Could a police speed? A debate for us all...?

Question

"I can't speak for any other state but NC but here we are allowed to speed. If we are using blue lights and sirens and when we are in pursuit of a violator, even without blue lights and sirens on. Besides you have no idea where that cop might be going or why he might be going fast. Why do people always want to complain about this? Let me ask you a question: if someone was breaking into your house would you want us to get there as fast as possible or do the speed limit???? "

This came from another thread about if officers can speed or not. I was going to ask this myself but since there is already one, here's the deal. Real officers answering questions like these always give out: HOW DO YOU KNOW HE'S SPEEDING OR WHAT HE'S DOING?

No sh1t you know he's speeding. You don't have to carry a machine to tell you. You're not stupid when you're going 65 and he's shooting up from behind you.

That was from a personal experience and I have lots where cops just speed up, in this particular case, when it was just me and him. Giving a balony answer like I wanted to be a ninja and sneak up on the thieves is crap. If your light is not on and no sounds, it means you are not on a call. How the hell does the public know if you're on a call or not with nothing to tell them? If a civilian speeds (for emergency reasons), would the cops care? I think not.

Lol are you trying to tell me that all their hardships mean they can do whatever they want including doing things above the law? They chose to be police, noone is forcing them. I don't care if they are cops or not, obey THE LAW.

When cops are not working, are they still extra special? Oooo....they carry guns, gadgets, and whatever they have to do their job, you are right. But get this straight out, IT"S THEIR JOB. They are not super heroes, they don't have special powers, and they can't do what they want. If they do what they want, then we're not living in a democratic country. I respect your answers but don't assume I'm ignorant. I'm not scared of the cops and I dont need to mind their business. I mind my business and my SAFETY and mind that whoever is on the road with me is being safe. Having a speeding cop is not SAFE and I do MIND that.

Answer 1

OK,everyone knows when a police officer is on duty or off duty,they get a free pass to speed whenever they feel like it.I dont feel the least bit threatened when a police cruiser passes me doing my measley 65mph and hes hitting close to 100,even without his lights on....anyway,for you to try and debate the issue of why hes doing 100 and so forth to me is mute.He's an officer of the law....just let it go...they have extensive high speed training and the police officer is there to put his life on the line for you and anyone.Let the cops speed,consider it a job perk.Preach from your pulpit on any other issue besides that one.

Answer 2

Police officers are not exempt from the law anywhere in the United States. When an officer is on routine patrol, he/she must obey all posted speed limits.

HOWEVER...

In my personal experience, I found that it's sometimes easier to make it through moderate traffic on the open highway if I just stayed in the passing lane and hit the gas. 95% of the traffic is NOT in the passing lane, and not running with lights and siren on the open highway keeps me from having to dodge the driver who isn't paying attention, gets startled when he/she finally hears the siren and/or sees the lights, and inadvertently pulls right in front of me and hits the brakes. Besides, I was taught that you outdrive your siren at 45 MPH, meaning that you'll be up on the driver ahead of you before he/she hears your siren.

It's also a heck of a lot easier to catch a highway speeder if you wait until you're right behind him before lighting him up. If you turn on your lights as soon as the speeder passes you, by the time you get up to speed he's gonna be gone off the first exit and you'll never find him.

In a residential area, if something is going on where we don't want to alert the bad guys to our presence, not only will we NOT turn on our lights and sirens, we'll turn out our headlights when we get close to the area in question.

In all cases, however, the police officer bears full responsibility for the consequences of his actions.

Of course there are officers who speed...not gonna try and convince you for one minute that they're aren't. If you have a complaint against an officer for what you think is a speeding offense, the best thing you can do is file a complaint with the department and let them investigate it. Be prepared, however, to accept their findings. If they find your complaint to be unfounded, don't start crying and whining about how "cops look after their own" or any of that crap.

Answer 3

Generally speaking thats a silly question.. for one most lawenforcement & emergency vehicles are exempt from traffic laws anyway (including the requirement to wear seatbelts) and secondly.. whos gonna arrest em? (No you cant citizens arrest on an infraction in any state I know of LOL)

so of course the answer is YUP they can speed ! HA!

Now I also will say... Some times cops dont care if you speed either.. I can recall one time (in 29 Palms) I got an emergency call from the hospital in Joshua tree from my (then wife) on the answering machine... I grabbed the car and beelined it up 29 palms highway at over 100 MPH (well above).. a cop tried to pull me over.. I didnt stop till I hit the hospital parking lot.. and i handed him my license and said "do what ya gotta do.. as will I.." as I got outta the car.. and told him in 15 seconds why I was there.. he handed the licence back and said OK.. no problem.. last I ever heard of it, or saw that particular officer... He could hav busted me on several things and they would have stuck (even in My opinion) I just had a different agenda and well i really didnt care at that point.. but I was willing to accept the consequences for my actions.. and I told him so...

Do any of you really think I care about a cop speeding when most of you idiots shouldnt be licensed to drive a go cart? Hardly LOL

Answer 4

Like any other job in this country there are the 10 percent who will violate the law simply because they do. I tell you a police officer who is speeding without light or siren may be responding to many calls where these signals may place lives in jeopardy. You don't use signals when responding to an armed robbery at a bank or a silent alarm burglary and many other issues. It is about safety - If the Officer is driving fast and he is a responsible individual he will not place your life in jeopardy by driving fast to that call.

Answer 5

Gotta agree with "Ray M", but will add my experience. Of course some cops do speed just for the hell of it and maybe they should'nt unless its for a reason. Depending on the call, I will speed and go lights an sirens, for the reason of hoping that the lights an sirens scare off the criminal in the commission of a certain crime, and sometimes I will speed with no lights or sirens ( and who cares what the public thinks, "I" can justify my actions) in order to get the upper hand on a criminal in the commission of a crime, and many times when you do go coded (lights and sirens) the public hinders you, because sometimes they panic and get in your way rather than get out of your way. Many people on cell phones, or have their music on too loud and then at that last second they see you and panic to move. My experience in most cases is to go negative code, and I will justify my actions to my boss.

Answer 6

I am not a police officer but have 4 family members who are or who have been in law enforcement in the state of Texas. . be it City or County.
ONLY in a high speed chase are they allowed to speed.
Lights and sirens are on when the call is an emergency or when one is in pursuit of someone who will not stop when first asked to do so with a brief flash of lights or siren.
When an officer is answering a call that presents danger to the public as in a hostage situation,domestic violence,robbery etc lights and sirens may be used until they reach a certain perimeter close to the site at which point lights and sirens are turned off as they do not want to endanger anyone by causing the perp. to panic.
You mean to tell me that there is actually law enforcement in NC?
I go to Jacksonville,NC every year to visit my daughter and her family.
People there drive like they just got their driver license.
As soon as I get to the NC state line I know without a doubt that I am in NC. . . these people drive way below posted speeds and try to pass them and they speed up making it next to impossible to pass them safely.
Once you do pass them,they speed up and ride your butt before passing and slowing down again. . . . I call it playing cat and mouse.
Where is the cop then? If they were actively doing their jobs,these drivers wouldn't present the problems I encounter while in the state of NC.
No one in NC uses turn signals,no one in NC pulls over for emergency vehicles,they cross several lanes at one turn to get where they want to go.......it's barbaric and makes it unnerving for us out of state drivers who will certainly get stopped for the infractions that the drivers in NC are ignored doing.
When I complain about these horrible drivers,my daughter says it is because there is too much traffic for no more road than they have in Jacksonville but this could be solved if the city,county and state law enforcement actually enforced the laws and ticketed these people who do not drive properly. They would then have enough money for more roads.
By the way,Jacksonville,NC is where Camp LeJeune is. The Marine Base.
I got lost once and stopped to ask a NC State Trooper where I needed to go to get to Jacksonville and by the look on his face one would have thought I was asking for directions to the Moon.

Answer 7

In the state of Washington, there are two modes in which emergency vehicles operate: Normal driving, and Emergency mode. Normal driving mode, happens whenever the emergency lights are off. Fire vehicles, ambulances, and police vehicles are subject to every motor vehicle and traffic law in place.

In Emergency mode, the emergency lights MUST be on, with sirens and horns optional. In this mode, the vehicle can be operated at speeds which are still slow enough as to not risk life or property. For this reason, my fire department has a standing order not to exheed the posted speed limit by 15 mph.

Those are the laws in my state. However, police officers generally, unless you are wearing a uniform of your own, do not take kindly to being "reminded" of the laws they enforce for everyone else. And while I have the utmost respect for most officers, some of them need to turn down the "holier than thou" knob in their brain.

Answer 8

First, mind your business. You have no clue what he is doing, where he is going or anything.Maybe he is flying to back someone up? From experience, sometimes lights and sirens are more hassel than they are worth. People like yourself, do ignorant things like stop in front of emergenciy vehicles, pull left not right, drive into trees for no apparent reason etc... Sometimes its just easier to drive around you, then make a whole lot of noise.
Second, in most states, cops are exempt from the traffic law, hence no plates or registrations on their marked cars. In NYS, it is spelled out that they can do whatever they want while working and they do not have to even use their lights. Who is going to give them a ticket anyway?
I'm not sure what your point is. A cop is not a regular citizen. He is not just some guy with a job. He is given the power by the state to enforce laws, use dealy force, carry weapons and do things you, the average citizen can not do. He is aslo highly trained, including driving. Most cops get intense, multi week driving courses. They can drive circles around you. From bumper to bumper a cops car is loaded with things you can't use or possess... Lights, sirens, rifles, mace, tasers, tickets, cuffs etc... Like it or not, he is in charge of you and has the authority to do whatever he needs to do to get the job done. Honestly, a state that lets a cop carry a high powered handgun, a shotgun, a rifle and gives him the ability to end someones life.... do you really think "speeding" is something relevant?? I think you need to live your life and not worry about what law enforcment professionals do to protect you and your family. A simple thank you now and agin is all they need from you....

Since you still seem to be hung up on knowing if he is on a call ... I'll spell it out again for you... ITS NONE OF YOUR CONCERN! You have no "right" to know anything. He is under no obligation to let you know anything. As a matter of fact, if you inject yourself into the situation, like many morons who know thier "rights" do, you will find yourself in cuffs for Obstruction of Governmental Administration or related offense. So you keep challenging authority and not minding your own life and see how far it gets you...

Answer 9

Here's the solution that comes from experience-

If it bothers you when cops drive fast without their lights and sirens and you think it's unfair here's an easy fix: 1. Quit your high paying, non life-threatening, non bullet-proof vest wearing job. 2. Go trough the police academy. 3. Get a job with a department starting at 10.00 to 12.00 per hour. 4. Exceed the posted speed limit.

All in only four easy steps.

Answer 10

So you cut and pasted someone else's response to a question posted elsewhere so that you could offer your "wisdom"?

There are a million reasons why an officer/deputy might have to exceed the speed limit. This does not relieve him/her of the duty to do so with all due caution and care, and they know that.

To those who assume the best, until proven otherwise, I say thanks.