Why do cops tailgate?

[LS1mark]

About, lets say, 35-40% of the cops that are behind me, tailgate me. Today was the worst I encountered. I was driving in a 55 zone two lane and had my cruise control set at exactly 55. She was tailgating me so close that I could tell what color eye liner she had! NO NOT REALLY, BUT, She was dangerously close and if I had to slam on my brakes, she would have....no doubt...rear ended me.
My #1 pet peeve is tailgaters and #2 is LEFT LANE HOGS!!

[Bing_Oh]

Hel-looo! Female officer! The uniform doesn't mean that they aren't still "women drivers!"

Ok, seriously...

There are numerous reasons that the officer may have been "tailgating" you.

They may have been looking for a traffic violation...there are many possible violations, but the big two for me would be speed violations (which means that the officer was actually pacing you) or registration violations (those little registration stickers are tough to read unless you get kinda close).

Another possibility is that they were heading to a priority call (ie, non-emergency but requiring a relatively rapid response), and you were in the way. It's extremely frustrating when you're trying to get someplace quickly and the cars in front of you become ultra-paranoid and drive 5-10 under the speed limit.

[JKralC104]

Cuz thats how we roll.

[redbird07]

I agree with the other officers. Might I suggest that next time you signal and get out of the way or change lanes. See above.

[LS1mark]

Bing Oh,

Thanks for the response. Makes sense what you said. Just seems dangerous.

Redbird07, I was in the right lane and she could have easily gone around me. As I stated I hate LEFT LANE HOGS, I WAYS TRAVEL IN THE RIGHT LANE EXCEPT TO PASS.

[SgtScott31]

35-40% tailgate you? Well, I guess almost half of us are just bad drivers (enter sarcastic face here).

Seriously, how many officers get behind you on a daily, or even monthly basis? Where are you when this occurs? What time of night? What do you drive?

All of these questions could be factors as to why we get up and read your tag or observe your driving for a brief period of time.

It could be that you simply stare us down so hard that we figure you have something to hide since you make it a point to try and remember how many are behind you and how close we get.

[redbird07]

Bing Oh,


Redbird07, I was in the right lane and she could have easily gone around me. As I stated I hate LEFT LANE HOGS, I WAYS TRAVEL IN THE RIGHT LANE EXCEPT TO PASS.

.

My POINT was that if you pull over, get out of the way, ect., the officer will either stop behind you or drive on by. Either way you will either have helped the officer by getting out of his/her way OR find out the reason he is following you.

[LS1mark]

SgtScott31,

I don't get followed often. Maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks sometimes longer. It's usually in the day time and I drive an '05 Chevy Tahoe. It happened once when I was driving my mothers car a '99 M-B CLK320. It happens mainly around town when my wife and I are running errands. I'm a pretty carreful driver. Had one speeding ticket in 1999. And never been in an accident. Had my DL for 21 years now.

Is it really a good Idea to just signal and pullover even when her lights are not activated as Redbird said? I would think that would look suspicious on my part.

Thanks for the replies.

[kcsd823]

Dude, we are drafting! Have you seen the MPG on our cars with a lightbar on the roof?


Are your windows tinted? How hard is it to read your sticker to verify your status on your plates? Just a couple of things that came to mind real quick.

I am not going to try to armchair quarterback anyone but there are sooo many different variables that could be the reason for the closeness you were refering to.

Hope this helps.

[LS1mark]

kcsd823,

As I am a NASCAR fan, I am a fan of draftng!!!!!LOL Light Bars are no match to my luggage rack!! Especially with luggage.....HEHEHE!

But to answer your questions, other than the factory tint on the rear windows, I don't have any after market tint.

The exp. sticker on on my tags are small but they are color coded.

My wife thinks this is to intimidate me to speed up then get a ticket for speeding.

Is it true what Redbird says, just signal and move over even on a two lane hwy? And why?

Thanks

[redbird07]

Do whatever you want. I think you are being paranoid. You asked a bunch of cops what we thought. I am telling you that the county I work in there are about 4 million people including the surrounding counties. It's a very metropolitan area. Everyone drives around here and unless it's 0230 there is always someone driving in front of you. It never fails. We get a call where we need to get somewhere in a hurry but it doesnt always warrant a priority response. Then there is the paranoid driver in front of us, you know the one. He thinks we've been just waiting to write him a ticket. So he drives below the speed limit. People pull over all the time. I usually wave to them as I drive by THANKING them for moving out of my way. If I'm following them, I'll go ahead and light them up. Most of the time they are just in the way. By the way. What is your idea of tailgating. How close and at what speeds are you referring to?

And your wife is wrong. There are enough speeders out there where we dont need to get someone to speed.

[pujolsfan146]

She was dangerously close and if I had to slam on my brakes, she would have....no doubt...rear ended me.

If you were to have to slam on your brakes maybe you are driving dangerously close to the car ahead of you.

[Taylor1430]

SgtScott31,

I don't get followed often. Maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks sometimes longer. It's usually in the day time and I drive an '05 Chevy Tahoe. It happened once when I was driving my mothers car a '99 M-B CLK320. It happens mainly around town when my wife and I are running errands. I'm a pretty carreful driver. Had one speeding ticket in 1999. And never been in an accident. Had my DL for 21 years now.

Is it really a good Idea to just signal and pullover even when her lights are not activated as Redbird said? I would think that would look suspicious on my part.

Thanks for the replies.

I don't see anything wrong with using your signal and pulling out of the way. As said, she will either stop with you or go on her way. If she stops with her, I (and this is my opinion only) explain to her that it seemed like they needed to get somewhere quickly and you were simply moving aside for them. They will either be thankful, or they will get the hint that their tailgating does make other drivers uncomfortable.

One thing the general public does not realize is that police often go to certain calls that require speed but do not require lights and sirens. The first that comes to mind is when we are backing up officers on traffic stops. If they make the stop and are OK on their stop, there is no need to be going lights/sirens and balls to the wall to get to them...BUT it is very important to get to them quickly for obvious reasons.

[ais4122]

Perhaps your license plate is being checked, or the cop is looking to see if your seatbelt is on or you have your necessary stickers. Or maybe you should just move to the right and let them pass

[kcsd823]

All responding threads after mine should answer your questions. They made the same points that I would have.