So I am assuming that Super Werty was driving in AZ (per his sig.)
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety - the officer was about to site him for "aggressive driving" which in AZ is:
defined as a progression of unlawful driving actions such as:
speeding -- exceeding the posted limit or driving too fast for conditions; improper or excessive lane changing: failing to signal intent, failing to see that movement can be made safely, or improper passing -- failing to signal intent, using an emergency lane to pass, or passing on the shoulder.
So they first list "excessive lane changing" under aggressive driving.
They later go into a little more detail about it:
"Making Frequent Lane Changes - If you whip in and out of lanes to advance ahead, you can be a danger to other motorists."
So if Super Werty were changing lanes from side to side - while maintaining his original constant speed and "not changing lanes to advance ahead." That shouldn't even count as "frequent/excessive" lane changing.
Now the officer in question was instigating Super's need to change lanes. Per the original post he was "right on my bumper"
Which makes the officer guilty of:
Tailgating - "This is a major cause of crashes that can result in serious injury or death." - (I am glad nothing bad occurred to anyone. )
This makes the officer in question the "aggressive driver."
So What to Do if Confronted by an Aggressive Driver?
Get Out of the Way - First and foremost, make every attempt to get out of their way.
Put Your Pride Aside - Do not challenge them by speeding up or attempting to hold-your-own in your travel lane.
Avoid Eye Contact - Eye contact can sometimes enrage an aggressive driver.
Ignore gestures and refuse to return them.
Report Serious Aggressive Driving - You or a passenger may call the police. But, if you use a cell phone, pull over to a safe location.
So we all know that SW would have won if this had been challenged in court.
1325 - Thank you for your input regarding the challenge of reading the plate numbers. (I never considered this before.) I don't think anyone is making a judgement call against people in uniform. I have met a number of good and bad apples. i don't assume that all Z owners are the best humans on the planet simply because I made the same purchasing decision they did.
I think much of what this comes down to is the inherent "grey area" of the law and the fact that in many instances the interpretation of these laws are subject to many factors including: the person tasked with enforcing it as well as any jurisdictional differences/mandates.
So my understanding is if there was no probable cause to run Super's plates in the first place, the office wouldn't need to get closer/follow to read the plates and run them through the system etc.
Therefore, unless Super was throwing bags of crack out the window, speeding, or doing something else to attract the officer's attention, the whole scenario shouldn't have happened.
But this was that officer's judgement call - and not representative of how anyone else would have handled the situation.
I think most people likely have some assumptions regarding sports car drivers. This was just one instance where it was not warranted.
If the OP had been going all "fast and furious" with his NOS tank causing his exhaust to spew fire like a flamethrower - Then he would deserve to be pulled over.
Ha Ha.
Last edited by ZeroZeta; 02-16-2014 at 05:49 PM.
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