Dammit. Geobabe beat me to it!
Yes, but isn’t there a chance his partner could be inside still gunning? Especially when he’s just finished writing up the ticket? Probably not, but I like to play it safe. Plus, braking when I see a cop is kind of a gut reaction by now, since I always drive 5-10 mph over the limit :). But I only brake down to the speed limit, not lower than it.
Yes, I do consider the possibility that there could be another smokey just down the road, but people slow waaayyy down below the speed limit, which is completely unnecessary. I let my foot off the gas until I’m about 5 over–I try not to tap the brake because it tends to create exactly the problem we’re talking about here, which is drivers behind reacting to the brake lights.
Heh. I thought this was going to be about the folks who refuse to PASS a cop on the road. I assume folks have seen this? Cop driving, say, 50 in a 55, people slow down to 50, somehow having mistaken the cop’s Incredible Powers of Ticket Writing for a new, more potent (with 50% less fat!) Ability To Set A New Speed Limit At Will.
This is a total hijack, but once driving to Lansing, the traffic suddenly slowed to 45…all in the right-hand lane. I got into the left lane and sped up, wondering if I had happened behind a weird long funeral procession or something. 12-15 cars up was a police officer. As I passed him (going 55, natch)I glanced over. He looked at me, gestured at the line of cars behind him, mimed a belly laugh, and grinned. It made my day.
OP: Personally, I have no desire to see what might have happened, who might be plastered all over the windshield and/or median, or what limbs are hanging from various vehicle parts. I hope that it’s no one I know and go on my way. I usually take a minute or two to ponder my own mortality and that sort of fun stuff, and then my day picks up right where it left off.
I don’t know how much information people think they’re going to get, even at only 10-15 mph. I mean, honestly.
This “domino effect” might be true in some cases, but it certainly doesn’t seem to explain the slowdowns in the **opposite lanes **(of a divided highway), which as the OP said, is also a common occurence.
This must be the same morbid curiosity that makes car racing and pro wrestling so popular.
Whatever the reason, it drives me nuts, too.
I have friends who still freak out when they just see a cop at a light, or especially when one is behind us. “Its a cop!”
We are in our 40s! Its not like we are 17, drivin along with a lid and some ludes stashed in a stripped 8 Trak case in the old man’s Impala. Get a fucking grip! And no, they aren’t carryin coke or anything, it’s just a learned reaction, I guess.
Old habits are hard to break sometimes…
Here’s what we all need to do. Procure a largish piece of posterboard. With a magic marker, write “STOP RUBBERNECKING, IM JUST GETTING A SPEEDING TICKET!” on said posterboard. Display in your windshield whenever applicable to improve traffic flow. As well, you could make situation-tailored signs saying such things as “TAKING A LEAK”, “READING A MAP”, etc.
Great idea, but you know what would happen:
People would slow down to read the sign. Invariably, someone would take too long to read it and ::whammo:: an accident.
I’m telling you, people are just stupid.
Thank you, Hamadryad for that terrific tale of Michigan cops, I’ve seen something like that up there too, when I used to live in Toledo and drive to Clinton, Niles and/or Detriot.
Also, glad to see I’m not the only one that slows down to 5 or so over the posted limit when we see a cop 
This is why we need flying cars! Not only will good drivers get to work faster, but bad drivers will CRASH and DIE! HAHAHA!
“It’s the year 2000, but where are the flying cars? I was promised flying cars; I don’t see any flying cars. Why? Why? Why?”