Do Police Have a New Trick Up Their Sleeve to Catch Speeders?

Last month I took a long road trip from Toronto to Iowa to visit family.  I drove the Focus RS and was sure to bring my radar detector which is an Escort Passport 9500ix.  Along the way I got the normal chirps for X band warnings which are usually not important as well as some Ka & K band warnings that are usually the police.  My detector also has GPS to warn of common police hiding spots and speed/red light cameras.  So I feel I’m pretty well covered.  Many times during the trip I would get very aggressive warnings which were usually caused but those speed warning signs they put up next to construction zones.  You know the, “Your Speed is….” warnings.  Everything seemed to be working well.  I still keep an eye out but I’m certainly more relaxed when I’m using it.

However there were three times during the trip that the highway patrol was out in force.  Many patrol cars not even trying to hide pointing the radar guns right at the oncoming traffic but my detector didn’t even chirp.  What the hell?  Not even a sound.  If the officers were using laser my detector warns about that too (often too late) but it does warn me.  Are they using something new?

I went to the Escort website and looked at their top of the line model.  The Escort Max 360c is $599, connects to wi-fi connected ability as well as linking to your smartphone the thing seems really advanced.  But just like mine it covers X, K, Ka, & Laser bands, with no sign of a new band.  I’ve emailed Escort about this and have yet to hear back.

Here in Ontario radar detectors are illegal and believe me the police look for them.  If you are caught you are fined and the device is confiscated.  Because of this reason I only use mine in “dark mode” and at night.  But in light of my last trip I feel much less secure and wonder if it’s even worth the risk if its missing something.

I'll update when I know more.

Toronto/Ontario Sucks...lately

Yesterday I got up to go to work and the traffic was insane because the police had completely blocked the 400 south to Toronto.  Why did they do this?  Bad accident? Construction? Nope apparently at 4AM a woman's body was found along the road.  Not to seem cold hearted but why the hell does this require the entire 4 lane highway to be closed??  There is no reason that a body they picked up at 4AM requires the road to be closed at 8AM when I was leaving for work.  This made all the side roads absolutely jammed with people trying to get south.  After an hour of trying I said, "fuck it", turned around, and took a vacation day.

In Ontario it is very common for the police and highway patrol to close an entire road for stupid little things.  So instead of directing traffic around the incident like they do in the States the police shut down the entire road and sit on their asses in their car.  How you get around the closure is your problem.

Speaking of shit that is my problem I got to work today and found the road that goes to my assigned parking spot was under construction.  My mood was not good so I moved their pylons out of my way and backed into my spot.  Some construction worker started yelling at me and I said, "This is my assigned parking spot. Sorry" and I locked the chain in front of it.  He said, "Well I sure hope you plan on parking here next week because you won't be able to." What a fucking asshole.

So yeah, I come into work and there is an email saying. "Starting October 3rd (not today) I won't be able to park in my spot for two weeks due to sewer work." So where am I supposed to park in this crap area of town?  I have no goddamn clue.

This could mean no more driving the Shelby to work for the rest of this year.  The weather gets cold here pretty quickly.  I'm certainly not parking the Shelby on the street so that means I'm driving the Hummer.  By the time this construction gets resolved to could easily be too cold to drive it.

Needless to say my frustration level is through the roof today.

Traffic News from that Thursday morning.

Isn't This Illegal Toronto?

This area is part of my daily commute and every day I see people making this turn at the intersection of Dupont St. and Dundas St. W in Toronto.  Some people even demand it and honk if you don't accommodate them.  I have even seen police making this turn many times.

My understanding is you never cross a solid yellow line.  Is this not correct??

Here is the Google map link to the street. https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.664277,-79.4577325,41m/data=!3m1!1e3

Traffic Cops Serve No Purpose Beyond Cash Generation

Today I’m driving to work in my huge H3, nothing special just rollin’ along with traffic.  I pop over the hill and there is a cop, I was driving with others and didn’t think much about it.  But nope he singles me out and pulls me over.  He walks up with the attitude of a bored checkout clerk, shoves the radar gun in my face and says, “You’re doing 75 km in a 50km. License and insurance.” I give him what he requested and he goes back to the car.

So I’m sitting there thinking how I was just driving to work, not bothering anyone or driving recklessly at all.  I then realize it’s all a load of shit.  These traffic cops have exactly the same job as parking enforcement, they are sent out there to generate money.  That’s it.  They tell us we broke the law but it’s a bunch of shit.  I wasn’t driving reckless, I was with others doing the same, and we we’re all just going to work.

One enjoyable thing about it was that I pulled over into a super small and busy street so his car was in the way and blocking traffic which forced him to get his crap done rather than delay me as long as he could.  So he came up to the car and said, “Here is your license and your ticket” and walked away.  He then got back in his car and did a U-turn pulling up to the intersection behind a school bus.  The light was red and I guess he didn’t want to wait so he chirp his siren and light at the school bus until it moved and ran the red light, once he got through he shut them off.  What an asshole.

There was really no point to the ticket other than to generate money.  He wasn’t serving and protecting anyone, he was just making cash for the city.  I’m glad my job isn’t that pointless. 

If someone is driving recklessly or unsafely certainly pull the guy over but to bother people just doing their daily grind to work is just bullshit.  I really didn't want to break out the radar detector just for my boring daily commute but it looks like I have to.  Yes I know they are illegal in Ontario but better than a ticket.

Car Stories: YouTube Video Series

I uploaded a few videos over on my YouTube channel.  One is about my first speeding ticket and the other is my views on street racing.  I mainly want to see people reaction and see if I want to do more stories.  Please feel free to check them out and leave a comment.  Thanks