I have a question. (sorry for the long post)

[wolfman01]

Greetings everyone. I found your forum via a Yahoo search, as I have observed some behaviors from a few locals that have me scratching my head. I must include the caveat that some may think the question is inflammatory, but I promise everyone that it is not.

First an introduction:

I am Captain Slow. I still hold a CDL, and spent plenty of my hard earned money in my young and dumb days, giving it away to various state, county, and city entities, trying to get away with pushing the speed limits as much as possible to gain that .000000001 second on my trips. Once it got through my excessively thick skull that I was gaining nothing in time, and only burning up extra money in the fuel tank, tickets, and insurance surcharges, I finally slowed down. Now, I'll happily camp out on the right hand lane lumbering along at 55 mph, and laughing at EPA fuel mileage ratings, as I smoke 'em by as much as 10 mpg in my vehicles. Despite this, I do own a V1 radar detector. I like stupid toys, and like knowing when I'm being watched.

On to my question. I drive a 50 mile one way commute. This commute will have me pass through the town of Boyd, TX., along Highway 114. This is a little one light town that you'll roll through in 5 minutes, stopping to smell the flowers. They have what appears to be a total of three cars in their entire department. It is also quite common for them to park just past the first speed limit sign that marks the beginning of a 45 mph limit, dropping from 60 mph. A few years ago, I was on my way home from work. I had my cruise set at the requisite 55 mph, and heard the Valentine One begin to chirp out it's Ka warning about two miles out of town. I could clearly see the Boyd Police car parked on the side of the road shooting at incoming traffic. As I got closer into town, I cancelled the cruise control just as I was passing the "Reduced Speed Ahead" sign warning of the lower limit, with the radar detector at full strenght. This of course causes a few cars to tighten up behind me as we enter into the lower limit. As I'm passing the 45 mph sign at exactly the posted 45, I could see the officer's face. He actually looked MAD as he was glaring at me, now with about a half dozen vehicles lined up behind me at the exact posted limit. Being as it was traffic rush, I would not be surprised if that short little tightening of cars was to have continued to sustain itself for quite a while.

I've often heard it said that officers enforce speeds for safety reasons. If so, then why would this guy be visibly angry over my having slowed several vehicles down as we crossed his enforcement area? I have tried on a few occasions to have idle conversation while in line at the gas station in this town, and these officers seem particularly stand offish towards civilians. Thanks in advance for everyone's responses, and I salute you all for putting your lives on the line, being out there keeping us safe.

[Taylor1430]

You are a better man than me if you can pass a police car on the side of the road and tell the officer is mad at you.

What makes you think he was mad at you? Could have been straining to look at you...or to see your tag to run it for wanted/stolen check.

Maybe he was frowning at the vehicles stacked up behind you because the
4th car was tailgating the 3rd car.

You are awfully paranoid if you think the officer was mad at you for doing the speed limit.

[Smurfette_76]

Sir, Just as you posted a caveat that you aren't trying to be inflammatory, neither is my response.

It's not all about you.

He might have had a headache. The sun might have been in his eyes. He might have had a phone call going on in the car with a p*ssed off wife. He might not have like the color of your car. It doesn't matter. You cannot determine the Officers frame of mind as you passed him at 45 miles an hour.

[StudChris]

First an introduction:

I am Captain Slow.

You're James May!?!?!?! Sweet! I love your show.

Anyway, since your post was extremely respectful, which doesn't happen, you get nice answers. I think this should get a sticky and be titled "How to get your question answered, even if you do hate the cops". Not saying you do, but you know.

Anyway, like others said there's no way of knowing why he looked mad. Maybe he just got a stupid call, maybe his boss was saying something stupid over the radio (wait, that happens?). Or, maybe he was mad that you slowed down traffic.

Maybe I missed something, but were you driving your rig while this happened? If so, aren't radar detectors illegal in all commercial vehicles nationwide?

[SCSO612]

I must include the caveat that some may think the question is inflammatory, but I promise everyone that it is not.

[Nobody]

I like pie.............

[Nightshift va]

The observation as to his state of mind as you rode by him doing 45 is silly and not worth commenting on.
The comment about how you were in line at a gas station and the Officers in that town seem "stand offish" towards civilians I think I can tackle that one.
Iam the same way most of the time in public places like truck stops or anywhere in public. I try and keep my comments to myself to people I do not know though I show extra friendliness to the clerks I see all the time and anyone I know. You have to remember no matter where we go because of the uniform people are always staring at us and it is very unsettling but part of the job. This includes when people just strike up a conversation with me because it's usually the same old greeting "my cousin is a Police Officer in (fill in the blank) "do you know him?" or "How do I get to I95 Officer". or the one's who just are with other people and act silly like stare then mumble stuff then giggle like little girls then act like "what". As if we are not perceptive enough to know when our "ears are burning"..The other part of it is we are supposed to be professional at all times and speak in a respectful manner yet at the drop of a hat the very person we are talking to we might have to kill them in a milli-second. This too is a reality of our jobs. So with all that sometimes it's easier just to robotically keep our mouths shut and give "looks" instead.
One day though, right before I retire I'm going to keep supervisors busy with incoming phone calls from citizen complaints based on my actions and this time it will be legitimate complaints. Or better yet, If I win the lottery. Then it will be a night of true fun at everyone elses expense. HaHaHa.

[Nobody]

I like pie.............

[wolfman01]

Taylor1430:

The way he was parked made it easy to see him, and his eyes were locked solidly on me, and following my progress. You are correct in that I have no idea what was going on in his vehicle, and he very well could have been running plates. The deduction was based in part on their overall demeanor in public, combined with the observation that he was obviously tracking my vehicle. Thanks for your input.

StudChris:

I don't hate cops. I'm actually fascinated by the job, I'm just one that would not be able to deal with the stress that goes with it.

I wish I was James May, I'd be a hell of a lot richer, and wouldn't be putting up with my horrible day job. I do watch Top Gear, and the "Captain Slow" description describes me behind the wheel to a "T", so I stole it fair and square. I currently drive a Chevy HHR and managed to squeeze 42.5 mpg out of it between Aurora, CO. and Amarillo, TX last summer doing my 55 mph routine.

On the Valentine One, I have not been behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle in 12 years, so my radar detector is legal. Some of my co-workers who know my driving style have ribbed me for having it.

Thanks for your take on my observations and question.

Nobody:

Does your friend simply act serious when people talk to him? If you ask a Boyd cop how is he doing, or some other nonchalant question just to pass a bit of time, you get cold silence as a response. In contrast, I live near the town of Bridgeport, TX. Since I do most of my local running around in this town, I've had the opportunity to bump into most of the officers here. In many of the same environments, asking them how their day is going or some other such question will get a warm friendly response back. There has been a couple of occasions where my neighbors and I went into Bridgeport for dinner, and ended up sitting next to a table with a couple of officers on their lunch break. Before they had to leave to answer a call, we had a quite interesting conversation going about their jobs. They genuinely seemed to love their job.

In another instance, I had a Jeep Cherokee that had been allowed to sit too long, and its safety inspection had expired. I noted this as I was getting into the vehicle to exercise it, and added getting it inspected to the number one spot on my list. Sure enough, as I'm sitting at a light to turn left, one of the Bridgeport cops turn the corner, and I get the hard stare. He saw the expired sticker, immediately turned around and pulled in behind me, pulling me over after I cleared the intersection. When he came up, I broke the ice with the comment of "I'm willing to bet you want to give me hell over my inspection sticker." He laughed, smiled, told me that the stop was over the sticker. I told him that the vehicle had simply been sitting, and that I was headed to Barry's to get a new inspection as my first stop. He looked at my license for less than a second, handed it back, and told me fair enough and let me go. He did follow me as expected to Barry's to make sure that it was to be my first stop.

The officer we lost last spring really shook the community, and I was concerned that the officers were going to lose the outgoing nature that we've had in the past. Thankfully, that does not seem to be the case.

So, while I'm not paranoid, the demeanor of the Boyd P.D. in general makes one more suspicious of why they are getting "the glare." My neighbor has also had Boyd officers tailgate him so close while driving through town, that they could not see the hood of the officer's cruiser. It is his assumption that the cop was trying to get him to speed up, as it is natural for one to want to open up the gap.

Nightshift va:

I can certainly understand not wanting to constantly deal with the wierdos, and the concerns over someone with more malicious intent. It is the latter that prevented me from considering getting into law enforcement. I don't think you guys are paid anywhere near enough to risk a bullet at every stop, especially if your username clues in on what shift you normally work.

plus he came all the way from the other side of the city (bout 45 min's away) to 'check-in' with me on a tree across the highway, and together we put 3 full boxes of flares out at once to block 2 lanes of traffic (pretty much looked like a 747 had gone down and the neighborhood was fully engulfed )

I wish I couldv'e seen that.

Thanks to everyone for their input. Be safe out there.

[Taylor1430]

Taylor1430:

The way he was parked made it easy to see him, and his eyes were locked solidly on me, and following my progress. You are correct in that I have no idea what was going on in his vehicle, and he very well could have been running plates. The deduction was based in part on their overall demeanor in public, combined with the observation that he was obviously tracking my vehicle. Thanks for your input.

Ok...I thought I was lost before but now I truly am lost. You are upset that the police officer tracked you with his eyes? How else does a police officer do any type of traffic enforcement...or any kind of enforcement for that matter? If he is doing traffic enforcement, where would you expect his eyes to be looking? Suppose a car had cut you off and almost caused an accident...would you have been the one to point out "Officer, did you see that?"?

How does one expect an inattentive officer to effectively do his job? Whether its watching traffic or when he spots a suspicious person walking around a business at 3am while driving by.

I guess what is throwing me off is you are on a police message board because a police officer on the side of the road looked at you as you drove by. I really do not get it.

[RoadKingTrooper]

Greetings everyone. I found your forum via a Yahoo search, as I have observed some behaviors from a few locals that have me scratching my head. I must include the caveat that some may think the question is inflammatory, but I promise everyone that it is not.

First an introduction:

I am Captain Slow. I still hold a CDL, and spent plenty of my hard earned money in my young and dumb days, giving it away to various state, county, and city entities, trying to get away with pushing the speed limits as much as possible to gain that .000000001 second on my trips. Once it got through my excessively thick skull that I was gaining nothing in time, and only burning up extra money in the fuel tank, tickets, and insurance surcharges, I finally slowed down. Now, I'll happily camp out on the right hand lane lumbering along at 55 mph, and laughing at EPA fuel mileage ratings, as I smoke 'em by as much as 10 mpg in my vehicles. Despite this, I do own a V1 radar detector. I like stupid toys, and like knowing when I'm being watched.

On to my question. I drive a 50 mile one way commute. This commute will have me pass through the town of Boyd, TX., along Highway 114. This is a little one light town that you'll roll through in 5 minutes, stopping to smell the flowers. They have what appears to be a total of three cars in their entire department. It is also quite common for them to park just past the first speed limit sign that marks the beginning of a 45 mph limit, dropping from 60 mph. A few years ago, I was on my way home from work. I had my cruise set at the requisite 55 mph, and heard the Valentine One begin to chirp out it's Ka warning about two miles out of town. I could clearly see the Boyd Police car parked on the side of the road shooting at incoming traffic. As I got closer into town, I cancelled the cruise control just as I was passing the "Reduced Speed Ahead" sign warning of the lower limit, with the radar detector at full strenght. This of course causes a few cars to tighten up behind me as we enter into the lower limit. As I'm passing the 45 mph sign at exactly the posted 45, I could see the officer's face. He actually looked MAD as he was glaring at me, now with about a half dozen vehicles lined up behind me at the exact posted limit. Being as it was traffic rush, I would not be surprised if that short little tightening of cars was to have continued to sustain itself for quite a while.

I've often heard it said that officers enforce speeds for safety reasons. If so, then why would this guy be visibly angry over my having slowed several vehicles down as we crossed his enforcement area? I have tried on a few occasions to have idle conversation while in line at the gas station in this town, and these officers seem particularly stand offish towards civilians. Thanks in advance for everyone's responses, and I salute you all for putting your lives on the line, being out there keeping us safe.

Wow another mind reader

You really believe you are that perceptive to determine what someone on the side of the road is thinking about?

Cops DON'T usually engage in conversations with people like you at gas stations because of the very question you ask!

I mean come on..............who really wants to converse with someone who already knows the answers to questions they want to ask and are chock full of preconceived (ALWAYS wrong) notions about Police and their work

This is about as respectful as I can get

[wolfman01]

Ok...I thought I was lost before but now I'm truly am lost. You are upset that the police officer tracked you with his eyes? How else does a police officer do any type of traffic enforcement...or any kind of enforcement for that matter? If he is doing traffic enforcement, where would you expect his eyes to be looking? Suppose a car had cut you off and almost caused an accident...would you have been the one to point out "Officer, did you see that?"?

How does one expect an inattentive officer to effectively do his job? Whether its watching traffic or when he spots a suspicious person walking around a business at 3am while driving by.

I guess what is throwing me off is you are on a police message board because a police officer on the side of the road looked at you as you drove by. I really do not get it.

Sorry. I guess I'm having a difficult time describing the particular situation. I of course expect an officer to be looking out at traffic if he is running radar. how can he pull over someone for speeding if he didn't see the vehicle that triggered a result?

The look on this officer's face had a look of obvious anger, not just watching the cars as they pass. Remember that I'm asking about a situation today, that occurred several years ago, that is how much of an impression that this cop made on me. I honestly think that had you or any one of the posters here who have responded to my thread, had happened to be riding with me on that day, would have probably wondered what was up with him. Was he mad because I stacked a few cars up behind me? Is he mad because I eliminated six or more potential chances to write tickets? Is he annoyed because I WAS following the rules? Is he mad for having drawn the short straw, and got the duty of parking by the 45 mph limit sign?

I know it's a strange if not stupid question. I just wanted an officers take on it. Thanks again.

[wolfman01]

Wow another mind reader

You really believe you are that perceptive to determine what someone on the side of the road is thinking about?

Cops DON'T usually engage in conversations with people like you at gas stations because of the very question you ask!

I mean come on..............who really wants to converse with someone who already knows the answers to questions they want to ask and are chock full of preconceived (ALWAYS wrong) notions about Police and their work

This is about as respectful as I can get

Nope, not a mind reader. If I thought I was, I wouldn't be taking up you and your fellow officer's time here. I know about the idiot questions, and do not ask them. I typically ask them how they are doing, of if it has been quiet on the streets. I have in the past prior to moving to a new area, spoke with an officer about what kind of crimes are common in the area in question, and what neighborhoods are the better ones to live in. IMO, there is no better person to ask about such things, than the ones who are out there every day. I also make it a point to thank them for doing their jobs at the end of a chat.

[ChiTownDet]

Maybe the copper's 3 enchilada dinner that he had an hour earlier was ready to rip through him. That look could be construed as an "angry" look.

[wolfman01]

Maybe the copper's 3 enchilada dinner that he had an hour earlier was ready to rip through him. That look could be construed as an "angry" look.

LOL. Thanks. Now THAT was a perspective that I had not thought of. There are PLENTY of places around here that serve swill that will do just that. I think it's a Wise County requirement.