For some reason I thought I have heard that for example if a CHP officer is radaring at night that they have to have their markers on, or have to be visible at 500ft or something like that. Just wondering if anyone has a clue because I ran across CHP on the bunker hill overpass on 280 around 2am tonight and he was not on the shoulder because there really isn't one, to the point where if there was traffic going both ways there would not be enough space. and was completely blacked out, but he was definitely using his lider gun on southbound traffic. Chip in anyone?

 

No.

 

being a cop is like being a normal person, its only illegal if you get caught. only one major difference, as a normal person you have to prove your innocence, with cops you have to prove they are guilty. you would pretty much have to sit there and video tape him along with proving he was using his radar/laser/lidar and bring that into the police station and he might get a warning or a slap on the wrist if your lucky

 

It sucks but they seem to do whatever they want, I got passed on the shoulder on 280 by a cop because I didn't merge over quick enough for him I guess, lights/siren weren't on either

Post above said it well, even if you did all that nothing would happen, they would just tell him not to block traffic but who does he care he's "the man" hahaha

 

A couple of months ago my wife and I were driving on 680N going towards Fremont from San Jose. At around 11:00pm, cop car is stopped in the fast lane's shoulder, which is barely a car width wide... No lights, nothing. He was standing BEHIND his car radaring oncoming traffic. I was traveling in the fast lane and even with my bright headlights (HID headlights and fogs) I didn't see him until I was already almost passing him.

It was totally unsafe and not very smart on the officers part. I wish I would have had it on video. No wonder so many cops die in road side accidents!

 

It is not illegal for a cop to hide behind some overpass and shoot radar or lidar at all, even if you did "catch him" doing it. Just because you do not see him does not mean he can not see you to write you a ticket. I am not sure where you get your information from but I suggest you review it.

As for what Daniel said, yeah there are some stupid people out there including officers, but most don't do that.

 

i never said cops couldnt hide, cops are allowed to hide. cops are allowed to have their parking lights off at night when looking for speeders as long as they pose no road hazard. i just said even if they were doing something wrong, you would have to be able to prove it and even then it wont do you much good.

 

Ninja mode ON

 

I love how the first response was from a cop, but because his answer disagrees with the common myth, it gets ignored

 

You think people start threads like this and "F the CHP" because they want factual information? People just want to believe that they can continue doing whatever they want including speeding and apparently throwing crap at other drivers in traffic because they are smarter than everyone else on the road.

 

+1

There are more cops on here than people think.

 

^^+1

 

Actually Gleb I really do want factual info cause it definitely wasn't safe. I'm not trying to say hey lets speed because hes not legally radaring us or anything. Nor did I say f the polices he was doing his job but was he safe no. That's all I'm trying to say here.

 

Everything you need to know is here:

http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vc.htm

 

Ok, to be fair my post was more about my frustration with CaliSubi's thread than what you posted. Sorry if I came off a little aggressive.

My point is that yes, there are rules that the police need to follow while they enforce the law but you of all people should know that sometimes the spirit of the law is more important than the letter of the law. The person standing on the side of the road with the radar gun is a trained professional taking a calculated risk. He is putting his life on the line to get people in the LEFT lane to slow down.

Is the cop an idiot for standing in the left shoulder (endangering himself) and trying to scare people into going slower? Yes.
Is he an ******* for endangering the lives of people who might hit his car accidentally? Yes.
Do you or anyone else who gets a ticket from him as a result of this action deserve to be let off the hook? No.

I'm not mad at you, and i'm not trying to start a fight. I'm just tired of people acting like they are entitled to break the law because most cops are jerks. You aren't any less guilty just because the cops break the rules too.