Another Texas thang fading away (Dallas, Converse: law, safety, moving)

[tstone]

Lifelong Texan, never heard of it. Not found in a city & suburbs anyway.

My Valentine One has little red lights that warn me, though.

[lonestar2007]

Originally Posted by TexasReb

Muhnay probably knows more about this than me, but I think that the radar detectors were much more popular back in the days of the 55 MPH speed limit.

Speaking of which, although it might be slightly off topic, that speed was highly unrealistic for many western highways, and in Texas at least, my experience was that most law enforcement officers recognized it as such and issued citations accordingly.

That is, well, for instance, when I was going to college (the first go-around LOL), I worked as a dispatcher in a Sheriff's office. Anyway, the DPS in that county didn't give tickets unless the person was exceeding 65. I had a few relatives in law enforcement as well, and all said the general rule of thumb was, at that time, to give the said 10 MPH "allowance"

When were you a cop, Muhnay? I know you said you were during your time in the military, did you do it afterwards as well?

I think use to there always seemed to be a 10 mph allowance, but now things have changed, just up to the cop's discretion. I know the last time I went to Fort Worth and took the defensive driver's course (so I can get a discount on my auto insurance for 3 years, woohoo!) the patrolman who had our class brought that up. He made mention of freeways such as I20 where the traffic will run at times 10 to 15 mph over the limit. He said if it was flowing along, everyone running around 80 or so, rather than 70, he let it go because he felt like he might cause an accident trying to single one driver out and felt it was safer to let it ride. He said, however, if someone came through running 90 or so, yes, he got him. Now, he said, that was just the way he handled things, not all officers did, that some would go after and issued a ticket to someone jusa going 74 or 75 miles per hour in a 70 mph zone.

[momof2dfw]

Lonestar, I'm with you 100%. My dad being a truck driver taught me to drive. I will NOT put my children in one of the schools that teach drivers ed as I've turned in plenty of them just from seeing them on the road. There is a stretch of highway up by us that is "rural" two lane and 4 lane blacktop. The top speed is 60mph and then drops to 45mph . Even if one were going dead on 60 they can NOT slow down to 45 THAT FAST w/o slamming on their brakes and CAUSING an accident. Yet the local yokels in that area sit behind something right where it drops to catch "speeders".

Going out to the lakehouse I'm always amazed there are not MORE accidents. People going BELOW the speedlimit on these two lane and 4 lane blacktops and even on divided highways don't realize they can CAUSE many accidents. They may not be involved in it as most of the time these are the ones that drive w/ blinders on totally unaware of anyone else on the road but themselves and sit there going, "I'm going the speed limit and not a bit over" (or below it). What happens is you get drivers going the speed limit, some below it and then some over it. When this happens is when accidents happen and the slow drivers are just as bit to blame for it as the ones going a hair over. Say the speed limit is 65 MPH and you have the elderly driver w/ poor vision tooling along at 50-55 MPH (or the new driver w/ little to no experience), the one going deadon the speed limit of 65. Then the one going 70 MPH. The road they are traveling on in many instances once had a speed limit of 70 but was dropped due to federal guidelines so it is not totally unsafe to go that speed just some politicker lobbied and got it lowered. The difference in the speeds is roughly 20 mph. If the slowpoker is in the left lane and refuses to get over (against the law as well - the left lane is for PASSING ONLY and you CAN get a ticket for just hanging out there), the one going 65 is in the middle lane or on a 2 lane the right lane, you have a line of cars in BOTH lanes stacked up and no one has ANY ROOM FOR ERROR! No one can change lanes as they are both stacked up and if they NEED to exit soon they are stuck if they are in the left lane. If a 3 lane roadway the one going the speed limit could be the "faster moving" traffic but is forced to go to the FAR right lane to pass creating a hazard for those exiting and entering the highway that are not up to speed yet. Not to mention that every time a car has to change lanes it raises the risk of accidents. If those that want to go slower than the "flow of traffic" STAYED to the right it would be MUCH SAFER. BUT, watch the traffic and sometimes it is NECCESARY TO SPEED UP! No one says you have fly low but gaining a little speed in order to let others exiting or entering the freeway to merge SAFELY to do so w/o putting someone else's life in danger. All too many times I've seen the slowpokers almost cause some accidents that would have been HORRENDOUS if it were not for quick thinking on the part of the alert driver being able to take some very evasive actions to prevent being killed or killing someone else. Meanwhile they are tuttling on down the road thinking to themselves they have never had a speeding ticket or been in an accident. Oblivious to the accident they just caused. When I have seen accidents because of this I've made note of the cause of the accidents car and license plate number and stopped and given it to those involved.

[PanTerra]

Under the heading of similar but completely different. I was one of the passengers in a car on a return trip from a weekend getaway at Lake Towakani. While we were driving on some farm road we had a flat, so we pulled over, changed the tire with the "donut" spare, and continued on down the road. Since we put on a donut tire and driving slower than posted speeds, which was probably 55mph, and donuts were supposedly rated for something slower and only as temporary use, the driver turned on the hazard lights. Within a few miles, we got pulled over by a DPS or county patrol, I don't think DPS would be patroling farm roads, but anyhow, the officer came up to the driver's window and immediately and calmly asked him to step out of the car. He escorted our driver back to the police car, well out of earshot for a somewhat lengthy conversation. That piqued our interests. We kept turning around to look and try to figure out what all the fuss was about. The officer eventually let our driver come back to the car without any ticket or checking out his driver's license. When he got back in the car, he said that we got pulled over because he had the hazard lightd blinking. The officer informed him that it was illegal to do that while driving and should only be used when not moving. He said that having the hazards on in some cases might indicate that something is wrong and is a signal to any law enforcement vehicle that happened to be driving by. Say for instance the driver may have been carjacked by a ruthless gang and the officer, happening upon us, wanted to make sure that the driver was OK. I wanted to ask the officer if they had a history of car-jackings around Lake Towakoni.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by PanTerra

[i] we got pulled over by a DPS or county patrol, I don't think DPS would be patroling farm roads


I wanted to ask the officer if they had a history of car-jackings around Lake Towakoni.

Yes, the DPS DOES patrol the Farm to Market Highways out there. I'm sure we will see them this weekend when we head out to TAwakoni (it is TA not TO ).

Nope, no problem at all w/ carjackings out around Tawakoni at all. The officer moving the driver fully away from the passangers in the car he can tell if something is really up. Depends on how the passangers and the driver act.

Oh, one officer stopped some friends a few years ago when they were heading home after being out at our place all day. She had not been drinking at all but her husband had but he was not driving. I swear they wanted to arrest him if they could have just for "public intoxication" because he had some beers earlier in the day. So he was not driving at all even though he was not legally DUI. So I guess one needs to be careful of even being a passanger IN a moving car if they have been drinking. Lord knows since Willie we can't even stop and sleep it off anymore.

[JamesAbilene]

Originally Posted by lonestar2007

I think use to there always seemed to be a 10 mph allowance, but now things have changed, just up to the cop's discretion. I know the last time I went to Fort Worth and took the defensive driver's course (so I can get a discount on my auto insurance for 3 years, woohoo!) the patrolman who had our class brought that up. He made mention of freeways such as I20 where the traffic will run at times 10 to 15 mph over the limit. He said if it was flowing along, everyone running around 80 or so, rather than 70, he let it go because he felt like he might cause an accident trying to single one driver out and felt it was safer to let it ride. He said, however, if someone came through running 90 or so, yes, he got him. Now, he said, that was just the way he handled things, not all officers did, that some would go after and issued a ticket to someone jusa going 74 or 75 miles per hour in a 70 mph zone.

Where was that 10 MPH allowance when I needed it? I got a ticket during the 55 MPH time just south of Anson, Texas for driving 57 MPH in a 55 zone. Must have been a slow night in Jones County. My car showed only 55, but you can't argue with radar. At least I didn't.

[Muhnay]

Originally Posted by JamesAbilene

Where was that 10 MPH allowance when I needed it? I got a ticket during the 55 MPH time just south of Anson, Texas for driving 57 MPH in a 55 zone. Must have been a slow night in Jones County. My car showed only 55, but you can't argue with radar. At least I didn't.

Problem is, our courts are now assembly line style.. I would say just take it to court it will be dismissed.. normally anything below 5 miles over is. But with todays NEXT court system, you would be given the option of Defensive driving or a Fine.. you may be best off to just pay it to avoid court cost on top of the fine. Also used to be that the officer would need to be present during your court date.. now they are not. What happened to facing your accusers?

[PanTerra]

Originally Posted by Muhnay

What happened to facing your accusers?

It was replace by photo enforced traffic signals at intersections.

[love roses]

I drove 79 to Bryan this weekend and I think the towns along the way did a good job of warning you about the speed decreases. Most of the way, the speed limit was 65/70. You'd get close to a town, and there would be a very big, yellow diamond shaped sign with a 5 mile slower speed limit, then a little bit slower...down to 50, then you'd hit the edge of town, it'd be 45 and by the time you got to the core of town, it would be 35 or 40. I found it to be plenty of time to take my foot off the gas at the first big sign and just coast the first half of the way and my speed decreased to about exactly what the next sign would post by the time I got to it. Saw no cops either.

[nrfitchett4]

Originally Posted by Muhnay

You do know thats a crime, right?

Improper use of equipment (citation) is one of the many citations you can be given for such an act. Most cops don't mind, after all most of the time were not out to catch anyone, but rather to get you to slow down and drive safe.

Two things to consider when talking about people flashing their lights:

1) It's creates what's caused the "halo" effect. If the goal is to run radar, and lower the average speed of vehicles in the area, the person who's flashing their lights is helping the cause.

2) Conversely, perhaps the officer was on the lookout for a suspected drunk driver, or a kidnapper (amber alert). The person who flashes their lights, and thinks they are doing a service, actually just alerted the criminal to the presence of the cop... as a result the kidnapper turns down the next road and is never apprehended in time.

Food for thought.

so what about flashing your lights to alert people of deer or other obstructions in the road??? I guess that is "illegal" too. Good luck getting that one through the courts.
Anyways, I think that is more of a rural, small town tradition. In the cities where all the roads are 4+ lanes, it is probably more of a distraction than anything. I wish all states, people would get over on the shoulder when a faster moving vehicle comes up behind them.