Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Charlie
They seem to be focused on the wrong thing. A habit of erratic driving is dangerous enough to yank someone's license, but all anyone focuses on is the speed.
Personally, I'd worry more about his lane discipline.
Can you really be driving on the shoulder and impeding traffic at the same time? Maybe, if he's still swerving. But they aren't going after him for that. Just how heavy is traffic on the shoulder at that time of night anyway?
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Actually the problem with this and what no one realizes is that his actual driving isn't really documented. "Witnesses" are sometimes folks that are disgruntled for one reason or another and their testimony may be shaded by such, they also are MANY times other police or government workers, as was the case of my folks harrassment because of having 2 trailers on our property instead of none.
I have been pulled over 6 times (over many years) for too low of a speed on a road that farm tractors and buggies drive on as well.
The only time I get pulled over is
1. late at night
2. Almost always going up a hill
3. No traffic to be found.
I have never been pulled over during the day.
When I am pulled over I have my license ready and my MPG meter ready as well.
The first thing I am told or asked is why are you going 35 or 45 or 50 or whatever it was at the time they checked.
They sometimes will ask if I am drinking
I promptly state, I am getting 76mpg and am in no hurry to get home and show it and state there was no traffic and when I go up a series of hills my speed tends to get low, usually when I see a light or a car coming from behind I speed up and I tend to move over (even on 4 lane roads)
Occasionally (twice actually) the cop was interested in the MPG and techniques.
usually though when I have been pulled over I have been told that I have to get a warning because I was swerving around, usually that I was crossing the centerline. When I questioned a cop on this once (a mistake) I was told I crossed the centerline 3 times over 25 miles, depends on his definition of cross I guess.
My insight and cobalt are both a bit flakey on handling but my lane discipline is as good or better than the majority of folks that seem to drive around me.
I won't say that a large bump, wind gust or other thing might move me to touch the centerline but I believe that is the cops
cop out
as it were to provide reasoning for a bit of discipline and a warning (never have been ticketed) is to say you were driving erratically. Also in my case never had anything as major happen as this guy got, like interviews and the like. I have enough common sense that I am extremely defense in my driving and unless caught in the middle of no where, nobody much notices my hypermiling. This guy not so much.
So to make it clear, IF YOU DRIVE SLOWLY and GET PULLED OVER, you will get asked first for why you were driving slowly, (and usually if you are drunk) if it pans out you will automatically get told you were driving erratically. Seems to be standard operating procedure here and likely there as well.
Most cops feel SPEED by itself is erratic and in this case it probably was the same but they needed justification.
This is just as sad as the fact that police, government and people in Wisconsin don't know of any possible negative side affect of moving highways to 70mph from the 55/65mph we have today.
If you irritate a cop, he will say what he needs to, to ensure you don't bother him anymore.
This is no different than the drunk guy that first kept getting pulled over in his car and then on his bicycle and then on foot.
irritate a cop or two many and you will become a target to follow around and harass.
This is how the world works and always has, sometimes its for the better, other times, not so much.
Really depends and in reality we will never really know the truth in this case.
What I wonder is how many accidents has he been in? I wonder if its the same 0 for 1,000,000+ miles I have?