VPD Ghost cars

[Sphubby]

Anyone else noticing more ghost cars floating around Vancouver lately??

I was coming up Granville St. yesterday and saw some poor slob pulled over by a very used looking silver Dodge Caravan complete with the "L" sign on the back. Had that 150.000 km look to it complete with few dings.

Week before it was a Ford F150, blue with a contractors cap on it. It had the hitch sticking out the back just to throw everyone off some more.

The funniest I saw was a large Sprinter window van running up and down Granville St. with three cops sitting at the back looking through the tinted windows for people with phones in their hands. Took me a minute for figure out what was up. Also they had three plainclothes cops standing at Oak and 41st at the gas station looking for cars stopped across the road for distracted driving. I am used to them coming out of the bushes at Oak and 60-70 ave to feed but they are getting more creative lol.

Keep you phone in the holder and eyes on the road or they will get you.

 

[johnsmit]

Yah this is a great use of trained police officer .How about actually dealing with real crimes and stopping gangs and random shootings

 

[clu]

Yah this is a great use of trained police officer .How about actually dealing with real crimes and stopping gangs and random shootings

The number of deaths by traffic accident vs. number of murders in Vancouver this year is comparable.

 

[westwoody]

A ton of accidents are caused by idiots yakking on their phones instead of watching where they are going.
Maybe you think letting them wander all over the road and endangering everyone else is okay?

Ticketing these selfish and irresponsible assholes is a very good use of police resources.

 

[Aesthetics>all]

I had a charger pace me in the next lane and continually do small pulls in an attempt to get me to race him on hwy7, finally got next to him at a light and told him I’m headed to mrp and he can get walked there if he really wanted and that’s when I found out it was a cop in a ghost car. I hate when cops are out doing this kinda bs

 

[johnsmit]

Totally agree that distracted drivers are the cause of many accidents and it needs to be deterred..But the manner in which the police are used to enforce it with snreky tactics is not how a police department should 6be operating ..If they want to stop this start some high profile awareness programs , be openly present on the roads and place lot of large signs on the road saying it wont be tallerated anymore..


And just openly set up and post on the road police on road ahead looking for distracted drivers.

Sneeky tactics on the general public just make people misstrusting of them .And we don't want a police state mentality, many of the imagrents we have come from that all ready why precipitate that idea in there minds here.

Canada should distill the free and just society attribute that we want in a country. Not this miss trust we have for government and authority.

 

[johnsmit]

When it comes to distracted driving there are so many things that we all do beside the phone situation ,and dogs in there laps.
How many eat their mac D and drink coffee or anyvdtick while driving..play with the radio, and a half a dozen other distraction habits.It has been going on along time.
And I wonder what make a police officer more cable of of checking stuff on the computer or using the phone when he drives .
I see it all the time. They are just as distracted as any other driver. Double standard does not work.

 

[summerbreeze]

A ton of accidents are caused by idiots yakking on their phones instead of watching where they are going.
Maybe you think letting them wander all over the road and endangering everyone else is okay?

Ticketing these selfish and irresponsible assholes is a very good use of police resources.

good point, they will get the guys who are well behaved when they see a regular police car but pull out their phones when none are in sight

 

[VanessainVictoria]

My gf told me last night that the fine for distracted driving is over $500. I don't drive so does anyone know if this is accurate?

 

[MB Mod]

My gf told me last night that the fine for distracted driving is over $500. I don't drive so does anyone know if this is accurate?

$543 and 4 demerits

 

[ddcanz]

Yah this is a great use of trained police officer .How about actually dealing with real crimes and stopping gangs and random shootings

Resources are what they are.
I'm glad these guys are out there. The sooner people get the message that distracted driving causes a world of grief- well beyond actual fatalities- the better.
I've seen a knob actually playing a guitar slung over his shoulder at successive traffic lights in Langley. I pointed this out to him and got the typical "MYOB, A-hole". So when I opened my door to "politely" ask him if he'd like to converse on the subject in the next parking lot he sped through the red at high speed and was gone.
And BTW- how do you police a "random" shooting? Consider the actual definition.....

 

[ddcanz]

Totally agree that distracted drivers are the cause of many accidents and it needs to be deterred..But the manner in which the police are used to enforce it with snreky tactics is not how a police department should 6be operating ..If they want to stop this start some high profile awareness programs , be openly present on the roads and place lot of large signs on the road saying it wont be tallerated anymore..


And just openly set up and post on the road police on road ahead looking for distracted drivers.

Sneeky tactics on the general public just make people misstrusting of them .And we don't want a police state mentality, many of the imagrents we have come from that all ready why precipitate that idea in there minds here.

Canada should distill the free and just society attribute that we want in a country. Not this miss trust we have for government and authority.

"Sneaky tactics?" Too fucking bad I say, and good on 'em for using any method at their disposal.
Do you drive a lot in greater Van? Look around. Distraction is rampant and the primary reason is electronic devices.
Public awareness? There seems to be a pretty good ad campaign in place.
Road blocks? Signage? High visibility? I see it all the time.
Is this a "Big Brother" thing for you. Methinks your mistrust of authority runs a bit too deep here. Roads are public- get over yourself.

 

[jtanks]

$543 and 4 demerits

A car in the wrong hands is a mass killing machine.

Raise it to $5000 and confiscate the car!

 

[LM987]

Minivans with family stickers on the back, pickup trucks with racks in the box, SUV's with Honor roll student stickers...
Lots of them.
I hope the bust everyone texting & driving. I've almost been killed twice by some idiot texting. Wish I had a Dash cam. Some dude crossed a double solid, head on towards me, looking down at his crotch. Would have nailed me, thankfully the shoulder was wide enough.
Another doofus came flying up behind me when I was stopped in traffic at a light. I could only move ahead & to the left a few feet. He swerved and missed me by millimetres, off into the ditch. I saw him hiding his phone in his console as I drove by.

Another, didn't try and kill me, but it caught my eye as his car was about 6 feet behind a Semi going down a hill. He had one phone in his hand, another up to his ear, must have been driving with his knees, while his kid was standing up in the passanger seat playing with toys on the dash.

 

[Aesthetics>all]

A car in the wrong hands is a mass killing machine.

Raise it to $5000 and confiscate the car!

I agree with this, the fine for distracted driving is too low, especially when I’ve gotten hit with $180 and 3 points for a loud exhaust

 

[JimDandy]

I have a cop friend who tells me that they believe there is another serial killer out there preying on street workers in Vancouver. He would not give me any more details. This may be why there are more ghost cars out there.

JD

 

[PerbMod]

They handed out over 2000 tickets in Vancouver alone last month, including one idiot who was stopped twice in 8 blocks, didn't get the message the first time I guess.

The problem is rampant and I am glad they are dealing with it. FYI, they have dedicated traffic units and this is not taking away from resources for other policing.

 

[sybian]

Resources are what they are.
I'm glad these guys are out there. The sooner people get the message that distracted driving causes a world of grief- well beyond actual fatalities- the better.
I've seen a knob actually playing a guitar slung over his shoulder at successive traffic lights in Langley. I pointed this out to him and got the typical "MYOB, A-hole". So when I opened my door to "politely" ask him if he'd like to converse on the subject in the next parking lot he sped through the red at high speed and was gone.
And BTW- how do you police a "random" shooting? Consider the actual definition.....

Yeah I had a shithead in Kamloops tap the backend of my stock trailer because he was texting.
Now I admit.....I have one of those faces that people don't like to see coming at them in anger.....but I was simply checking out the damage, and glanced over at him......he was locking his door, and reaching for reverse, as fast as he could.
I "politely " requested he didn't move till the cops arrived, and told him there was no damage to my trailer, but the front end of his car was a different story.
For some reason he didn't exit his car until the cops got there.....then claimed he was afraid of road rage, and getting the shit kicked out of him.....which I allegedly had said to him.
I informed the cops that I only said that when he reached for reverse, and almost backed into the mini van behind him.....
He was charged with distracted driving, because of witnesses statements.....and for just being a dumbass, and also as the cop said on scene......"Man ....did that little wanna be, ever hit the wrong guy".....
but I'm not really sure what that meant.

 

[summerbreeze]

its so easy to just pull over, guess people need to develop the habit

 

[NEbaD]

I had a charger pace me in the next lane and continually do small pulls in an attempt to get me to race him on hwy7, finally got next to him at a light and told him I’m headed to mrp and he can get walked there if he really wanted and that’s when I found out it was a cop in a ghost car. I hate when cops are out doing this kinda bs

I dated a cop for a couple years. She was military before that, fought in Afghanistan, the full meal deal. She told me about stuff like you say, or driving 45 in a 60 just to make everyone slow down in a marked cop car. We had a good argument about how I thought that was totally inappropriate. Anyways, yeah, cops can be scandalous; i mean, we all can, but we pay cops well to hold themselves to a higher standard.