Are cops dumb, or is it just me ?!?!
 

Quite often, I come across cops who have pulled someone over for whatever reason, either on the downhill stretch of a hill, or on the uphill stretch.

Now, isn't that a disaster waiting to happen ? If a cop has to pull someone over, why can't they wait till they hit a flat stretch of road, and then pull the other vehicle over ?

Or, am I missing something here ?

Not to worry . . it's not just you.

One of my favorite "stupid cop tricks" is when they have someone pulled over and the park on the shoulder with the front of their car taking up 3 or 4 feet of the travel lane.

You have to remember, that 3 or 4 feet in the travel lane is for the officer's protection. They are trained to place their cars in a position to deflect an oncoming car that happens to pile into their cruiser. As we all know, the average driver will turn their car towards where they look. Police, fire and EMS vehicles are struck by rubberneckers all too often!

As for stopping a car in a blind area, remember, the officer turned on the lights, the idiot in the car he is stopping is responsible for pulling over at a safe place!

My pet peeve though, is to see an officer with a car pulled over on the left shoulder of a divided freeway. I feel that if a driver is being stopped and pulls to the left shoulder, the officer should advise him over the loud speaker to SAFELY move to the right shoulder, then after the driver moves to the proper place, issue the citation for not only the original infraction, but also for failure to pull to the RIGHT for an emergency vehicle as the law requires.

just yesterday, i came around a blind corner.
i was entering I70East from I68East in Maryland.

i was lucky i didnt hit the front of the cruiser that was sticking out of the shoulder about 4 feet. :?

Have you ever had the chance though to see how many of the "dummies" comply with orders given to them by LEO's over the PA system?? Very very few dummies get it...their to busy pi@@in and moanin about the LEO pulling them over in the first place.

FYI, that parking at an angle does nothing to protect the officer from an incoming vehicle if it is traveling fast enough. Just watch some of the police videos on TruTV and you will see what I mean.

I hate the one's that do a traffic stop right in the middle of a travel lane. Out on I-66 near Dulles Airport is a bad spot for that to take place. Causes a major traffic backup because the cop is being a bonehead.

I had one on a backroad that had a car stopped in my travel lane right as you come off a blind corner in the spring and summer. Came around at 30 mph and thankfully no cars were coming the other way. Cop got pissy with me so I called in to their local HQ and told them that he was welcome for me not running his stupid self over. They got him on the radio once I explained where it was and how there was a wide shoulder area just 500 feet further down the road. He was told to never pull a stunt like that again and for his temper tantrum would have to go thru some dept. mediation.

Who in the hell pulls over to the left shoulder when being stopped?!? They should also be hit in the head with a tack hammer...

It looks good on paper doesn't it. :wink:

I know an IL state trooper and we were talking about this a couple of years ago and he was telling me that IL had considered making it a policy but on further exam it turns out that it actually increases the chance of the officer and others being hurt in a traffic accident, not to mention causing one.

Ha! I really doubt they got him on the radio and told him never to pull a stunt like that again. More than likely if you spoke with someone it was a civilain dispatcher and they have no authority what so ever to tell any LEO on the road not to do anything. And if it was a back road, I'm sure the cop didn't have much room to stop the idiot he pulled over. As the bald eagle pointed out, the cops do pull 3-4 ft off the vehicle he/she pulled over for a safety zone for them to walk to the vehicle and should they have to ask the driver out, for their safety as well. If you notice the front wheels are also turned to the outside so the police vehicle if struck would veer away from the stopped vehicle. A cop for the most part does infact make an attempt to turn his lights on at a point where it might be safe to stop a vehicle, but again the idiot he is stopping thinks it's safer someplace else and stops where they choose. After 21 yrs. as a cop, I have seen some really stupid people pull into the oncoming lane when I pulled behind them with light and siren. People are just stupid out there. Now I'll bet if the cop that you say you called on, had stopped someone for cutting you off in your truck, I'll bet you wouldn't care where he pulled them over, as long as he pulled them over. I do agree, there are some boneheaded cops out there who automatically think because they have the badge, gun and car, everyone will watch out for them, but I've now seen more dumb a$$ truckers stop in worse locations in rest areas, truck stops and on the side of the roads.