Busted for doing 171 MPH in a Camaro

[ksa]

Originally Posted by dzvero

I dont think they can catch up. With that speed hes almost 2 miles away in half minute. Thats the time it will take the police to read the radar, go to car and start. Even cop reaches 140 mph car will be 3-4 miles ahead and keep going, how you will even hear or see police car from 4 miles?

I see your point but from the article...

Padden tells the Tribune he had to get his Dodge Charger squad up to 135 mph just to get close enough so the driver of the speeding Camaro could see his emergency lights and pull over.

So the cop did catch up enough for the driver to see the emergency lights and pull over. Presumably if he didn't stop, how hard would it be for the cop to keep up (if not catch up even more) and call in a chopper? I assume the squad cars are tuned to be at least as fast if not faster than the Camaro.

[RM7]

Originally Posted by ksa

I assume the squad cars are tuned to be at least as fast if not faster than the Camaro.

Of course not, don't be ridiculous. They are running the standard HP for those law-enforcement cars, they've even been tested by the car mags. The thing is, when you are traveling at that speed, you really can't keep going like that indefinitely, you have to have a big wide open stretch, and then slow down when there's traffic, turns, intersections, etc. If you want to make it look like you were "just speeding in that one spot", you slow down. If you want to "run from the cops", you keep the speed up and go faster than the cop can go, but you risk losing control in the turns, getting hit by other drivers, etc. The cop can close in on you when you lower the speed for safety reasons, if people are pulling over for them, people are stopping in intersections, etc.

It's all about what you want to risk, vs reward. Outrun cops, possibly lose control, die, or go to jail and have license revoked vs. slow down, live, possibly get thrown in jail and have a better chance of pleading down to some kind of lower charge. Many cars are capable of "outrunning" the cops, but few will outrun the helicopter or the radio, which may or may not be available at the time. Again, you are taking some big chances, but they aren't catching up because they have "cop shocks, cop engine, cop tires", etc...Their cars are tuned to be decently fast, but they are also like 5000lbs with poor tires (for road holding).

The only reason that cop caught up is because the camaro guy slowed down.

[08njSTEP]

One time in mexico I was driving a C5 vette and pacing a 911. We were both doing triple digits. A cop going other direction threw on lights and u turned to chase. I pulled off at next exit and clear. We were in mountains and I was 2 peaks ahead so he never saw me. In the right car, under the right circumstances.... It can be done. That was the 2nd time I beat Mexican cops.

[AIRPOWER]

Originally Posted by The Wind Breezes

Here's why you're wrong:

1) At 171 MPH the car will probably be out of sight in a few seconds.
2) They're not gonna get the plates, or a good enough description to of the car to do anything if they DID find the car again. They need to be positive it was the same car.
3) Cops don't expect to catch people who blow past them going mid triple digits. What they expect, if anything, is a crash.
4) You don't need to be going fucking 170+ for the previous 3 to work lol

Cars outrun the police ALL THE TIME, ALL OVER the country. They don't show it on the news and it's not something I advocate, but it's a reality.

And as far as helicopters go, even in a city that loves them like LA you're unlikely to get the chopper on you unless you:

1) have committed a more serious crime than blazing speed
2) can't get away, refuse to pull over, drag chase on for huge length of time

They use a helicopter here but it doesn't even BEGIN to make a dent in the people racing and doing top speed runs on the freeways by my house.

Actually I am right....radio waves move the speed of light and my YMB M3 moves slightly less than that.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by 08njSTEP

One time in mexico I was driving a C5 vette and pacing a 911. We were both doing triple digits. A cop going other direction threw on lights and u turned to chase. I pulled off at next exit and clear. We were in mountains and I was 2 peaks ahead so he never saw me. In the right car, under the right circumstances.... It can be done. That was the 2nd time I beat Mexican cops.

Ah yes I love those "once upon a time in Mexico" stories..

[TXSTYLE]

I do NOT advocate these speeds at all on public roads for others and for my own lifes sake. THAT being said.... Here in TX. You would be arrested and license revoked. And THAT being said, even I would exit and park or evade somehow. I like my chances with that much distance and reaction time. Considering all what would be at stake.
Heck he got off VERY lightly!

[Nitrousbird]

Anyone who says you can't get away is clueless. I've had friends (long, long time ago) outrun cops in cars no faster than what the cop was driving.

When I first met my wife, I took out my best friend's C5 Vette, which had a heads/cam/full bolt on's + 381 stroker LS1 at the time. Took an exit, crossed a bridge to get back on the freeway to go the other way to get back home, as it was just a joy ride. On the bridge the other direction was a cop...one I didn't notice when I hammered it over the bridge.

Let's just say I went hard on the on-ramp and never let up until somewhere over 160. My wife (g/f at the time) was oddly calm about the whole thing. By the time the cop would have gotten onto the freeway, if he did make chase, I would have been out of sight. Couple exits later I exited the freeway, went home, parked it and nothing happened.

[WhatsADSM]

Originally Posted by ksa

I see your point but from the article...



So the cop did catch up enough for the driver to see the emergency lights and pull over. Presumably if he didn't stop, how hard would it be for the cop to keep up (if not catch up even more) and call in a chopper? I assume the squad cars are tuned to be at least as fast if not faster than the Camaro.

The cop caught up because the camaro slowed down (The article states being clocked at 171, thrn 168, then 134). It takes something without wheels to catch up to someone in a reasonable amount of time if they come flying by at 171mph. It's basic kinematics. In a little over 20 seconds they are 1 mile ahead and pulling away fast. Even by the time a cop car could get in, put the gun away, start the car, enter traffic and accelerate 0-60, the camaro is STILL pulling away at a rate of a mile in about 30 seconds.

[The Wind Breezes]

If you have a very fast car, (or a reasonably fast car AND you're a fast driver) and you make contact with the police when they're either stationary or going the other way, you stand an excellent chance of getting away. Works better the more chances there are for you to turn off, so if you're on a long straight highway and don't get off it won't work. If there was already a helicopter above you and they're called in (unlikely) you won't get away. If you don't get away immediately, you're not getting away. It's not rocket science, people.

[racechapman]

Originally Posted by ksa

So the cop did catch up enough for the driver to see the emergency lights and pull over. Presumably if he didn't stop, how hard would it be for the cop to keep up (if not catch up even more) and call in a chopper? I assume the squad cars are tuned to be at least as fast if not faster than the Camaro.

So along with the author of the article, are you also under the impression that you can catch up to someone doing 75% of their speed? The wording there is so silly. He got "close enough" going 135? How do you close to someone going 40mph slower than them at your maximum speed? Even if the cop started at 135, if the dude was doing 170 the whole time he would have been consistently pulling away. Obviously the dude saw the cop and jammed on the brakes for whatever reason. Or maybe he didn't see the cop and was done with his high-speed run.

You cannot catch someone doing 170mph while doing 135, let alone accelerating from 0. It would take a cop car at the very best about 30 seconds to hit 135mph, probably more. And at least a mile, probably more. In that time the other car could have already put like 2 miles of distance, and that's assuming the cop had his car in drive and stomped on the pedal right away. If you've ever been on a track you know how quickly a car pulls away going just a few mph more than you on average.

The whole radio argument is silly. It depends on there being another cop directly ahead of the car AND the car not going any direction except forward. Take away one of those variables and you're fine. The helicopter is a nonissue unless you have the worst luck in the world.

Cops have done a very good PR job of indoctrinating people into thinking that they are way more capable than they are. Have you noticed that there's "never a cop around when you need him?" Well guess what, that's true if you're a cop too.

[1MOREMOD]

Just try it out yourself you weiners.

[Nitrousbird]

Originally Posted by ksa

I assume the squad cars are tuned to be at least as fast if not faster than the Camaro.

LOL, no. If squad cars get ANY upgrades, it is typically an additional oil, power steering or tranny cooler. They might get a slight suspension upgrade and typically no power upgrades of any kind. Half the ones here are Ford Explorers, with the rest being leftover Crown Vics and Dodge Chargers.

[48Laws]

I don't know. I saw a cruiser not too long ago take off like a bat out of hell to follow a driver. He got up to speed so quickly. I think those cars have work.

[Z K]

If he is in an area where he can go 171, it's in the middle of nowhere and probably not any places he can easily turn off to hide or evade.

[csu87]

lol everyone saying he could just call in a chopper must have not realized where this story is from. Pretty sure A) the cop had a good idea who it was in a town that small and B) the driver had a good idea the cop know who he was and slowed down/pulled over to avoid hurting someone and C) that police force doesnt have a chopper, and would be lucky to have more than 2 officers on duty at a time.

Two Harbors (Area near where the incident took place)
City in Minnesota
Area: 3.282 mi²
Population: 3,666 (2013)

Hermantown (Officer was the deputy police chief from Hermantown)
City in Minnesota
Area: 34.37 mi²
Population: 9,605 (2013)

most times these small towns are fairly lenient when it comes to issues like this. I know the small town (15k population or so) gives more warning for excessive speed than actual tickets. Theres be a few times where Ive been popped doing some test runs on the back country roads and gotten off with a warning.

[RM7]

It's also worth noting that the Camaro has the aerodynamics of a brick, Cd is something ridiculous like .38 or .40, so getting to 171 on the LS3 in real world (not a track, drafting, etc) is impressive!

[The Wind Breezes]

Originally Posted by JamesNoBrakes

It's also worth noting that the Camaro has the aerodynamics of a brick, Cd is something ridiculous like .38 or .40, so getting to 171 on the LS3 in real world (not a track, drafting, etc) is impressive!

A 5th gen SS has a Cd of .35 which isn't that bad. It also doesn't have that much frontal area and makes a lot of power. Not impressive, the physics are what they are.

[AYTifosi]

D'oh!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/...cid=spartanntp

Whoops.. Camaro.. sorry Chevy guys.

[StatenEye]

Originally Posted by 08njSTEP

One time in mexico I was driving a C5 vette and pacing a 911. We were both doing triple digits. A cop going other direction threw on lights and u turned to chase. I pulled off at next exit and clear. We were in mountains and I was 2 peaks ahead so he never saw me. In the right car, under the right circumstances.... It can be done. That was the 2nd time I beat Mexican cops.

I have done the pedal down next exit a few times. I was however caught once, after exiting, long before the copper, I was caught at the next intersection. luckily I got off.