Beating a ticket

[nirvana]

I really wouldn't say that a driver rubbernecking to look at the flashing lights is a  cop's fault.  It's bad driving, period.

[Maverick]

There is a reason that there are primae faceia (sp????) speed limits as well as other seemingly arbitrary traffic laws. That is because people cannot be trusted to drive consistently and safely based soley on their own skills and abilities. The second reason is you are almost NEVER on the roads alone and it's the guy you don't see or don't anticipate or don't have sufficient reaction time to deal with that will end up taking you out or being taken out by you. People often look but they don't see. Ask anyone who has ridden a motorcycle in heavy traffic for a bit.

Everyone driving on the road is supposed to be able to count on others following the same rules so they can be predictable. That means they will reasonably be able to determine it's safe to pull out onto the road since other vehicles are supposed to be going a predictable speed in the correct lanes and signalling before moving left or right on the roadway.

There is always someone who decides on their own they know better than the traffic engineers and civil engineers as to how THEY can drive. Sooner or later they end up finding themselves with a ticket or collision or both. Hopefully without anyone else having top pay a penalty for their arrogance that THEY know better than everyone else what is a safe way for them to drive on public roads.

M36 don't waste your time, it's futile to try and teach a rabbit to sing. It wastes your time, annoys the rabbit and he'll never learn to sing. (Apologies to R. Heinlein)

[rabbidrabbit]

Not a truck driver.. just a commuter.  I don't hate cops, I respect the ones who don't have a us vs them attitude towards the rest of society.  What I said is safe is safe.  If you can't stop in your line of sight you are wrong.  If you tailgate or cut through traffic or blast through stop signs and red lights you are wrong.  Intelligence should trump the letter of the law.  If the average road speed is 80 I don't turn myself into a rolling roadblock just because the posted speed limit is 55.  I drive the average of the lane I'm in and get out of it if its faster than I think is safe.  I drive newer vehicles that are designed for highway commuting and put the best tires I can find on them since they are the weakest link in an emergency.  I have read about and witnessed plenty of crashes due to rubernecking from traffic stops.  Its not the cops fault in itself but pulling someone for doing 5 over the posted limit does not seem like a intelligent decision for the cop to cause the inevitable for such a trivial matter.  If you want me or anyone to respect your better than everyone else attitude you will be waiting a long time.  My brother in law has 4 friends who recently became state cops.  They cut lines to get in clubs, pick fights, demand free booze and flash their badges left and right expecting everything.  Its the same BS arrogance that serves no one.