Ohio cops RULE!!!

[adegiulio]

OK, what I meant to say is that Ohio cops are the worst. First of all, they all seem to have laser. I have never heard the V1 stop my heart so many times with that "the world is coming to an end" alert. Then, they all hide very sneaky like, behind the barriers between traffic, but facing in the wrong direction, making them dificult to spot. Its tough to explain, but people who have driven the interstates know what I mean. The tension was killing me.

They have nice rest stops there though.

Anthony

[Teutonaddict]

I gotta admit, yours was the first thread I opened, b/c I just HAD to see how the Ohio State Patrol could merit such praise.

As one who learned to drive in OH, I most certainly can relate. They seem most comfortable preying on the turnpike and primary interstates (77/71/70). I got my first speeding ticket from pacing aircraft on I-70, while the Cincinnati Microwave Escort sat silent on my dash. Pr*ck b*stards!

I've since lived all over these great United States, and I have yet to encounter another state the the patrol intensity or cops-per-100 miles density. They really are in a league of their own.

I guess the one possible upside is that I was trained early to be a vigilant speed enforcement spotter. I can still spot a Crown Vic from 3/4 mile!!

Glad you made it home unscathed!

-Dave

[FrankJLamantia]

I commute maybe 20 miles to school on any given day... I have seen as many as 5 cruisers within a range of 17-18 miles. They even hide on the far right shoulder so it looks like a broken down car at first glance.

I've only been pulled over once, for 72 in a 65 and he gave me $130 ticket. Ridiculous.

[MJ]

72 in a 65 is just flat out ludicrous. Many State Patrols seem to use the nine MPH over the speed limit as their starting point. I know several FHPs that don't open their eyes until 15 MPH over...

MJ
'03

[M Macht]

I grew up in Ohio and spent the first 32 years of my life living in various cities: Youngstown, then Springfield and finally Columbus before moving west to CA. My first ticket ever was when an Ohio Highway Patrolman pulled me over for going 62 in a 55 zone on State Route 11. The first words out of his mouth were: "How do you want to pay for this ticket?" He did not even give me a chance to explain or argue. Heck, he didn't even open the discussion with the usual "Do you know why I pulled you over?" routine.
I recall an Ohio State/Michigan Game Saturday when I had the misfortune of missing "The Game" being played in Columbus that year. Ironically, I had business in Michigan that day so I drove north as all of the Michigan supporters drove south for the game. The police ignored all of us driving north and had their sights on the Michigan faithful driving south through the state on their way to Columbus. I counted 26 patrol cars between Columbus and the OH/MI border! Talk about shooting fish in a barrel! They were being pulled over one after another. As an avid OSU fan, it was a beautiful sight to behold (with no disrespect to Michigan M5 owners on the Board intended ). That was the one and only time I was glad to see the Ohio Highway Patrol so preoccupied.
And how about those uniforms? They look very intimidating with the dark gray with black trim, drill sargeant hats and knee high boots.

[Teutonaddict]

Originally posted by M Macht
I counted 26 patrol cars between Columbus and the OH/MI border! Talk about shooting fish in a barrel!

That's a game we often play when traversing the Buckeye State. "How many cops did you see?" When my brother and I drove from Cincinnati to the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course (Lexington, OH; about an hour north of Columbus) this past July, we spotted 19 troopers in 170 miles. On the return trip, we spotted 24 troopers!

On both occasions, they had a LIDAR (laser) trap set up with one trooper picking off speeders, and the rest positioned on on-ramps a half mile downstream, just waiting for their turn to pounce. Makes me sick to my stomach...


And MJ, I agree with you. In my years living in FL (JAX), it seemed the FHP didn't bother you if you were sticking with the flow of traffic, even if that was 15 MPH over. They seemed more concerned with helping stranded motorists than generating revenue. Florida's a great state for traveling on the interstates!

[MAVERICK]

If you can learn to speed in Ohio without getting caught too often, you have been trained well. One good thing about Ohio is that the marked and unmarked cars on the highway are almost always Ford Crown Victoria's. Training yourself to spot one type of car from a distance is much easier than having to prepare for different types of police vehicles such as in Indiana/California (unmarked Camaro's), Kentucky, and West Virginia (Jeep Cherokee, Tahoe, Crown Vic's, Chevy Impala, Chevy Blazer).

As for being caught by a Smokey in the air (VASCAR), TiGumz taught me that you only have to slow down before or during the time you are crossing the timing lines (one line on the road every quarter mile for a total of five lines). Once you are past those lines, they cannot assess your speed from the air. However, they could radio ahead to have a ground smokey lie in the bushes in an attempt to clock you.

Long live the V1+Lidatek+common sense combo!

[Suretyagent]

Originally posted by MAVERICK


As for being caught by a Smokey in the air (VASCAR), TiGumz taught me that you only have to slow down before or during the time you are crossing the timing lines (one line on the road every quarter mile for a total of five lines).

This is where a police scanner comes in very handy. Most air-to-ground communication is easily picked up well in advance of state police aircraft speed traps.

Derek

[Need4Spd]

Yeah, I was sucked in by the subject title too, as I couldn't imagine anyone thinking that this was a good thing. Ohio state troopers have had this repuation as being the toughest on speeders forever, going back at least to the '60s or '70s. So, I guess this isn't news, and I'll bet the Ohio patrol has probably made it a point to keep this reputation.

[Chris Foote]

I don't mean to preach to the choir here, but you all need to join the NMA and fight back against the revenue collecting.....

http://www.motorists.org

-Chris

[HotRod]

Onlt ticket I have had in the last 5 years was going to the Midwest M5 meet last year. Ohio statie got me with the cruise control on going 75 in a 65 (US-30). I had my detector going, and I also had the K-40 laser jammer. When I finally saw him in the median (brown cars blend in so nicely against the burnt median grasses don't they!!), the jammer went off, the detector went off, etc. I thought there was no way he could have nailed me as far off as I was from him when he gunned me, but he did!! First time the k-40 let me down!! He walked up to the car, asked me if I knew how fast I was going. I said yes sir, I had the cruise control set at 75MPH. He asked if I always drive that fast. I said yes sir. He said alrighty then, I won't lecture you or waste any more of your time, I'll go write up your ticket. I said thank you Sir.....

When he came back, he said that I need to keep the speed down, as they tend to drive a little slower in Ohio than they do in Michigan. (70 MPH limits on highways)

I understand why the Ohio cops are the worst (best??) at speed killing. They are right in the heart of the country. I don' t think there is another state that can claim the number of major highways going through it than Ohio! I-75 , I-70, Turnpike, US-30, etc...

The number of semi's on the roads in Ohio are staggering! If you're shipping East-West, you're going through Ohio....Speeding tickets are huge revenue for the state! If I was the governor, I'd be all over the highways too.... I wasn't mad that I got a ticket--I look at speeding as a cat and mouse game. I speed all the time, and I have 1 ticket in the last 5 years...I can handle that!!

The cat won that time is all.....

HotRod

[Teutonaddict]

Originally posted by HotRod
I wasn't mad that I got a ticket--I look at speeding as a cat and mouse game. I speed all the time, and I have 1 ticket in the last 5 years...I can handle that!!

The cat won that time is all.....

I always remind myself that speeding is a calculated risk. I've already processed the risk-reward tradeoff in my own mind. So, heaven forbid, when I do get nailed I take my lumps like a man.

That is, if taking it like a man includes powering on my V1, Beartracker, Lidatek LE-20, and leveling those Ohio-raised Crown Vic spottin' eagle eyes....

Fly low, gents!
-Dave

[TiGumz]

Only good news is that the OSP car color is going back to white from the current dark grey/silver color.......