AJ

here are mine in no particular order:

1. i drive very fast i and dont have any speeding tickets for the last 7 years (and i hope it stays that way)

2. radar detectors are mostly useless - i haven't turned on my v1 for the last 4 years or so and i dont really need it. besides, if they were efficient, they would really be verboten think active jammers- they really work and they are very very restricted.

3. aways watch for merging traffic- officers like to pull over people this way a lot. think of a wolf getting dropped all of sudden in the middle of the pack of sheep vs. stalking and approaching it slowly and everybody having enough time to slow down

3. during the day on the highway:

3.1 observe traffic ahead - are they braking suddenly? that might be an indication for a trap

3.2 when possible do not drive in the left most lane (but see next).

3.3 for god sake do not weave in and out of traffic - that can be seen from miles behind you and will attract attention. if you have to change lanes make it slowly and in a fluid motion- this way you blend better with the traffic when looked from far away

3.4 if you drive over 80-90 concentrate on the scenery in front of you- most officers patrol at about 80-85 so if you are not seeing them in the rear view mirror, chances are they will not catch up from behind

3.5 do not endanger other people on the road- besides common sense, some of them will get on their cell phones and will call the police and if enough calls (think 2-3) all of a sudden you might get a very determined officer chasing you.

3.6 look in your rearview mirror all the time- most officers will just pace you from about 1/4 miles or less distance and then pull you over- you will not hear even a single blip from your overpriced radar detector

3.7 on a clear day if the side of the road has markers, check the air for small planes flying in circles or so left and right off the highway every now and then...especially when on a wide open part of the road- this is the ugliest way to get pulled over. especially true in the state of nh on 93

3.8 if you dont feel like paying much attention on the road- don't be a sitting duck- drive about 10 miles over the speed limit and you should be safe (at least in ma/nh)

3.9 if in the left lane, next to a truck (or several trucks or so) and you see an officer coming hard on you, for god sake- do not brake to the speed limit. do not brake at all. wave to make sure he knows you've seen him and floor it to get out of his way. when you pass the trucks or whatever and move to the right, make sure you give enough space so he can tuck behind you if he wants to pull you over. if he moves behind you- game over- 99% chances are he is pulling you over for a previous stunt and he will appreciate your urge to get out of his way. but how to talk yourself out of a ticket is another topic- there are also some excellent books on it.

3.10 be very careful on the 1st of the month, around the 15th and at the end of the month. one word- quota.

4. during the night

4.1 learn the headlights profile of the most used police cars in your region. be able to recognize them in your rear view mirror

4.2 if there are cars behind you, dont speed - this one is simple. you never know who is behind you.

4.3 if you decide to speed, make sure there are no set of lights behind you that just "hang in there" regardless of the fact that you are doing 90 or so... if he keeps up with you- there is a good chance he might be an officer.

4.4 if you see somebody coming hard on you from behind, for god sake do not downshift and do a roll-on drag race... let him/her get next to you and then think about racing (if you think about those things at all)

4.5 when speeding at night- never do so with no other cars ahead of you- if there is a trap you will walk right into it and if it as an "instant-on" will have just enough time to shave about $50 from your ticket, but it will still be ugly

other comments and contributions?

alex
00 m5

MAH

AJ,

Good information here. My V1 has paid for itself many times over. I do not drive with it on all of the time, but on trips it is a wonderful thing. The radar detector will not do you any good if the officer really is looking for a fast car for a big ticket, ala instant on, but that is very unusual.

I think the phrase here would be common sense. Oh , thats right, doesn't the government want to regulate that phrase?! You always want to regulate what you cannot control or more important, do not have enough of.


Mark

Bullit

In my view radar just tells you when you have been caught.

My advise, for what it's worth, is to keep your eyes peeled on parking areas, bridges, and exit ramps for Police. Pay attention to plain looking unmarked cars with 2 people and 2 mirrors on the windscreen.

Also, watch small cars and groups of 2+ trucks like a hawk. They may like to pull out and be travelling at half your speed!

kgk

Hello AJ,

But be sure to read "A Speeder's Guide to Avoiding Tickets," by Trooper James Eagan. He agrees with everything that you've said about prevention (avoiding the traffic stop), but also talks about what you do *after* you get pulled over....

You need to fight before (i.e., not get pulled over) and after (avoid the citation).

greg

I agree with most of your tactics. Don't stick out. Don't piss people off. Watch every onramp. Don't be first in line where radar might be in use.

But I completely disagree about radar. Here in CA, my V1 has saved my butt MANY times. I guess this varies state to state, but because CHP is now using radar from moving vehicles, it is essential. It does NOT mean you've already been caught. Nine times out of ten you'll hear the beep before you're in range because they left it on or are shooting someone in front of you. Laser, on the other hand..... And of course, if you are on a deserted road and the guy is hiding behind a sign and shoots you with instant on, you're had. Pull over and take what's coming to you.

If you do get pulled over, be extremely polite. When he asks "do you know how fast you were going" say I'm not sure, but I suspect I was going faster than the limit, sir." If there is ANY chance the guy is going to let you off with a warning, it will fly out the window as soon as you argue, protest, act rudely, act snot-nosed, or challenge him in any way.

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BMW523

Yes I really would like to see the police officer in his car. Imagine he has an Opel Omega police car and is coming hard one somebody driving an E39 M5. And this driver waves and then FLOORS it. I think after several seconds the police officer would be dust in the mirrors of the M5 Driver !
And even IF you move to the right lane afterwards I think that the officer might not be so friendly with you because he might have interpreted your wave not as an "I've seen you wave" but rather as an "Hey officer I'll smoke your ***" wave !

Best regards
Stefan

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Hell yes, Street Race

kgk

That was really funny... and then you can tell the judge, "I thought that the officer pulled up next to me and wanted to street race, so there is no way that I should get this ticket, because it is entrapment."

You're a genius.

fais2000

i agree with everything you said, but one more very important point i use:

1. only speed in areas you know well. This is a two fold reason. First off it is much safer. driving 100+ and hitting a pot hole, blind curves, traffic jam patterns, and all that not so fun stuff can be a really dangerous. An road you do no know shoudl not be over speeded on. I usually dont do more then 10 or 15 over on a road i never traveled before or i do not know to well. Again that is highway road (i almost never do 10 above on city roads, that is endangering pedestrians imo many places and that is plain stupid in many cases). The other reason of course is you do not know where the cops hide out. That is a foolish thing to do. If you dont know where the cops hide, then dont speed, or else you are asking for it. Case in point, the last 2 tickets i got were on roads i never travel, one was on our m5 meet doing unwise speeds even thought the road was straight, the line of site was long, and the road was not heavily populated. And the other was a highway i dont travel rarely, and was caught doing 'normal' over the speed limits (75 on a 55, NO traffic).

2. That leads me to my next case. Dont mindlessly overspeed which is what i did in the 75 on 55 violation. Only do it when it you are going to race somebody and the conditions permit it. Or else just speed smartly, which to me is no more then 4 to 8 miles over the speed of traffic or 5 to 14 miles over the speed limit. If you are always going to drive 80 on a 50, constantly, then it is only a matter of time before you will get caught. Only do it when you find the right circumstnaces, or else just do 60 to 65 on the 50, when their are cars around, usually that will be the speed of traffic anyway, if not just a tad bit higher.

3. dont speed in city roads, it is just plain dumb. especially when cars are parked around you, you never know if some kid will come running out. I rank that just a tad bit higher then DUI, and i have not respect for the redential kid racers.


fas

dwasifar

Don't the police in Germany have radios to call ahead with? Here in the USA, if you leave a cop in the dust, there'll be another one waiting for you ahead, or a roadblock.

Chris Foote

AJ, you bring up some great points, but I'm curious about your theory behind the "get out of the cops way and speed up" idea. Basically, if I was the officer, I would say "Oh look, this idiot in front of me is speeding! Let's flip the lights on!"

What I would do, if I was in that situation, is put my turn signal on, slow down so the tractor trailer passes me on the right, and move over. Plus it's a legal way to do it too

Trust me, I have no respect for state police in our state. Out past Sturbridge on the eastbound side I saw a old Caprice (80's), really beatup, with a guy sitting on the trunk of the car. In the bushes was Mr. State trooper with his Crown Vic perpendicular to the road. Nice little setup they had there.

What are the staties running around in down in Boston these days? I've seen a lot of unmarked Expeditions...I think I might have even seen a Eddie Bauer edition too!

They used to have those Ford Econo Vans, but I haven't seen those in awhile.

How about Luminas? I've seen some dark blue Luminas every now and then.

They are sneaky bastards.

-Chris

(who speeds, but does so in a good manner -- no weaving, no pissing anyone off, no speeding in heavy traffic)

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'00 M5 Anthracite - Imola Red/Black, bone stock, 11,000 miles (Yep she's a garage queen)

AJ