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Driving and Cops

footballking732

BURNER BABY!!
Sep 2, 2006
2,081
0
I was reading the jobs thread in this forum and it reminded me of something that always happens to me...

I have had my license since i was 17, always in MD as i have always lived in MD. I got it when i was still with my parents and i wasnt too careful about stuff, ie breaking all the "provisional rules".. such as driving with other kids in the car, speeding racing etc. I was always terrified of the cops.

So now im in college, but i had no car for awhile. Partly because i didnt need one as i lived on campus, and partly because i couldnt afford one. Well my parents decided to give me their '03 Gold Honda Accord this past summer(july) when they wanted to get a new one. So i undoubtedly accepted their gift and started driving again.(which is amazing, now no need for buses and metro etc)

I have found though, that even with wisdom and hopefully more maturity, i still speed and i still race my friends, and still break many laws. This post is not meant to display how cool i think i am by racing, as i would be the first person to tell you that being able to push a pedal hard isnt something that generates popularity. But i do love going fast as it gets my adrenaline pumping like nothing else.

So now for the questions,

Do you guys race or simply like to go fast in your cars and if you dont mind how old are you and how long have you been doing this? For me going fast is ok, its the accelerating fast that i love.

And 2nd,

Does seeing cops on the road freak you out? When i stopped driving for a period of time i forgot about how much cops freak me out. Now whenever i see a cop i instantly freak out, and start to wonder if and when he will pull me over. Its not a phobia, but i just feel like cops in this area have nothing better to do than write a 20 year old kid a $100 ticket for a cracked brake light.
 

JEFF4i

She lives!
Supporting Member
Jul 3, 2006
13,545
95
I was reading the jobs thread in this forum and it reminded me of something that always happens to me...

I have had my license since i was 17, always in MD as i have always lived in MD. I got it when i was still with my parents and i wasnt too careful about stuff, ie breaking all the "provisional rules".. such as driving with other kids in the car, speeding racing etc. I was always terrified of the cops.

So now im in college, but i had no car for awhile. Partly because i didnt need one as i lived on campus, and partly because i couldnt afford one. Well my parents decided to give me their '03 Gold Honda Accord this past summer(july) when they wanted to get a new one. So i undoubtedly accepted their gift and started driving again.(which is amazing, now no need for buses and metro etc)

I have found though, that even with wisdom and hopefully more maturity, i still speed and i still race my friends, and still break many laws. This post is not meant to display how cool i think i am by racing, as i would be the first person to tell you that being able to push a pedal hard isnt something that generates popularity. But i do love going fast as it gets my adrenaline pumping like nothing else.

So now for the questions,

Do you guys race or simply like to go fast in your cars and if you dont mind how old are you and how long have you been doing this? For me going fast is ok, its the accelerating fast that i love.

And 2nd,

Does seeing cops on the road freak you out? When i stopped driving for a period of time i forgot about how much cops freak me out. Now whenever i see a cop i instantly freak out, and start to wonder if and when he will pull me over. Its not a phobia, but i just feel like cops in this area have nothing better to do than write a 20 year old kid a $100 ticket for a cracked brake light.

Not sure what to say there FBK. You'll end up getting burned, and you know it. I raced my motorcycle many times, but when it came to the road, you never saw me going over the speed limit.

Time and place man, its fun, and you're an adult now...so if the risk is worth it, keep on doing it. But for now, I say don't do it man.

It doesn't matter who the cops want to punish if you're not doing anything wrong(usually).

Oh, and cager racing doesn't suit my fancy...you've yet to feel madness until you find yourself going through a corner at 80MPH with your face two feet from asphalt, and nothing else around you that could help if you went down.
 

Eracer

No more triple bogies!!
Oct 31, 2005
12,405
8
I admit that I like fast cars, and I like to drive fast. But the last time I had a car that would get to 60mph in under a week was when I was 30. I sold my turbo Laser back then and bought the first of many slow-ass trucks.

A couple of sobering near misses that could easily have been fatal accidents taught me that it's just not worth it. There are too many variables out on the street. It took me a while to grow up and out of the "need for speed" and in some ways I still have it. But I've learned (for the most part) to control it.

Take whatever lesson you want out of that.
 

Wi-Golfer

Golfer on hiatus.
Supporting Member
Jul 25, 2007
8,147
1,474
Madison, Wi
Country
United States United States
Tons of wheelies & a hell of a lot of 170+ mph runs on the R1. So far the worst I have gotten was a 90 in a 55 zone ticket. In the SUV I take it easy & very rarely go more than 6-7 over the limit, only exception is when I am passing someone. But put me on the bike & it's game on for some reason.
 

JEFF4i

She lives!
Supporting Member
Jul 3, 2006
13,545
95
Well, to be fair, I have sped on my bike before...so I shouldn't have said that.

But it wasn't for racing, never is. If just by mistake you're racing someone going 100(we'll say), and a family in a van doesn't see you coming...

Fault doesn't always help get rid of guilt.
 
OP
footballking732

footballking732

BURNER BABY!!
Sep 2, 2006
2,081
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Not sure what to say there FBK. You'll end up getting burned, and you know it. I raced my motorcycle many times, but when it came to the road, you never saw me going over the speed limit.
Sure, as you say it is a risk. And pardon my stereotyping, but when i think of bikers, i think of people racing on the highway and pulling wheelies. Not trying to discredit you in any way, just saying thats an anomaly to what i have thought for awhile. Good to hear though jeff :)

Let me give an example. There is one stretch of road that i travel on almost every day. Speed limit is posted as 35 in many different areas. Id bet my life on this that if you saw 25 cars on that road, no more than 1 of them would be going any less than 10 over. Thats just how that road is.

But i do take youre point, as the other day i hit 75 on a 25 in a ritzy neighborhood after i dropped the gf off at her friends house.


Time and place man, its fun, and you're an adult now...so if the risk is worth it, keep on doing it. But for now, I say don't do it man.

It doesn't matter who the cops want to punish if you're not doing anything wrong(usually).

Oh, and cager racing doesn't suit my fancy...you've yet to feel madness until you find yourself going through a corner at 80MPH with your face two feet from asphalt, and nothing else around you that could help if you went down.

Understood, and im gonna do some serious thinking about this. Not trying to lose my manhood card here, but i really have to decide if i want to end up in a coma or dead as 4 of my hs friends did(in 4 seperate accidents)
 

Eracer

No more triple bogies!!
Oct 31, 2005
12,405
8
Understood, and im gonna do some serious thinking about this. Not trying to lose my manhood card here, but i really have to decide if i want to end up in a coma or dead as 4 of my hs friends did(in 4 seperate accidents)
There's nothing especially "manly" about stupidity.
 

ezra76

Well-Known Member
Feb 5, 2006
12,412
16
I'm 32 and a I drive fast. Today, for example, I entered the 2 lane highway (55mph) that I will drive for 15minutes on to work at a speed of 75mph. in 2nd gear at 7700 rpm's. My coworker, driver a Lancer, just happened to be in the "fast lane" and flashed me in. We got around some traffic in the fast lane using the slow lane at about 110mph. and proceeded. At one point someone cut someone else off ahead, mad brake lights and he nearly hit me but all good.

Keep in mind both of us are professional truck drivers. Bottom line is we are much more aware than the average driver, see things happening way before they happen and know where the cops are. When there is a "jersey barrier" left and guardrail right, roads open, I'm taking it up to 120. Granted it's definitely not safe but safer than the way I drive the work truck, lol. When I'm talking about being a "professional driver" as it pertains to driving a car... do you immedialtely know who's in cruise control and how the vehicle will accel uphill and decel downhill in front of you? I do. Do you know what exit the majority of vehicles are going to be taking like 3-4miles ahead of time? I do. Do you know that vehicles will tend to merge to middle and fast last, leaving the the "slow lane" wide open the last 2/3 of the way to the next exit? And vice versa? Do you know that when trucks on the other side of the highway are doing the speed limit, (especially downhill) there is most likely a speed trap up ahead? When they are flying downhill ahead of you, no problem. They know, they have CB's.

If you want to drive fast, you've got to be prepared to deal with the consequences. Best case scenario is a speeding ticket. Worst case would be screwing around with some idiot who runs you into a guard rail doing 100, closed casket. I drive fast but I don't "race". I'll gladly take it up to 90 neck and neck if the road is wide open to see which car has better acceleration but if other cars are in the way, forget it, no way, ever.
 

JEFF4i

She lives!
Supporting Member
Jul 3, 2006
13,545
95
Sure, as you say it is a risk. And pardon my stereotyping, but when i think of bikers, i think of people racing on the highway and pulling wheelies. Not trying to discredit you in any way, just saying thats an anomaly to what i have thought for awhile. Good to hear though jeff :)


Understood, and im gonna do some serious thinking about this. Not trying to lose my manhood card here, but i really have to decide if i want to end up in a coma or dead as 4 of my hs friends did(in 4 seperate accidents)

Oh, there are plenty of bikers who do things that are of poor taste. That is part of the reason I am so staunch about not doing them, I'm trying to show that some of us are sensible.

There's nothing especially "manly" about stupidity.

What Eracer said. I've been spending too much time around Clugnut I think, but the only thing that means being a "man" is taking care of your family(parents, siblings, kids, all of your family), being good to people, and doing the best damn job you can at anything you do.

The rest is just fluff.
 

JEFF4i

She lives!
Supporting Member
Jul 3, 2006
13,545
95
Keep in mind both of us are professional truck drivers. Bottom line is we are much more aware than the average driver, see things happening way before they happen and know where the cops are. When there is a "jersey barrier" left and guardrail right, roads open, I'm taking it up to 120.

You're also criminals, from some points of view.

One day it'll cost you, and not being smart enough to keep it to the track means you might be costing someone else too.

**EDIT**I apologize for coming out a little harsh, you know I like ya Ez. This sort of thing is personal for me for a couple of bad reasons, and that's my fault for letting myself get so short about it. Again, sorry. :)
 

Eracer

No more triple bogies!!
Oct 31, 2005
12,405
8
One day it'll cost you, and not being smart enough to keep it to the track means you might be costing someone else too.
Hard words, but very, very true.

Imagine yourself waking up in a hospital because something that you caused by way of your recklessness went wrong caused a fatality.

It's not worth it. And the worst part is, as good as you think you are, there's always somebody stupider than you are quick.
 

ClairefromClare

Like my balls?
Jul 23, 2008
2,056
4
Easy driving rules, if your goal is not to attract the police:

In town, stick to the posted limit. Too many kids/clueless seniors/dog walkers/whatever.

Limited access highway: left lane is fine, but don't be the pace car.

So far, so good.
 

goatster

SUPER SOAKER
Feb 20, 2005
2,360
2
a few times i have been crazy on the roads.passing cars on blind hills at over 70.once got into a race of big suvs my bronco,a chevy subrban and a international scout.were i passed them on the right because of on coming traffic.

as far as freakin out when i see a cop that would be a big hell no i have been stopped enough to know the routine by the time they get to the truck i already have my lic and reg in my hand and out the window.
 

SilverUberXeno

El Tigre Blanco
Jul 26, 2005
4,620
26
I went 115 once in my 01 Concorde to see how she handled that kind of speed. FYI, the thing still rode like a magic carpet.

I would've never done that under normal circumstances, but I was on a stretch of highway in PA that was slightly downhill so I could see for about 2 miles in front of me, and it was relatively barren at the time I was on it.

I am more concerned with comfort while I drive versus speed. I rarely, if ever, drive 80+ on a posted 65. I'm usually between 70 and 75. At night I'm right at 65.

I was in a head-on collision doing 45 that absolutely totaled both vehicles. So I'd say you should find comfort in the fact that if you're doing 110, you won't live to see the reprocussions of your choices.

Are you more worried about being five minutes late, or totaling your car?

Food for thought.
 

ezra76

Well-Known Member
Feb 5, 2006
12,412
16
Hard words, but very, very true.

Imagine yourself waking up in a hospital because something that you caused by way of your recklessness went wrong caused a fatality.

It's not worth it. And the worst part is, as good as you think you are, there's always somebody stupider than you are quick.


I agree. My "goal" when driving on the highway is to get as far away from other cars as possible.
icon10.gif
Notice I say "cars". Truck drivers are predictable, this is why we take the middle at 70 over the GW bridge and it's "no cars allowed", 2ft. apart with 25K-75K lb. vehicles at 70mph. is awesome.
Easy driving rules, if your goal is not to attract the police:

In town, stick to the posted limit. Too many kids/clueless seniors/dog walkers/whatever.

Limited access highway: left lane is fine, but don't be the pace car.

So far, so good.

Good advice. I'd like to add, don't get all comfortable in that middle lane in cruise control and not pay attention. Keep in mind, for trucks on a 3 lane highway, the middle lane is our "fast lane". If you've ever driver a maxed out GVW truck along a hilly section of highway, you'd understand. Go 60 in a 65 in front of me downhill and you'll get a real good look at the radiatiator hoses in the rearview.

Also, don't be so afraid of speeding. State cops will easily let 10-15mph. over go if everyone is doing it (cars). To tell you the truth, staties are looking mostly at trucks. Truck fines are like 10-100times the rate of car fines... not to mention a "truck involved accident" at 70mph. is usually 10-100times worse and more expensive to clean up. FWIW I got stopped at 12 over in a commercial truck, $329 fine. Trucks are stopped all day long down the road from my house. They are supposed to take 295 around 95N back to 95N in MA to avoid construction. If they miss the sign? Try $3500 on for size, that'll ruin your day.

Last and not least... cell phones. I spend more time driving on the road than most, this is an epidemic. When someone answers a phone, they slow down, every time. Vehicles behind back up, brake lights, ahole cuts someone off to go around, gets clipped, flips and people die. IMO it should be federal law, $200 1st offense on cell driving, 90 suspension and $1000 2nd and driver retrain/indefinite until completion, pay like $5K for classes for 3rd offense. Also any accident involving someone on a cell, automatically cell users fault.

I'll go as far to say that cell use while driving is as dangerous as drinking and driving up to the point of totally friggen $hitfaced drunk.
 

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