I actually got to drive today without running into much traffic, which is an absolutely unheard of phenomenon as of late in Branford. For whatever reason, even Saturday and Sunday afternoons have been rush-hour like on I-95 up here, but today I had a somewhat decent drive with Vinney when we went out to lunch. It wasn't too warm or too cold, and although there was traffic, it wasn't the usual sub-40mph traffic that we tend to get up here.

Cops are strange in Branford, none of them use their radar guns - ever - and today was a testament to that. I drove by one (note that I said drove, not flew by any means) and I actually had, for the first time ever, a cop yell at me to slow down while he was driving in the opposite direction. Now I make it a point not to speed through populated areas or be reckless with my driving (neither of which I was doing in this case), but I'm pretty sure the appropriate action as a police officer would be to turn on the radar gun and commence with the pulling over, if he really felt that I was speeding. Strange and funny at the same time :)

The interesting adventures on wheels today were capped off by the presence of a shovel in the middle of the left lane on I-95N, and surprisingly enough, no one had run over it. Things like this do surprise me; an inch of snow in Raleigh caused something like 400 accidents in one day last winter, but put a shovel in the middle of a lane in a crowded highway and everyone seems to know just how to drive all of a sudden. Not to mention the fact that there is always an accident on I-95, and there's almost never a shovel involved.
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  • Pythias - Wednesday, September 21, 2005 - link

    Yeah everybody KNOWs how evil cops are.
  • johnable - Monday, September 5, 2005 - link

    I am working on a project and would love to know what graphic component you use on your site. I need one for .NET and would really appreciate it if you could share what you use, it obviously works well.

    Thank you,

    John
  • MikeyJ79 - Monday, September 5, 2005 - link

    There was a situation when I was driving on the freeway and there was a ladder in the middle of the road. If I remember correctly, I had just entered the left lane to pass somebody when suddenly I saw this ladder. There was little time for me to react, and little space to swerve without going into the median or hitting one of the reflector poles on the side of the road. It was definitely one of my scarier moments in driving.
  • luftwaffles - Sunday, September 4, 2005 - link

    You weren't pulled over simply because the cop was driving in the other direction. Usually a cop must be behind you to legally pull you over for a traffic violation.
  • rqle - Sunday, September 4, 2005 - link

    really, i see cops make a fat ass u-turn on those open freeway all the time. i encounter this a lot when visiting relatives in texas.
  • creathir - Monday, September 5, 2005 - link

    I LIVE in Texas, and this happens ALL the time. Where we are, the Interstates and some of the highways are 4 lane divided highways with medians in the middle, and sometimes the cops will FLY across the grass to nab ya. I've seen it on street roads and all sorts of stuff... Sounds to me like the cops in CT are pretty lax and laid back from the way Anand is describing them.
    - Creathir
  • overclockingoodness - Monday, September 5, 2005 - link

    Yep, I agree. Those Highway Patrol officers really do jump over the median to grab you.
  • brshoemak - Saturday, September 3, 2005 - link

    Anand,

    I might have an explanation for your non-radar gun experience. I live in State College, Pennsylvania (Penn State University is here, so not a hick town by any means). Anyway, there are all kinds of ordinances like store signs can't be taller than 20 feet and the city/county cops can't use radar guns. Instead, white lines are painted all over town at set distances and when you cross one, the cop starts his stopwatch.....and stops it when you cross another. Distance divided by time = speed. So after he does his little calculations he decides whether or not to nail you. Unless you are absolutely flying past him, the cops are pretty laid back. Your town may have similiar ordinances to keep that small town feel without reds and blues flashing all the time. Be careful of State Troopers though, they ALL have radar guns.

    -brshoemak
  • cooldadd - Saturday, September 3, 2005 - link

    Must be a thing about shovels on I-95...I recall an experience on the CT Turnpike watching a shovel bounce end-over-end OVER my car after it fell off a truck ahead. <shudder>
  • ksherman - Saturday, September 3, 2005 - link

    yikes! must have been pretty scary!

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