Safe to speed?

[Scruit]

IN Tx's ticket thread I read one opinon that there is not difference between a trained off-duty LEO driving her personal car at high speed versus his patrol unit...

I disagree with that for two main reasons;

1) A patrol care is designed to be highly visible at distance and to get people out of the way (doesn't work 100%, but mostly) and when you're running at high speed to a call you'd better be running at least your lights, if not siren also.

2) Cops run high speed because the risks involved in NOT driving at that speed are greater than if they drove the limit all the way. You are running to an accident scene, or a crime in progress or even an officer assistance call.

THe dangers of speed are not limited to the individual speeding, but to the enviroment around him. How will other cars react to your speed? Will they shoulder check and then go to do a lane change because when they looked you were farther away from them than a normal car would be to prevent his move, and you have closed the gap already by the time they execute the move?

Cops do NOT have the right to run at speed at will, ONLY when speed is necessitated by circumstance. Do you run at speed when you're going to take a cold burlgary report? When you're heading out to your favourite speed enforcement area? Prisoner transport? Back to the station at the end of the shift? (well, I can understant that last one... ;) )


So, if you agree that an officer speeds only because he has these three things;

1) Training
2) Visibility

But most importantly...

3) Justification


So when you pull over the off-duty LEO and show him preofessional courtosey regardless of his speed/reason... He may have training, but he does not have visibility or justification.

If you pull over Colin McRae (famous world-class rally driver) for speeding would you ticket him yet let the officer go?

If an untrained driver is speeding his injured friend from a remote campsite to the nearest phone to call for help, and he's flashign his headlights and sounding his horn for visibility, then would you ticket him? He isn't trained to run at those speeds. But he does have visibility and justification.


MY idea of prefessional curtosey is for the off-duty to not put the LEO in a position of having to compromise his usual standards. And off-duty should get exactly the same treatment as a civillian, no better and no worse.