pulls up behind me and starts the lights. I start to pull over and he PASSES me to bust a Dakota that we had passed earlier. He had passed us at something close to triple digits, which was more then I wanted to subject my Ford Contour V6 to. As a 20 year old broke college student, that was divine intervention as far as I was concerned.
Oh crap. On topic, no one in CA flashes to warn of speed traps as I am aware of. Most major highways are too wide and walled off for that to be practical anyways.
I was late for an appointment, and right after I got on 696, I hooked up with someone in a Corvette and we were working our way through traffic a little bit above the flow. You know how you can sometimes work with another driver to go fast. Something, though, made us both decide that maybe we should back off a tad. Not sure what it was, but just as we decided to back it down to the flow, a guy in a Mustang blew by us. About two miles ahead, he was pulled over at the side of the road, and the Corvette driver and I looked at each other and grinned.
People with bad driving records generally deserve them. Not because they speed. Most of us speed. It’s because they attract attention with the way they drive.
Hell, I once got pulled over after performing a by-the-book the way they teach it in driver’s ed stair step multiple lane change from entrance lane to far left lane because I was headed out of town. I didn’t get a ticket because I wasn’t speeding by the time he was able to time me and in any case I was only doing 80 in a 70 in Michigan and he was a state trooper (usually no harm no foul in this state). Something about the way I got way over to the left caught his attention and pissed him off.
flash ’em if you got ’em (sorry, I had to)
“He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,–
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.”
Longfellow wrote it, but the point goes as far back as April 19, 1775 and the midnight ride of Paul Revere. I don’t care what the law says, it’s a core value of this country. Flash away.
Also, there are a couple of drawbacks to the laser toy.
– Only works on one car at a time.
– Cop has to be parked perpendicular to the road aiming the toy out the open side window. Can’t be used through the windshield. That means he has to have a way to pull out safely to chase someone, which severely limits the locations he can use. If you drive a road every day, you’ll know where they are soon enough.
– Weather must be clear. No precipitation or fog, but how fast would you be going in those conditions anyway?
So it stands to reason that the cop will aim at the fast lane first, then start picking other cars. Gives you even more reaction time. The detectors come in handy because they tell you when you’ve been zapped, and when you haven’t yet. What I’d like to see is a detector that records when and where a reading is taken, especially if it’s not quite the same as the cop’s testimony.
I live a 3 minute walk from a piece of Oxbow Rd. in Lexington, which was build in the late 1600s, and was a major thoroughfare between Boston and Lexington & Concord back in Paul Revere’s day, and which was probably his route out to Lexington
A couple of notes:
As a motorcyclist I think I tend to look farther ahead than most car drivers. I save ~ 2-3 cagers a year from tickets by cops I see up ahead that other people don’t notice. That still doesn’t keep the other ones out of their cell phones, shaving, etc. If you ever want to thank a motorcyclist who saved you from a ticket, don’t tailgate & turn off all your distractions. We all thank you.
In Illinois it’s legal to have a permanently flashing headlight on a motorcycle as a way to be “seen”. A motorcyclist flashing his headlight at a consistent rate several times per second might just be normal and not mean anything.
Look for the pat on the head of other motorcyclists. Learn what it means. Teach others and you might save them a ticket.
I’ve been driving for almost 20 years and have never received a moving violation. I think it’s a combination of luck and common sense. I’ve been motorcycling for 5.
* If you don’t know where the cops are already or where they might be hiding and are unfamiliar with the area, get out of the left lane, don’t tailgate & follow the flow of traffic
* Find a point man (I think you guys call it “rabbit”). Make sure he’s going faster than you.
* Know and look what is 2, 3 and 10+ seconds ahead.
* Don’t tailgate. Just don’t do it.
* Stay out of the left lane. It seems (IMHO) that radar cops target this lane the most.
The V1 truly is the best radar detector out there, hands down. I own several. Once while traveling through the god-awful state of Virginia, a state in which even knowing how to spell “radar detector” is apparently punishable by roadside summary execution, I had my V1 jammed down inside a dashboard storage compartment in my Ram. But I had mistakenly left it plugged in, and to my surprise it still clearly and correctly picked up the radar of oncoming police.
It regularly picks up signals from so far away that I sometimes doubt it, even after all these years. And in a completely bizarre coincidence it once legitimately tracked six separate state DOT radars — two parked, one oncoming, two with a trucker pulled over, and one going by on an overpass (this was shortly after 9/11 when there were several truck-bomb scares).
Incidentally, it is believed that because the V1 does not rely on the same type of radio antenna used by virtually every other radar detector, it can’t itself be detected by police “radar detector detectors” because its antenna design can’t be “tricked” into reflecting the right kind of signal that gives away other brands.
About 10 years ago, I had a friend who worked at Sound Advice. We tested the V1 side-by-side with every high-end detector he could borrow from the shop. In real-world use there simply is no comparison. Mine have more than paid for themselves many times over.
The V1 can be detected by the police. Mind you a cheap detector can be picked up at 1500+ feet. The V1 averages about 400-500 feet. There are detectors like the Bel STI Driver that are 100% invisible and are pretty good detectors. But if detectors are legal where you are, use a V1.