cop stories

[Mitchell Segal]

I guess you all forgot your lessons from driving school (if you ever had to
go to a driving school to get a license).  

They teach you to always keep your eyes moving.  Every 8-10 seconds, you
should have scanned all around you.  Your eyes should be moving from ahead -
instrument panel - ahead - rear mirror - ahead - left/right mirror - ahead,
etc.  Reason being to always be aware of everything going on around you, to
always be on the defensive, because we all know how stupid the next driver
is, how they can (and usually do) the wierdest things when you least expect
it.

Except on the darkest nights out in the country, with no moon light, there's
no escuse for not being able to see another car, even one with their lights
off.  I have many times caught sight of cops hiding in the shadows with no
lights long before they can catch me (although I must admit it's much easier
here in Quebec, the idiots sit only in the U-Turns, with engines running and
all their lights on, so you can spot them a mile away).

I'd say that for most drivers, the only time they use their mirrors is when
changing lanes or backing up.  Otherwise, they treat them like their turn
signals.  They came with the car, but I didn't order them, so that means I
have to use them.

How many times have you been driving in the fast lane and come up to a
slower car sitting in the left when there's no one to their right.  You can
then see their faces look in the mirror, have this surprised look on their
face like "where did you just come from all of a sudden" and then move
right.  Had they been looking in their mirrors all the time, they would have
noticed other cars gaining on them, and they would have moved over before
you got there (if you were lucky. That's all assuming they weren't chatting
on a cell phone, or are just ignorant drivers).

My moral is, it's almost never 100% black at night, so if you were watching
your mirrors and paying attention, more than likely you would have seen them
approaching, even without the lights.  If it was really "that" dark out that
it was completely black, then I doubt the cops could be driving that fast
without some kind of lights on, unless they've also been issued night-vision
goggles.

That's my rant for today.
Mitchell

>Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2005 12:53:17 -0500
>From: "Lee Levitt" <lee at wheelman.com>
>Subject: RE: cop stories
>To: <quattro at audifans.com>
>Message-ID: <3rq2j4$4vnn1 at smtp05.mrf.mail.rcn.net>
>Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="US-ASCII"
>
> Ouch.
> I once got pulled over for doing 10 over on the interstate (Mass Pike).
> 12:30 at night, just minding my own business, empty road, right lane.
> All of a sudden my V1 lights up solid. WTF?
> Instinctive brake test.
> Lights go on *directly* behind me.
> The guy had pulled up behind me with *no* lights, fingered his radar and
> when I braked, he lit things up.
> I have a sneaking suspicion, unproveable of course, that if I hadn't
braked
> (this tipping him off to my use of a radar detector), he would have gone
on
> to bigger fish.
> Kinda pissed me off. Of course, I was speeding, and I did pay the fine.
> Lee