would you run?
 

Ok I'm doing this survey for English Comp I. Please answer honestly.

Supose that you have just been caught street racing. You know that your car will be impounded permently if you are caught. Would you consider running?

I voted yes...
 

I may catch some **** on this one, but what the hell, I'm going to get busted anyways if I pull over. After all the work I've put into my car, I can risk the 6 months I'll be behind bars if i'm caught. Who knows, maybe I'll get away and get off the hook easy. I don't know that I'd make it some high speed freeway chase though, if it turned into that, I'd have to pull over due to public safety. That's my honest opinion, later, Keith

Depends. If I see lights, I'll pull over. If were racing and I see the cop flip a U to come get us, you be damn sure I'm down a couple of side streets into a parking garage/lot. In CA, its not a felony until they hit the siren, and you're not pursued until there are lights. So it depends on what you consider being 'caught'.

Yeah.....I have ran and gotten away once.....

I know it wasnt smart,

This won't be popular, I'm sure, but if you are stupid enough to do anything that would result in the loss of your car, then you shouldn't have it in the first place.

I'm sorry, but I can't answer your poll because I wouldn't be that stupid. When I was younger, and knew everything, I probably would have ran. In fact, I know I would. I did some very, very stupid things in my youth.

Take care,
~Chris

People change I ran back in 96' when I had my brand new formula fireturd.

I would not do it again.....Older and wiser I guess.

Later,

i voted no. i would not run from the police. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE WORSE OFF IF YOU RUN THAN YOU WOULD HAVE IF YOU JUST SIMPLY PULLED OVER!!! Also, the lives you would be endagering and also the jailtime vs. the ticket. Not my cup of tea. That is why they have "Police Scariest Chases" on TV cause some of us would rather try to ditch the cops rather than face the music.

no.

Hmm.. I'd have to say it depends, when I was racing a Porsche. What was going threw my mind is if a cop pulls out I'm not slowing down. By the time he would pull out we'd both be gone. I'd park my car away and not drive it for awhile. When I got my ticket in the summer, I seen a white impala pull out (I knew it was most likely a cop) so I tried to turn off quickly before he put his sirens on, but as soon as he did I pulled over. I wouldn't really consider running unless I had a very very very good chance of getting away, and it was safe. My dad ran when he was younger is his '71 Mustang Mach 1, it had a 302 Boss in it all done up. The cop ended up catching him later that day in traffic, but he wasn't able to prove it was my dad so he got off. It still doesn't pay to run. Your only going to piss off the cop even more.

§am.

My old man did a very similar thing in a 69 Boss 302, with his father in law and brother in law. Only they made it home and were sitting on the front porch when the cop came down the street. Funny story. I think its a little different now a days with the proliferation of air patrol and more cops around I don't know if that kind of stuff would fly anymore.

you need to add "NO I WONT DO IT AGAIN!" as a choice.

this is how self stupidity will change they way you drive.

i ran from the Chicago cops ONCE. last time ill EVER even consider running from the cops. it was pretty much stupidity on my part. there was a queer-maro in the right lane(i think this kid just got the car) he keeps rappin the motor, and i decided i as gonna give this guy the @ss-kickin of a lifetime. needless to say the light turns green, i light the hides, and sitting in the Mc Donalds drive-thru a block away is one of chicago's finest. i saw him and thought to myself " im already rolling, he aint gonna get me". i go another block, turn and i dont see anything.little did i remember that my bro was behind me in my buddy's lightning(stayed right on my bumper). when i turned, he turned, and the cop just followed him. after my bro slowed just enough, he held the cop just long enough for me to get away(so i thought) after being 8 blocks in front of the cop(looking for a dark alley, youd think id find one in chicago) i turn down a side street parked the car and shut it off. 10 mins go by and just when think its safe theres the spotlight shining in my back window(cop made a lucky turn). cop gets out of the car SHE pulls a gun on me and utters this: WELCOME TO CHICAGO, WE DONT ****** AROUND! 17 tickets later im lucky i still had a car and didnt get arrested. driving home it hits me what i just did and all i thought was if i was that cop i wouldve taken my car and tossed me i the back of the squad. now i just leave the "punk kids" alone on the street cuz after all my life and my car arent worth losing it all to stupidity or even worse possibly killing someone else.

IF THE THOUGHT EVER CROSSES YOUR MIND TO RUN, THINK ABOUT THE SEVERITY OF CONSEQUENCES FIRST. USUALLY ITS THE INNOCENT ONES THAT YOULL END UP HURTING!

I voted no. I'm not sure if this is relevant or not because it doesnt involve street racing, but in 1994 my only brother was killed in a high speed chase. He was 29, the same age I am now. In the end, I considered my parents and myself lucky, he was the only one killed. If someone totally innocent were hurt or killed as a direct result of his actions, I dont know what we would have done to cope.

Andy

NO, i did it a lot back in the early 70's & got away with it, but there wasnt half as many car's etc. now no i would just face the music, i raced a camaro, he had me by three car's on the freeway, i just let out of it, he kept on & ran a van off the road, what a d--k:eek: :eek: :rolleyes:

No
 

NO...I couldnt outrun them anyways! :D
TNT :cool:

this is one of those situation specific things....completely depends on whats going on...theres a difference between ducking down some sidestreets to avoid a ticket and starting tonight's latebreaking news bulletin by doing a cop chase to mexico....lol...and of course theres everything in between and more...yes and no just doesnt work....

"Not no, but Hell no" ( my dad's favorite response to any request I made that involved money or illegal activities)

It's too dangerous, not to myself so much as it would be to the hundreds of mindless drones cruising the streets who probably don't know I'm coming. I've done some stupid things over the years and I've been busted for a few but I was taught to take my lumps and get on with life. Part of the query said that I knew going in that if caught, the car would go away. . .that's fair warning and I guess I would just have to adapt to life with feet again.

a simple no would work for me.....i wouldn't duck down a sidestreet.........i know to many people who got charged with evading arrests for stuff even more innocent than that (like continue driving until there is a shoulder to pull off) and enough people who've gotten slapped around by the cops.......that i'll pull over immediately in hopes of not getting the hell beaten out of me

In my situation we were way outside of town (wide open roads) and street racing. I was racing a 93 cobra in my 96 fireturd, we fly past the end of the 1/4 doing 100mph when I look in the rearview and see the flashing lights behind us. I let off the gas and as the lights got closer I noticed it was a county sherrif in a suburban. I knew there wasnt any way he could keep up so I gunned it up to 140mph, the cobra was right behind me. We went for about 12-15 miles and pulled off on an oilfield lease road,we followed the winding dirt roads back into town, split up and got away. I was paranoid for weeks afterward wondering if he got our plates.

The same sherriff pulled me over years later when I was in my truck and he let me off with a warning. He was a pretty cool guy and it made me feel bad that I risk his life chasing my stupid @ss.

You live,You learn.

I will offer this. About two years ago I was travelling down the highway about 20 miles from Amarillo, following a DPS car (at a safe distance) when one of the kids from here in town whom I know, passed us at about 140-150. going the opposite direction. The Trooper slammed on his brakes and pulled over like he was going to pull a u-turn but I guess he realized it was too late to do anything. The road is kind of hilly but real straight and before he could even get stopped the LX (did I fail to mention it was a really nice 91 LX?) was out of sight. Some time later, I asked the kid how fast he was going and he claimed 155 if it had speedo number that would go that high. He did say it took about an hour longer to get home that day with all the detours he took on the way.
FYI. . .that same car was involved with a high speed wreck with a Vette about a year ago and niether car survived. Both were going the same direction and nobody was killed fortunately. I haven't heard who was wining the race, he's since enrolled in the Marines. Seems he needed to leave town for a while.

My wife worries about the youngest son doing something like this but think about it. You live in a town of about 1500 people, you drive a Lime green thing with a big wing on it (see avatar) your dad is a volunteer firefighter and Paramedic who is on a first name basis with the local Chief of Police and half the deputies in the county. . . would you run from the cops here? He does get pulled over a lot by this one Highway Patrolman here. The guy races a 12 second 90 GT around here and likes to keep up on everything we've done to the car. It keeps the boy on his toes.

i posted yes, but now that i think about it, it would depend on the situation.

Cant vote "I AM THE COPS"

that is the only situation I would run. Out in the country with noone around. there is noway in hell I would let anyone permenently take my car that I would still be paying for. The punishment for street racing does not fit the crime in some states(florida). I think that people that are racing newer cars like 03 cobras, new gt's,ls1..... would willingly give there car to johnny law whether they owe money on it or not. Big fines I could live with but pulling over knowing that this would be the last time that I ever drove my car I don't think I could do. I would rather burn it to the ground then let it become a special type cruiser that says on the side " this car was confiscated from a street racer". I would never run in a city or town but out in the country if i'm already doing 100mph with my adrenaline pumping then i would probably just keep it to the floor. If I get busted afterwards then so be it. I tried to keep the car but it just didn't work.

JAMES

p.s. I barely ever street race and we don't have organized street racing around here so its only like 3 or 4 cars going out to the country when we race.

If I were in my baby (the Dodge) you're d*mn right I'd bolt. There is no way I would let anyone take my Dodge from me forever. Screw THAT!!! I live a very short distance from the AL state line and know alot of the back roads to get there. I know the Dodge is faster than a cop car, the highway bypasses town and there are several back roads that branch off of it. Yep I think I could get away with it. What are they gonna do? Pull out in front of a 2 1/2 ton land yacht doing 140+ mph? I think not.

I think that the kiey word here is "consider". Yes I would consider it. But 90% of the time you're only going to make it worse for your self, there for I wouldn't. You don't know 100% that your car will be impounded either, you never know, cops are people too.

When i was younger I was 10 for 10 in outrunning Johnny Law in my 89 5.0. But that was back when the only law enforcement agency that had a chance was the Highway Patrol. All of those were on the highway.....until the first off ramp that is...or in the country. It's not something i did in the city or doing rush hour. Nowdays unless it was the right situation i would just pull over and take the ticket. The way people drive here in Ohio you can get killed by doing the speed limit let alone hauling a**.

Ok, this might take just a little room:
I voted yes, because: IF the car would be impounded, and IF i were already involved in a silly enough situation to warrant that, and IF i were feeling froggy, i MIGHT jump.
but that's only about a 10% likelihood, and here's why:

When i was a "dumb kid" (i'm only 24 now, rememer) about 18, i ran a lot in the country, it was a simple matter of turning down a side road, gunning it, and making a few turns before the cop got turned around and came after me. Until one night, that is.

One night, a friend and I were going from Rochester to North Manchester, about 25 miles or so, to get some grub at the all night Hardee's. It was only 30 min till they stopped serving dinner, so i decided a little warp travel was in order. Not that warp travel was possible in a 1983 Lincoln Mk 6, but i tried. as i was doing about 75, i looked in the mirror, and saw some headlights about a mile back and coming fast, so i whipped down a side road that i didn't know, and gunned it. with the speedo buried well past 85, the car was just barely keeping up with me, and no lights yet. i was hoping it was just someone goofing around, and not a cop, but i kept in it anyway.
about 3 miles down this road, i encountered two pairs of tight, left then right, 90 degree corners, which i took at about 70 in a nice four wheel drift, and continued. shortly after the curves, i could no longer see the cop in the mirror, but just in case, i didn't relax. i cut down another side road, and then another, which was between two corn fields which were nice and tall, drove down about a mile, stopped, threw the car in neutral (so i could shift to D without flashing the back-ups) and killed the lights. i sat there, tense and sweating, for about a minute, and then saw headlights pull to a stop at the 4 way intersection. i held my breath and prayed for a minute or so, and then they pulled away.
i breathed a sigh of relief, and headed out again, and back out to the highway i'd been on.
unfortunately, i had previously failed to notice the little gas pump icon on the dash was flashing, and my only choice was to drive the 3 miles back to rochester for gas. damn.
as i approached the edge of town, i saw a cop sitting in an empty lot. as i drove by, fingers crossed, he glanced casually at me and then looked away. but, just as i was breathing a huge sigh of relief, he performed a perfect movie double take, threw his car in gear, and lurched out after, radio to his face. he was in such a hurry that he forgot to turn on his headlights for a mile and a half. then, shortly thereafter, he pulled me over, and gave me what turned out to be a bull story about a light turning red while i was under it, and took my info back to his cruiser. moments later, not one, not two, but 4 state cop cars pulled up in a cluster behind me.
at this point i thought i was ground beef. a very polite officer, apparently in his fifties, leaned casually against my door and said: "well Eric, looks like you need to slow down on those county roads, huh?"
i swallowed hard, not sure what to say. he continued, in a stern voice, "you KNOW what i mean, right?"
i was busted. i admitted what i'd done, and he told me that he hadn't turned on his lights, for fear of my doing something REALLY crazy, and hurting myself. i told him that had he hit his lights, i would have stopped, but of course he didn't know that, and i apologized for being an idiot.
then he patted me on the shoulder, said to be careful and not do anything like that again, and walked away.
the stopping officer returned my paperwork, said that he had only been told to detain me so that the state officer could speak with me, and to be careful and have a good night.
i was absolutely floored. i had thought i was going to be arrested, lose my license, pay big fines, and he just let me go. it was amazing.
and since then i haven't done anything THAT stupid again.
well, that's your cautionary tale for the day, and i'm VERY sorry for the length, but i like to tell that story in detail, for some odd reason. thanks, if you've wasted the time to read this, lol.

Eric

I did once back in Oklahoma and got away, but there's alot more backroads there. I ripped part of my front air dam off doing it though. That was a few years ago though, I wouldn't do it now. Now I'd rather pay the ticket.

Heck no!!! Never ever run from the cops. You would have to be real ignorant to run from them. You not only endanger the lives of yourself but others on the roadways. If they are going to pull you over face the hardship of getting caught. If you play u must pay. Be realistic guys. At the most you loose your car (You can buy it back) But if you run from them You face federal time in the slammer. Not fun at all. I do not car how fast your car is you can never ever out run the radio.

can't the cops pull you over next time they see you for evading arrest?

one evening, while i was home from college for the summer, i was out doing some light yardwork. my neighbor was doing the same. all of a sudden, a cop car pulls up out of nowhere and a cop runs out and tackled my neighbor. they slapped him around a bit and took him away. it turns out that they suspected that he had ran from the cops the previous night. (which wasn't true, he works 3rd shift and was at work. i think he ended up suing the police.)

anyway, won't they just arrest you next time they see you?

Not if they don't know who you are. If they've got your tag your fucked, so running isn't gonna help. If I was racing on a deserted highway and I passed a cop while already doing 100...Heck yes I'm probably gonna stay on it and take the next road off.

now that i've been thinking about this for a while, it brought to mind something that really, really pisses me off:

the cops that pursue these dumbarses that run from them

i personally have known 2 people that have died as a result of being hit by a police car in a pointless car chase.

-one was an elderly lady who had pulled off the side of the road, only to be hit by a cop doing over 100 on a busy street chasing a 17 year old who had stole $17.53 worth of merchandise from Radio Shack.
-the other was a gentlemen that was hit by a cop who was chasing a woman who stole $10 worth of gas.

endangering hundreds of people's lives to try to catch someone who had stolen a couple of dollars. both of those specific instances, the cops had a personal description and a tag number. that is exactly the protection i want from our police :rolleyes: :( :mad: :eek: :confused:

Sorry I don't agree...
Just because there is a "chance" that someone might get hurt, we should let the criminals run?

While an elderly person dying while chasing a teenager who swiped 20 dollars is pretty sad, should we just let the serial killer get on the gas and go his merry way?

Where is the "line" you would cross where you would say it would be acceptable to chase a criminal down?

Some departments don't have air surveillance to back up their troopers. Even when air cover is available, its still possible for someone to escape if there are no troopers nearby... It happens all the time.

While you have known 2 innocent fatalities from "legal" police chases, I'm pretty sure the actual number of injuries from bystanders is not high and is not a major factor.
You hear sirens and see lights? Get out of the way and stay a safe distance away.

Let the troopers do their job without tying their hands behind their backs...

sounds like someone who hasn't lost someone close to them as a result of the people who we pay to protect us and kid who took a couple of dollars (which they apprehended by casually pulling up to his house a few hours later)

edit: i honestly fear the police more than i fear being a victim of a crime. i don't think that is how it is supposed to be.

I have lost many people close to me in my life for many various reasons.
My point is that while the cases you point out are sad, and I wouldn't wish outcomes like that on anybody....

It does not mean that police chases are not warranted.

Would you think differently if someone close to you were killed by a suspect who might have been caught by an alert officer sooner in a cruiser that was chasing him, but was called off?

As I said before, I'm pretty sure the actual number of injuries from bystanders is not high and is not a major factor.

They may happen, but heck... We can die in our own home, mowing the lawn, tending to the garden....

I wonder what the serious injury to occurance ratio is if you compared doing home maintenance (like on your roof) to serious injuries to bystanders via police chases. I have a feeling your own home is more dangerous....

Sorry, but my vote is to get the criminals off the street.... (Something that is not done enough in my opinion...)

Hmmm, you might not want to take a look at any crime statistics then. A person is much more likely to be the victim of a serious crime than the victim of a "Cop on a rampage..".
(Although bad cops do exist, I'll hedge my bets on the folks in blue thank you....)

Sounds like someone breaks the law. The only fear I have is getting caught doing something stupid. My solution, reduce the stupid things I do.

13 homicides in four days. South Los Angeles. Doesn't count the people shot, but living. Something tells me we need more cops better support. Not people whining and telling cops not to speed and chase.

I'm with Hammer.

I consider myself very law-abiding. I'm drug free, I don't fight. I always pay my parking meters and I rarely speed. I try to never speed.

Throw in the word "good" between more and cops and i'll agree with you 100%.

What we don't need are more of the "whatcha gonna do, i AM the police" ima bada$$ types that became a cop so they could shoot someone legally, are prejuidiced, and look forward to roughing somebody up. The ones that are looking to put on a show. the ones that ask you to pull over by using the loudspeaker before turning on the lights, the ones that pull someone over then leave their squad car in the middle of the road when there is plenty of room to pull off the road just as the civilian had and thus create a traffic hazard, the ones that cuff you while you wait to have your info pulled, the ones that pulls me over cause i'm in a gold chrysler sebring and a gold honda accord was reported stolen then offers no apology afterwards, the ones that give you tickets for things that aren't against the law because they aren't terribly familiar with some laws................and the ones that kill people's family members trying to be a hero over a couple of dollars (and the city police department claims that it isn't their police to use high-speed pursuit over smaller crimes, so he wasn't doing his job).

For the first time since you've been here, I agree with you. But I think you're overplaying the role a bit. You make it seem as if the entire city police department is a bunch of gun toting butt heads with an attitude problem. We've got plenty of self-obsessed power tripping morons here in the local IT department too. It doesn't mean we're all idiots, and it doesn't make our job any less important....

I'm not here to go over a specific case, or talk about a specific department's policy toward high speed chases. I'm talking about pursuit in general, and why I think it is warranted in many cases.

Anyone can say, "Oh look, how terrible..." at certain events but not look at the cold hard facts behind the pros and cons of certain actions and how they generally effect the public.

Makes me think of the high crime spike in Australia after they instituted their gun ban.
Same synopsis: "Guns are dangerous, someone might get hurt."

Ask an Australian where their feelings and good intentions got them...

New Zealand imposed strict guns control laws. Criminals simply used knives, bats, etc. Weapons became easier to get and crime rates rose slightly.

you know, i have to agree with hammer here, that in my experience the majority of officers are perfectly decent. AS LONG AS you show them the same decency and respect that you expect them to show you.
i have a friend who "hates cops" because of some crap about them always bugging him when he was 14 for riding his scooter at night. he is constantly a dick to cops, shows them a ton of attitude, makes snide comments, demands to know what he did wrong, and basically is a prick. he even used to wave sarcastically at them and make stupid faces as he drove by. well, that ended one day when it got his g/f arrested because he drew attention to them. (she had an old warrant from her ex husband, she kicked him in the face after he knocked her on her *** once, he filed assault charges, anyway)
but basically what i'm getting at is, he's a prick to them, and they're pretty sh!tty right back. i, on the other hand, the few times i've dealt with the same officers, have no problems, and get fair, respectful treatment. why? because i do the same to them. i'm not a "victim", i'm a guy who was speeding, racing, smoking them, etc. if they happened to be around, and caught, it's my problem, not theirs. granted, it's a little disappointing, but, it's taught me a couple lessons in the past.
police officers are just guys doing their jobs. and the large % of them took the job because they want to help people and make things right as best they can, they're not "out to get" anyone, and i hate when people automatically condemn them just because they don't want to be "bothered" with laws. oh well.

The one thing i will say, though, is this: ALL police officers should be given significantly better training with both firearms, and vehicles. too many accidents happen because they are set loose to chase people down and have no training, and often no talent behind the wheel. and as far as firearms, i know there are a lot of cops that spend plenty of time at the range, and are fine marksmen, but too many think of the gun as something on his belt, and not a tool to be mastered for his and the public's safety. this should be changed, imo. in addition to having to run an obstacle course and scale a 6' wall, it should be required to pass a stringent combat course, and some serious high speed driving tests. this would weed out a lot more people, but i'd feel much better knowing that the guy in the white crown vic has 100% confidence and control. again, my opinion, but i think it's a good idea.

geez, i'm long winded these last couple days. sorry, :D.

Good point Motorhead. I agree totally...

Maybe I should join the force.

I can drive the wheels off anything I get my hands on (bikes too)
I'm a decent shot, even though I get to the range maybe once a year.
Not to mention that bad cops piss me off, and I have a number of friends who are good ones.

Hmm......

I would never run from the cops. Nothing is worth jail time, I have this fear of prison. If the cops hooked a u-turn in an attempt to nail a large amount of us I may pull down a side street pull over and shut the lights off. (I am pulling over not running) (Yes I am hiding, but not running.)

Chuck88

After reading some posts, I hate cops now also.

When I was younger, and knew everything, cops were out to get me. period. They were all evil.

Funny thing is, at some point during the past 10+ years, all the evil cops split, and some really cool ones moved in. I not only respect them, I support them.

You don't suppose it could have just been me getting older, do you?

Nah. me either. They must have swapped them all when I was asleep one night.

:)

Take care,
~Chris

Yeah, that does seem weird how the cops nowadays are cooler. They must of swapped our cops out that same night.

LOL