It wasn’t that I was running late. I honestly just usually drive too fast. So when I saw the cop – parked sort of in the ditch, with no lights on and behind an almost intentionally-placed saguaro – I instinctively hit the brakes. I was driving down a winding road that I was familiar with so I knew I had just passed the sign that reduces speed from 45 to 35 miles per hour. I had learned to drive along this stretch of road. The Pinal County Sheriff’s car suddenly came to life and began the U-turn that I immediately knew would end with yet another speeding ticket. Moreover, that time, it would mean a suspension of my driver’s license.
I looked down at my speedometer just as I saw the headlights come on. I saw the red needle was planted just past 55 as I hit the brakes. Though I knew I was too late, I slowed the vehicle to 42 M.P.H. before the black-and-white finished turning around to catch me. I had not been drinking. I was on my way to dinner at an old family friend’s house. He had been drinking and had already called me twice to see why I was running late. I thought about the influence of his drunken impatience and immediately started rationalizing it into some kind of excuse in my head just as the cop caught up to me and turned on his red-and-blues.
The engagement had begun: I was about to get another speeding ticket. Once again, my carelessness at driving was about to leave me feeling like a criminal.
This was certainly not my first baptismal in the blinding strobe of police lights. Though I really do not like driving, it is certainly necessary in such spread-out metropolitan area as Tucson. I’m not one to care very much if I’m running late, so time is not a motivation to disregard the law. I’m also not the sort of person that...
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...of knowing that I have significantly helped the financial stability of several local regional courts. Every time I sit waiting for a ride somewhere, I can find solace in my environmental consciousness, albeit forced attrition. And every time I pass a person that’s been pulled over, I can laugh with the smugness of one who truly knows the pain of another.
Despite the rationalized advantages, I know the privilege of driving is important. Still, the need to rebel against authority is burned into my memory like skid marks on pavement. All this flashed through my mind on the night I flew through the 45-to-35 speed trap and got the ticket that was my waterloo. I had just finished work and was wearing a suit and tie. The officer started the conversation by asking where I was coming from, and then asked me if I always wore a suit to work. I replied, “Of course, don’t you?”
“We will catch you and there will be consequences, criminal consequences, loss of licenses and even a jail term,” Col. Thomas Robbins, Massachusetts State Police warned aggressive drivers at the launch of ‘Road Respect’, a Spring Mobilization program at the Newton Police headquarters on the morning of April 4.
Imagine being a police officer doing your daily routine job. You are in a patrol car on the highway, watching the cars and trucks drive by. You are also looking for speeders to warn them to be more careful and maybe you’ll ticket them. It has been a very boring day for you, since you have only been called on your radio once, and it was for an accident (fender bender). Almost at the end of your shift, a blue car drives by going ninety miles an hour, but you know the speed limit is only fifty-five miles an hour. You pull the patrol car out of the gravel area that you had been sitting in and you start to follow the car. You put your lights on and catch up to them. After a few minutes you pull the person over. You get out of the car and start walking over towards the blue car. You are right about to talk to the driver and he drives off, leaving nothing but dust in your face. Now, the adrenaline is pumping in your body, but what should you do? You could call for backup or follow the blue car. Anything could happen. How far should you actually go? This is the question that will be answered in this paper. I will explain what police pursuit is and some different things officers do during a pursuit. I will also give some statistics about the fatalities that have happened in a police pursuit. I will also illustrate my opinion about how far police pursuits should go.
An enormous division currently exists between the people who believe that automobile safety should be an option and those that feel it must be a requirement. The federal government feels the morally obligated to create the safest driving environment possible. On the other end of the spectrum, opinions exist that the average driver has ability to make the choice of safety on their own. Editorials, political assemblies, debates, and conversations have arrived on the concept of click it or ticket. This idea refers to ticketing any motor vehicle driver and passenger that is not fastened by a seat belt. Arguments have been made for both sides, and have been reviewed in multiple states.
“Excuse me, miss, can I see your license and registration, please?” Great. Pulled over once again, except this time I don’t even know what I did wrong. Apparently I made an unsafe lane change that resulted in an improper U-turn. I tried asking the officer what I did wrong, but as soon as I began speaking, he started talking over me. “Are you even from around here?” he asked me. “You look like you should’ve never even gotten your license.”
During a high speed pursuit at speeds of over 100 mph involving an officer and the driver of the sports car the officer lost control and hit and killed a pedestrian on the sidewalk. When this occurred the sports cars driver turned to look back, crashed the sports car and was killed.
It was September 19 around 3 o’ clock and I was arriving to the Fontana Police Department on Upland Street. I was dressed in all black with my ironed dress shirt and pants, and my shiny polished black shoes following the dress code they had given me. It seemed like wearing all black was a bad choice because the weather outside was very hot. That day it was 96° Fahrenheit. When I got out of my car to go into the police station I realized that my whole back was full of sweat. It looked like I had just done the ice bucket challenge, but without the ice cold refreshing water. I walked into the main entrance of the
On July 10th, my family and I were on our way to Charleston, West Virginia when we got hit by a heavily intoxicated driver on I-77 and became involved in a multi-vehicle car collision. The fatal accident has given me a different input on life in general. The moment we crawled out of the car, and nearby drivers stopped to tell us the driver who initially hit us was driving at over 100 mph and weaving in and outside lanes, I felt angry. I was confused and felt helpless. A witness rushed to me and said “I have no compassion for people like that…no compassion.” Still in shock, I had seen my mother lying on the floor with a bleeding wound on her face. My sadness and anger built. You can’t help but ask questions like “Why us?” and “What did I do to deserve this?” There was a moment when I thought I would lose my family, and it would all be at the fault of a reckless criminal who had no mercy for others. Thankfully, we are all blessed to be alive and well. However, in the moment of my loss of hope, I was becoming like the witness who had no
Jim was leaving work late, and he knew that his wife was at home waiting on him. She had prepared a nice meal for their anniversary and was sitting on the couch all alone. As Jim pulled out of the plant and onto newly paved two-lane highway, he noticed a large white sign with the words “speed limit” and the number “50.” It was a thirty minute drive home, and he could easily make up the time he lost at work if he could just drive as fast as he wanted. For the next half hour, however, Jim drove fifty miles per hour, all the while, contemplating why we have speed limits. Why do we have speed limits? What is the point in setting a limit on how fast you can drive your vehicle? Shouldn’t you be able to set your own personal speed limit? Who really has a say in what the speed limit is set at? Does any good come from having a speed limit, or is it just set up as a means for the government to make money? These questions and more just like them have been an important topic of discussion for many years. In 1995, the national speed limit was dropped, and states were allowed to set their own speed limits. Many of the states raised the limits. California promptly rose to 65 mph, and Texas went even as high as 70 mph. Some states, however, kept the limit the same. The reason this topic has so much significance is that it affects every driver on America’s roadways. As well as affecting the way we drive, speed limits affect us in other ways. Some smaller towns rely on speed limits as a source of income. This income results from issuing citations to speeders. If drivers fail to yield to the speed limits, they may face consequences. A citation for speeding is considered a minor misdemeanor and requires the payment of a stated amount ...
I was a careful driver with my parents in the passenger seat. I followed the speed limit and obeyed all traffic laws. On
Driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) has become an issue of national concern, a both state and federal levels (2Githens and Sloan 403). Hearty fines, jail time and a revoking of the convict’s license follow most DUI offenses. DUI penalties need to be decreased and cause of conviction needs to be addressed, because people who are not criminals are going to jail, and enduring insurance fees even though these punishments have been shown to not decrease drinking and driving. Officers are given too much discretion to choose who get convicted, and who doesn’t, being convicted of a DUI can be life changing and should not be taken lightly.
Drinking and driving is a major problem in the US today for many different reasons. Sometimes, it is a problem because people think they can have couple drinks and still be coherent. They think to themselves, “I’m not going far, I’ll be okay”...
Moreover, not only did I not comply with the speed limit, I did not obey my
It was February 10th, 2015 when I had come home from school and had my dad take me out for driving practice. It was the day before my driver’s test and I had my dad in the passenger’s seat. It was a chilly afternoon and I was so anxious that I was excessively shivering. As I accelerated to move into
It was the night before my driver’s test, and with each passing hour I felt the anxiety creep into my veins. Vying for first place with high school graduation and prom night, receiving a driver’s license is one of the biggest milestones in a teenager’s life. A driver’s license means midnight runs to Sheetz, road trips to the beach, and rides to the mall without your mom blowing kisses from the car as you walk sheepishly towards your friends. What more could a teenager want than these perks? Of course, I was hyper-aware of all that was at stake in regards to my driver’s test. Thus, the night before the exam, I intensively studied my driver’s manual and watched YouTube videos that offered helpful driving pointers. I even dragged my mother along for one more practice run on the road.
Wednesday, October 13, 2013 is a date I will never forget. On that day, time stopped for a moment. I was sixteen and only had my license for a month. I was so excited about having so much freedom, that I was driving every day, with no hesitation. I was invincible,or so I thought. This day changed my thinking completely. What started out as a normal day, quickly turned into one that was very different from any other. I had just gotten out of cheer practice and was on my way home. On the way, I realized that I needed gas, so I decided to go through South Carolina, since they have the lowest gas prices. It was not out of the way, so to say. It was just another rout home. It was not the first time I had taken this way, but, it was definitely the last.