PEEVE ››
When police cars and other municipal vehicles don't obey traffic rules.
"Lights on, pursuing criminal" is one thing.
Not using a turn signal to turn.
Tailgating me when I'm doing the speed limit.
I even had an ambulance put on its lights simply to get me to pull over because it was going the wrong way up a one way street -- and once it was back on the right side of the law, it put its lights off again.
Asides the whole hubris of putting yourself above the law because you "are" the law, shouldn't you of all vehicles be setting the example, here?
— Snatch from SF, CA | Etiquette | 4.2.2009 | Comments (9)
COMMENTS ››
yeah! i really hate that.
— Z
Also, after they pass a traffic lighted intersection they turn the siren off. Also, when they stop someone and it blocks the traffic forever!
— Karuzo
I don't think cops even have working turn signals...
— anonymous
OMG, welcome to Queens. Once I saw a law-abiding citizen hit a cop because the cop blew the red light no sirens, no lights, nothing. Then of course acted like a total pig about it.
— jmc posted 4/2/2009
I think this is more than a peeve for me. All of a sudden, I'm all enraged.
— jmc posted 4/2/2009
Yah! They totally turn on the siren on just to skip traffic lights. In my town it's practically a cop car carchase to the nearest coffee shops.
— Personaldecay posted 4/2/2009
In response to Snatch from SF: I used to feel the same way you did about officers not having their lights/sirens on and speeding. Then I talked with my niece, who is a cop, and she said that her city and many cities actually will not allow cops to have lights/sirens on when in many pursuit situations. Apparently, studies have shown that the lights/sirens cause more accidents than they prevent. They tend to freak most people out, and many people even stop quickly right in the middle of a lane or somewhere that causes accidents. It still kind of bothers me, but this has given me a new perspective to the situation.
— AEM posted 4/28/2009
I'm a police dispatcher, and have seen both sides of the situations. On one hand, our officers are not allowed to put their sirens on for situations where the noise/lights that alert people to get the heck out of the way also tells the bad huys "Hey! We're coming for you! Run!". Also, AEM is correct in the fact that most of the time people panic when they see lights and sirens (even when they aren't doing anything wrong), and slam on the brakes or do some irrational maneuver to get out of the way and crashing into someone. When that happens, the officer then has to stop his pursuit to go help the person in the accident, thus letting the bad guy get away. On the other hand, so many officers have gotten into accidents for their crappy driving it's not even funny. I think if you crash more than once in a one year period and you were at fault, you get your cruiser taken away and are forced to ride a horse; we'll see how fast you get there then! =D
— Constance posted 5/10/2009
As far as the ambulance goes, they often take the path of least resistance when traveling to a medical emergency, including going the wrong way down a one way street. The lights and sirens in this situation were used to let YOU know they were coming they wrong way. Many of these departments have specific protocol when light and/or sirens can be used. (My dad is a firefighter, Mom is a FF/Paramedic, and my boyfriend is a Paramedic)
— Holly posted 9/15/2009
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