>a police car introduces certain mental restrictions which prevent people from behaving how they naturally would.
Just FYI, there's a reason for the mental restriction. If you pass a cop and you're in his jurisdiction and you're going faster than the speed limit you have about a 80% chance of getting a speeding ticket.
80% is the shaky number I came up with based on witnessing 5 occurrences. I was a one driver that got pulled over. I've seen 4 other drivers attempt it and only one didn't get pulled over.
Here in Massachusetts, the staties blow by you at 100MPH (and when people don't move over, sit on their tail and probably give them a good scare when they finally realize what's behind them). I generally see them coming from pretty far back (a car closing at ~25mph is pretty noticeable), move over, let them pass, then see how long I can follow. I figure that the cop must be following the law and going a safe speed for the conditions of the road, so I can use them as a benchmark for what is considered acceptable instead of having to rely on the purely advisory signs.
Funnily enough, the slow cops and coplike vehicles that bunch up traffic are usually the ones with the least jurisdiction and least likely to give out tickets. Town cops going one exit on a state road, inmate transfer, game wardens, etc. This could of course all be fixed by having speed limits that reflected society, and GPS tracking of cops to make sure they're not immune from the law. But more likely self driving cars will make the whole situation moot - I'd gladly save fuel and make a 2hr trip in 3hrs if I didn't have to waste my attention on the vehicle.
Yeah, I'm from the Cape. Never had to pass a state cruiser. I dive a lot in CT though and their staties never drive fast without their lights going.
One time I had to call 911 for a drunk driver and the dispatcher asked me to follow the guy saying I could drive as fast as I felt safe. I was about 1/2 mile behind the guy going 95 mph when the cruiser passed me like I was standing still (with no siren or lights). I'd swear he was going 140.
bus/train won't get you door to door, so you get further expense (monetary or social) at both ends (coupled with more pay-attention time). plus the added coordination time due to not wanting to miss your departure. i've done the bus, and i'd estimate it's more like adding 2hr of non-attention to the existing 2hr of pay-attention.
bus/train also requires packing/bundling and simultaneous handling of cargo, where with a car, you can just throw everything in the trunk/back seat at your leisure.
I've often tested the theory myself, without breaking the speed limit. If the cop is driving just under the limit, I set my speed exactly on the limit, and overtake if I need to.
Of the ~10 times I've done this, I once got pulled over and abused by the cop for being a "freaking idiot". No ticket.
So actually your number, by Laplace's law of succession (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_succession), would be 71%: you saw 4 other instances and you were another instance, so that's 5 instances, and you say you and 3 others were pulled over for 4 pull overs, so in the formula 's +1 / n + 2' we get ' 4+1 / 5+2' or 0.71 or 71%.
Surely this depends a lot on where in the world you are? I regularly break the speed limit while overtaking police cars in the UK and have never been pulled over (but never by much - I figure there's too much work involved to give me a ticket for only going 5 miles an hour over the limit). In fact, I've unintentionally overtaken police while going over the limit in Qatar and the US as well without being pulled over - both places where I'm more fearful of the police than when in the UK.
>I figure there's too much work involved to give me a ticket for only going 5 miles an hour over the limit
True. I typically drive past speed traps at ~10MPH over the limit with no problem. Passing a cop seems to be showing disrespect and I think that's why it'll get you pulled over.
Just FYI, there's a reason for the mental restriction. If you pass a cop and you're in his jurisdiction and you're going faster than the speed limit you have about a 80% chance of getting a speeding ticket.
80% is the shaky number I came up with based on witnessing 5 occurrences. I was a one driver that got pulled over. I've seen 4 other drivers attempt it and only one didn't get pulled over.