VA Cops on 495 express lanes

[swift996]

Why they are illegal? I have no idea...

Only in VA, DC, and on military bases.

Again, I can't believe that citizens put up with this. If the government is monitoring you without a warrant, I don't understand why it's unlawful to buy technology that detects that signal?

[xjohnx]

Originally Posted by infinite012

You have a radar detector...for now.

I'm sure you are already aware that radar detectors are illegal in VA. What do you have and how did you mount it so that it doesn't obviously look like a radar detector ?

i'll just leave this here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25140

also, if they were outside of their cars aiming a gun at you, i'd be willing to bet it was laser. in that case, unless you have shifters/jammers, a detector isn't going to do you any good.

[Flat Black VW]

Originally Posted by infinite012

You have a radar detector...for now.

I'm sure you are already aware that radar detectors are illegal in VA. What do you have and how did you mount it so that it doesn't obviously look like a radar detector ?

They are legal to sell, posses, and instal, just illegal to use, however va considers presence to be in use. Regardless now it is a no points offense and is much better than getting a speeding ticket.

Passport 9500ci is a fully concealed, undetectable unit.

[Jaylyons1]

There are no monthly quota's required for cops. They are pressured to get tickets but there is no requirement. I only worked with cops for about half an year so I'm no expert though and it may be different for different areas. They way they ran things was that all the cops should have about the same amount written per month. Sometimes we would go a week without writing any and sometimes there would be 10+ in a week. It just depended on the time of the year and being in the right place at the right time, which was pretty rare.

I will say people need to stop slowing down when they see cops. If you see them, its too late, they saw you a long time ago and have already clocked your speed. And for the ladies (and maybe some guys out there) the fake crying is the quickest way for a warning to escalate to a citation.

The best thing about working with them was learning how to evade them when I wasn't.

[Jahdai42]

Keep aware folks, the cops were out in full force this morning on I66. About 10 separate people pulled over between 495 and Ballston.

[SneakyPete]

Originally Posted by Jahdai42

Keep aware folks, the cops were out in full force this morning on I66. About 10 separate people pulled over between 495 and Ballston.

End of the month = cops everywhere

[sastexan]

Back to the original subject of this thread - cops in the 495 express lanes are primarily looking for HOV cheaters at this point, not speeders. The company that operates the express lanes is looking for every method to increase revenue - and that means the tolls - I do not believe that they get any cut of speeding tickets so they encourage the cops to enforce the HOV switch on the EZPass.

[KAT_Ayanami]

Originally Posted by Mach V Dan

I don't think so. Figure the average speeding ticket takes the officer 45 minutes to stop you, write up the ticket, send you on your way, and pull his car around to be in position for the next ticket. Say the ticket is for $200. The officer makes $25 an hour including benefits. The court processing costs maybe $50. The police cruiser costs another $10 an hour. Payment processing costs another $10. Maybe 10% of the people never pay, so that's $20 off. I'm up to $110 out of your $200 ticket, just in costs, and I'm sure there are costs I haven't thought of. I don't think this kind of ticket is any kind of substantial cash generator for the state.

--Dan
Mach V

I do not know where are you getting some of the costs like "Payment Processing cost $10".

The trooper is going to get paid the same $25/h (per your calculation) if he stops a driver, or sits on his car.
So he might as well do some work.

Now, If I am not mistaken, if a driver goes to court as a defendant. He will have to pay the court costs if found guilty. This amount is added to the ticket.

Stopping drivers gives these agencies a lot of money. They do not do it because of this, but it does help them a lot.