What should LEOs do in a case like this?

[CaesarI]

LEO (obviously) should've let her go.

Especially since she was doing *only* 26 mph over the limit. I know a nice twisty road in the area where I can pull 65 in a 25 all day long. Prolly do 75 if I were *really* in a hurry. Got more populated roads in the area where the limit is underposted at 45, and the speed of traffic is usually 60 (it goes back up to 55 a few blocks later), and we got cops on motorcycles sittin around about once a week pullin people over. Think it'd be safe to go 75 on that 8 lane road in the dead of night? How about 85?

Driving school? Guess no one told you that most roads in this country are underposted. Driving at high speeds in a mostly straight line isn't very difficult.

Speed limits save lives about as well as red-light cameras.

-Morgan

 

[joab]

SIOP is technically correct, about medical emergencies not authorizing speeding.
I know this because the cop told my father that, after he provided blocking for my father to get my sister to the hospital.

Steve is also technically correct.
I know this because the cop told my father that just before he did it.

Maybe small town cops are given more leeway to make field decisions in matters of life and death

 

[bamawrx]

"I dont think that an emergency necessarily gives you the right to speed at 26+ mph over the speed limit. I respond to emergencies EVERYDAY in my profession, which also happens to be law enforcement, and we have a saying: "you cant help anyone if you never make it there." I attended a special school for driving, not just a class, but a school, for driving, and there are some men who get weeks of training just on their driving. This is not your average run of the mill drivers education course, but we actually drive different tracks with different "events" to teach us how to react in different situations."

pause..cough..hack..lords name in vain

 

[bamawrx]

I just drove my wife to the emergency room about a month ago. Its about 30 miles so I drove with my flashers on and I exceed the posted limits. I didn't drive crazy but people did get out of my way. In many cases people pulled over and let me by. I even passed a cop entering town and he did nothing. I was at least 25 over and the cop did NOTHING. NO lights no nothing. I also know not to pull into the parking lot, but pull directly to the area that ambulances drop off patients to save time.

I already decided what I was going to do if a cop tried to pull me over, but it wasn't necessary because the cop was smart.

On a side note, wife and baby are fine. New shooter is boy 7.5lbs and 19.5" named Samuel after Samual Colt with middle name Lee after Robert E. Lee.

 

[pete f]

re the comment about not knowing how to drive 26 over....My dear sir, you are sorely misinformed....I once drove a guy out of the woods with a partially amputated leg from a chain saw accident and some thirty miles to the trauma center and made the trip in a shade under 20 minutes...and the only paved road i was one was the last mile to the hospital. I was never out of control and most of the time I had one hand clamped on his thigh above his knee trying to help stop what the tourniquet was missing.

I used to regularly run cars that ran low tens at over 120 mph, and I had a 396 camaro. If you think that car never went over 60 means you are sorely deluded.

As far as the cop blocking the lady from getting help for husband. He needs to be disciplined. fired not sure but disciplined. I would say common sense would dictate any older woman who drives directly to the hospital would be at least asked if she needs assistance,

 

[beerslurpy]

I have a 300+ whp miata that I have tracked a number of times and I can tell you that as long as the driver knows what he is doing and the car is prepped for it, going over 100mph isnt dangerous at all. Clearing corners at 100+ mph isnt even dangerous. I think many bikers will be able to relate to what I think is most dangerous about driving fast.

Most of the danger from driving on the street at super high speeds is that you will be overtaking people much faster than they will be expecting, and clearing intersections and driveways faster than people will accomodate for when checking whether it is safe to enter the road. In other words, people will change lanes if they see only distant cars, but since you are approaching them at a 60-100mph differential, you are actually a lot closer to them than they realize. Similarly, if someone glances one direction and sees a car in the distance, they will probably pull out not thinking the car might be going 165 mph instead of 35. This can be taken care of with training and lane discipline (in europe, overtaking differentials are very high), but this country is all about lowest common denominator.

Unfortunately so many people buy the stupid "speed kills" line just like many of them buy the "awesome destructive power of the AK47" line of BS from a different set of liars. Almost no one thinks rationally about what is safe or dangerous in driving and as a result we have unsafe roads and stupid laws about driving.

 

[Reddog1]

As an ex Maryland State Trooper, it has always been my understanding that
speed limit laws applied to EVERYONE, including LEOs. My former captain would ripe you up one side and down the other if someone reported you
speeding for any purpose other then hot pursuit, and only then within limits.
Since moving to my present location, I see even LEOs going faster then required for apperently no need at all. Who tickets them as if it would do any good. There are untold numbers of find , good officers out there, and I am proud to have been one of them, but what is it they say about a few?

jim