Does anyone know the answer to this? (Traffic Laws)

[ayeying]

Okay, this is specific to Californians.

What is the (if there is one) legal speed limit for a CHP officer to be driving at, on a Freeway, (considering all other conditions are optimal like traffic and weather) under NON-Emergency situations (basically just driving on the freeway as patrolling)?

I can't find much info on the CVC (California Vehicle Code) except one section 22352, which says the Emergency Vehicles cannot drive excess of 25 MPH of posted speed limit on the freeway.

 

[fireshot91]

If it is under regular conditions, I would see no reason why they'd even be allowed to go over the speed limit? Wouldn't they be treated as a regular civilian then, and be required to go at the posted speed limit (Give or take like 5 mph)?

 

[RawBert]

I don't know what the law is pertaining to them, but it seems like they should obey the same law they are trying to enforce. In reality though, they could care less about staying at 65 mph. Any time I see a CHP officer, they are racing down the road. I guess it's not that bad on the freeway, but sometimes you see the PD cops do it on the streets. I saw a YouTube video once of some pig doing that on a street in some other state. The pig slammed right into a car with a couple of teens in it. I think they died. Cops shouldn't drive above the limit if it's not a code 3 (and have their sirens on).

 

[yg17]

I don't know what the law is pertaining to them, but it seems like they should obey the same law they are trying to enforce. In reality though, they could care less about staying at 65 mph. Any time I see a CHP officer, they are racing down the road. I guess it's not that bad on the freeway, but sometimes you see the PD cops do it on the streets. I saw a YouTube video once of some pig doing that on a street in some other state. The pig slammed right into a car with a couple of teens in it. I think they died. Cops shouldn't drive above the limit if they don't need to (and have their sirens on).

Yes, that unfortunate incident happened in Illinois, in the outer STL suburbs. He was going 120mph, crossed the median on the highway and slammed into their car and killed them. The two girls were sisters, I can't even begin to imagine how the parents felt. They only gave him probation, he won't spend a minute in jail Now if that were you or me, we'd be in a federal PMITA prison for awhile.

 

[mkrishnan]

If it is under regular conditions, I would see no reason why they'd even be allowed to go over the speed limit?

I'm curious... it seems some states have more specific and detailed policies on this:

http://www.lvrj.com/news/police-dep...ther-driving-rules-for-officers-63955302.html

The Illinois State Police changed its policy in November, one year after one of its troopers crossed the median on an interstate and crashed into an oncoming car, killing two teenage sisters.

The trooper was traveling 126 mph in his police cruiser on the way to an accident scene that had already been resolved. He was reportedly multitasking, talking on a cell phone and a shoulder radio at the same time.

The state police's new policy created a four-tier system for how officers can respond to calls, including how fast they can drive and when they can use lights and sirens. Under the policy, troopers must notify supervisors if they intend to drive more than 20 mph over the speed limit, and supervisors must monitor the incident and intervene if necessary.

The article discusses some states in which policy allows for some speeding by police officers, even without sirens. The Las Vegas law being discussed does not, however:

Under the Metropolitan Police Department's policy, officers can drive with lights and sirens, called Code 3, in four situations, including a call of a felony in progress, an officer who needs help in a volatile situation and a call where a citizen's life could be in danger.

If a patrol car is not responding Code 3, the officer is required to use due care and observe traffic laws, including speed limits.

So it seems that, in at least some cases, states have specific policies on this, but it also seems that many states do not.

 

[ayeying]

If it is under regular conditions, I would see no reason why they'd even be allowed to go over the speed limit? Wouldn't they be treated as a regular civilian then, and be required to go at the posted speed limit (Give or take like 5 mph)?

That's what I'm wondering also. I don't see why the CHP are allowed to be "above" the law. If they were chasing after someone, I'd understand, but at that moment, wouldn't they have to have their sirens on or flashing lights?

I don't know what the law is pertaining to them, but it seems like they should obey the same law they are trying to enforce. In reality though, they could care less about staying at 65 mph. Any time I see a CHP officer, they are racing down the road. I guess it's not that bad on the freeway, but sometimes you see the PD cops do it on the streets. I saw a YouTube video once of some pig doing that on a street in some other state. The pig slammed right into a car with a couple of teens in it. I think they died. Cops shouldn't drive above the limit if it's not a code 3 (and have their sirens on).

The reason I'm asking is that today, I was driving home from Lunch with a friend, I was in the Carpool Lane (during non-carpool hours) and I see a cop driving extremely fast behind me... I was stuck in my lane (couldn't switch lanes at all) for about the next minute. When I did find an opening, I switched the lane next to me, the cop just speeds right pass me, like he was flooring it.

I merged back into my lane and decided to see how fast he was really going. (Got a nice video on my iPhone too). I hit 80 mph, he was about 5 cars away... after 20 seconds, he was nearly 15 cars away and I was going 100 mph already and he was still gaining distance away from me. I estimate he was going at least 120-140 mph, no sirens or lights on, and the weather was cloudy and slightly drizzle, then later, just gets off the freeway.

I'm sick and tired of getting pulled over (I've gotten pulled over 6 times since I started driving 5 years ago) for speeding during light traffic conditions and spending time fighting all these tickets (and won btw. I haven't lost a ticket yet but I'm not pushing my luck) while these cops think they're above the law.

I'm pretty much ready to file a complaint to the CHP and to the news media about this bulls*it. You guys talk about corruption in government, this is literally in the making.

 

[ChrisA]

Okay, this is specific to Californians.

What is the (if there is one) legal speed limit for a CHP officer to be driving at, on a Freeway, (considering all other conditions are optimal like traffic and weather) under NON-Emergency situations (basically just driving on the freeway as patrolling)?

I can't find much info on the CVC (California Vehicle Code) except one section 22352, which says the Emergency Vehicles cannot drive excess of 25 MPH of posted speed limit on the freeway.

They are required to follow the posted speed limits unless they have a reason not to. But a CHP officer almost always has a reason not to. For example to catch up with some car ahead because he needs a better look at it. It's not an emergency but still he migh have good reason to drive faster.

 

[CorvusCamenarum]

That's what I'm wondering also. I don't see why the CHP are allowed to be "above" the law. If they were chasing after someone, I'd understand, but at that moment, wouldn't they have to have their sirens on or flashing lights?

Ask yourself what cop would last more than a few minutes in his job if he went round giving out traffic citations to other cops.

Filing a complaint would most likely be utterly useless. Although, if you did go that route, I'd highly recommend getting proof in the form of dates, times, and the vehicles' ID numbers. Otherwise, you're just ranting (not that I disagree - police should be held to at least the same standard as us little guys if not a higher one).

 

[ayeying]

Ask yourself what cop would last more than a few minutes in his job if he went round giving out traffic citations to other cops.

I know a cop who gave the mayor a ticket for speeding and he worked for the same city the mayor was in... now that cop is a good cop. In fact, that cop was my Criminal Justice teacher, retired as a cop.

We need more of those type of people on the road.

 

[mcrain]

That's what I'm wondering also. I don't see why the CHP are allowed to be "above" the law. If they were chasing after someone, I'd understand, but at that moment, wouldn't they have to have their sirens on or flashing lights?

The officers will tell you that driving with sirens on will only alert their targets, or driving at or near the speed limit causes all sorts of problems with traffic congestion due to fools who think they have to slow down below the speed limit the second they see a police officer (rolling road blocks).

The reason I'm asking is that today... I'm pretty much ready to file a complaint to the CHP and to the news media about this bulls*it. You guys talk about corruption in government, this is literally in the making.

I would love to see you report the police officer, but remember that by doing so, you are providing video evidence that you disobeyed the speed limit by a very large amount and, if I were the State's attorney, I'd charge you.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

The officers will tell you that driving with sirens on will only alert their targets, or driving at or near the speed limit causes all sorts of problems with traffic congestion due to fools who think they have to slow down below the speed limit the second they see a police officer (rolling road blocks).
.

I hate how dumbass are to afraid to pass a cop. I know one cop who stated that he was board and want to see how many idiots would be afraid to pass him and make a rolling road block. He went 10 under the limit and was amazed at how quickly the traffic piled up behind him. It was not like he was in a city but in the middle of no where. It is sad.

I would rather see a cop to 5-10 over the limit on patrol ust to avoid creating those road block. At 10 over the limit he can legitimately pull over any one who pass him. This is at high way speeds.

As for times that they might be booking it with out sirens could be when my brother flip his car. The high way protral who responds to the call told him that he responded at 120 MPH. Now the lights might of been on but he did not blast the sirens. Another time you might see them go lights only is threw a neighborhood and only blast sirens at stop signs. Reason for this is to keep the noise level down. But it does take good judgment on what to do.

As for a common call you will see cops fly to with no lights or sirens is domestic despite calls. They do not want to alert generally the guy that the cops are there until the last 2nd. It allows them to use the surprises to break it up.

Either way I can think of a lot of reasons not to turn on the lights. Responding to a call, catching up to a speeder, not to make an annoying rolling road block.

 

[benflick]

Last year, we were stuck on the side of the highway when my dads car broke down. Not even ten minutes after we stopped, a highway patrol was flying by, merged three lanes in about 5 seconds and slams on the brake. He skidded for about 20 feet before stopping about 2 inches behind us. Ther was no need for him to drive as wreckless as he did. And when he got out, he was complaining that we shouldn't have been there in the first place. Idiots.

OP, you should post that video.

 

[Zombie Acorn]

I hate how dumbass are to afraid to pass a cop. I know one cop who stated that he was board and want to see how many idiots would be afraid to pass him and make a rolling road block. He went 10 under the limit and was amazed at how quickly the traffic piled up behind him. It was not like he was in a city but in the middle of no where. It is sad.

Not sure why this surprised the officer, most of his co-workers are pricks who will pull someone over for doing 2-4 mph over the speed limit depending how much revenue they need that month.

[never received a speeding ticket]

 

[ayeying]

The officers will tell you that driving with sirens on will only alert their targets, or driving at or near the speed limit causes all sorts of problems with traffic congestion due to fools who think they have to slow down below the speed limit the second they see a police officer (rolling road blocks).

I would love to see you report the police officer, but remember that by doing so, you are providing video evidence that you disobeyed the speed limit by a very large amount and, if I were the State's attorney, I'd charge you.

I understand that sirens and lights will alert other drivers and cause them to slow down, take evasive when not needed, yadada... but that's not an excuse to be driving nearly double the speed on the highway (not even local roads). NO cop should be driving double the speed limit, regardless if they're catching up to take a look at a vehicle better. It's reckless for normal drivers to drive above 100 mph, it should be for the officers also.

Secondly, I'm not going to report this one because I don't have enough information about this specific cop. However, I do tail CHP who drive recklessly (excessive speed for no reason, then later slow down and pull into a hiding spot... also they get rid of traffic so I can drive faster because I'm following the example from the PATROLLER OF THE ROAD) almost every other time I'm on the freeway. I should record them, and collect evidence to fight against them.

Your right. I am admitting that I was speeding in that video. I'm not denying that fact, however, because the cop was not in an emergency situation, therefore, I'm just following the example from the officer and from the vehicle code in which slower traffic must keep right and the basic speed law, in which, states that I may drive the speed I feel is safe and reasonable for the current road conditions. If they can twist the laws, I can too.

I hate how dumbass are to afraid to pass a cop. I know one cop who stated that he was board and want to see how many idiots would be afraid to pass him and make a rolling road block. He went 10 under the limit and was amazed at how quickly the traffic piled up behind him. It was not like he was in a city but in the middle of no where. It is sad.

I would rather see a cop to 5-10 over the limit on patrol ust to avoid creating those road block. At 10 over the limit he can legitimately pull over any one who pass him. This is at high way speeds.

As for times that they might be booking it with out sirens could be when my brother flip his car. The high way protral who responds to the call told him that he responded at 120 MPH. Now the lights might of been on but he did not blast the sirens. Another time you might see them go lights only is threw a neighborhood and only blast sirens at stop signs. Reason for this is to keep the noise level down. But it does take good judgment on what to do.

As for a common call you will see cops fly to with no lights or sirens is domestic despite calls. They do not want to alert generally the guy that the cops are there until the last 2nd. It allows them to use the surprises to break it up.

Either way I can think of a lot of reasons not to turn on the lights. Responding to a call, catching up to a speeder, not to make an annoying rolling road block.

This is funny. I was pulled over during this time where a cop pulled onto the freeway, drove 45mph for no apparent reason in a 65 mph zone. I was in front of the pack, at first I slowed down but then I realized, I'm not breaking any laws at all here, in fact I am breaking the "Driving too slow" law, so I sped up. I was driving according to the speed limit and the cop pulled me over, gave me a ticket stating it was dangerous to be driving at 65 mph in a SUNNY, LIGHT TRAFFIC condition. He was smart enough to write that on the ticket, went to court, the judge didn't bother taking any time and dismissed the ticket on the fact that I was driving safe and reasonable and within the speed limit for current road conditions.

Edit: Here's the video. You can barely see him in the video cause he was so far ahead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfdqMmHj89M

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Not sure why this surprised the officer, most of his co-workers are pricks who will pull someone over for doing 2-4 mph over the speed limit depending how much revenue they need that month.

[never received a speeding ticket]

I have never had a state troop in Texas pull me over for doing anything less than 10 over the limit. Now while I was doing 5 over the limit I have pass state troopers.

As for Texas some of its laws make it difficult to make pulling some one over for doing less than 5 mph not to be thrown out.
Now this was something in the Houston paper a while ago were they show that stats on speed over the limit and % tickets writen. something like 50% were 10-14 over the limit. Next largest was 15-19 mph over the limit.

Less than 2-3% were written for less than 5 mph over the limit. It went on to example that the reason they do not bother with the 0-5 range is those get thrown out if challenge and only go into that range in neighborhoods during a crack down.

 

[rhett7660]

In California there is no law that says police/sheriff/chp can drive over the speed limit in their daily routines. If you want to file a complaint, make sure you have the location, vehicle number and agency and then call to complain. Easy as that.

They are only allowed to drive over the speed limit when they are driving Code-3, Lights and Sirens. And this can very if it is rural or urban setting and freeway etc. When lawfully in pursuit they are covered under most pursuit laws that govern pursuits. Especially if they are involved in a TC or if the suspect is involved in a TC. I will look up the exact section, don't have it off the top of my head.

Look up Senate Bill 718, this is what allows police to chase etc and California Vehicle Code sections: CVC 17000-17004.7.

 

[ayeying]

In California there is no law that says police/sheriff/chp can drive over the speed limit in their daily routines. If you want to file a complaint, make sure you have the location, vehicle number and agency and then call to complain. Easy as that.

They are only allowed to drive over the speed limit when they are driving Code-3, Lights and Sirens. And this can very if it is rural or urban setting and freeway etc. When lawfully in pursuit they are covered under most pursuit laws that govern pursuits. Especially if they are involved in a TC or if the suspect is involved in a TC. I will look up the exact section, don't have it off the top of my head.

Look up Senate Bill 718, this is what allows police to chase etc and California Vehicle Code sections: CVC 17000-17004.7.

I think only CVC 17004.7, Section C, Article 7 is relevant.. the others seem to be liability issues.

It says 17004.7, Section C, Article 7:

Determine the factors to be considered by a peace officer and supervisor in determining speeds throughout a pursuit. Evaluation shall take into consideration public safety, peace officer safety, and safety of the occupants in a fleeing vehicle.

The entire article doesn't say anything about regular duties, only under pursuit... which this was clearly not the case, and most refers to the communications, when to end, how to organize one, road blocks, etc. Something you find at like GTA4 or NFS

 

[benbondu]

I merged back into my lane and decided to see how fast he was really going. (Got a nice video on my iPhone too). I hit 80 mph, he was about 5 cars away... after 20 seconds, he was nearly 15 cars away and I was going 100 mph already and he was still gaining distance away from me. I estimate he was going at least 120-140 mph, no sirens or lights on, and the weather was cloudy and slightly drizzle, then later, just gets off the freeway.

Given that he only gained 10 car lengths on you after 20 seconds, 120 seems unlikely. 140 is even more unlikely since most police cruisers are electronically limited to between 120 and 135. I totally believe he was going well over 100 though. I also believe there probably wasn't a really good reason for it.

I generally don't have a problem with cops speeding or running red lights. At least police officers are usually trained for high speed driving, unlike a lot of other yahoos who decide to drive their cars in triple digit territory. It's also very rare to see a cop involved in a high speed collision when he's not pursuing someone (not to say it doesn't happen, I just think it's rare).

There's a whole list of things rotten cops can do and get away with. Taking bribes, beating suspects in custody, harassing innocent people for entertainment. Traffic violations are pretty close to the bottom of that list as far as I'm concerned.

I knew someone in the Secret Service who would get traffic tickets when he was off duty and then have them thrown out. It used to bother me that he could break traffic laws with impunity. I just don't care anymore. If 10% of the driving population didn't have to obey the speed limit, it would bother me. If it's 0.1% (or whatever), I can handle that.

 

[heehee]

You are saying how cops speed for no reason and you try to catch him going 30+ over and might be even holding a camera while doing it?

I don't like cops as much as you do, but sometimes, they might have somewhere to go to in a rush and they can't use sirens: ie domestic violence.

 

[Gelfin]

I hate how dumbass are to afraid to pass a cop. I know one cop who stated that he was board and want to see how many idiots would be afraid to pass him and make a rolling road block. He went 10 under the limit and was amazed at how quickly the traffic piled up behind him. It was not like he was in a city but in the middle of no where. It is sad.

In some states, I seem to recall New York being an example, the police officer is legally presumed to have superior knowledge of the maximum safe speed under whatever conditions exist, and therefore any officer may, at his discretion, write a speeding ticket for any driver who passes him at any speed, even below the posted limit.

 

[ayeying]

You are saying how cops speed for no reason and you try to catch him going 30+ over and might be even holding a camera while doing it?

I don't like cops as much as you do, but sometimes, they might have somewhere to go to in a rush and they can't use sirens: ie domestic violence.

I've done way pass 100 mph both in a car (130) and motorcycle (170). And also, I have had defensive driving training in a car, so I'm more than qualified, just like a cop, to be traveling at high speeds. Regardless, the speed limit is there, going over a bit (+20) I have no issue, double with no sirens, wet weather and traffic is reckless.

 

[rhett7660]

I think only CVC 17004.7, Section C, Article 7 is relevant.. the others seem to be liability issues.

It says 17004.7, Section C, Article 7:

Determine the factors to be considered by a peace officer and supervisor in determining speeds throughout a pursuit. Evaluation shall take into consideration public safety, peace officer safety, and safety of the occupants in a fleeing vehicle.

The entire article doesn't say anything about regular duties, only under pursuit... which this was clearly not the case, and most refers to the communications, when to end, how to organize one, road blocks, etc. Something you find at like GTA4 or NFS

Hence read the first paragraph I wrote. There is nothing.