"Cops Dress in Camouflage to Nab Speeders "

baggio248 · 06-03-2004, 01:02 PM

Interesting approach...never work in a big city though unless you dress like a building.

Quote:

Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- State police are taking to the woods, dressed in camouflage and armed.

Nothing +strange+ there, considering the state's strong hunting tradition, right? But the weapons are radar guns, the quarry is speeders and the season never closes.

Police at the Rockview Barracks near State College began using so-called "camo cops" patrols after a 44-vechicle crash on Interstate 80 that killed six people in January.

"As a result, there were many, many letters and questions and fingerpointing - What are you doing? What are you not doing enough of?" said Lt. Jeffrey Watson, station commander.

Watson and Sgt. David Holmes wanted to reduce speeding and accidents and came up with the idea. Holmes has used the tactic for more than a dozen years.

"People have discovered that I have means of getting to the target," Holmes said. He recalled first using camouflage in Cameron County, back in 1989, and word soon spread.

"By the end of the second day, the people were stopping at the stop sign and looking (into the woods) to wave," he said.

Rockview primarily targets speeding tractor-trailers. Truckers quickly catch on to traditional methods, such as placing a patrol car in a median or tucked behind an overpass, and then use CBs to alert others to police presence, Watson said.

The tactic is effective, Watson said, if not appreciated by those drivers ticketed.

"Oh, the truckers, they don't think it's fair. But I don't think we've lost one yet," Watson said.

The tactic is catching on with state police in other counties.

In one five-hour blitz in Indiana County last week, troopers issued 25 citations to motorists zooming along at least 15 miles faster than the posted 55 mph limit - including one leadfoot cited for going 90 mph.

"It's going to continue throughout the summer months," said Shawn Houck, a spokesman with PennDOT, which partnered with the barracks.

That police are going under cover to catch speeders shouldn't come as a surprise, Watson said. After all, they go undercover for other investigations, and variations on camouflage have been used before, such as when troopers pose as construction workers.

In 1999, police in Jacksonville, Fla., dressed as homeless people, construction workers and stranded motorists to catch traffic violators. One undercover officer even carried a sign reading, "I work for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. You never know. Drive safely." Police in Las Vegas later adopted the idea.

Jeff Kitsko, 27, of Latrobe, a Web designer who maintains a site about Pennsylvania roads, doesn't like it.

"From the safety aspect of it, if I see somebody in the woods aiming something, I'm going to want to call the cops," he said. "Especially someone dressed in camo."

Eric Skrum, the communications director for the National Motorists Association, a Wisconsin-based drivers organization that supports higher speed limits and opposes speed traps and revenue-generating traffic enforcement measures, said studies show police are effective when they're visible.

"This is a revenue maker. This is not about safety in the least," Skrum said. State police say that's not the case.

Scrum nonetheless believes the camo cops will have only a short-term effect.

"They'll slow down for a day or so, then - out of sight, out of mind," Skrum said.

DarkFury · 06-03-2004, 01:29 PM

Dayuuum.. the cops are takin' the "war on speeding" up a notch.

I hope you guys is runnin' that radar.

Travel in packs and don't stand out.

gear02 · 06-03-2004, 02:15 PM

btw speaking of speeders, if you're going in the flow of traffic and it's over the speed limit, do you get ticketed? I mean if everyone is going 70 in a 55 zone and you're just keeping up, can you get a ticket?

ski · 06-03-2004, 02:19 PM

I don't get it... State College is 3 hours away from Pittsburgh

maybe Pittsburgh's where they wrote this story...

Anyway, better watch out when I get home

DarkFury · 06-03-2004, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gear02

btw speaking of speeders, if you're going in the flow of traffic and it's over the speed limit, do you get ticketed? I mean if everyone is going 70 in a 55 zone and you're just keeping up, can you get a ticket?

Yup you sure can... it just depends on the cop and his "backup".

I've seen cops flag down 6 - 10 cars in a line to hand out tickets (Fortunately I wasn't in those lines...

)

Airencracken · 06-03-2004, 02:31 PM

Damn speed limits.

ufcrusher · 06-03-2004, 03:52 PM

Well to top it off, as of the last itme I was home, PA still was sitting at the old speeds and had refused to raise them. I used to routinely flout the speed limit heading back from State College to Philly.

look_ma · 06-03-2004, 04:59 PM

Alright boys, time to bust out your V1's.

Will these readings hold up in court, what keeps a cop from making up ****? how do cops not get confused if there are 2 simular cars, this system has soem flaws.

bachviet · 06-03-2004, 09:05 PM

Cops will try everything now to get more money.

It's a good thing that I don't drive fast anymore.

Jeffbx · 06-04-2004, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by baggio248

"This is a revenue maker. This is not about safety in the least," Skrum said. State police say that's not the case.

Of course it's a revenue maker. Those fines pay for the cops who are writing the tickets. Yes, it's a safety issue in SOME cases, but the vast majority of speeding citations are to get money to the police, not to make roads safer.

Even worse are the insurance companies... they LOVE to keep speeds artificially low. Speeding tickets = higher insurance rates. Sounds like a conspiracy theory, right? Have a look at ANY, and I mean literally ANY study that shows higher speeds cause accidents. Every single one I've seen is funded by the insurance industry or by a government (usually police) entity. I don't think there has ever been a truly independent study that shows any correlation between 'speeding' and accidents, except in the insane fringes, like some idiot going 110MPH. When all the states started going back up to a 70MPH speed limit from 55, accident rates actually dropped overall in Michigan - I'm sure many states had similar results.

Bad drivers, poor road conditions, alchohol and drugs, faulty equipment - these things cause accidents. Speeding does NOT cause accidents.

guiseppewv · 06-04-2004, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffbx

Of course it's a revenue maker. Those fines pay for the cops who are writing the tickets. Yes, it's a safety issue in SOME cases, but the vast majority of speeding citations are to get money to the police, not to make roads safer.

Even worse are the insurance companies... they LOVE to keep speeds artificially low. Speeding tickets = higher insurance rates. Sounds like a conspiracy theory, right? Have a look at ANY, and I mean literally ANY study that shows higher speeds cause accidents. Every single one I've seen is funded by the insurance industry or by a government (usually police) entity. I don't think there has ever been a truly independent study that shows any correlation between 'speeding' and accidents, except in the insane fringes, like some idiot going 110MPH. When all the states started going back up to a 70MPH speed limit from 55, accident rates actually dropped overall in Michigan - I'm sure many states had similar results.

Bad drivers, poor road conditions, alchohol and drugs, faulty equipment - these things cause accidents. Speeding does NOT cause accidents.

I have to agree. The speed limit was 55 back in the 70s before disc brakes, before better designed roads, before better designed tires, etc... Holding the speed limits at 55 is ridiculous. And speeding tickets are, 99% of the time, a money maker not a safety control. And I totally agree that insurance companies love the tickets too b/c it gives them an excuse to raise your rates.

06-03-2004, 01:29 PM	#2
DarkFury Secretary of the Navy Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Chillin' N Da 'Hood Posts: 34,997	Dayuuum.. the cops are takin' the "war on speeding" up a notch. I hope you guys is runnin' that radar. Travel in packs and don't stand out. __________________ DarkFury's Pimptopia - Don't Hate the Playa, Hate the Game! Home of the Original OG Pimp (accept NO imitations)

06-03-2004, 02:19 PM	#4
ski Admiral Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Utah Posts: 5,420	I don't get it... State College is 3 hours away from Pittsburgh maybe Pittsburgh's where they wrote this story... Anyway, better watch out when I get home __________________ And closer...

06-03-2004, 02:31 PM	#6
Airencracken Admiral Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: California Posts: 6,681	Damn speed limits. __________________ "I remember my first orgasm, I just wish someone was there to share it with me..."11-05-2003 05:33 AM - Topane They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, & the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opiate of the masses. - Karl Marx Hell is other people - Jean-Paul Sartre

06-03-2004, 03:52 PM	#7
ufcrusher Admiral Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Boca Raton, FL: By way of: Poway, CA; Gainesville, Fl; Penn Valley, Pa. Posts: 5,680	Well to top it off, as of the last itme I was home, PA still was sitting at the old speeds and had refused to raise them. I used to routinely flout the speed limit heading back from State College to Philly. __________________ Welcome my son, welcome to the machine...Where have you been? It's alright we know where you've been....

06-03-2004, 09:05 PM	#9
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,296	Cops will try everything now to get more money. It's a good thing that I don't drive fast anymore. __________________ Dell Dimension 9200 \| Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4GHz) \| 4x1GB DDR2 \| 256MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT Dell Studio 17 \| Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz) \| 2x2GB DDR3 1066MHz \| 1GHz ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 Intel P4-C 3.0GHz \| ECS 865PE-A \| 3x512MB PC3200 \| 128MB PNY GeForce 6600GT

06-03-2004, 02:15 PM	#3
gear02 Admiral Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 7,223	btw speaking of speeders, if you're going in the flow of traffic and it's over the speed limit, do you get ticketed? I mean if everyone is going 70 in a 55 zone and you're just keeping up, can you get a ticket?

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

User Name
Password
Remember Me?