That's assuming he sees the equipment. A good install, he won't, not without a search and I won't consent. If they ask you to get out of the vehicle, lock it behind you, with the keys inside (assuming you have a keyless entry pad, otherwise have a hidden key in a mag box under the vehicle).

Funny, only time I've gotten a break was when my RD was in plain site! The officer even said something about it. Guess he was one of the nice guys on officer.com who says it doesn't matter one way or another to him.

You would have if you had a badge. Do as they say, not as they do!

 

While enjoying a fall evening after work I sat atop a hill in my area , Eating a pizza with a soft drink. I was communicating on my CB radio with two different people in Texas on a skip. I was astounded at the distance my equipment transmitting and receiving at. The night was good until I received a call from a local guy with a scanner letting me know that a cruiser was dispatched to my location to check out a suspicious vehicle. I assured him that I was doing nothing wrong. Then he told me who was responding. Knowing the officers reputation I opted to leave the area. I only made it a few hundred yards down the hill before he turned his lights on about fifty feet in front of me and cut his wheel to block my lane with his vehicle. I stopped within feet of him. Thanks to new brakes. The officer asked me what I was doing up there . I answered him , and offered him a slice of my still warm pizza. He proceeded to tell me that I was up there "jacking deer" because he saw a spotlight in my jeep. He called in for assistance. boxed me in with the other cruiser. Searched my vehicle with my consent. found nothing. And then wrote me a ticket for impeding an emergency vehicle, and modified vehicle height. ( 4" superlift, 33" m/t's). This stop kept me on the side of the road for about 40 minutes. in front of about 20 people who had come out of their houses to see what all the commotion was about. Id like to add . where I was talking on my CB was nothing but empty house lots that were cleared for construction. Just venting. This is what Im talking about with regards to small town cops.

 

He also threatened me with Future citations and what the costs were going to be in increasing increments. when I asked if I could fill my tank with gas and lower my tire pressure. I had a state cop measure my truck the day I went to court. and it was 5/8 of an inch too high. I won on the impeding charge . and admitted to modified vehicle height. Small fine.

 

http://flexyourrights.org/faq

 

Some places, officers are indoctrinated with a different attitude. Still good people, but they look at things in a different light. Read you tale of the road blocking officer, a few posts later. I'ld be hesitant to take a stranger up on the pizza, but I would have checked on a suspicious vehicle if the original caller had actually alleged something suspicious.

When I was a teen, we too used to occasionally go to a mountain near my home town near dark on a Sat nite and up this long twisty dirt road to a wide spot near the top to set up a set of 2 - 10 foot sections mast and a ground plane and talk skip on our 23 channel CBs, back before 40s were out, when they had a little more power, maybe '70-'72. We'ld use RG-6 cable and just hook it up in place of our car's mobile antenna. Used a linear sometimes. We'ld almost always have two vehicles, there were no cell phones then and we just felt better having two.

And yes, we too even had a deputy check on us one night, he sat there for an hour listening to us talk skip and shooting the breeze before he too tried it. I told him of my plans to someday be a trooper, he told me what being a deputy was like in some ways. I hadn't thought about that in years until I read your post ... Thanks.

It was fun. It was close to when I first got my operator's license and my buddy and I both had daddies that were in the same CB Club in the mid-late '60s, though my Dad passed away when I was 15. I had grown up around all sorts of radios and electronics as dad had been a HAM and CBer and had his own buisness repairing radios and TVs since before I was born. I knew how to attach a PL-259 to RG-6 blindfolded. In the '60s, he was an engineer at GE in Mobile Communications section.

Back in west Texas in the '50s Daddy's Ham radio club used to have cook outs in Texas and over in Mexico. His first big power HAM radio was built using pie pans for chassis parts and wood framing and the tubes, etc as he needed he bought. It took up one end of the enclosed back porch at 210 west 7th street in Del Rio.

I was with the state for 31 years. Yes, often I did my job and at the same time, had some sympathy for the violator .... but I swore I'ld be fair and so I tried to be. I set up certain rules for myself and tried to treat everyone by those rules. If they asked for a break, they usually almost always got a ticket, same if they cried , etc. Best bet with me was just let me decide without any attempt to help make up or sway my mind.

Usually, I already had an idea.

 

Great post!

These days the CB isn't good for much except bear reports. Too much trash talk, cussing, racism, etc. Its a shame that I have to keep myself alert to turn down the volume real quick when the kids are with me.

I'm about to get a license to start with a mobile ham rig, maybe even a GMRS license as there's a local repeater.

 

Actually, in Virginia just the presence of a radar detector or jammer in a motor vehicle accessible for use while the vehicle is on a highway is a violation of law .... and if he has developed just probable cause .... he doesn't need consent. He can ask for it, maybe make a smooth stop, maybe to test a driver's attitude, but if he has the PC, he doesn't need it.

SCOTUS ruled on that in the Carrol decision long before we were born and it's still good law. He can search it, and if you interfear you can go to jail, and he can keep the detector / jammer for use in court if he thinks it's needed .... and I always thought that if I had to arrest (or even just search for it myself) then it was worth having to show the judge at trial.

After appeals were exhausted and when no longer needed, I mailed those back to the rightful owner to his last known address COD, insured, return reciept requested.

§ 46.2-1079. Radar detectors; demerit points not to be awarded.

If I didn't see it or have other reason to believe it was there, I didn't even mention it. But if it was like 2am and I's back shooting from behind trees in my special spot and I released the hold and checked speed at 87 and brake lights come on, I knowed I had a "two fer" for sure, and maybe more. If only running 72 in a 65 and I saw same brake lights, I still took a look and the speed was "maybe a warning" depending on "how things went" over the issue of the "strongly and rightfully suspected" radar detector.

Take care all ........

 

Thanks .... agree that the nature of CB "Citizens Band" has changed greatly over the last 30 years. I've got a base and some mobiles here, none hooked up to anything.

You know, a deputy here now and his wife are HAMS and he's been after me to become a HAM. I took the test first time with out any study, made just over 70 something. Stupid mistakes, but HAM appeals to me now that one doesn't have to do morse code. He and his wife use it all the time for car to base as he's working and they've started looking at HAM clubs.

 

I havent used the CB in quite some time now. When I was involved with a 4WD club it was mandatory equipment. I picked up a MT. Washington base model with extra channels added to it. It has three toggle switches added to the back of the unit that give the user over 200 channels to choose from. So if someone keeps interrupting your conversation and whomever your talking to has similar equipment you could easily find an isolated channel . I've been thinking of hooking it up lately to see what I can pick up. Unfortunately my location is kind of a "hole" as far as reception goes. Just to add a note to my vehicle stop story. The officer I talked about was relieved of his duty a few years later, for Civil rights violations. Involved in a stop of a father and son on an ATV at gun point. There is allot to that story. So Ill spare you all another lengthy tale. J.B.

 

Only Virginia and Washington DC have that law, and there have been attempts to repeal it in Virginia. I'll drive around it if its not my destination, because the Virginia is infamous for their unreasonable traffic laws, high fines, targeting out of state drivers, etc. 81 mph in a 70 can be reckless driving and a felony with a $3000 fine spread over 3 years with all the fees adding that up to a total of $3,462.00 plus a little time in jail - revenue collection pure and simple, imho. Justice isn't losing your job because of a felony on your record for something like speeding. The CB works great there though and since its the #1 countermeasure on the highway its not a problem... the truckers are very active calling out bears.

 

I believe it is true, that some officers are indoctrinated with a true set of ideals as to how they deal with people. Unfortunately they all , are not. My unfortunate experiences with the rest of them are just that. Unfortunate. That being said. I also wanted to be a trooper at one part of my life. Unfortunatley an 85 isnt good enough on the test unless you happen to be the other gender or mention family genes that will give you extra points. so I didn't get in. It would have been good though. oh well. J.B.

 

Lots of BS there that you've been fed.

Believe what you want, but never in my life have I seen any evidence of officers targetibng out of state drivers. Most of those I stopped were in state drivers as that's what you find most on the roadway .... in any state. Va. fines are some of the lowest too. I know. You believe the hype and crybabies if it's your desire though.

Total BS. 81 in a 70 IS reckless driving by statrute in Va., there's no "can be" to it. However, that's onl;y if the officer wrote anything over 80. The way it works is speed in excess of 20 oover the posted limit or any time one exceeds 80 qualifies as reckless driving. Reckless driving is punished as if it were a class 1 misdemeanor, which just means the range of possible fines is same as a class 1 misdemeanor, it's still a traffic infraction however and that specifies a range, not a mandantory level. Punishmenty may be by a fine of up to $2500 and / or up to 12 months in jail and there may be up to 6 months license suspension attached. Very damn few go to jail.

My judge was known, is still known as being strict. Up to 90 got a fine of 2-300 dollars maybe, 90+ got a fine of maybe 4-500 plus license suspension of some sort, often 30-60 days. At 95 and above you got a slightly bigger fine, the license suspension, and a start of two days for the 95 plus another day in the local jail to pull for every mile over 95 (96 got you 3). At 100 mph, the fines and jail time accelerated and where you might have just signed a ticket at 99, at 100 he wanted everyone brought in for a bond hearing meaning they faced a magistrate and maybe left some bond to guarantee they'ld show up in court.

The only circumstance that reckless driving became a felony is when the charge was resulting from a wreck and someone was killed because of the action earning the reckless driving cite. Then it was a class 5 felony max ... but again you had to have killed someone to get that felony on a reckless driving charge.

Case in point, I had a truck driver come over a hill crest and he was distracted and failed to see that traffic was stopped, he ran into the back of traffic and killed a boy. It didn't rise to manslaughter as his negligence wasn't gross negligence, it was normal negligence. He was charged with reckless driving and convicted a few months later and got 1 year as a class 5 felony.

Drivers loose their jobs due to bad records all the time when insurance companies see they are a bad risk and terminate insurance for them. No one get's a felony on their record for simple speeding though.

 

I'll take the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stats over your opinion. According to the NHTSA Virginia tops the list for the highest fines with Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland and New Hampshire following, but nowhere near as close.

So who's right, you or the NHTSA? Are they lying?

I read the statute wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it. Same with the felony. I re-read the statute and its a felony if it involves a death, and/or suspended license.

Thanks, however, for pointing out that Virginia is even worse than I thought, in that all 81+ are considered reckless. That's a bit harsh by the standards of the majority of the states.

Think about how ridiculous that is: 11 mph over the 70 mph limit is reckless? Yeah, and I have some oceanfront property in Arizona for sale.

You left out the fees (up to $1050 depending on infraction) which is imposed in addition to any fine. Of course, that's not a fine, huh?

Your state is known as being strict, and even on the LEO forums, carries a reputation for it. Even heard moto cops, who are humorously known for ticketing their own mothers, say Virginia can be harsh. Not saying that's you, but it does seem to be a common theme.

Don't take my word for it. Here's but one example:
http://forums.officer.com/forums/sho...off-to-the-VSP!

 

This thread is getting intense.

 

ok. If you say so.

All I gotta say is the cobra kept me out of MANY tickets. I don't really care what all the other people have to say about it. It worked for me thats all that matters!