Interesting article. The MA troopers are using a lot of Explorers at this point, so that part is a little outdated.

Also, in MA, with the exception of the Turnpike and roads owned by the DCR, all speed limits are Primae Facie, meaning that operating above the speed limit is not illegal, but just considered evidence that you are violating the Commonwealth's rule that all vehicles must operate at a "reasonable and prudent" speed. If you can show in court that the speed you were doing was, in fact, reasonable and prudent, you are considered acquitted. Now, how often does somebody actually win a ticket case based on that? Probably not that often. Still, it's an interesting trivia point.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Dash cam showing tailgating drivers operating at 10-15 mph over the limit. "Your honor, it would have been a greater risk to drive 10-15 mph under the prevailing traffic speed than at the same speed. Speed doesn't kill, speed differential does."

Or waste a couple hours recording the prevalent speed of traffic on the road that you were traveling on, at the same time of day on the same day.

The troopers in MA are actually pretty decent. I've done 70 in 55 past a speed trap and 72-73 in a 60 past a speed trap and not gotten pulled over.

The times I'm most concerned about are early morning drives, when keeping up with traffic = 75-80 MPH in 55 MPH zone. 75-80 is totally reasonable for the stretch of road (long, straight, wide three-lane highway), but I think that troopers would frown upon 20-25 MPH over the limit. Generally, I just make sure that I have lead car ahead of me to trigger any speed traps that may lie in wait for revenue. 75-80 is nice , but being 18 and getting a ticket for 25 over would really stink.

Last Sunday morning, I was doing 80 in 55 keeping up with traffic and had two Hondas blow my doors off doing 100+, one tailgating the other (maybe racing). I wouldn't weep if they got pulled over.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Also, the magistrates who hear speeding ticket cases here in MA are paid out of the ticket money. No conflict of interest there.

EDIT: take this with a grain of salt, I can't find my source for it now... I think it was an NMA publication, but I'm not sure.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

for me Maine has the most invisible highway patrol cars.

geriatric light blue taurus without an external light bar, and only side markings. hard to spot in the mirror as a cop.

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Hm, interesting. I've never seen a ME trooper car.

What does RI use? MA uses black-and-blue C. Vics with light stacks and black-and-blue Explorers with light stacks, along with the occasional unmarked Explorer or Crown Vic. NH seems to almost exclusively use brown-and-green Dodge Chargers.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

light gray crown vics for RI. i think i saw 4 or 5 states with nearly identical cars in the database, gotta be a ford cop car stock color option

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This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.