corrupt police officers

What is the name of your state? OHIO

Hi,

I am seeking advice for a friend who is a tractor trailer driver. He recieved a speeding ticket on Interstate 80 in Ohio near the city of Akron while driving his truck. THe officer pulled him over and told him that he was going 76 in a 65 zone. Actually, he was not going that fast. He had his truck set on cruise control for 71mph. It is still speeding, but not as fast as the officer claimed. My friend told the officer that he could not have been going that fast because he had his truck on cruise control, and he knew that there was nothing wrong w/ the cruise control. It could not have been inaccurate. The officer appeared nervous and fidgetty, like he just wanted to leave. The officer replyed saying that this is what he caught him at and its what he wrote on the ticket. My friend accepted the ticket and left. Later he found out that another driver from the same company had recieved a ticket in the same area from the same officer (based on badge #) and the officer claimed that he was going 74 in the 65 zone. Actually the driver had been traveling 68 in the 65 zone. The officer lied.
About 2 weeks later, my friend was driving in the same area of I-80, and he pulled over at a truck stop. He got back on the highway, and this time set his cruise control on 69mph in a 65mph zone. He went up a hill, and at the top of the hill, he spotted a police car in the median. He continued going the set cruise control speed of 69mph. The officer pulles him over and tells him that he was going 80mph. Again, my friend states that it cannot be true because he had his cruise control set for 69 and he had just come up a hill, so he could not have been going that fast up the hill on a truck. The officer said that he spotted him gaining speed, 65, 70, and then 80mph. He was correct stating that my friend was gaining speed to place the cruise control on, but there is no way that he could go up to 80, going up a hill, knowing that there is a police officer sitting in the median. So he tells the police officer that he still has a ticket that has not been taken care of, asking if the officer could give him a break. The officer states the he will give him a break of 5miles lower. So he wrote out a ticket for 75mph. I dont believe that if an officer spotted a trucker driving 80mph, that he would lower it to 75mph, b/c 80 mph is such a large speed that its unforgiveable.
Now, there is a problem of proving this in court that these 2 officers from the same town were lying. Do you have any advice on how to beat these 2 tickets in court?

****** ATTENTION **********

Dumb ass post...... Do not reply

poohmantbb said:

****** ATTENTION **********

Dumb ass post...... Do not reply

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No kidding!, and I actually read it.

10-40 out, poohman.

I can think of a couple things to do.

Get the speedos tested on both trucks. If you end up going to court, the officer is going to claim that his speedo or radar has been calibrated, so you have to be able to respond in kind.

Advertise to find other people who have been victimized by this scam.

Pug

.....and there is something wrong with just obeying the speed limit?

DUH!!!!!!!

Greeneyez1121 said:

THe officer pulled him over and told him that he was going 76 in a 65 zone. Actually, he was not going that fast. He had his truck set on cruise control for 71mph.

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Actually, you do NOT know this as you were not a witness. And unless you or your friend are a mechanic who has worked on his cruise control, neither of you are not qualified to comment on the cruise control.

It is still speeding, but not as fast as the officer claimed.

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In your opinion ... and that of your friend's.

The officer appeared nervous and fidgetty, like he just wanted to leave.

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And how would your friend know that? Maybe he was. Maybe he was a rookie. Maybe he had something else on his mind. Maybe your friend was making him nervous because of something he was doing.

Who knows?

Later he found out that another driver from the same company had recieved a ticket in the same area from the same officer (based on badge #) and the officer claimed that he was going 74 in the 65 zone. Actually the driver had been traveling 68 in the 65 zone. The officer lied.

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Maybe. Or maybe these two fellows were wrong. Remember, the jails are filled with innocent people as well.

Maybe the officer lied ... or maybe he was wrong. Maybe his radar or lidar was improperly maintained. Maybe his angle was wrong. Or maybe he was absolutely correct!

That's what court is for - to fight these things.

Now, there is a problem of proving this in court that these 2 officers from the same town were lying. Do you have any advice on how to beat these 2 tickets in court?

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Other than to fight it on the merits, not really.

I suppose your friend can always go over TX's radar laws and see if all the requirements have been met for road surveys, maintenance of the devices, training, etc. And he might consider having his cruise control and speedometer checked out as well.

And, in the future, SLOW DOWN! Set that cruise control for UNDER the limit and see what happens.

- Carl

He had his truck set on cruise control for 71mph.


I hear this all the time...it's as if you turn your vehicle over to a gizmo, you are no longer responsible!

Retraction requested - CDW and Dallas

In this thread we've had two replies suggesting that drivers should go the posted limit, or less.

Ordinarily I would overlook such a suggestion, because there are a lot of uninformed people on this site. But I became concerned when I noticed the source. One of the replies came from a cop, and the other came from a guy who says he is an elected representative and radio host. Both professions have the potential to affect a lot of drivers.

Every study I have seen says that it is far safer if all cars are moving at similar speeds, regardless of whether they are obeying the speed limit.

The studies echo my own observations - cars moving substantially slower than "the flow" are just as disruptive as cars moving substantially faster.

CDW and Dallas' posts, by encouraging drivers to impede the flow, could make our highways more dangerous, get someone killed.

This is my request for an immediate retraction.

Pug

Pugilist said:

In this thread we've had two replies suggesting that drivers should go the posted limit, or less.

Ordinarily I would overlook such a suggestion, because there are a lot of uninformed people on this site. But I became concerned when I noticed the source. One of the replies came from a cop, and the other came from a guy who says he is an elected representative and radio host. Both professions have the potential to affect a lot of drivers.

Every study I have seen says that it is far safer if all cars are moving at similar speeds, regardless of whether they are obeying the speed limit.

The studies echo my own observations - cars moving substantially slower than "the flow" are just as disruptive as cars moving substantially faster.

CDW and Dallas' posts, by encouraging drivers to impede the flow, could make our highways more dangerous, get someone killed.

This is my request for an immediate retraction.

Pug

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Every study I have seen says that it is far safer if all cars are moving at similar speeds, regardless of whether they are obeying the speed limit.


You may want to bone up on your physics....

Pugilist said:

CDW and Dallas' posts, by encouraging drivers to impede the flow, could make our highways more dangerous, get someone killed.

This is my request for an immediate retraction.

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Keep waiting.

If you recall, I suggested he seek confirmation that his cruise control is functioning properly and that his speedometer was working properly. I further suggested he consider setting the cruise control at a lower setting - not one that "impedes".

Driving the speed limit is not "impeding" traffic. It may impede speeders, but it is not impeding anything else.

I see more collisions from reckless speeders then from slow drivers. Yes, we cite slow drivers ... and these folks tend to either have poor vehicles, or are so old or infirm that they need to be re-evaluated by the DMV anyway. But those are people that are operating at substantially slower speeds ... not somoene tooling along at 65 or even 65 in a 65. Especially when commercial traffic has to generally operate at 55 MPH (at least in CA) even on the 70 MPH stretches. I don't see too many rear-enders of semi-trucks because of their seriously lower speed limits.

- Carl

CDW -

Maybe you forgot, but you wrote:

"Set that cruise control for UNDER the limit and see what happens." (Emphasis yours.)

You should know better.

Please retract, without delay.

Pug

Pugilist said:

CDW -

Maybe you forgot, but you wrote:

"Set that cruise control for UNDER the limit and see what happens." (Emphasis yours.)

You should know better.

Please retract, without delay.

Pug

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Setting a DEVICE does not imply that it is either working properly, or, that you will actually travel the desired rate consistantly. Cruise control devices are a boondoggle. They give the driver a false sense of security. They are convenient, to be certain. But it does NOT absolve the driver of otherwise prudent driving ... which includes operating at the speed limit.

If setting the cruise control AT or ABOVE the speed limit is resulting in the driver being stopped for speeding, then one might assume that setting it BELOW the limit would resolve the problem.

Once again, traveling at the speed limit - and even slightly below it - is not generally considered "impeding."

- Carl

Re travelling at the same speed:

1- NOT including trucks. The national speed limit for big rigs and cars pulling trailers has nver been equal to that of cars. Most places it's 55-65 tops. For good reason.

2- ONLY up to a "safe" speed. Many freeways in CA and NV allow 75mph. Many drivers are good up to approx. 80. beyond that it becomes UNSAFE rapidly.....especially when there are vehicles that may need to travel at 65.

I've been driving these highways, which tend to be much more open than those in the Eastern seaboard and around the Great Lakes, for over 40 years. Depending on the vehicle, the road/conditions, and the traffic I have maneuvered these roads from 55 to 175 mph. I have never seen any circumstance where big trucks or cars hauling trailers are "safe" (for themselves) at more than 75. For others, trucks keeping to 70 is much, much safer. My two brothers-in-law, who are CHP for 30 years, would concur.

Can speedos be off? Yes, but it's up to the vehicle operator to make sure they are correct. In fact, I believe there are legal requirements for truckers about that. Are there speed "traps"? Of course. Some of the small towns where I grew up in NorCal made a significant amount of their revenue from "inattentive" drivers. But, there are correct ways to deal with abusers.

As to who is "uninformed": I think that is not the problem.

FYI ...

dallas702 said:

2- ONLY up to a "safe" speed. Many freeways in CA and NV allow 75mph.

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I don't know about NV, but the max. in CA is 70 MPH and this is only present on a small portion of our freeways.

Many drivers are good up to approx. 80. beyond that it becomes UNSAFE rapidly.....especially when there are vehicles that may need to travel at 65.

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I agree.

Some of the small towns where I grew up in NorCal made a significant amount of their revenue from "inattentive" drivers. But, there are correct ways to deal with abusers.

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I don't know about how it was back then, but in the last 15 years the way funding works we do not make it profitable to issue moving violations ... and, of course, small towns don't tend to work the freeways.

Most of I5 up through CA is 70, but most of the traffic runs 75+. Outside the urban areas of NV 70-75 is common, but when there's miles between cars, towns, or NHP it's easy to cruise at 90-100 or more (in the right car...not truck). I don't care if yer drivin' a DodgeMagnumFordSuperDutyChevyBadAssWhatever with 350-400-500 HP, they are not safe over 80-85 mph. Of course, Vettes are a different story.

I grew up in towns where the highway was the main street through. U.S.40, then I80 was good enough until the early '60s when traffic jumped substantially. Now the Big Orange stands and Burma Shave signs are gone, and the local cops have to write parking tickets.