# Was this police officer warning me? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445 "2013-04-11T21:23:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JFC493](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@JFC493](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JFC493)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/1 "2013-04-11T21:23:19Z")
I’m driving about 45-47 mph on a 35 mph road. I was going with the flow of traffic or slightly faster than neighboring cars. I pass a police car stopped at an intersection. I reduce my speed to about 40 mph upon passing the officer. When I’m about 200 feet past the officer, he starts driving in the same direction as I am and turns on his lights and sirens. I pull over to the right and stop. After passing me, the police officers drives a little bit more, slows down to about 25 mph, and turns off his lights and sirens. I pull back onto the main road and drive behind the officer for a bit, but as he is still driving 25 mph, I speed up to the speed limit and pass him. I don’t see him again after that. My question is, was the officer trying to warn me about my speed or was he responding to an emergency call when he was informed that it was no longer an emergency? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/2 "2013-04-11T21:28:27Z")
He was telling you and everyone around you to slow your ass down. IME, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/3 "2013-04-11T23:00:12Z")
Moved from General QUestions to IMHO. **samclem** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/4 "2013-04-11T23:27:31Z")
> [@JFC493](#): > > I speed up to the speed limit and pass him. I don’t see him again after that. You got some big brass balls, son. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/5 "2013-04-11T23:33:54Z")
> [@Rachellelogram](#): > > You got some big brass balls, son. Passing a cop while going the speed limit doesn’t have any inherent risk, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/6 "2013-04-11T23:44:21Z")
On the other hand there is a chance the cop is trying to perform a rolling blockade and will intentionally swerve in front of anyone trying to pass. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/7 "2013-04-12T00:34:27Z")
> [@JFC493](#): > > or was he responding to an emergency call when he was informed that it was no longer an emergency? That does happen a lot. No way to know for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/8 "2013-04-12T01:47:33Z")
Sounds like the cop was warning everyone to not speed. Of course he may have started to respond to an important call. He may have thought the 45 MPH cars were stolen … he might have run the plates to check for stolen vehicles, stolen plates, or the regular clients, which he does by getting each car on camera one by one. Computer recognises the plate, runs it, reports any trouble… ---
**Author:** ![ghostman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@ghostman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ghostman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/9 "2013-04-12T12:55:21Z")
Volunteer Firefighter checking in. There’s nothing I hate more than getting an emergency call and then having it canceled 30 seconds later. Bonus points if i’m stopped at a light, get a call, break the intersection, and have in canceled right as I finish clearing it. I’ve gotten some awfully dirty looks. I suppose I have no point other to add an anecdote… (: ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/10 "2013-04-12T14:03:42Z")
> [@ghostman](#): > > Volunteer Firefighter checking in. > > There’s nothing I hate more than getting an emergency call and then having it canceled 30 seconds later. Bonus points if i’m stopped at a light, get a call, break the intersection, and have in canceled right as I finish clearing it. I’ve gotten some awfully dirty looks. > > I suppose I have no point other to add an anecdote.. (: Aren’t you almost tempted to keep the light on until you turn the next corner? As far as the OP goes - I would assume he was doing something as someone else suggested - like checking a plate or something. I can’t imagine a cop that concerned about people going 10 miles over the speed limit. ---
**Author:** ![ghostman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a3d4f5/32.png) [@ghostman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ghostman)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/11 "2013-04-12T14:05:49Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > Aren’t you almost tempted to keep the light on until you turn the next corner? I’m tempted to just leave the damn thing on all the time, but the whole “You’ll get your driving privileges revoked” dissuades me. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/12 "2013-04-12T14:13:27Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > I can’t imagine a cop that concerned about people going 10 miles over the speed limit. Where do you live? Where I’m from, 45 in a 35 will get you ticketed with all deliberate speed, regardless of “flow of traffic.” ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/13 "2013-04-12T14:17:58Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > On the other hand there is a chance the cop is trying to perform a rolling blockade and will intentionally swerve in front of anyone trying to pass. This happens often? ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/14 "2013-04-12T14:28:41Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > Where do you live? Where I’m from, 45 in a 35 will get you ticketed with all deliberate speed, regardless of “flow of traffic.” I live in Maryland - I tend to travel at whatever speed I think is safe - and generally cops here don’t give out tickets here unless you are going well over 10mph over the speed limit. Of course they can at any speed, but there are so many people speeding - that it would be a waste of time to pull the 10mph ones over - so they seem to concentrate on the higher ones - they can still pull people over all day long. Also the points/fines seem to be (or were) in intervals of 10mph. That being said - I may be wrong - see the graphic at the bottom here: > **[Baltimore Sun](https://www.baltimoresun.com/)** > > Baltimore Sun: Your source for Baltimore breaking news, sports, business, entertainment, weather and traffic [it asks you to sign in but you can still see the graphic] I suspect that those 1-9 tickets are for residential areas where people have complained about speeders - I hate to ignore the facts - but you almost certainly aren’t going to get a ticket for going 10mph over on some real road. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/15 "2013-04-12T14:30:29Z")
As an avid scanner listener / news gatherer I would say the most likely answer is an urgent call was received, then cancelled on short order. The slow driving after happens as the officer gets distracted by his computer or any number of things in his car. If an officer hits the lights & sirens he’s going to pull someone over, 98% of the time. The only time I have witnessed this not happening is when a detective in an unmarked car used his lights only to deter passing speeders on an interstate. He had no interest in pulling them over, just wanted to slow them down. Once. In 25 years. ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/16 "2013-04-12T14:35:35Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > I live in Maryland - I tend to travel at whatever speed I think is safe - and generally cops here don’t give out tickets here unless you are going well over 10mph over the speed limit. In direct conversation with Troopers in the DC / Balt region I have been told they will give you +14 mph. That said I tend to run +11 _if the situation appears safe._ County & other local officers will likely grant less, especially in the slower zones. And of course the specialty cops like Md Transportation Authority Police give very little, since they live for catching speeders. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/17 "2013-04-12T16:09:31Z")
This reminds of an anecdote a friend _(a cop)_ told me. He was on mobile patrol when he observed a car make a dangerous overtake on a slower moving vehicle. So he hits the lights and sirens, catches up a distance down the road and pulls the offending vehicle in. He approaches and speaks to the driver, “Do you know why I stopped you?” “Yes Officer, sorry about that” _the slower car goes past them as they’re parked, the driver watches as it goes, obviously frustrated_ “Oh damn, now I’m going to have to overtake them _again_” Needless to say that was an interesting conversation… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2013, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/18 "2013-04-12T16:17:07Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > I live in Maryland - I tend to travel at whatever speed I think is safe - and generally cops here don’t give out tickets here unless you are going well over 10mph over the speed limit. Of course they can at any speed, but there are so many people speeding - that it would be a waste of time to pull the 10mph ones over - so they seem to concentrate on the higher ones - they can still pull people over all day long. > > Also the points/fines seem to be (or were) in intervals of 10mph. > > That being said - I may be wrong - see the graphic at the bottom here: > > [Baltimore Sun – Baltimore Sun: Your source for Baltimore breaking news, sports, business, entertainment, weather and traffic](http://touch.baltimoresun.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-71199047/) > > [it asks you to sign in but you can still see the graphic] > > I suspect that those 1-9 tickets are for residential areas where people have complained about speeders - I hate to ignore the facts - but you almost certainly aren’t going to get a ticket for going 10mph over on some real road. Maybe they just write them up for 1-9, even though the radar showed a little higher. In that article, it says > [@](#): > > [Sgt. Marc Black, a Maryland State Police spokesman] said troopers don’t have latitude to discount the listed speed to be nice. But why don’t they? Is it recorded directly? Or is this just official policy, but the reality is different? ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_Cello](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@Clark\_Cello](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_Cello)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/19 "2013-04-13T00:07:46Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > On the other hand there is a chance the cop is trying to perform a rolling blockade and will intentionally swerve in front of anyone trying to pass. Not with its lights off it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![cougar58](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@cougar58](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cougar58)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2013, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445/20 "2013-04-13T04:40:13Z")
I did ride alongs with my next door neighbor. I was in the patrol car when he did this. In my case, they have a APB out for someone driving, for example, a late model blue chevy impala, Kentucky plates, driven by a tall, fat red headed Chinaman. They position themselves in an intersection to observe as much traffic as possible. Your 2011 blue Impala goes by in a group of cars. He accelerates, observes you are not a tall, fat red headed Asian, but still runs your plates (a "10-28, 10-29). It takes about 90 seconds to get feedback from the NCIC network, then when you check out OK, he continues on. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-police-officer-warning-me/655445.md?page=2)