Quote:
Originally Posted by Fordzilla
On this one, (assuming they are traveling together down the highway in say a posted 55 zone) I stop the car that in my opinion or best guess may have other violations. I look at the appearance of the car, the driver, & any info I can discern in the small amount of time you have to make the decision. (Like the rear end sagging from 300 lbs of crack, etc) If nothing strikes me as being out of the ordinary & both cars seem to be just speeding cars, I would pull the faster clocked vehicle or even both if possible.
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As Fordzilla alludes to, it's all officer discretion. The good cops that continually make great arrests have a sense of intuition about them that is hard to put a finger on. It might come down to pulling out behind both of the vehicles and then watching what both of the drivers do. One of the drivers might immediately pull to the right and stop while the other one guns it or starts making erratic lane changes. Or, maybe one of the drivers starts throwing dope out the windows. Or, maybe one of the drivers or it's passengers start making furtive movements inside the car. Or, maybe C-6 Covettes have been getting stolen lately, so the Vette gets stopped. Or, maybe there is a crime bulletin out for a Hyundai that has been involved in a string of burglaries lately, so the Hyundai gets stopped.
But yes, if all things are equal, typically the fastest vehicle will be stopped.
I encourage anybody that is seriously interested in this topic to go to your local police department and schedule a time to ride out with a patrol officer for a shift. You might find that it's an eye opening experience, much more so than an episode of COPS..