Got off work and then got onto a nice long 2lane road. There was a minivan in front of me who was goign below the speed limit and kept breaking while driving for some damn reason even though the only cars near us where several cars back and in front. So I stay calm hit the turn switch and get into the right lane pretty fast, speed up get past the van and hit the switch again to get into the left lane once I'm past the van. I keep going down this road until I hit a red light before the freeway. Next thing I know this bike cop was behind some cars moves over to the right lane and pulls up next to me.

He leans over and says "If I wasn't on a call right now I probably would have given you a ticket for the lane changes back there". I just calmly say oh sorry.
He then goes off straight while I turn.

So basically he said he was on a call yet he was in no hurry, no lights and driving the speed limit. I think I did the legal thing with the turns, maybe made them a lil to fast but thats pretty weak for a ticket.....

Mind you that my area where i work at is ghetto. Prostitutes, bums etc etc. My car is ususally the nicest driving so it does get attention along with my interior and exterior goodies on my s2k. (nothing to crazy). Top was down to.

Just wondering If I got lucky or the cop basically had a weak case and tried scaring me?

I'll probably take it easy for a few weeks and try not to speed on the road either since they know who I am now.

BTW this is in WA state, not sure what the prices are for fast lane changes when your going 35mph is?

 

If it was a two lane road, you must have been passing on the shoulder?

Or was it a four lane road (two lanes in each direction)? If so, the only law that might apply would be a law against passing on the right, if your state has such a law.

 

I know in california you technically are supposed to have your signal on for a certian amount of time and you can only change so many lanes so fast, so i donno.

 

yeh 4 lanes in total. 2 on each side.

Yes I have no idea on that law passing on the right? wtf lol. All I could think of was passing way to fast but I had my blinkers on before the pass and I didn't even speed up tomuch since the damn braking van was going 30mph in a 35.....

 

You made the right call in just being polite. Even if he was being a jerk.

 

yeah, politeness goes a long way.

I was going down a street (50km/h speed limit) which ends with a nice tight s-turn to a stop sign. Well, I continued "spiritedly" through the s-turn, but never broke 50, then came to a spirited stop at the sign. It wasn't an aggressive move, ABS wasn't kicking in or anything, but a cop saw me, pulled up to me and told me to slow down. I could have gone on about "I never broke the speed limit", but I just said, Yes sir, sorry about that, and he let me on my way....

 

If I remember correctly, it is 100 ft.

 

If you are "jerking' your car while changing lanes, then it is considered "wreckless driving" and you can most definitely get a ticket for that. I do it a lot... I mean, the S2000 handles it so nicely that you can almost jerk the steering wheel over and you're in the next lane instantly. Good for when you have to fit in between two tight cars next to you. However, if you do this in front of a cop, they can absolutely write you a ticket for it. Will they usually? If the cop has nothing better to do, sure. The tickets for reckless driving vary on price. Most of the time it's not worth the paper work. However, I've been pulled over for wreckless driving before and it was just taking a corner too fast.

A cop being on call doesn't necissarily mean he had an emergency to attend to. If it was a sherif he could of been serviing a warrant, he might of been on a simple call to attend to someone that wasn't considered an emergency such as a report of a stolen car or car/house break-in or vandalism without any physical threat. Sirens and high speeds are generally only used when there is an emergency. I'd say probably 85% of the calls to police officers aren't emergencies. However, if they're called out to one of these things, it's extremely RARE that they'll become side tracked. However, I did have a friend that was being escorted to jail one time and the cops did make a stop at a doughnut shop. No, it's not just an urban legend.

Edit: Hi, my name is Dean, and I can't spell "wreck".

 

lucky u got away
i got a ticket in my celica long time ago for unsafety lanechange and it sucks...

 

I had a cop say the exact same thing to me several years ago "Your lucky im on a call right now (except here)or id bust your ass for racing". He instigated the race in his undercover Thunderbird Supercoupe at teh stoplight by driving aggressively and hauling ass when passing me (to sum it up quickly) so me having no idea it was a cop i floor it when he is about half a car in front of me and I blow the doors off of it in my MR2 Turbo (RIP). Next thing i know i see blue lights everywhere and im doing WAY over the speedlimit. Head shaking I have my license and registration already hanging out the window awaiting him. He asks me a couple questions and throws me the "Your lucky" line and throws my license and registration in my car (no didnt hand it to me) goes back to his car and peels out... this time with his lights on. Im pretty sure he wasnt on call... if he was he shouldve had the blue lights on and ran the redlight we were stopped at.