Last night I was driving down a rural road and was in no hurry. A car
pulls up behind me and his headlights are absolutely blinding me in my
mirrors. This car is keeping a reasonable distance behind me, but those
lights are extremely annoying. I began to wonder if he had his brights
turned on.

I flipped the rear view mirror to the "night" setting, but my side view
door mirrors can not be adjusted without rolling down the window, and
since it's a hassle to readjust them, and it was cold last night, I was
not going to open the window and adjust it, which still leaves the right
mirror on the passenger side.

Anyhow, the headlights on this car behind me were much worse than most.
I finally grabbed a piece of paper and held it against the side window
to block the mirror, thus causing me to steer with one hand.

I finally got to a stop sign where I had to turn, and saw that car was
turning the same way as me. So I immediately pulled over to the shoulder
to let that car pass me. SURPRISE.... It was a sheriffs car!

What kind of lights are they using? Whatever they use, they are
dangerously blinding for other drivers. This is not the first time I've
had a vehicle behind me that has extremely bright lights that blind me,
and it's turned out to be a police vehicle....

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

wrote:
Last night I was driving down a rural road and was in no hurry. A car
pulls up behind me and his headlights are absolutely blinding me in my
mirrors. This car is keeping a reasonable distance behind me, but
those lights are extremely annoying. I began to wonder if he had his
brights turned on.

I flipped the rear view mirror to the "night" setting, but my side
view door mirrors can not be adjusted without rolling down the
window, and since it's a hassle to readjust them, and it was cold
last night, I was not going to open the window and adjust it, which
still leaves the right mirror on the passenger side.

Anyhow, the headlights on this car behind me were much worse than
most. I finally grabbed a piece of paper and held it against the side
window to block the mirror, thus causing me to steer with one hand.

I finally got to a stop sign where I had to turn, and saw that car was
turning the same way as me. So I immediately pulled over to the
shoulder to let that car pass me. SURPRISE.... It was a sheriffs car!

What kind of lights are they using? Whatever they use, they are
dangerously blinding for other drivers. This is not the first time
I've had a vehicle behind me that has extremely bright lights that
blind me, and it's turned out to be a police vehicle....

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

Better-than-even chance he had his brights on , attempting to induce you to
do something he could cite you for . Had a Utah HP prick (no other word
would do in this case) ride my ass with brights back a few (decades) , I
decided more speed was in order . Lights came on as I passed 80 ... but he
screwed up , I was out of the jurisdiction of the JP he was colluding with .

--
Snag

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 15:06:54 -0600, wrote:

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

Write your elected representative.

Is there anything that you don't complain about, Sour Puss?!

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 15:34:30 -0600, "Terry Coombs"
wrote:

wrote:
Last night I was driving down a rural road and was in no hurry. A car
pulls up behind me and his headlights are absolutely blinding me in my
mirrors. This car is keeping a reasonable distance behind me, but
those lights are extremely annoying. I began to wonder if he had his
brights turned on.

I flipped the rear view mirror to the "night" setting, but my side
view door mirrors can not be adjusted without rolling down the
window, and since it's a hassle to readjust them, and it was cold
last night, I was not going to open the window and adjust it, which
still leaves the right mirror on the passenger side.

Anyhow, the headlights on this car behind me were much worse than
most. I finally grabbed a piece of paper and held it against the side
window to block the mirror, thus causing me to steer with one hand.

I finally got to a stop sign where I had to turn, and saw that car was
turning the same way as me. So I immediately pulled over to the
shoulder to let that car pass me. SURPRISE.... It was a sheriffs car!

What kind of lights are they using? Whatever they use, they are
dangerously blinding for other drivers. This is not the first time
I've had a vehicle behind me that has extremely bright lights that
blind me, and it's turned out to be a police vehicle....

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

Better-than-even chance he had his brights on , attempting to induce you to
do something he could cite you for . Had a Utah HP prick (no other word
would do in this case) ride my ass with brights back a few (decades) , I
decided more speed was in order . Lights came on as I passed 80 ... but he
screwed up , I was out of the jurisdiction of the JP he was colluding with .

Yep, I still think his brights were on. But rather than speed up, I
slowed down, hoping he would pass me. I had been doing 50 in a 55 zone,
and I slowed down to around 40. Of course I did not know it was a cop
until he passed me. I would have pulled over sooner, but I knew that
stop sign was not far ahead.

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 16:40:30 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

Tell that to the EMTs when an ambulance rushes you to the emergency
room. Tell them the siren is to loud or when a train horn approaches a
crossing to stop vehicles crossing a railroad crossing. Fire trucks
rushing to save your house?

Or write your local emergency officials and see what they say in the
matter. Tell them you have "feelings" and you are "offended".

On 11/29/15 7:54 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 16:40:30 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

Tell that to the EMTs when an ambulance rushes you to the emergency
room. Tell them the siren is to loud or when a train horn approaches a
crossing to stop vehicles crossing a railroad crossing. Fire trucks
rushing to save your house?

Or write your local emergency officials and see what they say in the
matter. Tell them you have "feelings" and you are "offended".

FWIW, there is a long line of studies (I wrote about it the first time
when I was still at Firehouse so it had to be before 1990 or so) showing
that the flashing lights tend to draw drunks toward them on the side of
the road. However, for most of the time you are right.

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 16:40:30 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

You are correct. They have become too bright, esp at night. Don't
know how the lights are set up these days but when I used to spec
light bars the good ones included an option to automatically dim them
at night. I don't know if anyone uses that option anymore. The
police aren't known for their consideration of others and in fact in
some situations they want to blind you so you can't see them.

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 20:11:12 -0500, "Kurt V. Ullman"
wrote:

On 11/29/15 7:54 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 16:40:30 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

Tell that to the EMTs when an ambulance rushes you to the emergency
room. Tell them the siren is to loud or when a train horn approaches a
crossing to stop vehicles crossing a railroad crossing. Fire trucks
rushing to save your house?

Or write your local emergency officials and see what they say in the
matter. Tell them you have "feelings" and you are "offended".

FWIW, there is a long line of studies (I wrote about it the first time
when I was still at Firehouse so it had to be before 1990 or so) showing
that the flashing lights tend to draw drunks toward them on the side of
the road. However, for most of the time you are right.

Maybe the drunks are hearing colors, like a siren call?

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 18:16:04 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote:

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 16:40:30 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

You are correct. They have become too bright, esp at night. Don't
know how the lights are set up these days but when I used to spec
light bars the good ones included an option to automatically dim them
at night. I don't know if anyone uses that option anymore. The
police aren't known for their consideration of others and in fact in
some situations they want to blind you so you can't see them.

Maybe the lights show better in heavy fog and blinding snow white
outs. We can't be having people see an emergency vehicle, now can we?

Per Oren:
I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

Tell that to the EMTs when an ambulance rushes you to the emergency
room. Tell them the siren is to loud or when a train horn approaches a
crossing to stop vehicles crossing a railroad crossing. Fire trucks
rushing to save your house?

None of that addresses the issues raised - and I agree that they are
both too bright and too loud around here and have become their own
hazard.

Also around here, the driving of those vehicles also seems to have
become more hazardous..... admittedly just anecdotal observation, but
I've seen responders go around a blind turn against a red light (risking
certain death for whoever would have been unlucky enough to be in that
head-on crash).... and observed the same 2 vehicles a few blocks later
pulled over with the occupants doing nothing more than directing
traffic.

Just today I witnessed an ambulance blow two red lights on a main
thoroughfare.... no siren in this case, no lights.... just relying on
some new system they have in place that turns the light suddenly green
for the emergency vehicle - only fly in the ointment was the lights did
not turn green until *after* the vehicle had blown through them.

And now we have school buses with white strobe lights on the roof. These
things are yellow and as big as a small house.... no problem seeing
*that*..... but there is something about a strobe light that forces
people's eyes to flick over to it - sort of a involuntary reflex....not
what I would call a good thing when drivers (already plenty aware of the
school bus) have to be looking for other moving objects.

--
Pete Cresswell

Per Kurt V. Ullman:
FWIW, there is a long line of studies (I wrote about it the first time
when I was still at Firehouse so it had to be before 1990 or so) showing
that the flashing lights tend to draw drunks toward them on the side of
the road.

I heard a New Jersey State cop on TV refer to tail lights on a vehicle
pulled over on the shoulder as "Drunk Magnets".

If/when I ever have to pull over on to a shoulder at night, my plan is
to douse the lights, exit the vehicle on the non-traffic side, and move
upstream some reasonable distance.
--
Pete Cresswell

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 18:16:04 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote:

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 16:40:30 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite.
they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

You are correct. They have become too bright, esp at night. Don't
know how the lights are set up these days but when I used to spec
light bars the good ones included an option to automatically dim them
at night. I don't know if anyone uses that option anymore. The
police aren't known for their consideration of others and in fact in
some situations they want to blind you so you can't see them.

Funny this was mentioned, becuse last week there was a local "holiday
parade". They had the usual fire trucks and ambulances. When they went
past me, I noticed the red and yellow LED lights on those vehicles were
almost blinding.

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 20:46:06 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote:

Per Oren:
I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

Tell that to the EMTs when an ambulance rushes you to the emergency
room. Tell them the siren is to loud or when a train horn approaches a
crossing to stop vehicles crossing a railroad crossing. Fire trucks
rushing to save your house?

None of that addresses the issues raised - and I agree that they are
both too bright and too loud around here and have become their own
hazard.

Also around here, the driving of those vehicles also seems to have
become more hazardous..... admittedly just anecdotal observation, but
I've seen responders go around a blind turn against a red light (risking
certain death for whoever would have been unlucky enough to be in that
head-on crash).... and observed the same 2 vehicles a few blocks later
pulled over with the occupants doing nothing more than directing
traffic.

Just today I witnessed an ambulance blow two red lights on a main
thoroughfare.... no siren in this case, no lights.... just relying on
some new system they have in place that turns the light suddenly green
for the emergency vehicle - only fly in the ointment was the lights did
not turn green until *after* the vehicle had blown through them.

And now we have school buses with white strobe lights on the roof. These
things are yellow and as big as a small house.... no problem seeing
*that*..... but there is something about a strobe light that forces
people's eyes to flick over to it - sort of a involuntary reflex....not
what I would call a good thing when drivers (already plenty aware of the
school bus) have to be looking for other moving objects.

I suggest you contact your local authorities and voice your discontent
about emergency vehicles. Call the Governor if you have to. Maybe
write a better policy that your community will adopt.

Emergency vehicles don't bother me. To get a driver's license, one has
to obey the law that gives them the right of way.

I'm not the one to complain to. Maybe tell your community leaders to
refund your tax dollars for safety devices on public service vehicles
or infrastructure.

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 20:06:20 -0600, wrote:

Funny this was mentioned, becuse last week there was a local "holiday
parade". They had the usual fire trucks and ambulances. When they went
past me, I noticed the red and yellow LED lights on those vehicles were
almost blinding.

Join the group to ban parades. That should make your life better.

On Sunday, November 29, 2015 at 8:11:18 PM UTC-5, Kurt V. Ullman wrote:
On 11/29/15 7:54 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 16:40:30 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

Tell that to the EMTs when an ambulance rushes you to the emergency
room. Tell them the siren is to loud or when a train horn approaches a
crossing to stop vehicles crossing a railroad crossing. Fire trucks
rushing to save your house?

Or write your local emergency officials and see what they say in the
matter. Tell them you have "feelings" and you are "offended".

FWIW, there is a long line of studies (I wrote about it the first time
when I was still at Firehouse so it had to be before 1990 or so) showing
that the flashing lights tend to draw drunks toward them on the side of
the road.

Which is why I believe that the new light bars have yellow caution lights on the
rears. When Officer Friendly pulls someone over, they can turn on the yellow
lights on the rear while keeping the "Pull Over" flashing lights on the front.

Hopefully, a drunk won't think the yellow lights are the red tail lights that they used
to "follow" onto the shoulder.

On 11/29/2015 8:46 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:


None of that addresses the issues raised - and I agree that they are
both too bright and too loud around here and have become their own
hazard.

While you have that opinion, many people still don't see or hear them.
Most cars come with good sound systems and many people play them loudly.
What would you suggest to overcome it other than be louder?

Also around here, the driving of those vehicles also seems to have
become more hazardous..... admittedly just anecdotal observation, but
I've seen responders go around a blind turn against a red light (risking
certain death for whoever would have been unlucky enough to be in that
head-on crash).... and observed the same 2 vehicles a few blocks later
pulled over with the occupants doing nothing more than directing
traffic.

Evidently you see a lot more emergency vehicles than I do. Maybe one a
month? I don't care how bright and loud they are as long as it works.

Just today I witnessed an ambulance blow two red lights on a main
thoroughfare.... no siren in this case, no lights.... just relying on
some new system they have in place that turns the light suddenly green
for the emergency vehicle - only fly in the ointment was the lights did
not turn green until *after* the vehicle had blown through them.

And now we have school buses with white strobe lights on the roof. These
things are yellow and as big as a small house.... no problem seeing
*that*..... but there is something about a strobe light that forces
people's eyes to flick over to it - sort of a involuntary reflex....not
what I would call a good thing when drivers (already plenty aware of the
school bus) have to be looking for other moving objects.

On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 18:16:04 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote:

The
police aren't known for their consideration of others and in fact in
some situations they want to blind you so you can't see them.

One can only assume that you were blinded by their flashlights when
you were being arrested. How inconsiderate of them. Tsk, tsk.

Per Ed Pawlowski:

While you have that opinion, many people still don't see or hear them.
Most cars come with good sound systems and many people play them loudly.
What would you suggest to overcome it other than be louder?

First off, I would suggest that the operate more carefully.

Secondly - and I grant that this does not help any - I would observe
that, for me, at least, the sound from most emergency sirens and horns
comes across as non-directional. i.e. I know something is going on, but
cannot determine where the sound is coming from.

Maybe this is the argument for louder and louder sounds - accepting the
fact that people cannot locate the source, but trying to make as many
people aware and, therefore, looking as possible.

OTOH, maybe beyond a certain volume, sound perceived from within a
closed car becomes non-directional.... I wouldn't bet a paycheck on
it, but I suspect that I can locate the location of a honking horn when
I am driving.....

Maybe it's the logical thing to do.... But it's tough on unprotected
pedestrians, cyclists, and people trying to sleep at 2 AM.... And it was
not that way 50 years ago when the operators at the ambulance/fire club
I used to hang out at had to log every use of the siren.
--
Pete Cresswell

Oren posted for all of us...



On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 16:40:30 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

I think the flashing lights on emergency vehicles have now got too brite. they are dazzaling and now became a hazard of their own......

Tell that to the EMTs when an ambulance rushes you to the emergency
room. Tell them the siren is to loud or when a train horn approaches a
crossing to stop vehicles crossing a railroad crossing. Fire trucks
rushing to save your house?

Or write your local emergency officials and see what they say in the
matter. Tell them you have "feelings" and you are "offended".

+1000 He's probably one of the ones that doesn't pull over.

--
Tekkie

posted for all of us...



Last night I was driving down a rural road and was in no hurry. A car
pulls up behind me and his headlights are absolutely blinding me in my
mirrors. This car is keeping a reasonable distance behind me, but those
lights are extremely annoying. I began to wonder if he had his brights
turned on.

I flipped the rear view mirror to the "night" setting, but my side view
door mirrors can not be adjusted without rolling down the window, and
since it's a hassle to readjust them, and it was cold last night, I was
not going to open the window and adjust it, which still leaves the right
mirror on the passenger side.

Anyhow, the headlights on this car behind me were much worse than most.
I finally grabbed a piece of paper and held it against the side window
to block the mirror, thus causing me to steer with one hand.

I finally got to a stop sign where I had to turn, and saw that car was
turning the same way as me. So I immediately pulled over to the shoulder
to let that car pass me. SURPRISE.... It was a sheriffs car!

What kind of lights are they using? Whatever they use, they are
dangerously blinding for other drivers. This is not the first time I've
had a vehicle behind me that has extremely bright lights that blind me,
and it's turned out to be a police vehicle....

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

Why didn't you flag he or she down? A few taps on the horn would have
sufficed. Maybe they have too much equipment in the back and their
headlights need adjustment. Did you get the car #? Call the chief and
discuss it with him. WE can't help you, only you can help yourself...

--
Tekkie

(PeteCresswell) posted for all of us...



Just today I witnessed an ambulance blow two red lights on a main
thoroughfare.... no siren in this case, no lights.... just relying on
some new system they have in place that turns the light suddenly green
for the emergency vehicle - only fly in the ointment was the lights did
not turn green until *after* the vehicle had blown through them.

It's called traffic preemption. There is a acknowledgment sent back to the
EV that the signal is giving them the green.

And now we have school buses with white strobe lights on the roof. These
things are yellow and as big as a small house.... no problem seeing
*that*..... but there is something about a strobe light that forces
people's eyes to flick over to it - sort of a involuntary reflex....not
what I would call a good thing when drivers (already plenty aware of the
school bus) have to be looking for other moving objects.

Unnecessary in my view. They were started so buses would be visible in fog.
The gov't critters must have a BIL in the strobe light business. Censored


--
Tekkie

Oren posted for all of us...



I suggest you contact your local authorities and voice your discontent
about emergency vehicles. Call the Governor if you have to. Maybe
write a better policy that your community will adopt.

Emergency vehicles don't bother me. To get a driver's license, one has
to obey the law that gives them the right of way.

I'm not the one to complain to. Maybe tell your community leaders to
refund your tax dollars for safety devices on public service vehicles
or infrastructure.

Oren, again, right on.

--
Tekkie

Ed Pawlowski posted for all of us...



On 11/29/2015 8:46 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:


None of that addresses the issues raised - and I agree that they are
both too bright and too loud around here and have become their own
hazard.

While you have that opinion, many people still don't see or hear them.
Most cars come with good sound systems and many people play them loudly.
What would you suggest to overcome it other than be louder?

Also around here, the driving of those vehicles also seems to have
become more hazardous..... admittedly just anecdotal observation, but
I've seen responders go around a blind turn against a red light (risking
certain death for whoever would have been unlucky enough to be in that
head-on crash).... and observed the same 2 vehicles a few blocks later
pulled over with the occupants doing nothing more than directing
traffic.

Evidently you see a lot more emergency vehicles than I do. Maybe one a
month? I don't care how bright and loud they are as long as it works.

Just today I witnessed an ambulance blow two red lights on a main
thoroughfare.... no siren in this case, no lights.... just relying on
some new system they have in place that turns the light suddenly green
for the emergency vehicle - only fly in the ointment was the lights did
not turn green until *after* the vehicle had blown through them.

And now we have school buses with white strobe lights on the roof. These
things are yellow and as big as a small house.... no problem seeing
*that*..... but there is something about a strobe light that forces
people's eyes to flick over to it - sort of a involuntary reflex....not
what I would call a good thing when drivers (already plenty aware of the
school bus) have to be looking for other moving objects.


From operating and training on EV use, no lights or sirens are bright or
loud enough. Some NYC f/f's have hearing problems from the siren mounted on
the front bumper.

--
Tekkie

Oren posted for all of us...



On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 20:06:20 -0600, wrote:

Funny this was mentioned, becuse last week there was a local "holiday
parade". They had the usual fire trucks and ambulances. When they went
past me, I noticed the red and yellow LED lights on those vehicles were
almost blinding.

Join the group to ban parades. That should make your life better.

But he has RIGHTS!

--
Tekkie

Gordon Shumway posted for all of us...



On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 18:16:04 -0700, Ashton Crusher
wrote:

The
police aren't known for their consideration of others and in fact in
some situations they want to blind you so you can't see them.

One can only assume that you were blinded by their flashlights when
you were being arrested. How inconsiderate of them. Tsk, tsk.

Good one! Now the flashlights have a strobe function on them-to disorient
knuckleheads. Evidentially it's working on some of the posters...

--
Tekkie

Terry Coombs posted for all of us...



wrote:
Last night I was driving down a rural road and was in no hurry. A car
pulls up behind me and his headlights are absolutely blinding me in my
mirrors. This car is keeping a reasonable distance behind me, but
those lights are extremely annoying. I began to wonder if he had his
brights turned on.

I flipped the rear view mirror to the "night" setting, but my side
view door mirrors can not be adjusted without rolling down the
window, and since it's a hassle to readjust them, and it was cold
last night, I was not going to open the window and adjust it, which
still leaves the right mirror on the passenger side.

Anyhow, the headlights on this car behind me were much worse than
most. I finally grabbed a piece of paper and held it against the side
window to block the mirror, thus causing me to steer with one hand.

I finally got to a stop sign where I had to turn, and saw that car was
turning the same way as me. So I immediately pulled over to the
shoulder to let that car pass me. SURPRISE.... It was a sheriffs car!

What kind of lights are they using? Whatever they use, they are
dangerously blinding for other drivers. This is not the first time
I've had a vehicle behind me that has extremely bright lights that
blind me, and it's turned out to be a police vehicle....

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

Better-than-even chance he had his brights on , attempting to induce you to
do something he could cite you for . Had a Utah HP prick (no other word
would do in this case) ride my ass with brights back a few (decades) , I
decided more speed was in order . Lights came on as I passed 80 ... but he
screwed up , I was out of the jurisdiction of the JP he was colluding with .

Still could have cited you. Law of "Hot Pursuit" and fleeing and evading.

Gee how much time would it cost to just pull over and let the car pass? You
have something to hide? That's what crack dealers do when they see a cop car
they speed up and make infractions so they bring attention to themselves.

--
Tekkie

Per Oren:
I'm not the one to complain to. Maybe tell your community leaders to
refund your tax dollars for safety devices on public service vehicles
or infrastructure.

Here's something form what *seems* like a credible source - which seems
to downplay the utility of lights/sirens on EMS vehicles:
http://www.emmco.org/Documents/Siren%20abstract.pdf

A few clips:

"There is an over reliance on the ambulance sirens to alert drivers of
other vehicles to the presence of emergency vehicles. As a result,
collisions occur every day with tragic outcomes. "

"A Department of Transportation report concluded that sirens will never
become an effective warning device."

"The use of lights and sirens while transporting a patient has come
under scrutiny many times over the years. While this seems to still be a
come practice in the year 2010, many studies have shown that this is of
little value in the patient’s outcome. Most of the research that has
been completed on this issue dates back to the mid to late 1990s."
--
Pete Cresswell

Oren posted for all of us...



On Sun, 29 Nov 2015 15:06:54 -0600, wrote:

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

Write your elected representative.

Is there anything that you don't complain about, Sour Puss?!

The cow wants to be milked...

--
Tekkie

Per Tekkie®:
Just today I witnessed an ambulance blow two red lights on a main
thoroughfare.... no siren in this case, no lights.... just relying on
some new system they have in place that turns the light suddenly green
for the emergency vehicle - only fly in the ointment was the lights did
not turn green until *after* the vehicle had blown through them.

It's called traffic preemption. There is a acknowledgment sent back to the
EV that the signal is giving them the green.

Seems like one of those things that sounds good in a sales presentation,
but may not work so well in practice.

The EMS driver is relying on oncoming traffic to heed a red light that
suddenly appears with no yellow light, no warning whatsoever... just
"Blink !" and it's red.... and, in the case I witnessed, the EMS driver
is even proceeded through the light *before* it turned green for him.
--
Pete Cresswell

Tekkie® wrote:
Terry Coombs posted for all of us...



wrote:
Last night I was driving down a rural road and was in no hurry. A
car pulls up behind me and his headlights are absolutely blinding
me in my mirrors. This car is keeping a reasonable distance behind
me, but those lights are extremely annoying. I began to wonder if
he had his brights turned on.

I flipped the rear view mirror to the "night" setting, but my side
view door mirrors can not be adjusted without rolling down the
window, and since it's a hassle to readjust them, and it was cold
last night, I was not going to open the window and adjust it, which
still leaves the right mirror on the passenger side.

Anyhow, the headlights on this car behind me were much worse than
most. I finally grabbed a piece of paper and held it against the
side window to block the mirror, thus causing me to steer with one
hand.

I finally got to a stop sign where I had to turn, and saw that car
was turning the same way as me. So I immediately pulled over to the
shoulder to let that car pass me. SURPRISE.... It was a sheriffs
car!

What kind of lights are they using? Whatever they use, they are
dangerously blinding for other drivers. This is not the first time
I've had a vehicle behind me that has extremely bright lights that
blind me, and it's turned out to be a police vehicle....

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

Better-than-even chance he had his brights on , attempting to induce
you to do something he could cite you for . Had a Utah HP prick (no
other word would do in this case) ride my ass with brights back a
few (decades) , I decided more speed was in order . Lights came on
as I passed 80 ... but he screwed up , I was out of the jurisdiction
of the JP he was colluding with .

Still could have cited you. Law of "Hot Pursuit" and fleeing and
evading.

Gee how much time would it cost to just pull over and let the car
pass? You have something to hide? That's what crack dealers do when
they see a cop car they speed up and make infractions so they bring
attention to themselves.

Well , this happened 40 years ago when I was young and full of testosterone
.. And driving a '66 Impala SS396 ... how was I to know it was a cop ?

--
Snag

On 11/29/2015 4:34 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
wrote:
Last night I was driving down a rural road and was in no hurry. A car
pulls up behind me and his headlights are absolutely blinding me in my
mirrors. This car is keeping a reasonable distance behind me, but
those lights are extremely annoying. I began to wonder if he had his
brights turned on.

I flipped the rear view mirror to the "night" setting, but my side
view door mirrors can not be adjusted without rolling down the
window, and since it's a hassle to readjust them, and it was cold
last night, I was not going to open the window and adjust it, which
still leaves the right mirror on the passenger side.

Anyhow, the headlights on this car behind me were much worse than
most. I finally grabbed a piece of paper and held it against the side
window to block the mirror, thus causing me to steer with one hand.

I finally got to a stop sign where I had to turn, and saw that car was
turning the same way as me. So I immediately pulled over to the
shoulder to let that car pass me. SURPRISE.... It was a sheriffs car!

What kind of lights are they using? Whatever they use, they are
dangerously blinding for other drivers. This is not the first time
I've had a vehicle behind me that has extremely bright lights that
blind me, and it's turned out to be a police vehicle....

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

Better-than-even chance he had his brights on , attempting to induce you to
do something he could cite you for . Had a Utah HP prick (no other word
would do in this case) ride my ass with brights back a few (decades) , I
decided more speed was in order . Lights came on as I passed 80 ... but he
screwed up , I was out of the jurisdiction of the JP he was colluding with .


My thought is the same.

Cop in an unmarked van came up behind my wife and was tailgating her so
she sped up to increase the distance to find out it was a cop and get a
speeding ticket.

She was too embarrassed to tell me and paid it. Had I known, I would
have fought it.

Some cops, like thieves, are often lazy and look for easy ways to make
money.

On 11/29/2015 01:06 PM, wrote:
What kind of lights are they using?

When I was a kid. Yes, I can remember that far back! My
dad used air craft landing lights on his dune buggy.
You could feel the heat in the beam 20 feet away. And
I swear you could light up a spot on the moon.

http://www.amazon.com/4509-Aircraft-.../dp/B00ESZYBIA

I took a elderly 80 years old couple shopping. but quit when the west view cops gave me a hard time because in snowey weather they complained and threatened to give me a ticket because i dropped them near the grocery stores door

the couple wouldnt go to the mayor so i told them to find another way.

everywhere else the cops watch old people being dropped off by the door, and its no problem.

my old friends are millionaires, but hate spending money on food.

they still use a wringer washer, have no microwave, no cable, no internet, since they charge every month. they will go thru 30 coffee cakes to pick out the biggest one

heck they put buiilion cubes on hamburger helper.... to not buy meat

wrote:
Last night I was driving down a rural road and was in no hurry. A car
pulls up behind me and his headlights are absolutely blinding me in my
mirrors. This car is keeping a reasonable distance behind me, but those
lights are extremely annoying. I began to wonder if he had his brights
turned on.

I flipped the rear view mirror to the "night" setting, but my side view
door mirrors can not be adjusted without rolling down the window, and
since it's a hassle to readjust them, and it was cold last night, I was
not going to open the window and adjust it, which still leaves the right
mirror on the passenger side.

Anyhow, the headlights on this car behind me were much worse than most.
I finally grabbed a piece of paper and held it against the side window
to block the mirror, thus causing me to steer with one hand.

I finally got to a stop sign where I had to turn, and saw that car was
turning the same way as me. So I immediately pulled over to the shoulder
to let that car pass me. SURPRISE.... It was a sheriffs car!

What kind of lights are they using? Whatever they use, they are
dangerously blinding for other drivers. This is not the first time I've
had a vehicle behind me that has extremely bright lights that blind me,
and it's turned out to be a police vehicle....

Police or not, those lights are too frikkin bright!

There was a Facebook item about someone being stopped, and complained about
bright light from police car. Policeman was not polite. Forget the outcome.

Greg

On 11/30/2015 10:03 PM, bob haller wrote:

I took a elderly 80 years old couple shopping. but quit when the west view cops gave me a hard time because in snowey weather they complained and threatened to give me a ticket because i dropped them near the grocery stores door

the couple wouldnt go to the mayor so i told them to find another way.

everywhere else the cops watch old people being dropped off by the door, and its no problem.

my old friends are millionaires, but hate spending money on food.

they still use a wringer washer, have no microwave, no cable, no internet, since they charge every month. they will go thru 30 coffee cakes to pick out the biggest one

heck they put buiilion cubes on hamburger helper.... to not buy meat


Ask them some day if they want to tell you about The
Great Depression. I bet they remember it like yesterday,
but can't remember yesterday due to depression.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On Tue, 1 Dec 2015 07:36:21 -0500, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 11/30/2015 10:03 PM, bob haller wrote:

I took a elderly 80 years old couple shopping. but quit when the west view cops gave me a hard time because in snowey weather they complained and threatened to give me a ticket because i dropped them near the grocery stores door

the couple wouldnt go to the mayor so i told them to find another way.

everywhere else the cops watch old people being dropped off by the door, and its no problem.

my old friends are millionaires, but hate spending money on food.

they still use a wringer washer, have no microwave, no cable, no internet, since they charge every month. they will go thru 30 coffee cakes to pick out the biggest one

heck they put buiilion cubes on hamburger helper.... to not buy meat


Ask them some day if they want to tell you about The
Great Depression. I bet they remember it like yesterday,
but can't remember yesterday due to depression.

Life moves on. 80 year olds can't remember the great depression
because they weren't born yet. Someone has to be in their 90's to
remember it (assuming people don't remember much before age 5). Only
people over 100 are likely to have been a head of household trying to
survive during the great depression.

On 12/1/2015 9:00 AM, Pat wrote:
On Tue, 1 Dec 2015 07:36:21 -0500, Stormin Mormon
Ask them some day if they want to tell you about The
Great Depression. I bet they remember it like yesterday,
but can't remember yesterday due to depression.

Life moves on. 80 year olds can't remember the great depression
because they weren't born yet. Someone has to be in their 90's to
remember it (assuming people don't remember much before age 5). Only
people over 100 are likely to have been a head of household trying to
survive during the great depression.


My Mom used to tell me about "depression babies".
These are the people born right after TGD, and
still are greatly affected by it. Might be the
case with the 80 y.o. shoppers.

--
..
Christopher A. Young
learn more about Jesus
.. www.lds.org
..
..

On Tue, 1 Dec 2015 09:06:51 -0500, Stormin Mormon
wrote:

On 12/1/2015 9:00 AM, Pat wrote:
On Tue, 1 Dec 2015 07:36:21 -0500, Stormin Mormon
Ask them some day if they want to tell you about The
Great Depression. I bet they remember it like yesterday,
but can't remember yesterday due to depression.

Life moves on. 80 year olds can't remember the great depression
because they weren't born yet. Someone has to be in their 90's to
remember it (assuming people don't remember much before age 5). Only
people over 100 are likely to have been a head of household trying to
survive during the great depression.


My Mom used to tell me about "depression babies".
These are the people born right after TGD, and
still are greatly affected by it. Might be the
case with the 80 y.o. shoppers.

My Mom was in her late teens during the depression and was responsible
for her younger brothers and sisters due to her parents both passing
away young. I can still remember driving her around to various
grocery stores in the 80's so she could save 3 cents on a can of green
beans or whatever was on sale. We easily spent more on gas going to 3
or 4 stores than the savings, but she couldn't help it.

Per Stormin Mormon:

My Mom used to tell me about "depression babies".
These are the people born right after TGD, and
still are greatly affected by it. Might be the
case with the 80 y.o. shoppers.

Also, there are people who were simply raised to be thrifty - regardless
of how much money they have at hand.... sort of the opposite of nouveau
riche behavior.
--
Pete Cresswell