Police cars driving with lights on but no siren

[Anonymous]

What about police cars that speed for no reason

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Actually it means get out of my way.

It's so weird around here. If you leave this area if a cop is behind you light or no lights you pull over a little to let them pass as a courtesy. Around here people slow down as much as they can to try to piss off cops.

Their lights are on so people know police are present, if one is behind you pull over to the right and let them pass, it's not that complicated.

I am sorry if it makes you nervous, but take a breath and move to the right.

Umm. No. If a police car is driving, on a road, he is a regular car. He obeys traffic laws. We obey traffic laws. There's no "courtesy" move over. Just drive.

It's the same in DC. If a police car is just driving, with his lights steady or flashing, just drive. If it's an emergency, you pull over and slow down, which can be a difficult maneuver because of the narrow roads and congestion. There's no reason to pull over anytime you are near a police car. Although sometimes it's hard to tell, in DC, whether the police car is just driving or is responding to an emergency.

I know people are not courteous in DC... but they should be, move over if you can and let them pass.

Why are you so angry all the time.

NP: You are just wrong about this. DC police cars always have their lights on steady, signifying nothing. If they are flashing or if they use the siren, you pull over:

"Authorized emergency vehicles, such as police cars, ambulances and fire engines, have the right-of-way when they are giving a signal, either audible (siren) or visual (flashing light). When you hear or see a vehicle approach, you should immediately drive to the curb and stop, remaining stopped until the emergency vehicle has passed." https://dmv.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dmv/publication/attachments/DC%20Driver%20Manual_April%202015.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not sure if this is new or not but I noticed lately that police cars have their red and blue lights on while driving. No siren, not speeding, just driving with the lights on. What does this mean? Is this new? I got scared and my dumb ass pulled over but he kept on driving. I see the police cars doing this a lot lately

They do this in Baltimore especially at night. But they have it on the back side of their lights only and it doesnt flash or pulse, its just steady blue and red. Thats how you can tell if they are just riding and policing or if they are coming to pull you over, they will put the pulsing lights on.

It isnt just a DC thing like alot of people have said... I think alot of rough neighborshoods and cities do this to show police presence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a DC thing with MPD. You would think I'd be used to it by now but I'm always doing double takes when I see the lights and wondering if I should pull over.

It has been DC's police department (MPD's) policy for years to drive with lights on to show a visible presence. It is disconcerting, because it can be hard to tell if an officer just has the lights on (per department policy), or is responding silently to a call (like a couple of PPs have described). I wish they'd drop the lights-on policy - I don't think it has made any measurable difference in neighborhoods, and it just confuses drivers.

It got your attention. It made you redirect your focus. That's a good thing. DC's crime rate is the lowest it's been in decades--simmer down.

While PG's rises because the DC gentrifiers pushed out the petty criminals

Not true... PG crime is down over the last 4 years.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/prince-georges-leaders-tout-falling-crime-rates-homicides-drop-40-percent-since-2010/2015/01/13/d38e006c-9b28-11e4-bcfb-059ec7a93ddc_story.html?utm_term=.40e7b03fb015

And DC crime is up and in 2015 and 2016. So police cars should drive around with sirens on to bring it back down.

LOL. Yeah, cops driving around with their lights on is such a great idea that no other major dept. in the US does it. Driving with lights on is almost as bad as the new LED light bars that are so bright that they blind oncoming traffic. They are also super annoying when you have to stand right next to them for any period of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Actually it means get out of my way.

It's so weird around here. If you leave this area if a cop is behind you light or no lights you pull over a little to let them pass as a courtesy. Around here people slow down as much as they can to try to piss off cops.

Their lights are on so people know police are present, if one is behind you pull over to the right and let them pass, it's not that complicated.

I am sorry if it makes you nervous, but take a breath and move to the right.

Umm. No. If a police car is driving, on a road, he is a regular car. He obeys traffic laws. We obey traffic laws. There's no "courtesy" move over. Just drive.

It's the same in DC. If a police car is just driving, with his lights steady or flashing, just drive. If it's an emergency, you pull over and slow down, which can be a difficult maneuver because of the narrow roads and congestion. There's no reason to pull over anytime you are near a police car. Although sometimes it's hard to tell, in DC, whether the police car is just driving or is responding to an emergency.

PP is right. Everywhere else we do pull over a bit. I can see where this would be confusing in DC. I would still pull aside a bit because as you said yourself, it's hard to tell. And if a cop just wants to get through, she'll be happy im ot of the way.

[Anonymous]

Half off donuts, can't be late

[Anonymous]

As others have observed, this is a practice imported from Israel, which would seem to have rather a different set of law enforcement needs than DC.

Nonetheless, this distracting, confusing and hence dangerous practice continues in DC and seems to spreading at least into Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a retired cop. In our state lights OR siren mean pull over. Siren is used when needed or at all intersections where requiring running of a red light. Or when lights alone don't work to get someone to pull over.
Sometimes cops also get a silent call, which means that while they are responding to an emergency they are trying to not make their approach to the scene known. My husband got this a lot with touchy domestic disputes, not wanting to escalate the situation even more, for example.

THANK YOU! The ignorance in this thread is astounding. Really? It's "obnoxious and dumb"? Or maybe....just maybe, there are times when the police don't want to announce their presence? In some situations it is safer for the officer. Sometimes it is safer for a potential victim. There are many other reasons an officer may be running just lights. My DH is Federal Law Enforcement and my brother is a Police Detective. The anti-cop nonsense is getting so old.

It's not ignorance. There are police that use their lights to get thru traffic or red lights. Just like every profession, there are good ones and bad ones.

[Anonymous]

Guess you never heard of no siren response. There are reasons for such responses. If you were any kind of decent driver you would be aware of such response types. Not to mention having any iota of intellegence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Guess you never heard of no siren response. There are reasons for such responses. If you were any kind of decent driver you would be aware of such response types. Not to mention having any iota of intellegence.

Guess you never read the whole thread before posting.

[Anonymous]

In many states, a police car cannot be an emergency vehicle without BOTH audio and visual warning activated.

[Anonymous]

It means the threat level in your area have increased

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a DC police thing. Make their presence more visible.

(I think it's both obnoxious and dumb, since it desensitizes drivers to flashing lights. But that's just me.)

youre so right queen RT

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is a retired cop. In our state lights OR siren mean pull over. Siren is used when needed or at all intersections where requiring running of a red light. Or when lights alone don't work to get someone to pull over.
Sometimes cops also get a silent call, which means that while they are responding to an emergency they are trying to not make their approach to the scene known. My husband got this a lot with touchy domestic disputes, not wanting to escalate the situation even more, for example.

THANK YOU! The ignorance in this thread is astounding. Really? It's "obnoxious and dumb"? Or maybe....just maybe, there are times when the police don't want to announce their presence? In some situations it is safer for the officer. Sometimes it is safer for a potential victim. There are many other reasons an officer may be running just lights. My DH is Federal Law Enforcement and my brother is a Police Detective. The anti-cop nonsense is getting so old.

FYI, those things don't need capitals. They're just jobs, no matter how much the employees think of themselves.

Go back to the commune, Sunshine.