Ticketed in Louisiana

[45Auto]

Re: Ticketed in Louisiana

Unless the girl was driving an old "hoopty," its highly unlikely that her speedo was off.

Actually, it's highly likely that her odometer is off to the high side, so she was going slower than she thought she was:

In the U.S., manufacturers voluntarily follow the standard set by the Society of Automotive Engineers, J1226, which is pretty lax. To begin with, manufacturers are afforded the latitude to aim for within plus-or-minus two percent of absolute accuracy or to introduce bias to read high on a sliding scale of from minus-one to plus-three percent at low speeds to zero to plus-four percent above 55 mph. And those percentages are not of actual speed but rather a percentage of the total speed range indicated on the dial. So the four-percent allowable range on an 85-mph speedometer is 3.4 mph, and the acceptable range on a 150-mph speedometer is 6.0 mph. You're allowed another plus-or-minus two percent near the extremes of 20-to-130-degrees Fahrenheit. Take another plus-or-minus one percent if the operating voltage strays two volts above or below the normal rating. Tire error is excluded from the above.

Normal wear and underinflation reduce the diameter of the tire, causing it to spin faster and produce an artificially high reading. From full tread depth to baldness, speeds can vary by up to about two percent, or 1.4 mph at 70 mph. Lowering tire pressure 5 psi, or carrying a heavy load on the drive axle, can result in about half that difference.

Start at 4% for a 100 MPH speedo, add 2% figuring it'll see 20 degrees sometime in it's life, add another 1% cause the battery will probably die before the car is junked. Add 2% for tire wear, and another 1% if your tires are 5 PSI low.

Add all that up, it means your speedo on your American car can easily be 10% off. If it says you're going 70 MPH, you could easily really going 64.

If she was driving a european car, if her speedo is working right it is garuanteed to be high. A european speedo must NEVER read slow, even if the tires are worn or you change tire sizes. Your european speedo is perfectly fine if it reads 70 when you're really doing 61.5 MPH (1/10 over plus 4 km/h):

The European regulation, ECE-R 39, is more concise, stating essentially that the speed indicated must never be lower than the true speed or higher by more than one-tenth of true speed plus four kilometers per hour (79.5 mph at a true 70). Never low. There's your explanation of high-reading European speedometers, with the highest readings on Porsches and BMWs that are most likely to lure owners inclined to fool with tire sizes.

My 2003 Buick speedo is 3 MPH fast at 70. 70 on the speedo is 67 on the GPS.

What I do object to, is a situation where a driver who is obeying the law, may not drive in a particular lane and make full use of a roadway. Even more so, I object to a law that turns a person who is obeying the law, into a "criminal" (moving violations are criminal), so that others can break another law.

This law was enacted precisely because of drivers like Jay_Merrill. They seem to feel that it is their right to drive in the left lane at 60 MPH and block following traffic, causing dangerous traffic situations behind them, because "I'm not breaking the law". Now you are, and the cops can do something about it.

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Ticketed in Louisiana

Sorry, but that's crap. He was behind someone who was in violation of the law. It's his sworn duty to ticket her. Abusing his authority? By ticketing someone who was creating a dangerous situation on the highway? (Yes, she certainly was! There's a reason that law is in place.)

I still don't understand why she didn't get out of his way. When someone wants to pass, the safest thing to do is to let that person pass.

Ummmm...she had a semi to her right and another car on her arse which she might have figured out it was a cop. She was affraid to speed up cuz she would get a ticket. Being a young driver from a different state not knowing doing the speed limit in the left lane in LA could result in a ticket.
Honestly, how many of you automatically slow down when you see a cop? How many times have you see the "passing lane" slowed down and paced right along with the "slow lane" when there's a cop around? I totally agreed it's not smart to be beside a semi for an extended period. But, how many times have you found yourself beside one in rush hour?
It's a dumb law and you know it. You like it because it allows you to break the law not because of all the crappy excuses for its existence. If right lane traffic is moving at the posted limit of 70 and you're in the left lane going 80, you're passing everybody. Therefore, you're a law abiding citizen. If someone is driving below the speed limit on the left lane then by all means ticket the crap out him/her. If they're doing the speed limit, leave them alone and stop complaining.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Ticketed in Louisiana

Jay, my disagreeing with you doesn't mean I don't respect your opinion. I'm just not going to let you get in the last word. I don't know whether the officer was disobeying the law. I do know he wasn't speeding because I know that he was prevented from speeding by the car in front of him that was breaking the law. I don't know whether he was tailgating as it's his word against that of the person who he pulled over and I'm sorry, but I don't consider her a trustworthy observer of what's going on around her based on how she dealt with this situation. And as I've said before, his business on that road is to maintain safe flow of traffic by ticketing offenders. If he was on his way to ticket a speeder but a left lane hog got in his way, he's just as entitled to pull her over.

We don't get to choose which laws we obey. Police officers don't get to choose which laws they enforce. I'm sticking with my scenario. He really wanted to pull over the speeder he was trying to pace, but he was prevented from doing so and so he ticketed the car that was blocking his lawful pursuit of a speeder.

Gonefishie, I don't see it as a dumb law. I think it makes the roads safer. Besides, we're not free to choose which laws we think are worth obeying and which aren't. A lot of people think drunk driving laws are dumb. Cell phone laws are really dumb. Still, a person who refuses to obey those laws will get pulled over and ticketed. That's how it should be.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Ticketed in Louisiana

Jay, my disagreeing with you doesn't mean I don't respect your opinion. I'm just not going to let you get in the last word.

That explains a lot!

it's his word against that of the person who he pulled over and I'm sorry, but I don't consider her a trustworthy observer of what's going on around her based on how she dealt with this situation. And as I've said before,

Repeatedly....

I'm sticking with my scenario. He really wanted to pull over the speeder he was trying to pace, but he was prevented from doing so and so he ticketed the car that was blocking his lawful pursuit of a speeder.

Or he was on his way to Dunkin' Donuts...
If he was "in lawful pursuit of a speeder", in most jurisdictions, police are required to use siren and lights in that situation....by law.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: Ticketed in Louisiana

That explains a lot!


Repeatedly....


Or he was on his way to Dunkin' Donuts...
If he was "in lawful pursuit of a speeder", in most jurisdictions, police are required to use siren and lights in that situation....by law.

Yeah, I'm weird that way. Get me in an argument and I like to have the last word. That makes me like that 99.9% of minority of Americans who are EXACTLY THE SAME WAY!!

And yes, I've made my point repeatedly. As has Jay. Mine just seems more repetitive because other people have said the same thing.

How 'bout you back up your statement that "in most jurisdictions, police are required to use siren and lights in that situation. . .by law." I've been told that in my state (WA) an officer is allowed to exceed the speed limit in pursuit of a suspect without using lights or siren. If he were forced to use these while pacing speeders, they'd slow down. Frankly, I don't know if cops pace speeders anymore, but I do know that in many, and perhaps most jurisdictions, they can legally speed without using lights or siren if the situation calls for it. We don't know the officer or the whole story on the situation, but I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.


The donut thing is just a stupid stereotype and has no place in this discussion. I have friends who are LEOs, and I resent your use of such a blatant stereotype.

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Ticketed in Louisiana

Since we're speculating on what happened, I say he needed to keep up his citation numbers to prove his worthiness so he can keep the unmarked car. He saw an out of town plate and flipped on the lights. He knows most out of towners won't risk the hassle of fighting the ticket so he wouldn't have to show up at the court on the court date. OR, as in my first post, he had a bad day.

 

[JB]

Re: Ticketed in Louisiana

This turned into a finger pointing, bashing party.

Time to hang it up.