Those in LE: If you pull someone over, do you prefer he announce his firearm or not?

[Bigghoss]

How often do you really go 55 on the highway, let alone 25 or 15 where those are the posted limits?

I almost always drive at or just below the posted limit, mostly to save gas. Arbitrary or not I simply have no need or desire to drive faster than the posted limit.

[MistWolf]

I haven't been pulled over since I've gotten my CCW (knock on wood). Even so, I learned years ago that courtesy with the officer goes a long way. I follow the routine of putting the vehicle in park and keeping my hands on the wheel until the officer approaches and start the conversation with "Good day, officer. Is there something I can help you with?"

When I do get pulled over, it's rarely for anything but speeding or because I was driving home from work at 0'Drunk 30 through a community with a zero tolerance for DUI. (That got to be annoying after awhile, but I digress.)

I stopped getting tickets when I when I started admitting to my sins. The first time I did this was when I got on the 110 West in L.A. I think the speed limit was 65, traffic was doing 75 and surprised myself when I got my grandmother's anemic Dodge Colt up to 82 and half going down a long on ramp so I could merge without getting run over. I took advantage of the extra speed to move over two or three lanes and while doing so, I noticed a CHP Crown Vic in the left hand mirror a couple of cars back. I knew what was coming next, so I simply changed the turn signal from left to right and without slowing, moved right until I could pull over and waited for the officer to pull up behind me.

He walked up to the window and said "What the Hell was that?"

I said "I was so happy to get this POS going fast enough to merge with traffic that I just kept going so I could change lanes. As I was doing so, I saw you in my mirror and figured I'd just go ahead and pull over and save us both the trouble."

The officer said "Do you know how fast you were going?"

I said "Faster than I've ever gotten this car to go before."

He shook his head and told me "Slow down and drive safe."

Since then, I've admitted my wrong doing and the officers are usually content to let me off with a warning

Oh, about driving through Oregon-
1) Never drive more than 5 mph over the speed limit. Unless you have California plates on your vehicle. If you have California plates, never exceed the speed of light

2) The speed of light in Oregon is 45 mph

[Erik]

I almost always drive at or just below the posted limit, mostly to save gas. Arbitrary or not I simply have no need or desire to drive faster than the posted limit.

I'm sure I would like you if I met you (I mean that - I've read your posts) but I would hate to be stuck behind you.

[olstyn]

It's not that speeding is a good thing, it's that speed limits are so artificially low in so many places and in no way associated with driving at a safe or responsible speed.

Yup. I-35 south of downtown St. Paul, MN is a perfect example. It's a 45 MPH zone for several miles for no readily apparent reason. It's a 2 lanes each way divided interstate highway with no tight corners or really anything out of the ordinary. It should be a 55 MPH zone at minimum, and I don't really see why it couldn't be a 60 MPH zone.

[Bigghoss]

I'm sure I would like you if I met you (I mean that - I've read your posts) but I would hate to be stuck behind you.

Well thank you for that and don't worry. It's a divided 4-lane highway between home and work and I know that slower traffic keeps right. I do try to be courteous to other people when driving and just in general.

[Coyotesfan97]

State trooper? Troopers gonna troop. I'd also say maybe a motorcycle cop, but you said he smiled. It's a well known fact that 'cycle cops have their fun surgically removed and replaced with a desire to ride by stores with large plate glass windows so they can catch their own reflection.

(Dear 'cycle cop,

I am only joking. Your mustache is looking especially masculine today. I always pronounce it "sick-ul" and not "psy-cul" so no one thinks you're pedaling that thing. Please don't write me a ticket. )

One of my favorite cartoons is a STRAC motor blowing kisses to himself standing next to his impeccable motor while the raggedy ass K9 guy is standing behind him while his dog is lifting his leg on the "sick-ul". I'll have to scan and post it.

[Joe in PNG]

Speed wise, I like to be the "grey man"- going with the flow of traffic- not the fastest, and not the slowest either.

[zacbol]

Thanks for all the responses. Really great feedback. Between this and feedback on TPI, i've definitely changed my intended response. I guess I fell prey to overindexing on direct, in person advice from a trusted source. He had his reasons for that advice, but seems clear to me its not the best approach.