# My experience with the CHP **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 13, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997 "2003-05-13T17:39:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/41 "2003-05-14T18:28:25Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Avarie537 \* > [BThis and all of the other pompous crap I’ve seen cops pull makes me FURIOUS. My personal favorite :mad: is to see them cruising down the road and, as they approach a red light, they flip on their lights and just drive through - and turn them off on the other side of the intersection!!!_\* They could be responding to something with a Code 1 (no lights or siren), you know. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/42 "2003-05-14T18:29:39Z")
**lightingtool** , you’re welcome. I know I may have been a little harsh, but I’m confident neither of us want to see you going through the same experience ever again. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/43 "2003-05-14T18:45:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by An Arky \* > \*\*Not only do I think it’s ok to flip off a cop in that situation, I think it would be perfectly ok to beat his ass to a pulp. Cops should NOT be able to treat people like that. They should NOT be able to selectively enforce the law, depending on your attitude. They should NOT be able to violate traffic laws unless it is a real emergency. I absolutely seethe at the prospect of shoesize IQ goon squads authority fetishes going around intimidating the citizens who pay their salary. > > :mumblemumblemumble: \*\* Have fun in prison. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/44 "2003-05-14T18:45:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Avarie537 \* > **While driving through an intersecion, out of nowhere, a cop - NO lights, NO sirens - T-bones the hell out of him (on the passenger side) at about 45 mph.** Almost the same thing happened to the father of an ex-boyfriend of mine, about twenty years ago. It was a blind intersection, and the cop turned on lights but not siren. Subsequent investigation found that he was not on a call - he just didn’t feel like waiting for a red light. I don’t know exactly what happened to the cop, but I know he got in mondo trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/45 "2003-05-14T18:53:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > \*\*I did some research today (i.e., talked to a cop). It is completely legal to flip off a policeman. You _cannot_ hurt an officer’s feelings. They are there to enforce the written code and not respond to insults directed at their own personality. \*\* And here’s a link to an [actual legal precedent](http://home.xnet.com/~lelp/lelr/janfeb01.htm) (scroll down to _Nichols v. Chacon_). Just don’t try this at home, kiddies. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/46 "2003-05-14T18:57:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jeff Olsen \* > \*\*They could be responding to something with a Code 1 (no lights or siren), you know. \*\* I can not say that I know what a code 1 is, but the implication that I got here is that the cop that responded to the report switched the lights on to make it look as if the other driver was at fault. That would be classified as a big steaming pile of crap, according to my ethical code. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/47 "2003-05-14T21:00:35Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Binarydrone_\*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by Jeff Olsen_ > > They could be responding to something with a Code 1 (no lights or siren), you know. > > I can not say that I know what a code 1 is, but the implication that I got here is that the cop that responded to the report switched the lights on to make it look as if the other driver was at fault. That would be classified as a big steaming pile of crap, according to my ethical code.\*\* Mine too, if that was the intention. However, my comment concerned **Avarie** being furious at what was evidently percived to be cops behaving like the one **ENugent** mentioned. True, sometimes they don’t feel like waiting for the light to change but there are times in which it is necessary to not wait and I wanted to point that out. Other times they’re simply not paying attention; I have seen a Virginia state trooper nearly T-boned by a Metrobus because the trooper wasn’t paying attention to the traffic signal. BTW: Responding to an incident Code 1 is no lights or siren, like I mentioned. Code 2 is lights only and Code 3 is both lights & siren. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/48 "2003-06-27T23:16:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Binarydrone \* > \*\*I can not say that I know what a code 1 is, but the implication that I got here is that the cop that responded to the report switched the lights on to make it look as if the other driver was at fault. That would be classified as a big steaming pile of crap, according to my ethical code. \*\* Sorry to ressurect this thread, but I just had to mention the possibility that the cop switched on the lights so that other motorists would be more likely to see the wreck and the people standing around it. It sounds like a basic safety measure. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was procedure to turn on the lights of a wrecked police car. Of course, if he later reported that the lights had been on during the accident, that’s reprehensible. ---
**Author:** ![Binarydrone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3da27b/32.png) [@Binarydrone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Binarydrone)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/49 "2003-06-28T00:18:46Z")
A post of mine cited in a bumped thread…I feel so dirty. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/50 "2003-06-28T01:02:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > **Where he came from I’ll never know: I tend to check my mirrors religiously, especially when speeding a bit. But he might as well just have been dropped from the sky, for there he was: a CHiPs cruiser right at my tail.** Coldie…as a lifelong So-Cal resident, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the CHiPs here use cloaking devices, _a la_ that Klingon ship in _Star Trek IV_. Not even my car’s **Anti-Cloaking Detection Device™** can prevent them all. I’m surprised your girlfriend didn’t tell you that… \*\* > [@](#): > > But I still think his comments about my Dutch license were bullshit. Was he right? Anyone in the know? \*\* Others have quoted the CA Vehicle Code about yes, your foreign license being valid, however I think there’s a limit of 30 days before you’re required to at least get a _temporary_ CA license. (I’m not 100% positive on that, too lazy to check for cites right now…) ---
**Author:** ![lightingtool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/57b2e6/32.png) [@lightingtool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lightingtool)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/51 "2003-06-28T02:00:48Z")
Oh no, my nicely resolved thread is back. I knew I shouldn’t have linked to it. Nuts. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2003, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/52 "2003-06-28T06:19:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > Of course, if he later reported that the lights had been on during the accident, that’s reprehensible. \*\* And irrellevant, code 3 (lights and or siren) is not a guarentee of right of way, it is a way of asking for it. Accidents involving emergency vehicles going through red lights are generally the fault of the emergency vehicle. Despite lights and siren they are still required to come to a full stop before proceeding through a red light/stop sign ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997/53 "2003-06-29T01:02:49Z")
I’m sure glad we straighted all that out. Need to fight ignorance, ya’ know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-experience-with-the-chp/174997.md?page=2)