Close Calls

[SaltyDog]

Have any close calls with the police lately?  Drive by a camped out cop without realizing he was there?  Post it here.

[J86]

don't do enough driving these days!

[SaltyDog]

don't do enough driving these days!

You're gonna forget how.  Go rent a car or a 3/4 ton truck from Home Depot  

[J86]

don't do enough driving these days!

You're gonna forget how.  Go rent a car or a 3/4 ton truck from Home Depot

Eh no thanks Id rather not drive!

[ifcar]

I'm never more than 10 mph over any speed limit but a 25, typically no more than 5 over. I don't have to worry about the cops.  

[dazzleman]

I have close calls on a pretty regular basis.  I am a very alert driver and can almost always spot an officer, or detect his presence through the behavior of other drivers, before he has a chance to nail me, so my record is pretty good.

On the highway, I am usually going 20-25 mph over the speed limit (by me, the limit is 55 mph maximum) so I have to be on the lookout.  It's been a while since I've had a real close call, but I'd say on average it happens 5-6 times per year.

On local streets, I keep a lot closer to the speed limit, unless I'm on a deserted main road in a commercial district, so I don't worry as much there.

[L. ed foote]

No... Too much traffic  :angry:

However, in traffic I am finding out that the Protege handles like it's on rails    

[TurboDan]

Ooh, what year Proto did you pick up?  My family had a '91 - and it handled beautifully.  

No close calls this week for me, at least for speeding.  I *thought* I was going to get myself a cell phone ticket this week, but luckily the officer either didn't notice or didn't bother to turn around.  

[SaltyDog]

No... Too much traffic  :angry:

However, in traffic I am finding out that the Protege handles like it's on rails  

Did the collision total the Jetta?  I didn't know you got a Protege...but congrats, nice car.  1.5 or 1.8?  Auto or manual?

[J86]

Does campus security count?  I have calls with them nightly.  Acutally, had a near confrontation about 5 minutes ago...had to toss some clothes over some stufff, hehe...

[J86]

I'm on a first-name basis with dave, charlie, and a few of the other..... :D

[SaltyDog]

Does campus security count?  I have calls with them nightly.  Acutally, had a near confrontation about 5 minutes ago...had to toss some clothes over some stufff, hehe...

And what was under the clothes :P  

[J86]

Does campus security count?  I have calls with them nightly.  Acutally, had a near confrontation about 5 minutes ago...had to toss some clothes over some stufff, hehe...

And what was under the clothes :P

Um, stuff  

[SaltyDog]

Does campus security count?? I have calls with them nightly.? Acutally, had a near confrontation about 5 minutes ago...had to toss some clothes over some stufff, hehe...

And what was under the clothes :P

Um, stuff

:ph34r:    

[MX793]

Oh man, the other night I decided to go for a little drive.  I was on I481 headed north and I saw a cop camped out watching the southbound lane.  I knew cops usually liked to camp there since, when southbound, you don't see them until it's too late due to a bridge pillar and a grassy mound and a slight curve to the road there.  Anyway, I went my way, stopped at a mall and then decided to head home.  On my way back, I figured the cop would still be there, so I kept it to like 67 mph (65 mph speed limit).  Somebody in a Hyundai goes flying by me just before I reach the place where the cop is camped out.  The Hyundai was easily doing 80.  He sees the cop, slams on his brakes and dives into the right lane.  Dumbest thing I've ever seen.  First off, his braking effort was incredibly obvious because the nose dove noticeably.  Second, he changed lanes suddenly and without signaling.  Thirdly, the cop already had him before he ever saw the cop, he was just lucky that the cop wasn't interested in going after him.  I got a chuckle out of it.  No sooner had we cleared the cop, the Hyundai jumps back out in the left lane and takes off.

[dazzleman]

Ooh, what year Proto did you pick up?  My family had a '91 - and it handled beautifully.  

No close calls this week for me, at least for speeding.  I *thought* I was going to get myself a cell phone ticket this week, but luckily the officer either didn't notice or didn't bother to turn around.

Dude, that reminds me about a close call I had just last week with a cell phone.

My car has a built-in hands free system, but I was on a short drive and didn't have the phone plugged in.  I had the phone in my pocket and it rang, so I pulled it out and answered it as I pulled into a parking lot.  As I was driving through the lot talking on the phone, a cop went right past me.  He pulled over and stopped right after he passed me, and I thought he was going to come back and pull me over, but he didn't.

It may sound stupid, but I'd almost rather get nailed for speeding that talking on a cell phone.  A cell phone ticket is just so f&$king lame.  If I'm going to get nailed, I want it to be for something that's fun, not for just answering a routine phone call.

I've had many, many close calls, and escaped tickets far more times than I have deserved to.  That's why I can have such a nonchalant attitude about the tickets I have gotten.  A long time ago, I was going about 50 mph in a 40 mph zone on the Bronx River Parkway in White Plains, NY when I passed a cop that I hadn't seen, who immediately started out after me.  Before he caught up with me, the road curved and there was an intersection.  I thought quickly and turned left, and drove around for a little while.  He never found me.

Another time, I was driving south on I-91 just above Hartford, CT.  It was on a Sunday morning, my favorite time to drive, because there was nobody on the road.  Accordingly, I was going between 80-85 mph in a 55 mph zone.  Just as I passed an entrance ramp, a state trooper got on right behind me.  I knew I couldn't brake since he was behind me, so I just took my foot off the gas.  I'm sure he could have had me, but apparently he wasn't intersted, and he got off at the next exit.

More recently, I was doing about 80 mph southbound on the Merritt Parkway in Norwalk, CT (speed limit 55 mph) when I saw a trooper come racing up behind me with his lights flashing.  I thought for sure I would shortly be sitting on the side of the road waiting for the most recent addition to my ticket collection.  I moved to the right lane, and he just kept driving, maintaining a speed of about 85 mph.  After he got a little bit ahead of me, I resumed my speed and followed him at a discreet distance.

A couple of years ago, I was driving up I-95 near Stafford, VA in the left lane, doing 80-85 mph in a 65 mph zone.  I was the first car in a group of cars going about that speed in the left lane.  Suddenly, a state police car came racing up the grassy median and got onto the highway, lights flashing.  One by one, the cars behind me moved out of the way, and he got closer and closer to me.  I was getting ready to pull over and get my first introduction to southern speed enforcement, but he pulled over the car behind me.

I've had many, many other close calls over the years, but these are the ones I can think of right now.  Honestly, it's really not that easy to get nailed.  With all the traffic around, it's not likely to happen to often even if you speed all the time.

[JWC]

I live in a small town.

There is always a police car sitting somewhere, waiting for someone to fly by. But, it is un-nerving to go around the curve on 2nd Street, a 25mph zone, traveling 40mph and meet a police car coming from the opposite direction. I always wave. They never stop me.  

[TurboDan]

Good thing you didn't get stopped in VA, D-man!

Virginia LEOs are known to purposely target out-of-state drivers.  In addition, anything above a certain speed (I believe it's 15MPH over the limit) is automatically reckless driving and sometimes requires a court appearance or an attorney to appear in your place no matter where you are from!  This happened to a friend of mine once when he was driving from Norfolk back to NY.

[L. ed foote]

Ooh, what year Proto did you pick up?  My family had a '91 - and it handled beautifully.

1994

Got it for free earlier this year (May).  Relevant thread can be found HERE

[L. ed foote]

Did the collision total the Jetta?  I didn't know you got a Protege...but congrats, nice car.  1.5 or 1.8?  Auto or manual?

No, I think the collision may have totalled the Protege.  Methinks the car wash owner is ducking me.  Haven't been able to get a hold of him, despite leaving messages and popping by every so often.

I still have the Jetta.  That was hit as well (WTF?  People forgetting how to drive? :angry: ) a couple of months ago.  Low speed, just enough to fuck up the bumper.

The Sable I had earlier this year was totalled.

The Protege is a 5 speed  

1.8 SOHC.  Does what it needs to do.  I've found a few engines (DOHC) at HARRY'S, a pick & pull not too far from here.  I'd like to do a swap, but first I need to see what the deal is with the car

[dazzleman]

Good thing you didn't get stopped in VA, D-man!

Virginia LEOs are known to purposely target out-of-state drivers.  In addition, anything above a certain speed (I believe it's 15MPH over the limit) is automatically reckless driving and sometimes requires a court appearance or an attorney to appear in your place no matter where you are from!  This happened to a friend of mine once when he was driving from Norfolk back to NY.

Hah, I guess it is good then that I didn't get stopped down in Virginia.  I was going 15-20 mph over the speed limit.  I have heard about the laws you mention in Virginia, but I thought the cut-off was 20 mph over the speed limit, not 15 mph.  What I had heard was that in Virginia, 20 mph over the speed limit is automatically considered reckless driving rather than speeding, and subject of course to tougher penalties.  15 mph over for that seems a little tight, but those boys down there are tough.

In any case, I sure as hell wouldn't want to have to make a court appearance in Virginia.  It's not exactly right around the corner.  I don't mind paying fines, and I have usually gone to court to get a reduced conviction when I've gotten tickets locally, which has been most of my tickets.  But I really wouldn't want to have to drive 6 hours to make a court appearance, though if I had to, I'd do my best to make it a fun adventure.

I have not yet been introduced to southern law enforcement, and I guess I should try a little harder to keep it that way. :P   Still, I wasn't too worried when I thought I was going to get pulled over because I assumed I'd just get a ticket and mail in the fine.  Same old same old.

My uncle went to college in Florda in the early 1970s.  Back then, (it was before I-95 and you were required to drive through a bunch of southern towns on the way) if you were from out-of-state and got caught speeding in one of those southern states, they held you overnight until you could see a judge.  It happened to him a couple of times, and that sucked.  He actually put a George Wallace bumper sticker on his car, and it helped, even though he didn't support Wallace.  Those boys down there are tough, though I don't think it's as bad as it used to be.

[dazzleman]

Did the collision total the Jetta?  I didn't know you got a Protege...but congrats, nice car.  1.5 or 1.8?  Auto or manual?

No, I think the collision may have totalled the Protege.  Methinks the car wash owner is ducking me.  Haven't been able to get a hold of him, despite leaving messages and popping by every so often.

I still have the Jetta.  That was hit as well (WTF?  People forgetting how to drive? :angry: ) a couple of months ago.  Low speed, just enough to fuck up the bumper.

The Sable I had earlier this year was totalled.

The Protege is a 5 speed  

1.8 SOHC.  Does what it needs to do.  I've found a few engines (DOHC) at HARRY'S, a pick & pull not too far from here.  I'd like to do a swap, but first I need to see what the deal is with the car

Dude, you've had 3 cars damaged or totaled recently?  WTF, that sucks, man.

You need to f&$king nail that guy who hit your Proto and is ducking you now.  That's bulls*#t, man.  Do you have that guy's insurance information?

Is assume the Proto can't be driven at this point?  Is the issue that it may cost more to fix the damage than the car is worth given its age, so the insurance company will just total it?

When people I know have complained about getting an occasional ticket, I've always told them that having an accident is far worse.  And your story proves it.  What a f&$king pain in the azz this whole thing sounds like.

I really wish you luck and hope you're able to get all this taken care of, and that you go a good long time without another of these accidents.  I hope the same for myself too.  Good luck brother.

[SaltyDog]

You seem to have had your share of near run-ins Dazzleman.  2 times times I whized by a cop going 15 over(both were 50 in a 35), but was never chased fortunately.

[L. ed foote]

Dude, you've had 3 cars damaged or totaled recently?  WTF, that sucks, man.

You need to f&$king nail that guy who hit your Proto and is ducking you now.  That's bulls*#t, man.  Do you have that guy's insurance information?

Is assume the Proto can't be driven at this point?  Is the issue that it may cost more to fix the damage than the car is worth given its age, so the insurance company will just total it?

When people I know have complained about getting an occasional ticket, I've always told them that having an accident is far worse.  And your story proves it.  What a f&$king pain in the azz this whole thing sounds like.

I really wish you luck and hope you're able to get all this taken care of, and that you go a good long time without another of these accidents.  I hope the same for myself too.  Good luck brother.

Yeah, tell me about it.  I guess all those years of accident free driving are catching up to me.  It wouldn't bother me so much, if it were a case of "shit happens," but every single one of those accidents happened b/c of carelessness.

Twice I was rearended in stop and go traffic, twice I was nailed while parked.  I wish people would pay attention to what they're doing.

The Protege is driveable, the doors on the passenger side won't open.

I'm going to swing by my folks today, and I'm going to stop by the car wash again.  I don't have the insurance information but I should get it today.  I'm sure the business has some kind of insurance.

[dazzleman]

Dude, you've had 3 cars damaged or totaled recently?? WTF, that sucks, man.

You need to f&$king nail that guy who hit your Proto and is ducking you now.? That's bulls*#t, man.? Do you have that guy's insurance information?

Is assume the Proto can't be driven at this point?? Is the issue that it may cost more to fix the damage than the car is worth given its age, so the insurance company will just total it?

When people I know have complained about getting an occasional ticket, I've always told them that having an accident is far worse.? And your story proves it.? What a f&$king pain in the azz this whole thing sounds like.

I really wish you luck and hope you're able to get all this taken care of, and that you go a good long time without another of these accidents.? I hope the same for myself too.? Good luck brother.

Yeah, tell me about it.  I guess all those years of accident free driving are catching up to me.  It wouldn't bother me so much, if it were a case of "shit happens," but every single one of those accidents happened b/c of carelessness.

Twice I was rearended in stop and go traffic, twice I was nailed while parked.  I wish people would pay attention to what they're doing.

The Protege is driveable, the doors on the passenger side won't open.

I'm going to swing by my folks today, and I'm going to stop by the car wash again.  I don't have the insurance information but I should get it today.  I'm sure the business has some kind of insurance.

S&$t like this seems to come in waves.  Hopefully, your wave of this has broken, and won't come again for a long time.

Still, I like to look on the bright side.  You didn't get hurt in any of the accidents, and that's the important thing.  Twisted metal can always be fixed or replaced, but people's lives can't be.  Stay safe buddy.

BTW, I think I told you, I went right by that car wash a couple of weeks ago.  I used to get my car washed there all the time when I lived in southern Westchester.

[dazzleman]

You seem to have had your share of near run-ins Dazzleman.? 2 times times I whized by a cop going 15 over(both were 50 in a 35), but was never chased fortunately.

Hah, you're right about that.  As I said earlier, I've narrowly escaped getting nailed far more times than I have deserved.  I've been very, very lucky with tickets, and have gotten very few considering the fact that I've been driving since 1978, and have not followed the speed limit from day one.  

And when I finally do get nailed, the penalty I get is usually a joke, so it's not much of a deterrent.  I have no real fear of getting pulled over; I'm long past that point.  I had fairly strict parents and went to some strict schools, so the idea of running afoul of an authority figure and getting whacked for it in some way is something I can easily handle.  I don't lose any sleep over that.  When I was in HS, it was a badge of honor to absorb repeated punishments without any obvious distress, and I guess I still carry that attitude.

It all comes down to how painful the punishment is.  If the punishment is painful enough, I may not really change my ways, but I'll at least be more careful not to get caught the next time.  If it's a joke, I laugh it off and just continue to do what I want.

And the close calls I mentioned are only the ones I readily remember.  There are many more, man.

[Raza]

This was back out in Altoona, where traffic is always sparse and there are nothing but highways everywhere.  

I was doing about 120 in a 40 on a deserted road when I come to a stop at red light.  Pulling in behind me was an Altoona Sheriff!  All of a sudden I couldn't breathe very well and my interior became about 100 degrees (it was under 30 outside).  I thought about turning off or trying to run, but I was caught dead.  I kept going, accelerated slowly to 40mph, and the sheriff turned off at the next light.  I had to pull off the road to get my breathing back to normal.

[Raza]

Another time I was on the PA Turnpike driving home from Altoona and I caught eyes with an Impala SS (new model) and we sped up and started flying.  At 115 we were even, and I was slightly pulling on him, when we saw a cop sitting at the side of the road clocking!  We both stood on the brakes and dropped about 60mph as quickly as possible.  Cop never came after us, but the guy was too shaken up to keep speeding.  He waved me on and went into the right lane.

[Raza]

This was when I had just gotten my license, and I was doing about 75 in a 45, and I blew past a cop.  He pulled at the light behind me, and as I went over the turnpike he hit the lights!  To this day, I'm not quite sure what happened that night, but I booked it and I never saw him again.

[SaltyDog]

This was back out in Altoona, where traffic is always sparse and there are nothing but highways everywhere.  

I was doing about 120 in a 40 on a deserted road when I come to a stop at red light.  Pulling in behind me was an Altoona Sheriff!  All of a sudden I couldn't breathe very well and my interior became about 100 degrees (it was under 30 outside).  I thought about turning off or trying to run, but I was caught dead.  I kept going, accelerated slowly to 40mph, and the sheriff turned off at the next light.  I had to pull off the road to get my breathing back to normal.