Are there rules or guidelines that govern vehicle usage by LEO?

[weekendskp]

I know the question isn't clear or concise, but here's why I ask. I saw a cop car sitting under a 4 lane overpass, off the road in the grass, in the dark with its lights off. I don't know why, but I was under the impression that police, when observing traffic and/or using radar to catch speeders, had to have at least the vehicles running lights visible. Furthermore, the local PD car was in a State Highway right-of-way on the other side of a curb in the grass. Wouldn't this be a safety hazard at the very least?

 

[Saltcreek]

It varies from state to state. Some states the cruiser has to be plainly visible, others can hide. I have sat on the shoulder in the grass many times. Mine in Ohio has to be clearly marked with lights and markings as a Police car to make traffic stops, others states don't require makings and allow hidden lights. I'm not aware of any that say you can't be in the median or grass. How is this a safety hazzard, surely parking on the road or freeway is more dangerous? Why would someone think Police should "play fair" to catch violators? If you are obeying the law, wave as you go by.

 

[NavyLCDR]

If you are obeying the law, wave as you go by.

and flash your high-beams after you go by :crazy_pilot:

 

[santa]

Dont forget to tip your beer up in a toast as you drive by. And be sure to speed up.

 

[BC1]

Got stopped for drinking a bottle of Goya Ginger Ale. He thought the brown bottle was beer. He was embarassed. Wrong kind of ale.

 

[Tucker's Mom]

Before red light cameras or strategically placed camera kicked in, around 2000, in Australia this is plentiful...police hiding behind bushes or between shrubs and even in the middle of an island hidden behind some tall grasses. A few wise men (I think they are wise...) made a book about the exact location of where the police are hiding. Of course if you had read this book and identify your place where you are going to pass, you would be careful and just go cruising speed by. With the public aware of where they are, the police never really made much money of their capers but reasoned that they were there to keep the accident occurence down. They still have police doing these dirty work every now and then but with the onset of speed cameras, it is now the job of the some creative wankers to turn the tables around the cops...but that is another long story for the future...It can only happen in Australia so to speak...:biggrin: Anyway, I am one those that do not mind them hiding playing catchmespeeding. I am used to it and will never complain of such simple procedure...

 

[Treo]

and flash your high-beams after you go by :crazy_pilot:

And make sure you pull over and inform him that you have a permit :biggrin:

 

[NCIC105]

I know of a department (State) that used a plywood cut out of a car and had it painted to look like the car..I had the effect they were looking for...This was in the 80's when some departments were using Mustangs...

 

[NCIC105]

And make sure you pull over and inform him that you have a permit :biggrin:

Isn't that why some wear there sash, bright yellow with CPW in big letters

 

[Deserteagle]

and flash your high-beams after you go by :crazy_pilot:

What a great way to support breaking the law.

 

[NavyLCDR]

What a great way to support breaking the law.

I'm not supporting anything. I am letting people know there is a vehicle on the side of the road ahead, more likely than not a LEO. What they choose to do with that information is completely up to them.

Let me ask you this, Deserteagle....

Have you ever ordered any item from an out of state source and were not charged sales tax? Did you report that purchase to the state of Colorado and pay the statutory use tax on it in lieu of the sales tax? If you didn't do that for every purchase you have ever made that you didn't pay sales tax on, then we could say, "What a great way to support breaking the law" about you, couldn't we?

Link Removed\

Consumer use tax must be paid by Colorado residents and businesses on purchases that did not include Colorado sales tax, such as those made over the Internet, by mail order, or by telephone.

 

[BluesStringer]

What a great way to support breaking the law.

Actually, it's a great way to support abiding by the law. If the oncoming traffic understands the signal, they'll slow down if they're speeding. Isn't that what LEOs want, to make people slow down? To make the streets safer for everybody? Or are they really just revenue generators and it pisses 'em off when citizens collude to slow everybody down without LE being involved and benefitting their municipality with the fines they would otherwise generate?

And BTW, FL and PA had recent State Supreme Court rulings saying that flashing of headlights was protected speech under the 1st Amendment.

What a great way to support abiding by the law.

Blues

 

[Rising2ndSun]

I think it can be a revenue generating position. But, it is true that many vehicles slow down when they see lights that may be a LEO and, that officer is either following the law; or being kind.

 

[kelcarry]

and flash your high-beams after you go by :crazy_pilot:

Hey Navy: I saw another reply to your above comments and regardless of your defense, you are breaking the law and can be ticketed. If that is your flavor, have at it--I'm sure you will enjoy paying the fine for your display of irresponsibility. I used to do same until I found out that I was wrong (got a ticket) and was given a very good reason for why I was wrong and irresponsible. It was daylight and I saw the officer in the car on the side of the road and flashed my lights a bit down the road and then was pulled over. My initial discussions related to the fact that if my flashing lights slowed drivers down I was doing a good thing, which, if I am to give the officer the benefit of the doubt, is exactly why he is on the side of the road doing what he is doing--stopping speeders and letting people know that they should slow down. He then gave me another reason, which I could not argue with (but I am sure you will reply on with some sort of "written attitude" which is part of your moniker). Suppose he is one of several officers stationed in an area where a child abductor or a bank robber or some other BG may be in the process of passing thru as they attempt to avoid capture based on communications back at the scene of the crime. Your flashing lights have now aided and abetted this BG to avoid capture. You're probably sitting there reading this and laughing and smirking because you are always right; you may laugh and smirk but you are completely wrong. When you decide what laws and rules are made to be broken, you are as bad as any of those you find in the wrong, who truly are in the wrong. I'll give you one thing--I believe you are man enough, if given a ticket, to accept responsibility for what you did and pay the fine. Just to save you some time, I have said my piece and have no interest in revisiting this particular thread or this subject, so replies are not necessary in any form.

 

[jg1967]

I came across one on the median, actually just a wee bit of the left lane, no lights, in the dark. The driver actually flashed his high beams once or I would not even have seen it.

No idea what he was doing there or why he didn't simply turn on his lights.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Hey Navy: I saw another reply to your above comments and regardless of your defense, you are breaking the law and can be ticketed.

Would you care to provide the statute that you were ticketed for?

 

[walt629]

and flash your high-beams after you go by :crazy_pilot:

You know that was common practice up in PA. Down here in Florida, if a stater sees you flashing your lights in a speed trap zone, it's an automatic fine for interfering with a police office in the course of his duties.

The bears down hee ain't friendly! :sarcastic:

 

[NavyLCDR]

You know that was common practice up in PA. Down here in Florida, if a stater sees you flashing your lights in a speed trap zone, it's an automatic fine for interfering with a police office in the course of his duties.

The bears down hee ain't friendly! :sarcastic:

Really? That's interesting:

Headlight flash cop warning: Is flashing your headlights illegal or a free speech issue? - Orlando Sentinel

SANFORD — Alexis Cason was on her way to school one morning when she spotted two Oviedo police officers on the side of the road. She flashed her headlights to warn other drivers about the speed trap ahead. Moments later, another cop pulled her over and wrote her a ticket, saying she'd just broken the law by flashing her lights.

Law, she asked, what law?
Cason, 22, challenged the ticket and won. A lawsuit filed this week claims that 2,900 motorists were ticketed — illegally — in Florida for the same thing from 2005 to 2010.
An Oviedo law firm — the same one that persuaded a Seminole County judge to toss Cason's ticket — is asking a judge in Tallahassee to bar Florida cops from writing tickets when motorists flash their headlights.
There is no Florida law that prohibits light-flashing, said Oviedo attorney J. Marcus Jones. He claims officers are simply twisting a law that was designed to prohibit drivers from adding after-market emergency lights to their vehicles.
When officers write those tickets, he said, they violate a driver's constitutional right to free speech. If motorists want to flash their lights to warn about a speed trap ahead, they are free to do so, according to his suit.

From the article, here's the problem:

"At $100, nobody challenges these nonmoving violations," he said.

The result:

"It's a principle thing to me."

He did some research and discovered that Cason had successfully fought back, so he hired the same law firm and, he, too, got a judge to toss the ticket.

Once again, a fine example of allowing police officers to dictate when/where we can or cannot exercise our rights. In this case, the First Amendment.

The bears down here ain't friendly! Link Removed

Getting called out by the courts for their illegal actions, I can understand why the bears are grumpy.

 

[walt629]

Isn't that why some wear there sash, bright yellow with CPW in big letters

Oh no... not THAT again! leasantry:

 

[walt629]

Gee! Thanks!

Really? That's interesting:

Headlight flash cop warning: Is flashing your headlights illegal or a free speech issue? - Orlando Sentinel



From the article, here's the problem:


The result:



Once again, a fine example of allowing police officers to dictate when/where we can or cannot exercise our rights. In this case, the First Amendment.


Getting called out by the courts for their illegal actions, I can understand why the bears are grumpy.

Hey! Cool. A new ruling in favor of the Citizen! Thanks for pointing it out. Heck Orlando's right up the street (I-4) and I didn't know.