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In Reply to: Just Musing posted by guysimpson on February 04, 2001 at 10:41:39:
When I saw the patrol car on the side of the freeway (I'm a very aware driver always looking for anything and everything), I had two or three seconds to immediately hit the brakes, which could have effectively slowed the car by 10 to 12 mph, but I didn't do it for immediate fear of the patrol seeing my brake lites. This was a gross error on my part as in reality 'the patrol cannot give me a ticket for seeing my brake lights go on, they can only give a ticket for my speed when their Ray or Laser hits the car. So, that failure on my part to slow the car for two or three seconds cost me the ticket IMHO.
I feel this to be true for the fact that my second experience about a week ago, was handled by the new method I suggest. When traveling about 10 to 15 mph over the speed limit on a highly used main city street I came upon a motorcycle unit behind a big building that blocked the motorists view for almost three blocks, when I saw the motorcycle in my periferal vision this time I immediately and instinctively hit my brakes hard and immediately dropped what seemed like 20 mph off the speed I was traveling and it must have worked because as I was looking down the barrel of the radar gun and into the patrols eyes, as he immediately looked down at his speed indicator he decided not to start his motorcycle and go after me. Either he was just doing a test of the area, or more likely, the immediately brake application slowed the car enough in a couple of seconds to bring my speed to within his acceptable area.
In other words, the mental approach is to teach your brain to react as though a dog has run in front of the car or someone has suddenly pulled into your lane 'with your first mental awareness' of the color or shape of any patrol type recognitiion factor. I believe that someone who knows how to calculate the speed vs stopping power per second could calculate the drop in speed per second from a given speed. I truly think it's your only defense "IF" you are lucky enough to see them first. That will happen only approximately 50% of the time. Perhaps the other 50% of the time the 'Valentine 1' might cut that factor down to 25%, so that in essence if you are a watchful driver and equiped with 'Valentine 1' you can then hopefully slow down quickly enough to avoid the trap in at least 60 to 75% of the cases. Hopeful thinking, with a little credible theory to support the thought.
Thanks for the info.
Kdg
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