just got police scanner; many bad drivers

[The_Jeff]

Just got a police scanner at a yard sale for $2. Have had them before, intermittently. Am listing this one on ebay but using the week of the auction to shamelessly spy on my neighbors.

Holy cow, there are a bunch of bad drivers. This guy just got pulled over with 7 convictions and 2 accidents for however long they keep records (3 years it seeems). He's got no registration and the cop doubts the plates fit the vehicle (but it turns out they do). Busted him for no seatbelt and "obstructed view"... total BS violations. Unless he fight these that'll be 8/9 convictions. What a hole to try to dig out of!

Some other girl had her plates cancelled due to no insurance; she got new plates but didn't put them on her car but was carrying her new registration. I mean, what did she think those foot-long metal things she was given were for? She wrecked and was taken away by ambulance and the cops & dispatcher were trying to figure the mess out.

I feel better with no accidents and no ticket since '98. For those who suspected, yes the officer (at least around here) knows before he approaches your window your driving history, if you're the registered owner.

Traffic violations are not all speed related but mostly stupid stuff like "failure to keep right" that has no performance-driving-pleasure-excuse. The town departments I'm listening to mostly pull drivers over and respond to domestic fights.

 

[Palut]

We've got a police scanner, and there are some wierd things that we pick up every once in awhile.

This story is 100% true: We heard the dispatcher telling an officer about the call he was about to respond to. Apparently, the man who called the police was angry because his Vietnamese neighbor had eaten his cat!

 

[XS650]

Several years ago I was listening to police calls in San Jose. Once cap called in and asked what the vehicle code was for riding 3 on a motorcycle.

Another cop replied, "DWS"

Which....he explained was driving while stupid, when he was asked.

 

[Chris142]

I listen quite often. I found a frequency that the police use to talk to people from their cars to a telephone.

I have heard the fuzz call their wife to tell her that they are gonna be late then they call the girlfriend and make plans with her!

 

[medic]

I used to listen occationally. I listened more because I wanted a bit of warning before my phone would ring or my pager went off.

Anyway, one morning about 3 am, while in bed (and not at work), I heard my station get dispatched for a fire - from the scanner 2 rooms away. I got up out of bed and started getting dressed. Then, I realized I wasn't at work. Now, the scanner is usually off. I may turn it on if I here a bunch of sirens go by.

 

[andrews]

No accidents and no tickets since '95 for me. Did get pulled over a couple of years back for being a tad over the line at a stoplight. (It was very late at night and I was comming home from another long overtime day at work. The cop was nice enough to let me go and tell me to get some rest).

 

[srivett]

Yeah, lots of bad drivers out there. Last night I was riding behind two cars blocking the progress of a double lane road. There are two very close intersections and I'll be ****ed if one of the cars didn't swap lanes in the middle of the intersecton. I figured I was gonna be able to get past but at the next intersection the other car did the same thing! I didn't know what to think so I shook my fist at them and blasted in between them on the dotted white line. If two cars in front of you totally disregard the law like that you know you have to show them up and take it to the next level.

I can just about picture them yelling, "Look what that idiot did." Then they fade back to 2 seconds earlier. hehehe

Cheers, Steve

 

[John D]

quote:

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Originally posted by srivett:
Yeah, lots of bad drivers out there. Last night I was riding behind two cars blocking the progress of a double lane road. There are two very close intersections and I'll be ****ed if one of the cars didn't swap lanes in the middle of the intersecton. I figured I was gonna be able to get past but at the next intersection the other car did the same thing! I didn't know what to think so I shook my fist at them and blasted in between them on the dotted white line. If two cars in front of you totally disregard the law like that you know you have to show them up and take it to the next level.

I can just about picture them yelling, "Look what that idiot did." Then they fade back to 2 seconds earlier. hehehe

Cheers, Steve

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I've done something similar to this a few years back. Myself and another vehicle were heading along a 4 lane highway with just a 10 or 12 foot span of yellow lines between opposing lanes. We were both exceeding the speed limit by about 30Km/h (doing 100 in a 70). Anyway, I was just following this guy and then when he caught up with another car in the other lane (same direction), he slowed to the same speed as that car. I could see that he was checking his rear-view mirror and laughing with his passenger. This happened for about 10 or 15 seconds, until I got sick of it, the proceeded to blow past both cars on the yellow median and take off down the road. I did have enough of a view to see that there were no cars coming in the opposite direction that I could potentially freak out and cause them to panic. I wonder if buddy noticed me laughing when I blew past him!

 

[John D]

Oh yeah, something else... You don't really need a scanner to realize bad drivers. Just park somewhere in sight of a 4-way stop for an hour or more and you can have yourself a good laugh for a while!

 

[k1xv]

When I used to live in northern NJ, I used to listen to the Newark NJ police calls. They would make your hair stand on end, particularly on summer weekend nights.

As many of you know, there are codes used for different kinds of problems. An "050" was a traffic accident. A "090" was a fist fight.

On countless occasions, the dispatcher would send the officers to the scene of "an 050 followed by an 090".

When I moved away from there, I stopped scanner listening. It was just too dull listening to humdrum suburban "noise complaints" and other such minor problems.