Thursday, July 16, 2009

Reckless Driver on Tollway Today

I hope the State Police were able to catch a reckless driver I reported on the Tollway this morning. I'm an infrequent user of the Tollway, because I tire easily of being endangered by speeders and tailgaters.

This morning's reckless driver gets the prize, though. He was flying! I saw him coming up fast alongside me while I was poking along at the 55MPH speed limit east of Elgin. I had gone through the cash lanes, so that I could turn in a transponder that I found last week. As I went up the hill between Route 31 and Route 25, I spotted a white vehicle coming up fast in the center lane. My guess was that he was hitting about 75MPH.

As soon as he passed me, he cut quickly into the inside lane, passed a car, and then cut back sharply into the center lane and ran up fast behind a car in that lane. Then he started for the right lane but changed his mind. Once back in the center lane, he swung sharply into the inside lane, passed a car and then cut back into the center lane.

By that time I was on the phone with the dispatcher at the Tollway's State Police district to request a trooper make a traffic stop. I told the dispatcher that the trooper would easily recognize the vehicle.

On its right side was "CHICAGO POLICE 6529".

Hopefully, the City of Chicago Independent Police Review Authority will have a little chat with him.

14 comments:

Unknown said...

you obviously dont use the tollway ever. thats the average speed on there anytime. i think you exaggerate the claim because he was a cop, furthering your hatred towards law enforcement.

Gus said...

Sorry, ace, I wish I could say you are right. (Somebody told me that is a nicer way of saying, "You're wrong.")

I don't hate cops. I happen to believe that cops ought to be the first to obey laws, not the last.

That Chicago cop was driving dangerously. I was there; you weren't.

Just because many drivers are traveling at 75MPH in a 55MPH zone doesn't make it right. I've even had two troopers tell me I should just "go with the flow", when the flow was 72MPH (in a 55 zone). I couldn't get them to agree to go to court with me, though, if I got a speeding ticket.

Unknown said...

Of course you have a hatred for law enforcement. Probably stems from the fact that you used to play at being one until they actually made people who wanted to be police officers get real training!

Anybody reading your biased accounts can plainly see you have an ax to grind against law enforcement.

By the way, since you state he was driving 75 MPH, what brand RADAR were you using? Oh yeah! That is right! You were just GUESSING his rate of speed!

Of course, that is good enough for you to convict him in your blog!

By your logic, if a cop sees you driving and guesses you were driving 40 MPH in a 30MPH zone (Iknow, you NEVER EVER go above the posted limit!) then he should pull you over and give you a ticket? After all, his guess should be as good as yours, right?

Reading you latest polls and posts, anybody with average or better intelligence can see you are biased against police. Average or better intelligence...maybe that is why you insist you are not biased?

Gus said...

DA, congratulations. You guessed that I was guessing at the cop's estimated 75MPH speed. Maybe you missed the part where I had written, "My guess was that he was hitting about 75MPH."

As for my driving? I pay attention to speed limit signs and do my best not to drive in excess of posted limits. I drive in the right-most lane, and I don't intend to feel badly for one second that many consider me a hazard on the Tollway.

And it's not true that I never EVER speed. If I have to accelerate to avoid getting rear-ended by an idiot on the Tollway, I'll do it. If I can find a trooper to stop him, I'll take a lot of my time to go to court and do my best to see that he is convicted.

So, thanks for writing. Write again soon.

Unknown said...

Man are you sharp as a tack! Since I stated that you were guessing, good of you to point it out! You already have the driver convicted of speeding and hoping he gets punished for it! "Hopefully, the City of Chicago Independent Police Review Authority will have a little chat with him." Why? Bases on your "GUESS" that he was doing 75MPH.

Nice that you ignore my question to you though...if a cop pulled you over and told you he was guessing you were doing 40 in a 30, would you be OK with that? Why do I think not? Why do I think you would be writing about it for weeks if not months about the nerve of them?

Stating it again, after reading all of you past posts, there is no doubt in my mind that you have an unhealthy obsession to rally against the police. Being a make believe cop must have really been the highlight of your life considering that is the only thing you mention in you "About Me" section. Nothing about your family. Nothing about your employment history or hobbies (besides playing cop!) Nothing about any awards or other highlights of your life. Maybe playing cop WAS the highlight of your life? So sad...

Even part time officers in the state of Illinois has to get a minimum amount of training. thank goodness! Maybe you can find some little town in the middle of nowhere, maybe in Iowa or Nebraska or somewhere, buy your own squad car or motor bike and pretend you are the police again! I bet you can not stand the fact that you no longer get to pull people over and yell at them anymore. Come on! Let it out! You would LOVE to figure out some way to strap on your old .38 and be "The Man" again! Admit it!

What a joke that would be!

Gus said...

Hey, DA. Give me a break. I was trained!

Every week I had 60 minutes of video training. I watched 30 minutes of CHiPS and 30 minutes of Dukes of Hazzard!

Unknown said...

The scary thing is you might be serious....

Unknown said...

Gus, You have responded two times and have yet to answer my question. If a cop pulled you over and told you he was guessing you were doing 40 in a 30, would you be OK with that? Would you be OK with him getting you in trouble because he GUESSED you were doing 10 over the posted limit?

I really would like to hear you answer this one. After all, you get so upset if people do not answer your questions, right?

Answer carefully though, as it will really show the true Gus by how you answer.

Unknown said...

Gus, you can't be a cop anymore, they now require psychological testing now.

Unknown said...

For somebody so good at asking questions (and complaining if you do not get an answer!) you are not very good at answering questions yourself, huh Gus?

Hit too close to the truth for your liking?

Don't hold yourself to the same standards you hold everybody else?

Some people would call that being a hypocrite!

Unknown said...

It has been a week Gus and still no reply from you! Been too busy? Why don't you put up a poll on if you should answer or not?


If a cop pulled you over and told you he was guessing you were doing 40 in a 30, would you be OK with that? Would you be OK with him getting you in trouble because he GUESSED you were doing 10 over the posted limit?

I really would like to hear you answer this one. After all, you get so upset if people do not answer your questions, right?

Answer carefully though, as it will really show the true Gus by how you answer.

Gus said...

DA, you have reminded me of a day I stopped a motorcyclist in Colorado that I "guessed" was going more than 70MPH in a 35MPH zone. Why did I think he was traveling "more than 70"?

Because I was going 70, and he was pulling away from me. The only reason I got him was he saw a State Patrolman coming toward him and slowed down.

He offered to plead guilty to 54 in the 35 (19-over meant he'd keep his license), so I wrote it for 54 (and wrote on the back of the ticket that, at 70, he was pulling away from me.) He pled guility and paid it.

So, to answer your question, since you have been begging and pleading for an answer, I would NOT be upset if a cop stopped me after guessing at my speed. If he wrote me a ticket for it, then he'd get a chance in court to explain to a judge how his "guess" ought to result in conviction.

Unknown said...

OK Gus,

"Answer carefully though, as it will really show the true Gus by how you answer."


You just proved yourself to be a liar.

'I would NOT be upset if a cop stopped me after guessing at my speed. If he wrote me a ticket for it, then he'd get a chance in court to explain to a judge how his "guess" ought to result in conviction.'

Now, maybe that would be believable if it was not for the fact that you posted a previous thread on how upset you were when a Woodstock police officer cited you for violating the Illinois Vehicle Code even though you freely admit that you were indeed guilty! You went as far as stating how you wanted to issue subpoena's for videos, phone records, etc., etc., and take it to court EVEN THOUGH YOU ADMIT GUILT! If you were pulled over and cited for speeding because a cop "thought" you were going 40 in a 30, you would be popping a hemorrhoid! You would have subpoena's being sent out by the box load, requesting copies of videos, radio transmissions, phone records, the officer's ticket history, heck, probably every training record ever made on that officer!

You would not get upset? NOBODY that ever read this blog would believe that for a second!


Now, as for your answer, as usual, you do not answer the question given, but twist the facts of the question to make yourself look better.

You originally stated that you thought he was hitting about 75MPH, not that he was going "faster than 55" or whatever the speed limit was at that location that you were driving. I am sure that was what you reported to the dispatcher, correct?

My question was not if you thought he was going faster than you, but how you picked the speed he was speeding as "about 75"

Studies have shown that a person can not accurately judge the speed of a moving vehicle, especially not while seated in another moving vehicle. Your "about 75" may have been 60, 70, 80 or 90. That is why a police officer can not issue a citation and testify that he THOUGHT" a driver was going a certain speed unless he paces the car at the same speed with a certified calibrated speedometer OR a properly calibrated speed measurement tool.

And yet based on your testimony to the dispatcher, you state "Hopefully, the City of Chicago Independent Police Review Authority will have a little chat with him." So you want to mess with the living of another person based on your "thought" on what his speed was even though that would never stand up in a court of law. Now you want to be sheriff? Heaven help the County if that should ever come to pass!

Unknown said...

DA said:

Stating it again, after reading all of you past posts, there is no doubt in my mind that you have an unhealthy obsession to rally against the police. Being a make believe cop must have really been the highlight of your life considering that is the only thing you mention in you "About Me" section. Nothing about your family. Nothing about your employment history or hobbies (besides playing cop!) Nothing about any awards or other highlights of your life. Maybe playing cop WAS the highlight of your life? So sad...

Even part time officers in the state of Illinois has to get a minimum amount of training. Thank goodness! Maybe you can find some little town in the middle of nowhere, maybe in Iowa or Nebraska or somewhere, buy your own squad car or motor bike and pretend you are the police again! I bet you can not stand the fact that you no longer get to pull people over and yell at them anymore. Come on! Let it out! You would LOVE to figure out some way to strap on your old .38 and be "The Man" again! Admit it!

What a joke that would be!

JULY 18, 2009 12:16 PM

**********************

I was not too far off base, huh Gus? You will try to figure out any way possible to try to relive your past glory days, so I guess running for sheriff is another shot at it, huh?