# In your opinion should OFF-DUTY police get speeding tickets if caught speeding? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 19, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310 "2006-06-19T16:35:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/61 "2011-04-20T15:26:04Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > I see I posted in this thread 5 years ago and my answer hasn’t changed. Anything a civilian would be ticketed for, an officer should be ticketed for. I was just thinking when I saw this thread…“I haven’t written anything remotely close to this lately…” Oh so the thread is 5 years old…now I get it. Makes me think - DANG, I’ve known some of you fellow quacks for 10 years! wow. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/62 "2011-04-20T16:15:31Z")
> [@Phlosphr](#): > > I was at dinner with friends over the weekend and one of the spouses was a police officer. He was telling us about a _“professional courtesy”_ he recieves when driving whilst off duty. That if he were pulled over he’d not get a ticket… I asked if he were blatently breaking the law going 80mph in a non-highway 50mph zone would he get a ticket then… He said no, that it’s an unspoken thing with cops that they do not give eachother tickets… This struck me as particularly odd as someone going 80mph in a 50 zone is being extremely unsafe and blatently breaking the law… I could see going 60 in a 50 may be fine to let go, but blatent reckless driving like this scenerio??? That would still be tolerated amongst cops? > > Does this strike anyone else as particularly odd and wrong or is it just me? Giving speeding tickets when the driver is doing nothing wrong or unsafe is immoral to begin with, so yes the cop off duty should not be ticketed, nor should anyone else. The cop should be asked if under similar circumstances (if the cop was speeding like the person s/he pulled over was speeding), would the cop expect a courtesy? I would like this question asked on the record and in writing for every one pulled over of the officer. I do believe the courtesy given is OK and should happen, but what is not OK is the punishment of some people, unfair distribution of punishment, and creating a privileged class. If’s it’s safe for a officer to do it off duty, it should be safe for everyone and there is no excuse for ticketing people for driving safely. I also believe that there is a karmic cost to this unfair system, not for letting people go, but for punishing them for doing nothing wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/63 "2011-04-20T16:21:59Z")
> [@epatrone](#): > > But I hold no grudges, if the same officer came to my city I would still give him the curtsy I believe in. Awww, cute. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/64 "2011-04-20T16:33:48Z")
> [@epatrone](#): > > An off duty officer are required to take action if a felony is occurring in their presents and it can vary from apprehension to keeping calm during during a situation “example” bank robbery. This is pure nonsense. ON DUTY police officers can be held accountable for failure to protect the public only in rare circumstances. Cite: [http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display\_arch&article\_id=341&issue\_id=72004](http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=341&issue_id=72004) And it’s presence. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/65 "2011-04-20T16:40:50Z")
I am and have been a prosecutor for many years now, and I have had cases where officers have cited other officers. They usually don’t go to court, though. The officers who are cited know a good citation when they see it and just pay the bond amount. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. I have also been pulled over as a prosecutor and been warned, had officers say “Hi, Reloy - didn’t know it was you - see you around”, and cited on different occassions. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/66 "2011-04-20T17:24:13Z")
That was 40 over… ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/67 "2011-04-20T17:24:23Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > Yesterday I was talking to a 30-year vetern of our local police force. We didn’t talk about speeding, but his take on cops’ behaviour is that they _should_ be held to a higher standard. He said he always tells young officers that alcohol and sex will get you in trouble every time. Behave as if you’re always being watched, even off duty, because you are. > > StG Excellent, excellent advice. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/68 "2011-04-20T17:35:12Z")
You think the cruisers that blow past you on the interstate are flying? You should see how fast they’re going when you’re not there to see them. I followed one once when I was massively late to meet someone in another city–as long as I stayed behind him he couldn’t exactly pull me over, ya know? He was doing about 83 in a 65 zone when passing people, but when there was no one else around it was substantially more. I don’t know exact numbers, but I was doing a steady 85 and I’d lose him over the next hill in about 45 seconds if there were no other cars. I’d say 95-100 easy. Now, if I’d gotten popped driving like that, even at my relatively sedate 85, I’d have been looking at a couple hundred dollars in fines and probably 6 points on my license. If I’d been driving as fast as he was, it would have been a mandatory court appearance. No cop in the country would have let me off with a warning at either speed, not without a hell of a good excuse. Somehow I don’t think “I’m running late” would have counted. And if running late isn’t sufficient excuse to do 20 over the limit, “it’s Friday afternoon and I’m ready to go home” isn’t sufficient excuse to do 30 over. It’s just not, no matter how special and important you think you are. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/69 "2011-04-21T07:38:06Z")
Not only should cops have to, but I think it applies to all authority figures. It bugs me when I see a forum that does this. (And, no, I’m not talking about here. These guys do it intentionally, admit it, and then claim that it’s the right thing to do.) Fortunately, such abuse of power by cops seems rare around here, so the forum type stuff is the worse thing I ever experience, and I do my best not to let it get my hackles up. ---
**Author:** ![bagwell20002000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@bagwell20002000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagwell20002000)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/70 "2011-09-21T22:57:14Z")
Off duty officers in New York never get traffic citations. Niether do any member of his/ her immediate family. I know this to be true through a family member that is a police officer. And he is only part-time smalll town cop. he gets stop quite often speeding to his real job because he is late, never gets cited. He recently purchased a motorcycle and has no license. Says he has a silver star for a license. His wife is worse. She travels frequently in the state of NY and gets pulled over about once per week. Flashes her husbands card and away she goes. The reason that the citations are issued are supposedly because your operating in an unsafe manner. however we all know its mostly revenue for the various state and local agencies. Isn’t it unsafe for an off duty police officer to travel 70 in a 50 like anyone else? How about his wife? They are also very arrogant about it. Wish something could be done. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/71 "2011-09-22T07:34:28Z")
> [@bagwell20002000](#): > > Isn’t it unsafe for an off duty police officer to travel 70 in a 50 like anyone else? Well, they are trained drivers, I think they’d be safe than the average driver at a certain speed. > [@](#): > > How about his wife? This is a lot worse. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/72 "2011-09-22T16:55:52Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > Well, they are trained drivers, I think they’d be safe than the average driver at a certain speed.\ They are trained drivers, I’ll give you that, but the car can only stop so fast regardless of who is behind the wheel. The City of Calgary bought a police helicopter to eliminate high-speed car chases after a police officer was run over and killed trying to lay down a spike belt years ago; they have decided to turn high-speed chases over to the helicopter rather than endanger the safety of the officers and the general public on the roads. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310/73 "2011-09-22T23:32:27Z")
My best friend in high school became a Detroit cop. He was a terrible driver, speeding all the time. I was with him many times when he was running lights or speeding. He never got a ticket. The cop always admonished him to be careful. He would just peel off and speed away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-your-opinion-should-off-duty-police-get-speeding-tickets-if-caught-speeding/361310.md?page=3)