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734K views 6K replies 680 participants last post by  LivesNearCostco 
#1 ·
Okay, I've been debating doing this for a while now. And, I'm kind of tired of the "I hate cops" threads. Have you ever wondered why a cop gave you the ticket rather than someone else? Is this mod or that mod legal? What would a cop do if he saw this or that happen on the road? As many of you know, or have been able to figure out, I'm an Officer with the California Highway Patrol (It is, therefore, my primary job to give tickets, take drunks to jail, and write-up accident reports). I've been doing the job for about three years, which doesn't make me an expert. I figure that it would be nice to allow you guys to "pick me brains" on stuff. I'd like to be able to answer questions that you guys have about certain situations, and what not.

Keep in mind that some of these answers are MY opinion, not those of the department, or even other Officers. Even if you do what I suggest, you might still get a ticket, or go to jail. There will have to be rules, though. Here they are:

Main rules are these --

1) RESPECT -- I'm not going to put on my flame suit, anyone that's going to post in this thread SHALL be respectful to me, and other Officers. Anyone who is not, won't get a reply. Call anyone with a shiny piece of metal on their chest a "Pig", and you won't get a reply.
2) HONESTY -- Be honest about what happened, and how you reacted. What you, and the Officer said.
3) BE NICE -- Not following this is the most important. Foul language SHALL be kept to a minimum! If you can't express your anger without first calming down and using adult words, then I have no room for you in my life.

Others are things along these lines --

1) Questions about Vehicle Code SHALL be in regards to California laws only! I don't work in other states, and therefore have no knowledge of their laws. If you bring up a law in another state, you have to post the law in question. Even then, I would only have limited knowledge in regards to it.
2) You can ask me what I would do in a given situation, but don't expect other Officers to do the same.
3) Other Officers can post replies to questions, but everyone SHALL follow the two primary rules.
4) I enforce the law, I don't write the law. If you have a problem with how a law is written, this isn't the place to air your concern.
5) After I turn the ticket in, I have limited knowledge on how to deal with it. My knowledge is limited to what I have encountered in my own experiences with getting tickets (yes, I do get them from time to time).

Questions about the CHP might be able to be answered on the Departments website www.chp.ca.gov

With all this in mind, let's see how this thread goes. I'll try to answer questions as best, and as quickly as I can. I don't have the ability to spend hours upon hours each day on these forums, so I might not be able to answer things right away.
 
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#4,339 ·
Funny, I'm not quite sure what section you could cite. The only thing, and it would be a far stretch, is modified lighting. But the problem with that is this:

While I am a complete car guy, I have no idea which cars/trucks come from the factory with HID headlights. Look at our E46's, some have HID, some don't. If I don't know how to tell, how is a judge going to tell if it was factory or aftermarket?

There are plenty of cars and trucks that have come from the factory with HID lights and did not have a projector lens. Short list off the top of my head; Cadillac Escalade, Lexus IS300, Infinity G35, Lincoln LS, GMC Yukon, and on and on. So you see, while it might be illegal in some remote corner of the vehicle code, there is no way that you can enforce it.

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#4,341 ·
Funny, I'm not quite sure what section you could cite. The only thing, and it would be a far stretch, is modified lighting. But the problem with that is this:

While I am a complete car guy, I have no idea which cars/trucks come from the factory with HID headlights. Look at our E46's, some have HID, some don't. If I don't know how to tell, how is a judge going to tell if it was factory or aftermarket?

There are plenty of cars and trucks that have come from the factory with HID lights and did not have a projector lens. Short list off the top of my head; Cadillac Escalade, Lexus IS300, Infinity G35, Lincoln LS, GMC Yukon, and on and on. So you see, while it might be illegal in some remote corner of the vehicle code, there is no way that you can enforce it.

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Thank you for clarity. There's no metric to measure HIDs in the field for compliancy, unlike speed and exhaust noise. So many people have been getting away with it for so long, that its falsely perceived as legal by the public and peace officers as well.

Earlier you said they are legal. They are only perceived as legal in a sense of being difficult to enforce and regulate.
 
#4,340 ·
#4,342 ·
When I run a plate all that comes up is the information for the car. Nothing other than a name and address for the owner of record. I'm not sure why your personal arrest history would've come up. Like what was suggested in your thread, I would suggest registering it in your mothers name or something along those lines.

They should not being using an arrest from the past as their sole reason to search the car. There needs to be other clues and indicators to justify detaining you that long. I'm sorry and apologize on behalf of my fellow officers that while you may have truly changed, they aren't making it easy on you to move on from your past.

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#4,346 ·
some modded eclipse got pulled over in front of my house the cop screemed at him at the top of his lungs for driving on the wrong side of the road and told him he could smell the alcohol coming from his car but in the end screemed at him to park his car lock it up and call for a ride then the cop took off burning rubber pissed !?? WTF !? that is some bullshit
 
#4,349 ·
Without having been there i certainly hope that there was more to it than an officer who simply didn't want to make a dui arrest. Perhaps the driver had been drinking, but wasn't under the influence. Maybe they didn't have a license. Like I said, without having been there it's hard to say.

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#4,350 ·
What bill?

And I certainly hope that you aren't applauding the idea of people losing their jobs. Especially people who protect you while you sleep.

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#4,356 ·
And that post only proves that you're an ignoramus. If you have nothing constructive to discuss, something that is beneficial to others, or at least yourself, then leave the California forum. Leave this thread.


And yes, I think I can do my job better with my .40 Cal, baton, OC spray, tazer, radio, shotgun, AR-15, and extensive training then you can with your gun. Why? Because I know that when the crap hits the fan I head to the fight. You'll probably hide in your house or car and call the cops.

Stop posting. You only prove my point of your intelligence the more you comment.

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#4,358 ·
Frobie, do you guys ever get complaint calls from citizens about how officers are driving in the field? I saw a patrol unit completely blow the stop sign right in front of my apartment building. No lights or siren, and he wasn't hauling, he was just rolling along at maybe 20-25.

Look, I know officers have to put up with a lot. I'm just wondering if there's any recourse citizens have for incidents that aren't shown in the evening news. If the tables were turned, and I rolled that intersection and they saw me, I'd bet my bottom dollar I'd be sitting at my computer with a $250 ticket in my hand right now.
 
#4,360 ·
You can call and report any driving That's you see that is a direct violation of the law. In the future, though, try to get a unit number or license plate number as most officers that are on patrol are not in an exact location at an exact time and it would be difficult to know exactly which officer it was without that info.

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#4,386 ·
wow, a cop from fresno...
please don't pull me over..:D

is there a lot of modded bimmers in fresno?
and are those car meets at Riverpark and those places legal? or the blackstone cruises?

and why do cops just sit in a parkinglot starring at you when you're just trying to let your car cool off a bit??
i was scared=(

i can't believe there is actually a BMW-driving cop from fresno on this forum. wow. i'm impressed.
 
#4,395 ·
wow, a cop from fresno...
please don't pull me over..:D
Unfortunately I don't know what either you or your car look like. So I wouldn't know if I stopped you :dunno:

is there a lot of modded bimmers in fresno?
I've seen some. Seems that most people in the area that mod cars are into trucks or old iron. But I did pull over a LSB M3 that was really, really nicely modded.

and are those car meets at Riverpark and those places legal? or the blackstone cruises?
It depends on which ones they are. Typically, if it's during the day it's probably organized enough to have permission of the store/establishment to meet there. If it's on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night in a dark parking lot on Blackstone.... well..... I'll let you decide. :)

Cruising on Blackstone is illegal. However, as long as you aren't doing anything stupid and you aren't out there every night of every weekend you should be fine.

and why do cops just sit in a parkinglot starring at you when you're just trying to let your car cool off a bit??
i was scared=(
What do you mean? What's the background on the story??

i can't believe there is actually a BMW-driving cop from fresno on this forum. wow. i'm impressed.
It's just me. I really am not that impressive at all :D

Do you live in Fresno? Or in the vicinity?

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#4,389 ·
Question: This might be more for someone know who knows how the DMV works but this is as close as i can get. lol TIA for the help.

As a heads up i know this sounds fishy and that i should never have purchased a car with out title but I beleive everything is on the up and up.
So, I recently purchased a car. The Seller cannot find the title, the car was a gift TO his dad then to him. Car was never put in either ones name. Car has 5 year old tags. I found in the car a copy of the old registration. What can i do to register it in my name? I have been told that if a car is not active in the DMV system for more than 5 years it is "removed and out of the system".

How can i register the car in my name? I heard something about an abandoned car title. any ideas welcome.
 
#4,390 ·
To my knowledge, the original owner was supposed to go into the DMV and get a replacement title.

As is, you could crash the car into a house, abandon it, and the original owner would be to blame, and similarly if the original owner wanted his car back, there is a good chance he could legally take it. Not a very good situation to be in.

Also, you are probably going to have many hundreds of dollars of late fees because by the sound of things, the car wasn't registered as non-op.
 
#4,391 ·
hmm, just found this thread....i dont like cops...but dont ban me cuz of it, lol
 
#4,405 ·
Whats the actual law on speed limit on a on/off ramp? I know the recommended speed limit in yellow is just that; recommended. Can you get a speeding ticket for going, say, 60 in a "recommended 25"? :eeps:

Where does the technical speed limit start on a on/off ramp? The inch you merge into the other lane that's the highway?
 
#4,411 ·
Onramps and offramps? Or freeway interchanges?

On and offs are the same speed limit as the freeway, as they're technically a part of the freeway. Imagine this, you're sitting at a red light on a surface street at an intersection with an offramp on the left and an onramp on the right. As long as there's no signs prohibiting it, a driver can legally shoot through that intersection (from your left to right) at 65 or 70 miles per hour.

Interchanges that have a recommended speed cannot be enforced at the recommended speed. But if someone were to crash, or get a ticket on that interchange, the "safe speed" would be addressed.

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#4,406 ·
Okay.. Mr. Cop.
This is how i got a ticket.
It was early morning and my car was not warm so u know the idle is rough
I was making a right turn and I waited until the cross street's left turn light pop then i make a turn.
and U-turn was not allow in that cross street, so i make a right turn when the light pop.
Okay, and i spin my wheel a little bit when making that turn.
I got pull over and i explain that to officer. I didn't give him any attitude.
I still got a ticket for unsafe start.
I think this is ridiculous and racist.
I'm Asian and I'm young and yes my car is modded Widebody M3
So what do u think about this ticket?
 
#4,415 ·
ive been wondering this for a while

when does the speed limit start on any given road? does it start when you can "see" the sign, or when you pass the sign? I just feel a cop could screw me really hard if the speed limit goes from 50 to 30 but im not technically past the 30mph sign yet. This would open up a whole can of worms interpreting how far people can see. any legislation on this?
 
#4,416 ·
It begins AT the sign. I like to have fun with local, small-town officers and wait until the last second and then slow down hard to get down to the limit. Of course, I only do this when there's no traffic behind me. And you have to make sure that you aren't exceeding the higher posted limit either.

I completely understand your concern about him arguing that you were past the sign when you actually weren't. But all signs are supposed to be posted with enough visibility that you can safely slow your vehicle to the new limit prior to the sign. If you were to get this ticket I would measure the heck out of where he was sitting, where the sign is posted, and there the next cross street is. Then challenge the officers estimation of your distance in court. Try to get him to testify that you weren't yet to the sign, if that makes sense.

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#4,418 ·
I guess it's been awhile so I need to repost this....

Do not send me PM's with questions regarding a ticket. Ask it in this thread so others may benifit from the discussion. If there is something that I think should be discussed in private, then I will initiate the PM.

K BYE
 
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