I'd already be in prison if I did this

[theholycow]

http://www.connpost.com/ci_13807681
Summary: Cop doing 100mph on a 40mph road, not responding to an emergency, his strobe lights not on, hits a left-turning car and kills two teens. Unlike what would happen to me if I merely did 100 on that road without hitting anyone, he is not currently behind bars.

The video is from the dash cam of another cop car coming from the same place.
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[IndyFetch]

Wow. I don't even know quite what to say to that.

I almost went to jail after being clocked at 76 mph in a 50 zone. It was an elevated expressway with no on- or off-ramps on that stretch. The road was empty.

[dkjones96]

What a piece of crap!

[GasSavers_TomO]

To protect and to serve, huh? I don't even see that motto on any law enforcement vehicles anymore.

Not to mention they are supposed to be role models...not the kind of role model I want in my city.

[VetteOwner]

lol dont come to my town, cops will be on one end, turn on thier lights (sometimes) go 55+ in a 30 mph zone (turns every block, always kids/pedesrians/bicyclist around/tons of old people) just to get to the other end of town to take radar.

or get back to the police station in the middle of town.

[IndyFetch]

The standard excuse for police speeding is that they have "special training" and are "expert drivers." I don't believe a single-day course learning how to not spin a tail-happy Crown Vic while taking a 90-degree turn at 25 mph qualifies someone as an expert driver. The video shows that the cop did not swerve to miss the car at all. He only braked at the last second. You could see that the car was going to turn well before then.

I hate cops that fly through residential areas. I hate cops that weave through traffic with no apparent cause (no lights). I hate cops that tailgate you so closely that you cannot even see their headlights in the mirror, but pull you over if you speed up OR slow down. I am fed up with cops that get in the left lane of the interstate and do not pass anyone. They run 55 mph in a 65 zone next to a truck and back traffic up for a half mile.

Otherwise, I like cops.

[bobc455]

Originally Posted by Fetch

The standard excuse for police speeding is that they have "special training" and are "expert drivers."

I've never heard of that before.

As someone who has participated in several types of motorsports & auto racing, and as someone who has above average reflexes and attentiveness, I suppose I'm qualified to go even faster then!

The only justification I've ever heard is when a police car is on a multi-lane road, if they do the speed limit they essentially become a moving roadblock and cause unnecessary traffic congestion and unsafe conditions. Frankly, I agree- if a cop does 65MPH in a 65 zone, who's really gonna pass them (except maybe at 66)? This creates a huge block of cars with some drivers trying to sneak around other drivers, etc. I actually support cops doing 85 down the highway, I feel better about doing 75.

-BC

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by bobc455

The only justification I've ever heard is when a police car is on a multi-lane road, if they do the speed limit they essentially become a moving roadblock and cause unnecessary traffic congestion and unsafe conditions.

That thinking is bass-ackwards. If the speed limit is unsafely low, then it should be raised. Why should we all be expected to break the law all the time just to be safe? That ludicrous! If 85 is the speed that can most safely flow the required volume of traffic, the speed limit should be at least 85.

Originally Posted by JoeBob

Was the cop using his lights and siren?

No, he most definitely was not. Neither officer was.

In any event...you don't make a left turn in front of oncoming traffic unless you KNOW you have enough room...

Consider how far away the 100mph cop was at the time. When you see a car off in that distance, it's entirely reasonable to expect that it can't possibly arrive at your location in the time it takes you to complete your turn.

I'd like to point out a few minor changes to the story that would majorly change the result:
- If it was just me doing 100mph on that road and there was no accident, I'd be behind bars.
- If it was me who hit and killed the left-turner while going 100mph, I'd be behind bars for a LONG time.
- If I was doing 100mph and the officer was turning left and I hit and killed him, I would be brutalized by the other officer and put away for life. The police and the media would paint me as a murderous premeditating cop-killer.

If there's anyone we should expect to drive safely, it would be police. That one drove at a speed that could never be safe on that road, and then didn't even try to evade the car that was in the road.

If a pedestrian had been crossing, consider the amount of time it takes to cross; the police car could have been totally out of sight when the pedestrian entered their lane and then run over the pedestrian before the officer could even see him in that light. At that speed, a lot of distance is covered very quickly.

[Jay2TheRescue]

To put this in terms that are easier to understand, 100 MPH = 146.66 feet/second (FPS). 40 MPH =48.66 FPS. If the cop was going anywhere near the speed limit he would have only gone about 20 - 25 feet in the fraction of a second it takes to move your foot from the accelerator to the brake. At 100 MPH he travelled 70 - 80 feet in that fraction of a second. Since the police car was travelling at nearly 3 times the speed limit I think that it would have been reasonable for the other driver to think that they had plenty of room. That's why police cars have flashing blue & red lights to warn other drivers that they are travelling at high speed. There were no warning devices activated on the vehicle. The only time I assume a vehicle might be coming at me at 100 MPH is when merging onto a highway, not crossing a city street.

[GasSavers_JoeBob]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

<snip> The only time I assume a vehicle might be coming at me at 100 MPH is when merging onto a highway, not crossing a city street.

When making a left turn, one should never ASSUME ANYTHING!

Maybe it was my having to learn to drive in a car that could give a snail an interesting race (1960 Corvair w/2 speed Powerglide), or maybe it was just a conservative leaning regarding driving in general, probably the only activity in which I have ever considered myself conservative, but I always make sure I have about double the adequate room to make a left turn, and only after I have pretty well determined the speed of the oncoming cars (if any). With the Corvair, not only was the acceleration very sedate, but if one hit the gas too fast, it was likely to stall. (This was probably due to a vacuum leak where the vacuum crossover pipe attached to the heads, something I didn't realize at the time I was driving that car.)

As I have said, I've had people get impatient behind me, but as far as I am concerned, their impatience is their problem, not mine.