Traffic Cop, or Boy Scout?

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a radar cop (well, it was probably LASER/LIDAR, hand-held in any event) wearing shorts, trying (unsuccessfully) to hide behind a thin concrete hydro pole as he was on Martin Grove northbound near Steeles the other day.

I may be wrong here (trying to look where I was going) but I'm pretty sure I saw his bicycle leaning against a fence. A bicycle! What’s he going to do if you don’t stop - chase you?

I didn't take a picture - HE was taking the pictures…

Thanks to the green Corolla for giving me some advance notice by flicking his lights.

Reminder to drivers, police officers - and Justices of the Peace: there isn’t a single syllable in Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act suggesting it’s illegal to warn people of up-coming radar traps.

TV and radio stations do it all the time.

All anyone's trying to do is what the cops are (allegedly) trying to do - slow people down.

Except when someone other than a cop is doing it, the government doesn't collect any money…

If you drive a car like Lady Leadfoot’s Miata, whose Daytime Running Lights flick off and on when you pull up (even minutely) on the handbrake, you can still signal your fellow drivers and the cops can’t even trot out that spurious ‘failure to dim high beams’ charge, which they love to do.

They also resort to the 'alternating headlights' provision which is equally invalid. If your lights are going off and on together, that's not 'alternating'; 'alternating' would be one light on, then the other.

This 'alternating' provision was put in to prevent tow trucks from installing the same 'alternating' headlights cop cars, ambulances and fire engines have, which would help the tow trucks get to the scene of a crash quicker so they can snag the job.

It has nothing at all to do with radar traps.

Want to lay a Criminal Code charge of Obstructing Justice to a flasher?

Go ahead - see you in court.

Comments

[Mike Dodds]

Jackass

[Jim Kenzie]

Me, or the bike cop??

Jim Kenzie

[R]

Never mind on a bike, I've seen one doing radar (lidar) from the back of a police horse (here in Toronto). Speaking of hiding behind a thin concrete pole...saw just that on Lakeshore blvd. w, driving e/b up the hill before Jameson. They need thinner officers or bigger poles.

[Mnztr]

While you WILL win in court, it does not really matter. The cops still get 4 hours of overtime and there is NO sanction applied for laying charges they KNOW are false. Our cops are out of control and are above the law. We have their leadership and our politicians to thank for that.

[Leaf]

Jim,

I have been noticing more than a few motorcycles lately with flashing headlights on the roads (no, they are not the cops, but the headlights flash like police headlights). I at first thought it was just a bike with an electrical problem, but I have seen many of them, sometimes in packs on the highway. Is this something new for increased visibility? It is just distracting to me.

[Colin Scott]

Jim,

Try driving in Calgary. The cops here are now taking credit for reduced fatalities because of the obscene number of tickets they wrote in the last year. Calagary has the distinction of being the worst place to drive as it relates to speed traps. It really is a form of taxation here in Alberta and something has to be done to stop it. I guess I was wrong that the improvements in vehicle safety equipment has more to do with the decrease in fatalities, not some cop hiding behind a fence and issuing tickets. Note, we also have photo radar, red light cameras. I might add that I have no traffic offences, so this is not a rant from a victim.

I hope that the police can follow those who are texting, eating, talking on cellphones etc and write tickets rather than resort to the hiding in the weeds approach to enforcement, which I believe is something you do not support either.

Cheers

[Jim Kenzie]

There was a concern when Daytime Running Lights were adopted for cars (over 20 years ago!) that motorcycles which usually had DRL already would lose their 'visibility' advantage - they would no longer stand out. A lot of newer bikes seem to have added the flashing feature; not being that familiar with motorcycles I don't know if it is law in some jurisdictions, or if it is the shape of things to come or what. I guess if it IS 'distracting' you are noticing the bikes and that's sort of the point!

Maybe some biker out there has more information?

Jim

[trucking jobs]

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