Cops on the Highway!

[detritusmaximus]

Just a little rant...

I was on the highway driving home the other day and came up on a cop car. One thing that has always bugged me is that if there is a cop around no one dares to pass him. Everybody gets all bunched up, no one can change lanes and it slows traffic. I decided I wasn't going to put up with this and proceeded to slowly pass him. Only a mile or two per hour faster, nothing much. As I passed him, I looked over and gave him a friendly smile and he gave me the dirtiest look! Oh, it made me so mad. What ever happened to Officer Friendly? Remember him? I continued on my way and tried to forget about it.

Anyway, I calmed down later and thought about it and realised I was probably in the wrong. He was just doing his cop thing and, to be fair, I probably was distracting him from the high speed pursuit he was in...

 

[DAverkamp]

Just a little rant...

I was on the highway driving home the other day and came up on a cop car. One thing that has always bugged me is that if there is a cop around no one dares to pass him. Everybody gets all bunched up, no one can change lanes and it slows traffic. I decided I wasn't going to put up with this and proceeded to slowly pass him. Only a mile or two per hour faster, nothing much. As I passed him, I looked over and gave him a friendly smile and he gave me the dirtiest look! Oh, it made me so mad. What ever happened to Officer Friendly? Remember him? I continued on my way and tried to forget about it.

Anyway, I calmed down later and thought about it and realised I was probably in the wrong. He was just doing his cop thing and, to be fair, I probably was distracting him from the high speed pursuit he was in...

Yes we have all probably experienced this and I am glad to hear you “simmered” down and realized he was just doing his job. They actually do these “max speed limit” patrols frequently on holiday weekends to help set safer driving behaviors. They have a hard enough time these days in being there to serve and protect us which we should all be “Thankful ” for, so having to be bothered for a minute or so in our daily lives isn’t the worst thing we have to deal with.

 

[mrgmhale]

I have passed police cars when I an absolutely certain I am not exceeding the speed limit, or safe driving conditions. I never worried about getting a ticket for doing so, as back then I had a CA driver license, and the car was in a relative's name who lived out of state (this was in PA). Back then PA and CA did not shared information re: traffic violations, so when I did get a ticket in MD or PA I simply paid it, and my insurance company never found out, nor did CA. I had two houses back then, one in CA and one in PA. That may be why I felt so bold when I passed him. That, and I did not go over the speed limit doing so. Had I been pulled over it might have been, at the time, a $35 ticket, paid by mail, with no other repercussions. Big deal.

 

[mrgmhale]

I have passed police cars when I an absolutely certain I am not exceeding the speed limit, or safe driving conditions. I never worried about getting a ticket for doing so, as back then I had a CA driver license, and the car was in a relative's name who lived out of state (this was in PA). Back then PA and CA did not shared information re: traffic violations, so when I did get a ticket in MD or PA I simply paid it, and my insurance company never found out, nor did CA. I had two houses back then, one in CA and one in PA. That may be why I felt so bold when I passed him. That, and I did not go over the speed limit doing so. Had I been pulled over it might have been, at the time, a $35 ticket, paid by mail, with no other repercussions. Big deal.

An aside, being much older (and presumably wiser) now, I would likely opt to get off the highway, get a bite to eat, then get back on just to let "the threat" get well ahead of me. I typically (now) drive no faster than a posted limit. I have found over the years that things are calmer when I pretty much comply with the posted limit on a road - one less thing to worry about. So, when I say I "pretty much" comply with the posted speed limit, what do I mean. Well, we have a 1969 Shelby GT500, and a 2020 Shelby GT500. It is good to "blow out the carbon" from the engines once in a while. heh heh... In either car it is not likely any cop would be able to catch me anyway (I know, the radio is faster)... So, where things do get a little dicey I am especially cautious and vigilant, and always blast in stretches of road that are both empty, and there are plenty of potential exit points.

 

[detritusmaximus]

Even though the purpose of my post was to make a joke, my set up does strike a nerve with a lot of people. I have no problem with the cops doing the speed limit and I am well aware that the typical traffic speed is usually 5-10 over and I am speeding in an effort to not hold up all the grandma's trying to get to Bingo or the bar!
My issue, truth be known, is all the other drivers out there. The past two years has seen a increase in overall traffic speed. I am pretty consistent with 80 mph on the highway and have been for decades. Doesn't matter if it's my Opel, an old Mazda Protege (1.5 automatic!) or my '08 GT. Usually just a little faster than the traffic. Now, everyone is doing 90. Everything from grandma or little Suzie in a Kia suv up to raised pick-ups pulling contractors trailers. Not just speeding, but running red lights, cutting people off and using the turn lane to get ahead and cut back in front.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Loved the joke! Cracked me up.

I hate when they're doing a few under and everybody bunches up behind 'em. I came up to a line of a dozen or so cars behind a DPS/THP car doing around 5 under. So, I set the cruise for the actual speed limit, and passed 'em all... I waved to the patrolman as I went by and he smiled as he waved back, then laughed/pointed at all the bozos behind him. Even they see how pathetic people can be sometimes.

 

[tony-muscle]

Another one that bugs me if when a cop stops another car or a cop is on the other side of the highway that everyone slows down to below speed limit. At least keep driving at the speed limit! I understand that those on the right lane will slow down or merge for safety, but that doesn't explain why it happens when the cop is on the other side of the highway.

 

[midlife]

Another one that bugs me if when a cop stops another car or a cop is on the other side of the highway that everyone slows down to below speed limit. At least keep driving at the speed limit! I understand that those on the right lane will slow down or merge for safety, but that doesn't explain why it happens when the cop is on the other side of the highway.

You've never heard the term "Lookie Lou's?"

 

[mrgmhale]

Even though the purpose of my post was to make a joke, my set up does strike a nerve with a lot of people. I have no problem with the cops doing the speed limit and I am well aware that the typical traffic speed is usually 5-10 over and I am speeding in an effort to not hold up all the grandma's trying to get to Bingo or the bar!
My issue, truth be known, is all the other drivers out there. The past two years has seen a increase in overall traffic speed. I am pretty consistent with 80 mph on the highway and have been for decades. Doesn't matter if it's my Opel, an old Mazda Protege (1.5 automatic!) or my '08 GT. Usually just a little faster than the traffic. Now, everyone is doing 90. Everything from grandma or little Suzie in a Kia suv up to raised pick-ups pulling contractors trailers. Not just speeding, but running red lights, cutting people off and using the turn lane to get ahead and cut back in front.

Any time we take one of our Mustangs or Shelbys out we have to completely change how we drive. We go into Ultra-Defensive Mode, as so many folks become way too distracted with they see either 73 Mustang, much less the 69 Shelby GT500. I see so much really unusual stuff. Folks jump out in front of the car when I am an intersection to take photos (never mind the color of the traffic light), other folks turn left in front of me when I am clearly intending to go straight through an intersection, other folks pull along side the pony car(s) and begin to take photos with little regard for the distance between our cars in our lanes (driver looking over causes his/her car to drift a little out of their lane), folks follow too close to get photos, and of course there is always "that guy" who feels I ought to race him little rice burner with excessively loud (and not that good sounding) exhaust system, etc. I never take the bait, as I have nothing to prove. Well, once I went ahead and took on a Ferrari whose owner was insistent that I race him. I was in the 2020 GT500 that day. It ended up embarrassingly for him. I did not even have to go over 60 to make it clear whose car was faster. Once I backed off he keep going at wide open throttle, as if he was going to impress me. I made my point, and felt badly I let him get under my skin. At least I soundly dusted him, n matter what he may think of the outcome. I frankly saw no sense to thrash him worse than I already had, and figured I had already pushed my luck too far re: being on a public road racing even that much. I decided to not do that again even if goaded by a respectable vehicle.

I lived past 19 once, and I just do not think I have enough good luck in me to pull some of the crazy stunts I did back then - not at 68... Nope, time to cool my jets a bit and enjoy some nice cruising knowing we have one of the fastest production street legal cars ever built by a manufacturer. And, for the vintage pony cars, it is enough to be driving s piece of automotive history. Besides, despite how wicked the 73 Mach 1 and 69 GT500 look, the fact is many sedans with today's engines and technology could likely whip those cars. heh heh... So, no sense in showing how slow they are compared to modern engines and cars. I will let folks keep on believing they are really fast, as fast as they look... heh heh

 

[swice]

Waze is a good traffic app that gives a heads up on what’s on the road, pretty amazing really, especially speed traps.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Another one that bugs me if when a cop stops another car or a cop is on the other side of the highway that everyone slows down to below speed limit. At least keep driving at the speed limit! I understand that those on the right lane will slow down or merge for safety, but that doesn't explain why it happens when the cop is on the other side of the highway.

It's actually a Texas law to slow down to 10 below the posted speed limit when emergency vehicles are present on the side(s) of the road if there are no other lanes to change to - but even then, you better be at the speed limit even with a lane or more separation. It's something like a $500 fine.

 

[Mister 4x4]

Any time we take one of our Mustangs or Shelbys out we have to completely change how we drive. We go into Ultra-Defensive Mode, as so many folks become way too distracted with they see either 73 Mustang, much less the 69 Shelby GT500. I see so much really unusual stuff. Folks jump out in front of the car when I am an intersection to take photos (never mind the color of the traffic light), other folks turn left in front of me when I am clearly intending to go straight through an intersection, other folks pull along side the pony car(s) and begin to take photos with little regard for the distance between our cars in our lanes (driver looking over causes his/her car to drift a little out of their lane), folks follow too close to get photos, and of course there is always "that guy" who feels I ought to race him little rice burner with excessively loud (and not that good sounding) exhaust system, etc. I never take the bait, as I have nothing to prove. Well, once I went ahead and took on a Ferrari whose owner was insistent that I race him. I was in the 2020 GT500 that day. It ended up embarrassingly for him. I did not even have to go over 60 to make it clear whose car was faster. Once I backed off he keep going at wide open throttle, as if he was going to impress me. I made my point, and felt badly I let him get under my skin. At least I soundly dusted him, n matter what he may think of the outcome. I frankly saw no sense to thrash him worse than I already had, and figured I had already pushed my luck too far re: being on a public road racing even that much. I decided to not do that again even if goaded by a respectable vehicle.

I lived past 19 once, and I just do not think I have enough good luck in me to pull some of the crazy stunts I did back then - not at 68... Nope, time to cool my jets a bit and enjoy some nice cruising knowing we have one of the fastest production street legal cars ever built by a manufacturer. And, for the vintage pony cars, it is enough to be driving s piece of automotive history. Besides, despite how wicked the 73 Mach 1 and 69 GT500 look, the fact is many sedans with today's engines and technology could likely whip those cars. heh heh... So, no sense in showing how slow they are compared to modern engines and cars. I will let folks keep on believing they are really fast, as fast as they look... heh heh

I'm the same way (Ultra-Defensive Mode). It's harder to see out of the Mach 1 than my Ram, the mirrors are WAY smaller, and I'm a bit more crowded inside the car than in my Ram's 'living room on wheels.' So yeah - I'm very conservative when driving it.

Normally, people are pretty chill when I'm driving mine around. I usually get flashing lights, some waves and thumbs-ups, and the usual 5-10 minutes of 'story-time' at any place I happen to stop (convenience store, gas station, et al). Haven't had anybody hop out of their cars at intersections, though! Oddly enough, nobody seems interested in racing me. I don't know if it's a respect thing (which seems most likely), or they're THAT confident they'd win, but usually when someone rolls up to a signal, no matter what they're driving, I usually get the once-over, and then an approving nod, wave, or thumbs-up. Could be the mid-range cam slightly choppy idle thru 2.5" exhaust, the 295s and Lakewoods out back, the overall mean look of the Mach 1 in general, or maybe a combination all that. Maybe they remember getting smoked by a Mach 1 or Boss back in the day and don't want any part of it... who knows.

The last time I really got on it was in 2018 on the way back from a car show. My buddy visiting from Phoenix was in his 2018 5.0 GT behind me on the way home, and we were at a stop sign. I turned right onto a main street leading to my neighborhood and punched it - lit 'em up, laid a patch, and was almost up to 70 (in a 35) when I let off (less than 1/8 mile) - Dave was right behind me, and later said he kept up but wouldn't have been able to catch me had we gone on (yeah, right... whatever, but thanks for the ego-boost). I didn't even notice, but apparently there was a ricer who turned onto the street right after we did, was feeling like his hamsters needed a work-out, and blew by us after we'd already slowed down for the railroad tracks... and kept going. We then heard the sirens and passed the kid about 2 blocks later right as the cop got him pulled over. I almost felt bad about that one.

 

[[email protected]]

Just a little rant...

I was on the highway driving home the other day and came up on a cop car. One thing that has always bugged me is that if there is a cop around no one dares to pass him. Everybody gets all bunched up, no one can change lanes and it slows traffic. I decided I wasn't going to put up with this and proceeded to slowly pass him. Only a mile or two per hour faster, nothing much. As I passed him, I looked over and gave him a friendly smile and he gave me the dirtiest look! Oh, it made me so mad. What ever happened to Officer Friendly? Remember him? I continued on my way and tried to forget about it.

Anyway, I calmed down later and thought about it and realised I was probably in the wrong. He was just doing his cop thing and, to be fair, I probably was distracting him from the high speed pursuit he was in...

I was sitting in the car dealership and I know others in the area wondered what the heck was wrong with me laughing out loud.

 

[detritusmaximus]

They probably just thought you were told how long the wait is going to be for repair parts.

 

[Spike Morelli]

When I was 18, and working in a gas station, there was a cop who had his Riviera serviced at our 76 Union station. Nice guy, but all business when he was wearing the uniform. His job was to observe other officers doing their job, to make sure they were doing things correctly. However, this cop had his Riveria optioned with a special factory cam and dual fours. I heard that the officer would pull over speeders and cars racing, and tell them they had two choices.......get a ticket for speeding, or race the cop's Riv.....if you could beat him, he'd let you go with a warning, if he beat you, you'd get a ticket for "exhibition of Speed" ( Racing ). This was 1973, times were different and about to change....