New traffic laws in Illinois...

[tcrist]

There probably are a multitude of laws already on the books in every state that would cover that. They waste their time and our money passing new ones. If they would just enforce the laws that they already have, that would be fine.

Out here on the left coast they have been trying to pass a law (unless they already have) that states "distracted driving". That opens up a whole new can of worms. Think about it. They "could" write you a ticket for you being temporarily blinded by a reflection from the sun if they want to.

[john chesnut]

I was an Arizona State Highway Patrol officer stationed in Tucson back in the 70's. I was one of the youngest ever as I didn't turn 21 until after graduation from the academy. My first 3 stops for speeding were all off duty cops! I was told that I shouldn't write them tickets as they may be my back up at some point in time. Did I want to piss off someone that I might count on to help me in a life threatening situation? This was during the 55mph national speed limit days.
I have lived alot in New York. Almost all NY cops go blowing by me, well exceeding the speed limit. Alot of them on their cell phones. This is illegal in NY.
I get mad as hell when the police think that they don't have to live by the same rules as everyone else.
I am for safe driving. I am for reasonable speed limits. And, I agree that you need to take your car to the track to run it hard. But, I believe that most of the speed limits are less about safety and more about creating revenue.
We don't need specific laws for excess speeding, cell phones, texting, ect. We already had laws for distracted driving, reckless driving ect.

[cdog]

Originally Posted by jwd

I think it's great. There is absolutely no excuse for going 30-40 over the speed limit.

Yes there is. IT'S SAFE!!!!!

As said, the interstates can handle modern cars doing 100+ mph ALL DAY LONG.

Up by Chicago, the flow of traffic is 75-80 mph in the 55 mph zones. I'm talking regular people in Civics. They are all 5 mph from jail now? That's just stupid.

And if I'm on some country road doing 110 in my Cobra, with no one in sight, I'm headed for jail?

We need to allow people in this country to have some personal freedoms. ****ing nanny state BS drives me crazy!

[tcrist]

Ok lets answer your post one question at a time.

Originally Posted by cdog

Yes there is. IT'S SAFE!!!!!, Safe for who? Usually it is not the person that is speeding that is not concerned for their safty it is the person that you are passing that is not safe because of the way the speeder is driving

As said, the interstates can handle modern cars doing 100+ mph ALL DAY LONG.

Yes, the interstates can handle the speed it is most of the drivers that cant.

Up by Chicago, the flow of traffic is 75-80 mph in the 55 mph zones. I'm talking regular people in Civics. They are all 5 mph from jail now? That's just stupid.

I don't live in or around Chicago, but I have been there a few times. No different than here, people just drive too fast. A few people are driving that fast because they do not want to get run over and they are driving beyond their expertise. that is how accidents happen.

And if I'm on some country road doing 110 in my Cobra, with no one in sight, I'm headed for jail?

What if you are on a country road and you are doing 110. No one in site until you come over a small hill or around a corner, where your vision might be blocked because of trees or brush, there is a farmer with a tractor stalled or going slow,you run into him and kill him. Who is at fault then. Should you go to jail? YES, and I would hope that they would lock you up and throw away the key. How would you feel then because you killed someone because you thought it was your right to speed?

We need to allow people in this country to have some personal freedoms. ****ing nanny state BS drives me crazy!

Personal freedom, I agree with. But when you do something that endangers others in the name of "personal freedom", what a crock of sh!t.

[pjmoore2003]

Originally Posted by cdog

Yes there is. IT'S SAFE!!!!!

As said, the interstates can handle modern cars doing 100+ mph ALL DAY LONG.

Up by Chicago, the flow of traffic is 75-80 mph in the 55 mph zones. I'm talking regular people in Civics. They are all 5 mph from jail now? That's just stupid.

And if I'm on some country road doing 110 in my Cobra, with no one in sight, I'm headed for jail?

We need to allow people in this country to have some personal freedoms. ****ing nanny state BS drives me crazy!

I like this... go CDog. We are becoming a nanny state. People say it's for safety, but there's always these supporting agendas... like need for revenue.

[RET_COP]

John... and you never gave out a break to a speeder?? why the negativity toward Police?
In my 25 years I gave out more breaks than I gave tickets, all types of people and situations, Police included. Reckless speeders, repeated offenders that never heeded their warnings, that's another story.
Lou

[joyridin']

If speeding kills, then why isn't every Nascar driver or pilot dead?

In the right car on a limited access highway, speed limits are worthless. How about we start ticketing the people that ride in the left lane doing 50mph? Or the people that have no clue what a turn signal is?

This is nothing more than another political "pat-me-on-the-back" law.

[tcrist]

They are not talking about on the race track or flying.

They are not talking about the right car on a limited access highway.

They are talking about every day driving on everyday roads with everyday drivers.

I agree with ticketing for non use of turn signals and doing 50MPH in the fast lane (unless the speed limit is 50 MAX). There should be nothing wrong with doing the maximum allowable speed limit in the fast lane.

Now I can't say for other states but out here the speed limits are the maximum allowable speed in perfect road and weather conditions. The police are the ones in control of the interpretation of the weather or road conditions. In other words, they can write you for speeding if you are doing the maximum allowable speed limit if they want. They just say "driving too fast for the conditions". Sucks but true.

[Rick Parker]

Speeding does not kill, it's the slowing down REAL fast that does. All kidding aside the problem nation wide is that the bulk of the public does not understand the dynamics of a car or SUV taveling at 15, 20 or 30 miles per hour (or more) over the posted limits. The combination of the lack of skills and physical condition of some of the vehicles makes the excesive speed differential frightening and unsafe. If everyone had the accelerated skills, and all the cars were in excellent condition and people focused on the task at hand the statistics whould not be as dire.

[Ibr8k4vetts]

Originally Posted by tcrist

doing 50MPH in the fast lane (unless the speed limit is 50 MAX). There should be nothing wrong with doing the maximum allowable speed limit in the fast lane.

Terry
It is NOT the "fast lane" It is tha PASSING LANE and you you should not be in it unlass you are passing cars on the right!

[tcrist]

Mike,

I am not going to get into that conversation again. The last time that I got into a conversation about that it got completely blown out of proportion. Jamo had to ask me and Bill (One of the WildBills) if we were done. You know when Jamo asks that, it is really not a question.

If you want to discuss that aspect you can PM me. We can have a nice civil conversation about it. Or not, I will leave it up to you.

[john chesnut]

Lou, I also gave alot of breaks. I am not anti cop. I just believe that if you are any law enforcement officer that you should be a good example and abide by the laws that you enforce. Like you my priorities were to stop dangerous and reckless driving, and other criminal behavior. The safety of the public was my primary concern. Not sitting on a downhill stretch of road with radar trying to write tickets for being a few miles over the speedlimit.
I currently live in NH. There is a section of road by me that is posted at 30mph. The road is straight, in great condition, and in a rural area. The 30mph speed is for a stretch that is many miles long. On either side of the 30mph posting the speed limit is 55 mph. The local town cops sit hidden in this section and write ticket after ticket. A friend of mines son was written a ticket for 31mph. There are sections like this all across the country. This is not about public safety but about making money. I clocked one of the towns officers at 58mph for the entire stretch of the 30mph zone. She then pulled into a dinner for lunch. I confronted her about this. She pointed to her badge and told me that it gave her the right to drive any speed she wanted. It's this attitude that I am against and unfortunately I believe that it is an attitude that alot of cops have. It's these cops that make it harder and for the good ones and creates an atmosphere of distrust and disrespect between the public and law enforcement.

[RET_COP]

John, Thanks for the reply. Right on the money. We've seen alot in out careers and I usually keep it to myself. In the right environment I'm sure we could talk for hours.
Good luck in retirement and good health brother.
Enjoy your Cobra and Happy New Year
Lou

[john chesnut]

You too Lou! My career was cut short as I was struck by a run a way car that was stuck on full throttle. I was rammed into a parked truck with the bumpers just below and above my knees. I was pushed in this postion through a parking lot and into a street where we hit 3 more cars. I was never able to pass the physical again to do anything but paper work. I ended up leaving DPS.
This accident was my own fault! I was helping a broken down motorist, hooking up jumper cables. The throttle went to full on my 69 Chevelle with a 454 that I had installed. At the same instant I heard the click of the gearshift lever. I am told that the police found my 2 year old daughter on the drivers floor. She had awakened from a nap, extricated herself from a rearseat car seat, climbed to the floor, pushed the throttle to full and pulled the gearshift into first! (This daughter graduated high school at 12 and her first college at 14) (Much smarter than dad. I was off duty and even in a different state when this occurred. I had 5 operations over a 2 year period to be able to walk again. Every one be safe out there!

[RET_COP]

Geez John, just an unbelievable story I wish you well. It's tough enough to get through a law enforcement career without problems and this happened off duty!!
I am always afraid of automatic transmission cars when they are running. I have learned through Drag racing that you never stand in front of one of them. Ive seen them pop in gear.
I chased my own police cruiser down a hill after I stopped a van. I can swear I put in park. I looked back to see it rolling down a hill toward a house. I ran after it and lucky it was summer and the window was down.
I saw my career flash in front of me.
Without hesitation I dove into the window and pushed the brake with my hand, legs sticking out of the window. I put the car in park, got into the drivers seat, dusted myself off and drove back to the van.
I knew the kid. I instructed him to never mention this to anyone. (yea right ok officer).
OH, he never even got a warning.
I could go on and on with stories.
Good luck
Lou

[joyridin']

Originally Posted by tcrist

They are not talking about on the race track or flying.

They are not talking about the right car on a limited access highway.

They are talking about every day driving on everyday roads with everyday drivers.

I agree with ticketing for non use of turn signals and doing 50MPH in the fast lane (unless the speed limit is 50 MAX). There should be nothing wrong with doing the maximum allowable speed limit in the fast lane.

Now I can't say for other states but out here the speed limits are the maximum allowable speed in perfect road and weather conditions. The police are the ones in control of the interpretation of the weather or road conditions. In other words, they can write you for speeding if you are doing the maximum allowable speed limit if they want. They just say "driving too fast for the conditions". Sucks but true.

Yes they are. They are creating a law specifically based on speed...nothing else.

More stupid laws for lawyers to make money on. There are speeding laws already on the books.

[tcrist]

I was just trying to answer some of your statements that did not make any sense to me. Maybe I misread your post.................................Nope I read it correctly.

Yes, they are creating a law specifically based on speed. That is because the faster you drive, the danger gets greater. When you are talking about laws that hit you harder for the faster you are driving above the speed limit, I have to agree.

Now, yes they already have speeding laws and they are probably already broken down to how fast you are driving over the posted speed limit.

Are they passing another redundant speeding law that they already have on the books? I say, probably.

Are they wasting their time and every ones money? I say, yes.

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by tcrist

That is because the faster you drive, the danger gets greater.

It seems to me that the faster you drive the less time you will spend getting to your destination, thereby lessening the chance of an accident since you are spending less time on the road. If the object is to lower the accident rate then speed limits should be raised as high as possible so people spend less time getting to where they need to go.

[spfcobra2567]

I remember reading about an Illinois law making it illegal to hog the left hand lane disallowing faster drivers to pass. I thought it was only a few years ago that it was passed, but I had to look it up to write about it here. Ill HB1574 was effective 01/01/2004. I haven't seen any signs of this law being effective. Some people ride in it all day long.
Bet chances to get stopped are better for speeding, than for for being a left hand lane hog.

[tcrist]

Originally Posted by patrickt

it seems to me that the faster you drive the less time you will spend getting to your destination, thereby lessening the chance of an accident since you are spending less time on the road. If the object is to lower the accident rate then speed limits should be raised as high as possible so people spend less time getting to where they need to go.

Ahh, grasshopper understand now. Thank you master.