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Re: Cops Tailgating (and Speeding)!
Matthew Russotto (russotto@wanda.pond.com) wrote:
: In article <3mgn8i$6jf@spruce.citicorp.com>,
: Al DeVere <al.devere@citicorp.com> wrote:
: }
: }As a side note, last night while driving home (11pm) I was passed by
: }a county cop who cut me off passing from the right lane to the left.
: }He then proceeded to speed up. Well, I kept up with him until we
: }hit 85. We traveled like that for about 5 miles when he speeds up more
: }and goes past 100. I took that as my time to stop following him.
: }btw, I was following about 4-6 seconds behind (plenty of distance).
: }I suspected that he was late for getting home after shift.
: Careful, they CAN pull you over for imitating them.
Yes, I know. I had a loooong talk with a VA trooper over that.
: }Since I drive an ambulance as a volunteer I can tell you that
: }emergency vehicles are NOT authorized to exceed the speed limit
: }unless their lights and siren are on and then only within
: }department guidelines (usually 20-30 mph over limit MAX).
: This isn't true for police.
Actually it is. Most agencies have a policy in that they don't
exceed the speed limit by X amount due to protection for both the
officer, the public, and the department because they could get hurt
and or sued over a high speed impact. Some departments will break
off a chase due to excessive speed but it is always up to the
driver. He is cleared as long as he "drives with due regard to
safety."
: BTW, is it illegal to follow in the gap in traffic an ambulance leaves
: behind it? Aside from the speeding offense, that is.
If you follow to close to an ambulancce you will get ticketed. I will
frequently tell the relatives of someone I'm transported how to get to
the hospital and not to follow the ambulance. If someone follows to
close, I'll get someone from the back to get a plate # and I'll call
it in. I've even had 2 stopped by PD before I could even call it in.
Drive fast, but drive sober and safe.
--
-Al
Al DeVere NREMT-P | Email to: Al.DeVere@citicorp.com
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