Posted on 02/14/2019 3:21:46 AM PST by servo1969
||While driving through Arkansas I had a run-in with law enforcement . . . which showcased professionalism and the benefits of mutual respect.||
I've been driving cross-country across the southern U.S. and it's been a lovely trip. For the past many years, barring one summer trip to Civil War battlefields, my trips have been to Europe and Southeast Asia. They've been great trips and I've seen wonderful things. I don't regret those travels at all.
Nevertheless, I really enjoy traveling in my own country. I like how vast America is. I like how friendly Americans are. I like American architecture, from the cheesiness of the roadside attractions to the charm of classic American houses, schools, and churches. I like the comfort of an American fast food place where I can get a cheap, reliable meal and a clean bathroom. I like that, with the chain motels, I can always find a clean room, in towns big and small. (Currently, Best Western is my favorite, just as it was when I was a child in the 1960s and early 1970s as a child traveling with my family.)
But this post is about entering Arkansas, for no other reason than that I want to tell the story. Within twenty miles of entering the state, I saw flashing lights in my rear view mirror, and it was clear that the Arkansas highway patrol officer wanted me to pull over. I did so responsibly and carefully and kept my hands on the steering wheel because I've been taught well.
I was baffled, though, as to why he stopped me. I'd been signaling nicely when I changed lanes, wasn't weaving, and had my cruise control set to 72 in a 70-mile zone. In California, speeding is ten miles over the freeway limit. Moreover, I was in the slow lane, so I wasn't the fastest car on the road.
So, as I said, I pulled over, lowered the window, and kept my hands visible as a (to me) young officer walked over to the car and politely introduced himself. Then,
"I tracked your speed for over a mile, Ma'am, and you were going 74 miles the whole time in a 70 miles per hour zone."
At this point, my California brain says, "Wow, they really do pull out-of-state cars over for things like that." My mouth, however, was both sensible and polite.
"Oh, dear! I had my cruise control set to 72." I didn't say more than that because clearly even my cruise control beat that 70-mile rule, but at least I made it clear that I wasn't trying hard to speed.
"The speed limit here is 70 MPH, Ma'am."
"Oh." (What more could I say?)
"May I see your license, registration, and insurance, please."
"Of course."
He takes the documents and walks away to check his database.
He comes back and asks why I'm driving through Arkansas and where I'm going. I answer with brevity and specificity.
He looks at me, hands me my papers, and says, "Just remember that the speed limit here is 70 MPH on the freeway."
I say thank you, and the interaction ends.
The officer was never anything but polite and professional and, as far as I was concerned, the whole interaction ended well. Also, unless Arkansas really is OCD about speed limits (and you can bet that I'll assume that it is for the rest of my travels through this state), I wonder whether he saw my California plate and thought I might have been a drug runner - which, once you see me, I quite obviously am not.
It was a weird experience and left me a little shaken, because I prefer to obey laws and not have to interact with law enforcement. It was also a reminder that, if you treat people with respect, they tend to reciprocate that respect. He was polite to me, I was polite back to him, and all's well that ends well.
You haven’t dealt with cops much
They have jackasses too
It’s a dope or cash stop
This is life in the sunbelt
They sit in the medians looking for dope or better yet cash
On all the major roads acrosss the southern and middle tier of the nation
And pulling over old people is part of it
Old people run dope or carry cash
Profile stops were once ruled illegal I think in Volusia county Florida in the 80s but that ship long since sailed
This is one way how they will grab guns one day
And people will mostly submit
Just look at this thread
Btw I’m Mississippi native and Nashville area resident
I drive all over......they’ve been doing this in a big way for 25 years
It’s mostly about getting cash they get to keep and believe me they spend it on stuff they want...perks and junkets and more military crap and nice pick ups etc
It doesn’t go to widows and orphans generally
It’s a license to steal
Some states are pushing back...requiring a conviction to confiscate
The answer is YES.
The odds are in his favor that you are running drugs.
Busting drug runners is a promotion enhancer. Stopping vehicles with out of state plates, especially from the left coast, is an odds favorite.
Sorry NW Arkansas. Caddo Gap to be precise.
I was rolling through Montana last winter with a co-worker. The speed limit was 80 and the highway was basically empty. I think we averaged 95-100 for several hours. Suddenly, a state trooper decided he wanted to show me the cool lights on his roof.
It started off very professional then he cracked a joke and my friend and I shared a hearty laugh. Then he gave me a ticket.
After I got home, I called the court to see if I could give a written plea. Next thing I know, the judge is on the phone, mirandized me and asked how I pled. I said, “well your honor, I was doing 93 in an 80 so I guess I’m guilty, but wow, you guys have some awesome roads.”
She laughed and said she’d honestly never here’s that one before. Got a probation before judgement and no points.
The trooper was also the spitting image of Sam Drucker from Green Acres.
You’re making the case that armed police pose a real and existential threat to everyone and at all times.
That makes them an army of occupation and not an agency of law and order.
Is that something similar to car impeement??
download a speedometer app to your phone and you can see how accurate your car’s instrument is.
once burnt...
My last two Jeeps were dead on.
It could.
Check some tire specs to see the revolutions per mile stat.
My counterpoint to this is that the police are aware of this risk when they sign up.
When asked “Why do you have a gun?” I can’t say “In case I’m in a bad area I ....” Because the immediate counter to that, from the sheriff or the police or whoever, is “Then don’t go there.”
It’s the same thing, only in reverse. We aren’t allowed to ask the police why they take on a risky job because we scratch our heads and say “Then why do it?” Frankly, I don’t like that question and I don’t ask it.
You see the problem here is neither the citizen NOR the police. It’s the SOP.
Police are asked to put themselves at risk, but they are also targets of very bad philosophical and intellectual trickery - By their own department !
Their pay is kept high enough to not give them the opportunity to run, and it’s low enough that they can’t save up and make a career move. Police work encompasses your entire life. It’s designed to lock you in. And the pension.. WHOA the pension! That’s the biggest reason many of them do it.
So the longer you’re in, the harder and less worthwhile it is to get out. So the cop is trapped in this life where control is removed and it is replaced with all sorts of perks and tricks to make it seem worthwhile.
The cop truly is the victim here, but it’s NOT by the citizens. It’s by the upper eschelons.
good point, yes a taller wheel/tire combo with a greater overall circumference (”rolling radius”) would show a slower speed
I’d argue that a majority are jackasses, as they cover for their corrupt brethren.
We had a few places on highways with accurate measured miles before the Interstates went in.
And now we have fairly accurate mileage posts along all interstates.
However, using these require at least a minute to use (for speed check), and is susceptible to human reaction time error.
GPS; however; is almost instant.
Quite possible, but since your position could be known by 'them' anyway, your speed could be found by...
( (where he was)-(where he is) ) / ( (WHEN he was)-(WHEN he is) )
And iff'n ya wanna REALLY go nuts on the math involved ---> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS_signals
Of course this flowchart may have some links in it that we poor schlubs have NO idea they exist!
(Jumping right into #8 looks like a fun place for our Controllers to enter.)
“... it’s now called traffic impement, …
Is that something similar to car impeement??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNrwycrLl_M";
I am truly in inspired!
What do u think was in the container?
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