h a l f b a k e r yQuis custodiet the custard?
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Ok, we all know by now that cops use many different types of vehicles. In my area, they use completely unmarked Mustangs of different colors. However, they are required to post these in public media sources so people have a chance, because the law says they have to be visible to pull you over. What I
propose
is a rotating camera on the top of a vehicle that is linked to a computer with GPS and wireless Internet connection.
The computer, using the GPS and Internet, searches online police databases to learn which vehicles are in use by law enforcement in whatever area you happen to be in. The rotating camera scans every vehicle within, say, a mile of your own vehicle, then cross-references each one with the vehicles in the local police registry. If it finds a match, it beeps, kinda like a radar detector. This lets you know if you're being watched, so a cop can't try to trick you by timing you between 2 cops instead of using a fallible speed gun. Combine this with Vehicle Electronic Counter Measures and you will be untouchable.
mistook a table leg for a gun.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3996693.stm
//very difficult to confuse radar guns with regular firearms// sure about that or is it just british police that can be a little trigger happy? [po, Feb 13 2006]
same case, some years later.
http://news.bbc.co..../london/4695604.stm
[po, Feb 13 2006]
Mobile telephone law in UK
http://www.amazon.c...202-5243679-7793418
Do's and dont's [Ling, Feb 13 2006]
[link]
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But that would be boring.
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Side note: I realize this comment looks out of place, but that's because it was in response to an annotation by Unabubba, who deleted his account and erased all of his annos along with them. |
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I got a felony speeding ticket last year, and had to go to a special kind of class. In one of the books of info that we had to read, it said that you do not have to pull over for an unmarked car, even if they turn the siren and lights on. It's for a safety thing, so someone can't just go out and buy a siren and then car jack you. So if you want to piss off a cop, just keep going and they have to call for a black and white. |
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//cops use many different types of vehicles//
Pogo-sticks. |
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//and you will be untouchable.//
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Guess he's not *that* untouchable. |
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//In one of the books of info that we had to read, it said that you do not have to pull over for an unmarked car, even if they turn the siren and lights on.//
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Nonsense. [DRBC], if you're going to quote this kind of craziness, let's have some footnote references. Titles, authors, or even a quote of the specific statute that you think you're talking about.
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Otherwise, I'd suggest that you go ahead and pull over to avoid a resisting arrest charge as well.
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(In some states, you CAN escape a fleeing arrest charge IF you can show that you had reason to believe that the officer was not a real cop or that you were in danger -- That's VERY different from "you don't have to pull over". BTW, whenever cops used unmarked cars, they are required to wear a uniform in most states.) |
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Yes, I think I will go out and spend
possibly thousands of dollars to outfit my
car with an internet linked GPS, plus a
computer with the software. This will
surely save me money on speeding tickets. |
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[zigness], the portion I read was part of the online section of the class. It was the Arizona Defensive Driving course, look it up. It was under the Safety section, where it told you to always keep your doors locked and such.
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I also confirmed this with my police acquaintance, and he told me this is also the case in California. If an unmarked police car tries to pull over a citizen, they have three options. One, pull over. Two, keep driving and the unmarked car has to call for a marked police vehicle. Three, the citizen can call the police department on a cell phone BEFORE pulling over to verify that is in fact an unmarked police car.
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Contrary to what you probably believe [zigness], police do not hold the ultimate authority. If you fear that your life may be in jeopardy, you do not have to follow a police officer's direct order. Case in point: I got pulled over the other day speeding by a motorcycle cop. The cop was holding the radar gun exactly like you would hold a rifle, and pointed it at me while I drove by. I pleaded not guilty, under the defense that I thought a gun was being pointed at me, so I sped up so I wouldn't get shot.
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I have read the info, and talked to a police officer on the subject. Before you question me, do research on your own. |
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//Mustangs of different colors//
Aha! A horse of a different colour! |
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I have two brothers that are cops. One a stater, and one a local cop. It is true that you do NOT have to pull over for an undercover car, but you must not try to evade them either. If you try to just ignore them and act like nothing is happening, you may add an inattentive driving charge to your troubles. Once a regular black and white does pull you over, he is going to be irritated at you for causing all the extra effort, and you will probably end up with more violations as a result. Trust me, they will find something, even if its a simple charge of obstructing (which WILL stick by the way).
The radar gun as a firearm defense won't fly in most areas, as it is very difficult to confuse radar guns with regular firearms. Try this with any of the judges I know and you'll end up with more fines for waisting the courts time.
Though it is correct that the actual authority of the officers comes from a judge, and not self possessed, they do have a great deal of leway as granted to them by law, differing from county by county and state by state. Try this stuff with a georgia police officer and see how far you get!
Lastly, how far are you really willing to go to get out of paying tickets. All the money that you spend for gadgets and all that is going to cost WAY more than the fines ever would have to begin with. |
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my sister's a brain surgeon... |
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//Contrary to what you probably believe [zigness], police do not hold the ultimate authority. If you fear that your life may be in jeopardy, you do not have to follow a police officer's direct order.//
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//you had reason to believe that the officer was not a real cop or that you were in danger //
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Read more carefully next time. |
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//Three, the citizen can call the police department on a cell phone BEFORE pulling over to verify that is in fact an unmarked police car// And then they'd nick you for not being in control of your vehicle. |
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//they'd nick you for not being in control of your vehicle//
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Only if you started swerving like a madman. There's no written law against driving with a cell phone. As for the very valid point of spending more on the defense than you would on the tickets, I'm worried a bit more about insurance going up than individul tickets. Also, while I may spend more money on the DEFENSE, I'd rather spend the money because I chose to rather than because some guy who happens to wear a uniform and whom I do not recognize as an authority over me told me to. I admit that I really have no respect for law. I believe in survival of the fittest, not survival of the richest. |
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\\I admit that I really have no respect for law. I believe in survival of the fittest, not survival of the richest\\ Think of it as survival of the honest. I don't quite see how you were planning to appear from this 21, but it seems like pure arrogance from where I'm sitting. Not only do you seem to consider yourself above the law and that you should be able to waste vast quantaties of money to be so, but you are also woefully underinformed. This is an international forum, in many places (This country for example) it is very much written law that it is illegal to drive whilst on a phone.
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\\some guy who happens to wear a uniform and whom I do not recognize as an authority over me told me to\\ You're apparently a resident of the United States. By living there you agree to subject yourself to the laws contained therein. [UnaBubba] hit this right on the nose, get used to the laws or start saving up that money for your own private island.
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Either way, I know little of unmarked cars in America, but over here it's probably easier to spot the unmarked cars than the marked ones. Look for the ones with too many antennae that seem to be trying to hard to be generic. |
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//There's no written law against driving with a cell phone// Amendment 4 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations would seem to fit that bill (pardon the pun) nicely. |
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In California, the cell phone law works like this. You cannot get a ticket for driving while talking on a cell phone. BUT, if you are pulled over for reckless driving or a similar charge, then they can get you for talking on a cell phone while driving, as the reason you were driving poorly.
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It's touchy like the lane-splitting thing for motorcycles. There is no law saying you can do it, but there really isn't a law against doing it either. It is the cop's discretion whether or not it was a hazard. |
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Somehow I always seem to end up on the wrong side of a cop's discretion. Maybe I'm not very discreet. |
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Sometimes its a catch-22. The laws in most states permit the citizen to ask the cop for ID and to be selective as to where to pull over, however, if you want the cop to cut you a break, its not wise to hold him to the letter of the law.
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But getting back to the point of this invention- I gotta fishbone this one (even though I would want something like this for myself). For every one of us who speeds "responsibly" without endangering anyone, there are 5 to 10 others who go fast without using any form of wisdom or judgement. Even though I like to think that I would use this tool responsibly, there are many others who think likewise who shouldnt even be behind the wheel, let alone being given a tool that helps them break the law. |
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//There's no written law against driving with a cell phone.// Yes there are -- several, as stated above. Check New York City for another example. |
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// For every one of us who speeds "responsibly"//
I always giggle when others say that and cringe when I think it. Very few people think that they speed irresponsibly so the information that a driver doesn't think s/he does so is practically worthless. |
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//Yes, I think I will go out and spend possibly thousands of dollars to outfit my car with an internet linked GPS, plus a computer with the software. This will surely save me money on speeding tickets.//
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btw, I already have both a GPS navigation system and a PDA with wireless internet. So I've already spent most of the money this would cost. This just requires synchronizing the devices. |
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\\It may or may not be, but taking it for granted is confusing the law for a moral or ethical code\\ Ummm...no, it isn't. Driving too quickly for the conditions is neither immoral or unethical. It's fairly stupid, but that's neither here nor there.
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Speeding is just a crime where you have to take the nasty with the nice. It sucks when you're caught going a bit too fast on a quiet road, but it also deals with the dickheads who think they are perfectly capable of driving past schools at 60 without putting anyone at risk. |
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[d] I didn't say that speeding is always a problem, in fact I said the opposite in a very roundabout way (//practically worthless//: If responsible speeding were impossible I would have omitted "practically"). I wrote about people who say they speed responsibly as the word of the driver in question is so unreliable as to be useless.
[hidden truths] is right, in some cases speeding isn't dangerous. The law however, errs on the side of caution as restricting someone's speed to below the safe maximum is only likely to slow them down while exceeding that maximum tends to kill people.
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BTW, I am not casting stones here as I have exceeded speed limits (and been caught) and have also been lame enough to say that I speed responsibly (hence the "cringe" bit). |
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