Daily Herald: If you're a speeder, the Tri-State was not the place to be

[Tweed]

http://www.dailyherald.com/news_story.asp?intid=38416308

"The maroon Chrysler racing north on the Tri-State Tollway is clocked at 89 miles per hour, and the information is quickly radioed to Trooper John Knebel in Car 126.

"He's passing you … now," says a trooper whose squad car sits nearby on a southbound shoulder, tracking northbound drivers with radar, as Knebel shifts into gear and onto the road right behind his quarry.

They switch lanes from left to right and at 11:28 a.m. Friday -- 4¨ hours into "Operation Full House," the Illinois State Police effort to crack down on speeders and hazardous driving habits on the Tri-State Tollway (I-294/94) -- pull onto the right shoulder.

After a few minutes at the passenger window talking to the driver, Knebel returns to his squad car with the man's driver's license, registration and insurance card -- and questions, suggesting this might become more than a routine "Full House" traffic stop.

‘Full House' flush"

[xray s]

1. good

People drive like butt heads on the Trisate

[starwolf]

2. Illegal search too?

"The driver, who gave a Milwaukee address, arouses suspicion when he says he was coming home from a one-day business trip to Mississippi and hands over a Florida driver's license. He refuses permission for Knebel to search the trunk.

Computer records come back clean, and even though higher-ups eventually give Knebel permission to look in the trunk, his search turns up nothing."

Silly me I thought if the driver refused permission, lacking probably cause (or a search dog signalling after the recent SCOTUS decision), they could not search a trunk.

[Radical Activist]

3. apparently not

I had my car searched without permission recently. I'm sure they have 101 exemptions and excuses to conduct illegal searches.

[Radical Activist]

4. Not only are the toll rates higher

Now they're going out of their way to ticket people for using the tollway for the purpose it as intended: going faster. Assholes.

[DrGonzoLives]

5. Yippee!

Let's squeeze commuters even more!

Christ, do you know how slow traffic is on the Tri-State during rush hour? Yeah, people are going to go fast when they can. Why don't they focus on the dickweeds changing lanes every three seconds and cutting people off?

[Radical Activist]

7. You know, if they got rid of the tolls

Traffic might be a lot faster. The whole idea of a tollway inside a major city is simply stupid.

[Nailzberg]

8. Going out of their way to ticket people? 89mph!!!!

At 89 mph that driver was going out of his way to be ticketed.

[Radical Activist]

9. Yes, I'm sure each and every person

they pulled over on their speed trap that involved multiple police vehicles was going 89mph. :eyes:

[Nailzberg]

10. Yeah, god forbid the police pull over people speeding.

No sympathy for those pulled over speeding. We chose to violate speed limits, we know we are risking the ticket.

Whether it is 5 mph over, or 34 mph over as the case may be for the driver in this story. You are right, every motorist was not going 34 over. Some were going 24 over, some were going 14 over.

But all were going over. Play by the rules, or don't complain about the ticket.

[tritsofme]

6. Buy a radar detector

I've had mine for a few years now and I haven't gotten a speeding ticket since.