Cops Tailgaiting

[mose1616]

i'm not accusing all cops of this, don't get me wrong, but at times i've been driving and i've had a cop tailgate me, less than a car length. i notice it to be true mostly with Vermont state troopers, as well as with the police department in the town i go to school. i will usually just be going the speed limit minding my own business, and all of a sudden i feel like i'm about to be pushed off the road.

i understand if they want to get close to run my plates, but i've had the same cops doing it over and over again. could this qualify as harassment? or since officers can break traffic laws, is it okay?

thanks.

[GotYour1040]

Police usually are trying to get somewhere. If your in the left lane and a officer is tailgaiting you please, please, please move out of the way. Officers can not run lights and sirens to all situations however he likely is going somewhere important.

[blackstang]

Police usually are trying to get somewhere. If your in the left lane and a officer is tailgaiting you please, please, please move out of the way. Officers can not run lights and sirens to all situations however he likely is going somewhere important.

That's what I was thinking...:)

[CruiserClass]

Here's over 60 replies to your question:
http://forums.officer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63975&highlight=tailgate

[mose1616]

no vermont doesn't have many two lane roads. i'm talking about through town in a 25 or 30, or roads outside town, like 35's and 50's. it isn't unreasonable to flash me in order to pass, but they never do. i feel uneasy about pulling over, as i want to avoid a stop (doing nothing wrong, just going on my way). and i know if i speed up they will ticket me.

[SoCalSheriff]

Pull over then. If you have done nothing wrong, you will not be cited. If the officer was going to initiate a T-stop, he would use his lights and pull you over.

[mouth]

no vermont doesn't have many two lane roads. i'm talking about through town in a 25 or 30, or roads outside town, like 35's and 50's. it isn't unreasonable to flash me in order to pass, but they never do. i feel uneasy about pulling over, as i want to avoid a stop (doing nothing wrong, just going on my way). and i know if i speed up they will ticket me.


yes it unreasonable, becuase if they did that to have you pull over, and then shut there lights off, everyone would be filling complaints that we just wanted to break the speed limit, even though most times were are on our way to a call, its just not important enought to run lights and sirens the whole way, but the quicker we can get there the happer it will make the citizien who is waiting for us.

Next time this happens just pull, into a bussness parking lot or drive way, if the officer wants to make a traffic stop he or she will activate his or her lights and do so, if not not the officer can go buy and you don't have to feel uncomfortable

[Cubfan]

It's probably best to do that if anyone tailgates you. If some moron (in a non-emergency vehicle) is in that much of a hurry, I'll just let him/her by instead of having them come crashing into my car if I have to stop suddenly.

[t150vsuptpr]

I'm guessing it's mostly Vermont officers since you are in Vermont.

Tailgating is dangerous, I see no need for it myself. Don't know why they do it. Understand wantingto get someplace .... but don't understand following so closely .... if they really are that close to you that is.

My suggestion would be to simply just maintain a steady speed or slightly slow up maybe 2 or three mph and get as far to the right and maybe let them get past you. He doesn't know what you are going to do, and if he's preoccupied with a call, etc .... he's just as able to rear end you at the next light as anyone else.

Whatever, don't speed up. Let him work around you, with your help if you can see your way to do it. If it get's to be an important enough call, he'll get around you plenty quick. If it's bad enough to make you nervous, feel free to offer adequate signal and ease off into a parking lot out of his way.

[mose1616]

this usually happens later at night in vt. i get off interstate, drive toward my house, cop passes (deserted streets), turns around, all of a sudden he is RIGHT BEHIND ME!! when you read the local newspaper, it cites the weekly police log and it includes things such as "officer simpson called by distraut parents to educate their 8 year old son that stealing is wrong." or "woman reports rabbid skunk. officer Welsh shows up, reports finding no skunk."

what i usually do is ride the exact speed limit, and decelerate using my gearbox and not the brakes. just figured it would make a good impression since drunk driving is such a problem.

p.s. their are no stop lights in my town. we proudly got rid of the only one about 15 years ago, replaced it with 4 stop signs.

[rayder1]

Here's over 60 replies to your question:
http://forums.officer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63975&highlight=tailgate

I agree with almost all of them.

Please move over. We're busy workin'.

I promise I won't go to your job and stand in your way either.

[Tmg]

tail gaiting usually means "get the F out of the way"!!!!!

At least when i do it thats what it means. Cause im trying to get somewhere.

[grog18b]

If it's important enough of a call to get there quick, then it's important enough to use your lights and siren, as most vehicle codes relate. Tailgating is illegal, and the only time an emergency vehicle is allowed to, by law, disregard traffic laws is while making use of visual and audible signals. (at least here in PA) Just being in a hurry is no excuse to drive up someone's trunk. Most I've seen doing it are either on the way to lunch, or in a hurry to get back to station... I drive by example, ESPECIALLY when in a marked car. If you don't like when people tailgate you, don't do it to others. We are not "above the law..."

[SirLancelot]

If I may chime in here for a second, I've been on several ride-alongs where the officer I'm with routinely tailgates people for one simple reason: they're running plates as a matter of course while driving along. Often they need to get closer than normal to the car in front of them to distinguish an "O" from a "Q", "D" from an "O", "F" from an "E", etc.

[tactical208]

Just get out of the way, if they are going to stop you they will use their lights. Just pull to the side of the road and let us continue to work please.

[mose1616]

well my issue here is that this goes on in my town of 5000 people. people know who i am and what car i drive. i could run through town with a mask on yelling and still be identified in 5 seconds.

i can accept them running my plate once, but every time they see me? situation is i usually come home late at night, deserted roads, pass the cop, he turns around, tailgates me home (about 3-4 miles). i know he has no calls because he follows me off main street. my town is very small.

i drive a potentially fast car, and it feels like i'm profiled all the time. i suppose it comes with the package, (especially in vt, subaru outback country).

but i do have an issue with the lack of control i sometimes see; i pointed it out to my dad the other day when he was riding with me. crown vic doing 85 on the interstate rides right up to the bumper of some lady in a cavalier, slams on his brakes. i for one believe you should never have to use brakes on the highway, especially when it could be avoided like that. someone is going to end up getting hurt, and i'm sure a number of people have been pretty spooked.



p.s. sorry if i type too much

[hemicop]

Mose, your complaint isn't uncommon for people that take their driving seriously. They assume ALL LEOs will drive perfect every time, NEVER abuse (in their opinion) their authority, and are always "profiling":rolleyes: them. The simple facts are officers run "local" plates all the time as they never know if the person may have a warrant out from somewhere else other than their home town, so it's to their credit they are that "curious" about you to do it (if they really are). Secondly, yeah, if you're driving a performance car it's guilt by association and if you're younger it's even worse. When I was 19 I got pulled over 7x in 1 day:o. Thirdly, if the officer is tailgating you he may be enroute to a call where it'd be in HIS best interest not to run with lights 'n siren so as not to tip off the bad guys he's trying to get. I've lived & worked in small & large towns, and while all this small town, "Barney Fife" mentality may get to you, trust me, it's better than a big city.

[Tikidaddy]

Either they're getting close enough to read you plate, or possibly getting close enough to see you registration sticker, here in PA we have small stickers on our license plates with the reg year on them. I've had to pull close to vehicles at times to read a license plate.

There could be 50 other reasons for why they drove so close to you.

[fedny]

Just pull into the other lane. I do it sometimes, to look at the vehicle or passengers. Its hard to read the stickers from far away. Also when working highway, traffic usually moves in pockets. In order to observe vehicles in the next pocket, I need to speed up to the next group of vehicles. This does not warrant me turning on my overheads and then shutting them off.

[Frank Sector]

i'm not accusing all cops of this, don't get me wrong, but at times i've been driving and i've had a cop tailgate me, less than a car length. i notice it to be true mostly with Vermont state troopers, as well as with the police department in the town i go to school. i will usually just be going the speed limit minding my own business, and all of a sudden i feel like i'm about to be pushed off the road.

i understand if they want to get close to run my plates, but i've had the same cops doing it over and over again. could this qualify as harassment? or since officers can break traffic laws, is it okay?

thanks.

Get out of the way.
Even if it is not a police officer behind you, if you are in the lane and are being overtaken by a vehicle from behind.....get out of the way.

[InfiniteTeach]

Just pull into the other lane. I do it sometimes, to look at the vehicle or passengers. Its hard to read the stickers from far away. Also when working highway, traffic usually moves in pockets. In order to observe vehicles in the next pocket, I need to speed up to the next group of vehicles. This does not warrant me turning on my overheads and then shutting them off.

Agreed, just what I was going to say!

[mdrdep]

Gang Way, Coming Through

[vtinvestigator]

Moses- As has been previously said there are those that aren't perfect drivers including law enforcement officers and I am not going to begin to make an excuse for them. You are right in Vermont there aren't many roads that have two lanes in each direction other than the interstate. Most of the police departments and the state police do not have a sufficient number of officers. The chances are pretty high if an officer is close behind you and there is no need to stop you (thus needing to read the plate- remember in VT 70% of the roads are dirt so reading your plate isn't easy) then they are on a call. Pull over when possible and let them pass. They aren't trying to be unfriendly- they are just trying to do their job and would appreciate it. I can't even begin to tell you how many people don't yield to blue lights and siren when it is an emergency call much less when an officer is trying to get to a call without blue lights and siren.

[GrayPatriot]

Your question has been answered clearly on this forum, but let me add that you are not alone in thinking a LEO is targeting you.

I have my in-laws always ask me why the trooper or sheriff was tailgating them while they were on the way home. Trust me, around 80% of the time we are trying to get to a call that is a non emeregency (I am not going lights and sirens to a car-deer), but I also have 3 other pending calls that don't require my immediate attention and I have to be a perfect example for driver's on the road and somehow get to all these complainants in a timely manner. Now Billy Bob is in front of me doing 60/55 but sees me and slows down to 50/55 and it is a no passing zone. Either way I am screwed. I go slow my complainant is irratated when I get there and files a complainant with how long it took us there, or I go a bit faster and Billy Bob calls my sgt saying I was tailgating him and driving too fast. It is a lose lose situation. :D

[J. Slacker]

no vermont doesn't have many two lane roads. i'm talking about through town in a 25 or 30, or roads outside town, like 35's and 50's. it isn't unreasonable to flash me in order to pass, but they never do. i feel uneasy about pulling over, as i want to avoid a stop (doing nothing wrong, just going on my way). and i know if i speed up they will ticket me.

MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!!! I don't understand why people can't grasp that concept. Not a personal slam of the OP, but it irks me to all high hell when I am trying to hustle to a run and two cars drive side by side at 30 in a 45 because "the Po Po" is behind them.

Seriously, if a police officer continues to follow you for more than a few seconds, he/she probably needs to get past you to get somewhere important. As has been stated many times before, you don't know what is going over the police radio. Your car may be similar in description to a suspect vehicle, the officer may be en route to a traffic crash, alarm, or any other call for service. And no, in non-emergency situations it is not customary for officers to "flash you"...that's just awkward to do while driving :eek: :D Just do the courteous thing and safely enter the right (curb) lane.

[Frank Sector]

Your question has been answered clearly on this forum, but let me add that you are not alone in thinking a LEO is targeting you.

I have my in-laws always ask me why the trooper or sheriff was tailgating them while they were on the way home. Trust me, around 80% of the time we are trying to get to a call that is a non emeregency (I am not going lights and sirens to a car-deer), but I also have 3 other pending calls that don't require my immediate attention and I have to be a perfect example for driver's on the road and somehow get to all these complainants in a timely manner. Now Billy Bob is in front of me doing 60/55 but sees me and slows down to 50/55 and it is a no passing zone. Either way I am screwed. I go slow my complainant is irratated when I get there and files a complainant with how long it took us there, or I go a bit faster and Billy Bob calls my sgt saying I was tailgating him and driving too fast. It is a lose lose situation. :D

It is sometimes a lose-lose. Everybody wants their call to be number one despite the other 10 or 15 that are holding.

As for the in laws..next time they ask you why a unit was tailgating them ask them "well when you got out of the way was he still tailgating you?"

If they say NO then tell em...."heres your sign!" a la Bill Engvall.

GET OUT OF THE WAY!
That is my pet peeve, you do not have to speed in the left hand (passing) lane but you do have to get the heck out of my way so I can.