Flashing High Beams for Speed Trap Warnings

[Soup DeVille]

from the OP:

"Local road". Please tell me how thats an interstate being discussed, again?

Tell me where the fuck I said "interstate." Or do you not know the difference?

[Raza]

Whats not logical about the need keeping speeds lower in school zones, residential areas, around public parks, etc.

You're back on that again? 

[Raza]

No one is completely logical all the time.

Even ifcar's logic algorithms fail once in a while.

Well, I've been known to exaggerate. 

[Secret Chimp]

The road to get to my girlfriend's house has a 25 mph speed limit. Nobody drives that slowly; this is an open, winding residential road where 30-35 is more comfortable and perfectly safe. Occasionally cops will sit in someone's driveway just below a hill or in a driveway to the middle school on the same road. I always flash my beams if I see them. People never bomb down the road at an unsafe speed, the speed limit is simply stupidly low. I'm all for speed traps in high-risk areas, but I really don't want people driving at a reasonable speed to become victims of the local ticket quota.

[omicron]

I always flash my lights if I pass through a speed trap.

[ChrisV]

Ah, you guys keep CLAIMING you only mean highways, and then you guys get a glimmer of honesty and admit that many of you don't even want slower speeds in residential areas.

schools zones =! speed traps. We're discussing slowing people down by flashing lights, vs letting officers slow them down. Either way people get slowed down.

My main issue with your comment is that many of you guys apparently fail to realize that not every car out there is modern, well maintained or high performance. i see plenty of cars and trucks out there on the road that probably have no better performance than the cars of the 1950s you mentioned. Aside from that, you STILL have things that wont change with improved technology...issues like cars outrunning their headlights at night which is already a problem. Even if they did away with all daytime speed limits, issues like that would still require speed limits at night, for large trucks, etc.

And yet, those of us with modern cars (and cars newer than 10 years old account for the bulk of cars on the road) are thus held to the same standards as clapped out cars from the '50s and heavy trucks. And you think that proves that sound engineering principles are behind speed laws? Speed traps aren't about catching those clunkers and big trucks that are low performance, they are about generating revenue and forcing everyone (and I daresay that a high performance car like, say a new Porsche, will be MORE likely to get pulled over for the same speeding offense as a beige '78 Fairmont, even though the Porsche is more safe at elevated speeds and able to stop faster and avoid more) to act like they are driving clapped out '50s cars.

Do you really think the officer will show educated discretion and let the new Porsche do 10-15 over in a 45 zone and pull over the Fairmont due to the elevated safety equipment of said Porsche? Or are those 15" disc brakes and sticky performance tires completely worthless as safety features?

If what you say is correct, then the emphasis patrols and speed traps would not be looking for mere speeders, but speeders in cars that are LESS SAFE. They do NOT do that. Therefore engineering principles and educated enforcement is not the goal.

BTW, even in the '50s, it didn't take 900 ft to stop a car from the 70 mph speed limits that were in effect. The WSP was merely wrong. But they acted on the assumption that they weren't.

[GoCougs]

Actually, in my area the code signal is flashing lights on/off.

Nonetheless, I used to do it, but now I don't.

Most choose to speed despite the well-known consequences - I just don't want to get involved.

[footoflead]

Yes, it's illegal.  Considered the same as you going down the road a couple of miles before a speed trap and standing on the side of the road with a big sign that says,  "Traffic radar ahead, slow down."  Cops don't like that, despite the fact you are actually causing people to obey the speed limit, at least for the next couple of miles.   

I was honestly asking if that was really illegal.  Never heard of it, but it sorta makes sense......oh btw...i'm still going to flash people if i have the chance, most of the time though its to warn of an accident behind me or something....

[Secret Chimp]

oh btw...i'm still going to flash people if i have the chance

Keep livin' wild, girlfriend.

[Raghavan]

Keep livin' wild, girlfriend.

[Raza]

Keep livin' wild, girlfriend.

I flash people all the time.  Sometimes they speed up, sometimes they slow down.  Every once in a while someone stops.  And every once in a while it's even a girl!

[Soup DeVille]

I was honestly asking if that was really illegal.? Never heard of it, but it sorta makes sense......oh btw...i'm still going to flash people if i have the chance, most of the time though its to warn of an accident behind me or something....

If it makes sense, then shouldn't the road commision guys who put up the "warning: speed checked by radar" signs also be ticketed?

[Tave]

 

I think it'd be interesting to see what happens if they put an unmarked photo radar unit on the highway in a large U.S. city. My bet is traffic court would come to a grinding halt.

Hell, in Scottsdale they had more tickets than they could do something with, and those units had a sign in front of them.

[Zcarnut]

If I see a cop in hiding,I flash to oncoming drivers for a half mile or so.Many down my way seem to know what it is and often flash back to give a "OK".

[Tave]

Edit: post by accident

[the nameless one]

schools zones =! speed traps. ........
And yet, those of us with modern cars (and cars newer than 10 years old account for the bulk of cars on the road) are thus held to the same standards as clapped out cars from the '50s and heavy trucks. And you think that proves that sound engineering principles are behind speed laws? Speed traps aren't about catching those clunkers and big trucks that are low performance, they are about generating revenue and forcing everyone (and I daresay that a high performance car like, say a new Porsche, will be MORE likely to get pulled over for the same speeding offense as a beige '78 Fairmont, even though the Porsche is more safe at elevated speeds and able to stop faster and avoid more) to act like they are driving clapped out '50s cars.

Do you really think the officer will show educated discretion and let the new Porsche do 10-15 over in a 45 zone and pull over the Fairmont due to the elevated safety equipment of said Porsche? Or are those 15" disc brakes and sticky performance tires completely worthless as safety features?

If what you say is correct, then the emphasis patrols and speed traps would not be looking for mere speeders, but speeders in cars that are LESS SAFE. They do NOT do that. Therefore engineering principles and educated enforcement is not the goal.

BTW, even in the '50s, it didn't take 900 ft to stop a car from the 70 mph speed limits that were in effect. The WSP was merely wrong. But they acted on the assumption that they weren't.

First of all, theres no such thing as a speed "trap" . No one traps you into speeding. You CHOSE to drive that speed that you were clocked at.

Yes, all vehicles are held to the same standards. Just because you are behind the wheel of an expensive  sports car does NOT mean that you are any safer a driver than the guy behind the wheel of an older car. "Educated discretion"..yeah, right. That sports car will wrap itself around a tree just as well as a clunker. A local guy did that a while back..took a Porsche out for a test drive from the dealership..he didn't even OWN it...wrapped it around a tree in an S curve. Driver was DRT. So please, spare us the "my cars REAL expoensive so I desreve a break" argument.

BTW, contrary to your belief that older car is just as likely to get pulled over, but usually for something other than speeding...stuff like equipment violations. If that older car is being pulled over, odds are its some young kid whose driving because that all they can afford and they are driving unsafely ( speeding, reckless driving, etc ).

Get over this "its all about the revenue" argument guys like James make. Sure, he can point to a few cities that used their police to inflate their coffers...fines are the penalty for breaking the law. No fines= no penalty for breaking the law.

[the nameless one]

I've seen the same arguments made on this board over and over, I don't need to dig back to every thread to say exactly which poster made which claim.

[Raza]

There definitely are speed traps.  You've obviously never been to New Jersey.

A road that has a 40mph speed limit that suddenly drops to 30 for no reason (that is, the composition of the road does not change), and conveniently there's a cop sitting right there. 

Or if the cop is exceptionally cheeky and in an unmarked car, he can tailgate you so you don't slow down and then he hits the lights as soon as you cross into the 30mph zone, getting you for at least 10 over. 

That's a speed trap. 

[Raza]

Get over this "its all about the revenue" argument guys like James make. Sure, he can point to a few cities that used their police to inflate their coffers...fines are the penalty for breaking the law. No fines= no penalty for breaking the law.

But, you're talking about laws that are in place for the sole purpose of collecting fines.  How is that right? 

[etypeJohn]

Yes, all vehicles are held to the same standards.
LOL, yeah right.  Two times I have been ticketed in the Jaguar.  both times I was in the middle of a pack all going about 5-8 over the speed limit, both times the roads were three lanes each way and the speed limit was 50.  In each case I was in the middle lane, in the middle of the pack going no faster than the SUVs and invisible grey or beige Camrys around me.  My red sports car stuck out like a sore thumb. 

Get over this "its all about the revenue" argument guys like James make. Sure, he can point to a few cities that used their police to inflate their coffers...fines are the penalty for breaking the law. No fines= no penalty for breaking the law.  Catching someone going a few over the limit is a good way to show you are doing something without much real effort and you don't even risk spilling the "complementary" coffee you picked up at the local Quik-E-Mart.  Bleat about public safety all you want, in your heart of hearts you know its about the money.

[TurboDan]

Yes, it's illegal.  Considered the same as you going down the road a couple of miles before a speed trap and standing on the side of the road with a big sign that says,  "Traffic radar ahead, slow down."  Cops don't like that, despite the fact you are actually causing people to obey the speed limit, at least for the next couple of miles.   

Haha, I read about a case a few years ago where someone actually did that.  The police, for whatever reason, only had permission to set up a speed trap along one portion of a road, and a guy who owned a store nearby posted a huge sign on his property warning people of a possible trap ahead.  I think the guy may have actually won in court when the town tried to sue him or something.

[Raza]

[TurboDan]

Around here I rarely see cops setting up in areas of heavy traffic, areas where one might argue speed enforcement would have the greatest impact on safety. 

In an area of heavy traffic, wouldn't the traffic be flowing too slow for anyone to be speeding?

[TurboDan]

"Local road". Please tell me how thats an interstate being discussed, again?

Yeah, but I wasn't going 80, either.  It is a semi-rural road (in the middle of NJ, with alot of fields on either side, houses 1/2 mile apart, well set back in the woods), with a speed limit of 35.  Traffic, generally, moves at about 45-50, and in 15 years of living in the area, I have never seen a single accident on the road. 

[TurboDan]

Or if the cop is exceptionally cheeky and in an unmarked car, he can tailgate you so you don't slow down and then he hits the lights as soon as you cross into the 30mph zone, getting you for at least 10 over. 

That's a speed trap. 

I haven't seen the tailgating thing done by any local departments, but it's an NJSP specialty.  I've seen it done multiple times, including once where the NJSP car left another car he had pulled over and finished with, got in the left lane doing well over the limit, got behind a minivan who had ZERO opportunity to change lanes, tailgated until the van got fast enough to pass the other cars and got in the right lane, then swooped in with lights flashing.  Disgusting.

[Raza]

I haven't seen the tailgating thing done by any local departments, but it's an NJSP specialty.? I've seen it done multiple times, including once where the NJSP car left another car he had pulled over and finished with, got in the left lane doing well over the limit, got behind a minivan who had ZERO opportunity to change lanes, tailgated until the van got fast enough to pass the other cars and got in the right lane, then swooped in with lights flashing.? Disgusting.

They got my brother on 206 in Princeton; 42 in a 40, which changed to 30.  Cop wasn't hearing anything.  License, regs, insurance, ticket. 

I had a cop dogging me today.  I drove exactly the speed limit until he got in the left lane, accelerated quickly and passed me, continuing to do at least 10-15mph over the limit.  No lights. 

[TurboDan]

There definitely are speed traps.  You've obviously never been to New Jersey.

A road that has a 40mph speed limit that suddenly drops to 30 for no reason (that is, the composition of the road does not change), and conveniently there's a cop sitting right there. 

Just wanted to reply to that one.  Most of the time, I've seen this in summer beach towns, not regular residential areas in NJ.  In New Jersey, at least, many of the mayors/councils will openly talk about ticket revenue generation.  In many towns, the police departments actually oppose this and have even fought the towns on it.  In other places, like Belmar, the mayor basically uses the department as his personal ATM machine and the department (because the mayor micro-manages the whole show) just takes it.

[etypeJohn]

In an area of heavy traffic, wouldn't the traffic be flowing too slow for anyone to be speeding?

Most urban freeways I've been on have heavy traffic going anywhere between the speed limit and 15 over.

[TBR]

That seems to be the case with all Texas cities, less so in other states.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Most urban freeways I've been on have heavy traffic going anywhere between the speed limit and 15 over.

It is quite a thrill driving through the NYC freeways, everyone doing 75-80mph, cars just inches apart. It's like NASCAR or something.?