nicest day of the year. got my sissy bar on for the wife so we head out for a ride and 10 minutes in we almost got nailed by a cop.
so im at a red light waiting for the arrow to turn left. got my turn signal on waiting for the green. opposite me is a cop waiting at the light to go straight.

there is a big turn for the cars coming from the cross street to my right so the stopping point for this light is about 20 yards away from the actual intersection.

my left turn is a big, wide turn too. just how the intersection is set up.

so arrow turns green and i ease into motion. cop is still at a stop. the friggin nano second i actually start the turn, he hits the whailer, throws his lights on and blows right by me. i wasnt going fast but i had to slam down and come to a complete stop in the middle of the turn.

unreal.
im trying to rack my head and think about what was so important that he couldnt wait 2 seconds for me to complete my turn. literally, 2 seconds. probably not even 2.

him being 2 seconds later to any event would probably not change the course of that event but him hitting me in my right side as im into the turn would have changed out lives.

my mom is an insurance agent and handles a lot of accident claims. she said cops have immunity up here if they plow you.

i wouldnt have been at fault but neither would he.

great way to star the ride.

yup

 

That is total BS. Glad to hear you escaped without injury! The cop must have been an uptight rookie. He was probably looking @ his computer right before he decided to mash on the gas without even looking. I have road with a few cops in my area. The first being a 29 year old that had only been on for 2 years. We were seriously a block away from the station when he damn near rear ended someone sitting at a light. I scared the **** out of him when I yelled....lol.

 

From your point of view, with all due respect, his actions were dangerous and unnecessary, and given the possible outcome, I agree.

I would ask for consideration however of what cops have to deal with. The distractions present in their cars are ridiculously dangerous and distracting. Hell, we hear all day every day about distracted driving with cell phones and these folks have multiple radio frequencies in their ears, a laptop, and possibly a cell phone with their boss telling them to do something. Add to that a dispatcher getting excited and urgently sending them on a call and you can have the situation you describe multiple times a day.

Again, I am not saying what this particular cop did was right regardless of the circumstances, I am just suggesting we think about what might have been going on for the officer. I most certainly believe he was not intending to hit you or even come close.

 

I don't see the issue. He was a legal emergency vehicle and you stopped and yielded like you are supposed to. Glad you're ok.

 

i guess my issue is i was in the middle of a turn that would have been complete in a second.

maybe he was right. not sure.
i know yield for emergency vehicles.

you know if he would have been coming straight with his whailer on i would not have entered into the turn.
i just think its not cool to stay at a complete stop like he did and then light it up when i am in the middle of turning.

ls bob, i didnt think for a second that he was trying to hit me. i doubt he is a psycho.
i still think he could have waited 1 whole second. there was nobody behind me waiting to turn so he would have been clear

 

The distractions are very high. They are also trained for that. That doesn't mean they don't have to use common sense.

 

Immune maybe years back. Nowadays with social media and such you can easily make a huge stink about the police and really gain some leverage toward a lawsuit. +10 lawsuit points if you're black. Most cops I meet are okay. Some may have a douchebag ego complex but they're alright for the most part. A few I've had the 'pleasure' of dealing with were straight-up insecure.

 

During my 45 years of driving, had two very close crashes and both have been cops running thru intersections.
I followed up both times to see what the deal was. Both times it crap.

 

I would have to agree with you 100%. I am not a cop hater. I have 5 family members in law enforcement from CHP to Virginia Beach. The job is very stressful. It is not for everyone. Split minute decisions are a bitch, when you are dealing with lives.

 

i guess what bothers me is we were both stopped. had i been stopped and he cruising through with the whailer on it would have been no big deal.
i cant come up with a reason why he had to hit it when i was already mid turn and blow by me making me stop.
he would have had to wait 1-2 seconds max.

so there is an emergency and he hauls *** through the light to get there but had he hit me, and he came pretty close them there would have been 2 emergencies.

i dont know. just rubbed me the wrong way