# Cannonball Run Record Broken. Why no arrests? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665 "2019-12-10T20:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/1 "2019-12-10T20:24:08Z")
Three guys in a souped-up AMG Benz just broke the Cannonball Run record driving from a Manhattan garage to LA in 27 hours and change. The run has been well publicized including photos of the GPS tracker that shows a top speed of 193mph and an average of 103mph. They used a whole host of tech including radar and laser jammers - radar jammers are not legal, and an aircraft avoidance device which would have detected police aircraft. Also not legal in a road vehicle. Here is an article in Road and Track: [Cross-Country Cannonball Record Broken — 27 Hours 25 Minutes](https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a30085091/these-guys-just-drove-an-e63-amg-across-america-in-a-record-27-hours-25-minutes/) and I saw a bit about it on TV - maybe one of the nightly news casts - unsure where TBH. Are these guys opening themselves up to any kind of prosecution? It seems unfathomable to me that some jurisdiction wouldn’t try to bring up charges against the drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/2 "2019-12-10T20:26:01Z")
The interview I saw they specifically said they didn’t use radar jammers because they’re illegal. Laser jammers are not, and they used those. ETA: [There’s also a thread on the run here already, if you were unaware.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=886306) ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/3 "2019-12-10T20:36:15Z")
> [@MrFloppy](#): > > Are these guys opening themselves up to any kind of prosecution? It seems unfathomable to me that some jurisdiction wouldn’t try to bring up charges against the drivers. I don’t know what they’ve all posted, but is there proof that they specifically sped in any specific jurisdiction? Can Illinois charge them if they don’t have proof of what speed they were going while they were in Illinois? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/4 "2019-12-10T20:38:48Z")
To bring up charges, it would take more than them just stating that they had broken speed limits. A jurisdiction would have had to have had direct evidence of its own. They put a lot of effort into avoiding police attention, including scouts and detectors (and didn’t encounter any police aircraft). So there may be little or no evidence that they violated the law. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/5 "2019-12-10T20:40:17Z")
The cops are not legally _required_ to enforce most laws, even if it turns out somebody was speeding. Also, I imagine they did not upload and publish precise GPS data allowing prosecutors to easily prove exactly where and when these crimes took place, even if it is a mathematical certainty there were a whole lot of traffic violations. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/6 "2019-12-10T20:41:31Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > ETA: [There’s also a thread on the run here already, if you were unaware.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=886306) **Moderator Note** Please direct any comments on the advisability or morality of the effort to that thread. Please confine your remarks in GQ to factual information. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/7 "2019-12-10T20:49:15Z")
Isn’t a confession sufficient evidence all by itself? ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/8 "2019-12-10T21:21:02Z")
A few years ago I read about a/the previous record winner in _Wired_ or similar, and it was reported a few _years_ after the fact, IIRC to avoid prosecution. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/9 "2019-12-10T21:22:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Isn’t a confession sufficient evidence all by itself? For a traffic violation? I’m not so sure that is accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/10 "2019-12-10T21:46:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Isn’t a confession sufficient evidence all by itself? I don’t believe that a public statement or claim is the equivalent to a confession. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/11 "2019-12-10T21:47:24Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > **Moderator Note** > > Please direct any comments on the advisability or morality of the effort to that thread. Please confine your remarks in GQ to factual information. > > Colibri > General Questions Moderator Huh? Is there a rule about not telling people there’s already a similar thread? > [@Chronos](#): > > Isn’t a confession sufficient evidence all by itself? If I go on the local news and say that I parked in a handicapped spot once while I was driving to Wyoming (from Wisconsin), who’s going to do what? Keeping in mind, I didn’t say where I was, there’s no pictures and my ‘admission’ wasn’t under oath, nor was I Mirandized. On top of all that (or maybe because of it), I could say I made it up. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/12 "2019-12-10T22:00:28Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Huh? Is there a rule about not telling people there’s already a similar thread? Not to try to speak for the Mods, but I think this wasn’t admonishing the poster, just reminding folks that this thread was in GQ whereas that other thread was in MPSIMS. That thread has a more wide ranging discussion that isn’t appropriate here. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/13 "2019-12-10T22:01:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Isn’t a confession sufficient evidence all by itself? No, and in any case they haven’t “confessed” to any specific offense. Obviously they must have driven above the speed limit somewhere, but unless there’s evidence they did so at some specific time and place there’s no basis to charge them. Who gets to write them the ticket? Chuck Barris, originator of The Gong Show, confessed to being a CIA assassin but even if anyone believed him there would be nothing to charge him with. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > Huh? Is there a rule about not telling people there’s already a similar thread? Why would you think that? I was just instructing people to take discussion to the thread you linked to. There was nothing wrong with your post. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/14 "2019-12-10T22:27:16Z")
Could they use toll booth records as evidence? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/15 "2019-12-10T22:41:29Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Could they use toll booth records as evidence? Their route was reportedly on interstates: > [@](#): > > Their total elapsed distance of 2825 miles covered I-80 as far as Nebraska, then I-76 to Denver, then I-70 into Utah, and finally, I-15 into greater Los Angeles. AFAIK the Interstates are generally not toll roads, although there may be some tolled sections. It’s possible that video cameras on some stretches could provide evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/16 "2019-12-10T23:18:07Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > Could they use toll booth records as evidence? Not if they didn’t take any turnpikes with variable tolls based upon distance driven. If there was a single point toll booth, like a bridge crossing which has an automated recorder like EZ-Pass but no speed cameras at the toll booth then there’s no record of them speeding anywhere. > [@Colibri](#): > > AFAIK the Interstates are generally not toll roads, although there may be some tolled sections. It’s kind of common in the NE US. PA Turnpike - I-76 NJ Turnpike - I-95 Mass Pike - I-90 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/17 "2019-12-10T23:23:48Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > No, and in any case they haven’t “confessed” to any specific offense. Obviously they must have driven above the speed limit somewhere, but unless there’s evidence they did so at some specific time and place there’s no basis to charge them. Who gets to write them the ticket? In the video they made, there were in-car shots showing the speedo at 140 mph. If some LEO could identify the location based on landmarks, road signs, etc., would that be enough? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2019, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/18 "2019-12-10T23:40:04Z")
I suppose there could be an investigation over their claim. But it would be tough to pin point specific locations and jurisdiction to come up with where to prosecute and for what. A lot of man hours just for a speeding or reckless driving charge. Keep in mind they weren’t under oath while making their claim. It could be difficult getting convictions. > [@MrFloppy](#): > > and an aircraft avoidance device which would have detected police aircraft. Also not legal in a road vehicle… Do you have a cite for this claim? I’m unaware of any law prohibiting this. Doesn’t mean such a law doesn’t exist, though. I’m just unaware of one. Some years back Electrolert (manufacturer of the Original Fuzzbuster brand Radar detector) had a device called Spybuster that detected police aircraft. I have no intel saying it was illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/19 "2019-12-11T00:08:11Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > It’s kind of common in the NE US. > PA Turnpike - I-76 > NJ Turnpike - I-95 > Mass Pike - I-90 They evidently didn’t use any of those. If they had used the PA Turnpike instead of I-80 the would have left evidence since the [Turnpike collects tolls by photographing plates.](https://www.paturnpike.com/toll/tollbyplate.aspx) > [@commasense](#): > > In the video they made, there were in-car shots showing the speedo at 140 mph. If some LEO could identify the location based on landmarks, road signs, etc., would that be enough? I don’t think that would be good enough. They could claim the speedometer was wrong or deliberately wrongly adjusted as a joke. As **pkbites** says, this would be a lot of effort just to issue a speeding or reckless driving ticket. And these guys obviously invested a lot of money in special equipment so paying a fine, even a large one, wouldn’t amount to much considering the rest of their expenses - and they may have even factored it in to their costs. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2019, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665/20 "2019-12-11T02:04:07Z")
I realize the police would never bother putting this amount of effort into arresting a normal traffic law violator. But these are obviously not typical traffic violations. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cannonball-run-record-broken-why-no-arrests/844665.md?page=2)