Christmas or not, you made a dumb decision to pass on right and over speed limit, now you're paying for it. Cop was a little tough on your wife giving her a ticket on Christmas. But, you acted like you had no respect for the law by your actions and he was getting back at you for your arogence.

Sorry, sure you don't want to hear that. With Christmas and all.

Pay the ticket, get it behind you and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 

I pass police all the time, thier to slow to catch me...If thier under the speed limit, Your wife did something to catch this cops attention and it is near months end ( quota ) When a cops is in front of me, speeding, I just follow along, clears traffic, a 5mph over ticket is b/s but the cop has to show somthing to his Sargent for pulling you over.


Last time I got a ticket, a cop was hidding under a overpass at 230 in the morning, went threw a 80km zone at 125Km, slowed down one I seen the unmarked car......Get asked if I knew how fast I was going, I respond before or after I saw you....than the guys ask's me if I had a record as he's looking for signs of beer botles in the cab, NO i respond, I only keep cassets in the truck...He wasent impressed....

Hate it when the police have to hide behind bus shelters, parked cars, ect to nab speeders, this guy was out in the open....You have to be smarter than your average bear, Hey BO BO?

 

Hey guys, I have cooled down some since the original post and I agree looking back maybe that was not a good idea to pass the cop. But I have passed cops before in the slow lane with no consequences. I especially hate how traffic gets all backed up because noone will pass a cop if even he is in the slow lane going slower than the speed limit.

I don't have respect for a cop who would rather make his quota for the month then to help broken down motorists as was the case last night, Christmas night. There was one not more than a quarter mile back from where he pulled us. Additionally, this cop as well as many other cops do not set a good example by following the speed limit themselves, defensive driving courses or not.

Oh yeah. The ticket was $110. $10 for the fine and $100 for court fees. How can I respect that??

BTW, I nor my wife are hot heads on the road. The last ticket she got was 5 years ago and me 3 years ago. I just thought this was totally uncalled for, but live and learn. We will never pass a cop again.

 

Everyone here has made some good points for and against you. If I were in your shoes I'd be pissed off too.

You aren't supposed to pass on the right, that's a given. Sounds like the cop may have been taunting you. I would fight a speeding ticket that was for 5mph over. There is a good chance that your speedometer is 3-4mph optamistic.

 

Fight the ticket, you have nothing to loose and a lot to gain.
Last year I got a ticket for 85 in a 55 and passing in the truck lane. I fought it and basically won. the cop I passed followed me and that how he got my speed. The problem was he need to follow for 3 tenths of a mile and write down the mile markers. He made a mistake on the distance he followed and since I said I was driving at 65 that what the judge gave me a ticket for.

If the cop used radar then I thought they had a 10% inaccuracy, so in a 70 you should be able to go 77 without getting a ticket.

You are already paying the court costs so fight it. If the cop does not show you win. the hearing will be I a few months from now so the cop will have calmed down and maybe think he was wrong for giving a ticket for 5mph over and not fight it.

 

That isn't the right lesson to get from all of this.
It annoys me too when brake lights come on, traffic slows to under the speedlimit when marked car is ahead, as if everyone has just escaped from prison and don't want to draw attention to themselves.

You simply obey the speed limit. If that means you pass a patrol car then so be it. Don't become one of those that will never pass a cop, because there are motorists out there with that mindset and it drives me crazy.

By the way, if the cop is doing the speedlimit and you pass him, your only logical reason for doing so would be a miscalibrated speedo.
Otherwise, your just plain nuts.

 

I prefer cops to drive over the speed limit by a good 10 or 15 mph. It keeps idiots from slowing down to a crawl and bunching up traffic. If some jackass decides he can speed if the police can, and gets a ticket, well, that's too damned bad. If you mess with the bull, sometimes you get the horns.


Passing a cop who's driving 5 mph over the speed limit, on a holiday, especially Christmas, isn't very smart. These guys have families they'd rather be home with than out playing hall monitor. Even if I was getting double time and a half, I'd be more likely not to let people off, who aren't showing proper respect for the law, and thumbing their nose at me specifically by doing it in my plain view.





BTW: I'm not a police officer, and don't play one on the internet.

 

Your wife gets nailed for speeding, she admits it, and you're pissed? Take responsibility for your actions. Waaaaaaa

 

I'm a cop, and I had to work Christmas last night/this morning. I'm not going to praise or condone the officer's decision to give your wife a ticket, I wasn't there. In his defense, it takes ***** to pass a police officer if he is going the speed limit, it rubs me the wrong way too. However, I personally probably would not have stopped her bacause you have to be going pretty fast to get a ticket from me, plus I've never written a SPEEDING ticket on X-mas. I have arrested drunk drivers, but that's a whole other subject. Bike like I said, I wasn't there and officer discretion varies greatly from one officer to the other.

 

Sorry about the ticket but you tempted fate....

Now this passing on the right thing.....

I never knew it as a law but a judgemental thing for safety.

Here in California if you didn't pass on the right it would be 15 hour traffic jams instead of 8 hours.

 

Legality of passing on the right varies from state to state. Here in PA it is legal, but only in certain conditions. travelling on a 4 lane limited access highway is one of them.

I'm not one for fighting tickets, as when you get one, you were definately (ok, vast majority of the time) doing something wrong. Cops have a very very tough job to do and I respect them to the nth degree. Most folks they ticket are male Donkeys. I believe that if you're not doing anything wrong, you won't get a ticket.

Now all that being said, for 5mph over the limit? I'd definately fight that one...

 

If there is anything to be taken from this it's this:

Do not pass a marked unit unless it's painfully clear they're under the speed limit. You're begging to get pulled over if you do. Chances are the Police Officer is going the limit and more than likely 5 MPH over the limit. I've pulled people over for doing this and sometimes issued tickets, although not on Christmas. And yes the tickets were for 5 MPH over the limit. No one has ever contested the ticket.

Unless you're looking to be pulled over and talk to Police Officer, it's just a bad idea to pass one.

 

Around where I live it is difficult to pass a Trooper, as they are normally doing well beyond the 55 or 65 limit. I have passed a few on the left but later seen lights and saw they were following the guy in front of them for one reasson or another.

I love to see one pas me in the morning on my way to work that means a quick trip normally, many mornings of 90+ mph just trying to keep up.

Look at it the way I do, yea it sucks to get a ticket, but when i figure that everytime I get behind the wheel I break the law, when I do get caught in factors out to fractions of a penny per violation.

I would say you were wrong to pass him in that manner but I wsn't there and don't know what the road is like, so it is your judgement that is important.

Have a safe and Happy New Year.

 

Now that will definately get you a ticket, no matter what state you live in...

Well ok, maybe not in Arkansas...

 

Passing a Cop on the right....who was already at or above the speed limit. That is akin to "poking a bear with a VERY short stick". I am a cop, 18 years. Quotas are out the window. Most people will argue that, but it's true. The only hard and fast rule is that for a certain amount of traffic, there will be a certain amount of tickets. No traffic, no tickets.

I had to work Christmas day, 8-4. I have a 2 mth old baby at home. Would I rather be home with my family? You bet. But I love my job, wouldnt give it up for anything. But I'm out there, in traffic, making sure there is'nt someone doing something unpredictable, (Like passing a cop on the RIGHT and speeding)which could cause an accident, and prevent some other family from enjoying the holiday.

Oh- and for all the "I saw a cop driving twenty miles an hour OVER the speed limit and he did'nt have his lights on..." not all calls require us to respond with lights and siren. In fact, if we did respond to all calls that way, we would'nt be able to catch some criminals that are performing burglaries, armed robberies and the like. let me put it this way... Your loved one is a bank teller and a large bank. Joe crack head walks in, sweating, shaking, nervous. Hands your loved one (The head teller) a note, saying to put all the money in a bag and blah blah blah, waving a loaded .45 at her head. One of the tellers hits the silent alarm.

Officer Bob gets the call. Do you want him to respond, with traffic, abideing by all the laws- Stop lights, stop signs, etc? OR do you want him coming in like Starsky and Hutch, power sliding across the parking lot and smashing through the front window, lights and siren?

We respond, as quickly and safely as possible, with regard to public safety- without causing the bad guy to go haywire with our arrival.

What "John Q Public" sees, is what is known as a "snap shot"- a brief look at a cop as he (or she) is doing their job. Or a look at a cop as they pass him on the side of the road. Its not an overall picture of what the cop is doing, but people will "fill in the blanks".
Example.... True story..., actual complaint.
"I saw a cop, driving 30 miles over the speed limit- on the highway- and then I saw him in the passenger side of a car at the rest area! what a jerk- it was probably his girlfreind!"... Reality... That cop was responding to a choking 2 year old in his mothers car, with the mother on the cell phone to 911. Rescue arrives, whisks the child off to the hospital- and whos the hero? the rescue squad. Back at the barracks, some woman is lodging a complaint that she saw a cop driving 30 miles over the speed limit.

Are there jerks in law enforcement? Yep.
Are there jerks in ANY line of work? You tell me. Think of your own line of profession.

Dont label us all for the actions of one. And dont label him, unless you know the full story. Our profession allows a certain amount of discretion- and attitude on YOUR part can be a decision maker. Passing a police officer- on the right- when we are out there on hoilday patrol, looking for drunks (Who, by the way, make some REALLY stupid decisions) was not the smartest thing to do.

A wise old patrolman once told me... "Listen to both sides of the story- the truth will lie somewhere in between"

Have a save 2005