Kansas Highway Patrol and chasers on 4/24/16

[Jay Farlow]

What I wonder is how the trooper who wrote the tickets identified the speeders as storm chasers. One possible scenario: Their vehicles were decked out with graphics that indicated they were chasers. Whether it's wise to so decorate your vehicle is fodder for a separate discussion. But it's certainly damaging to the reputation of storm chasing when chasers deck out their vehicles with graphics and drive like idiots. If the stopped vehicles had no chaser graphics on them, the most likely scenario is that the occupants told the trooper they were chasers, which would be another example of a bonehead move.

 

[Will Campbell]

They probably had light bars. Everyone knows that's the professional storm chaser badge of honor. That's how the LEO knew they were chasers.


Sent from my iPhone using Stormtrack mobile app

 

[JamesCaruso]

What I wonder is how the trooper who wrote the tickets identified the speeders as storm chasers. One possible scenario: Their vehicles were decked out with graphics that indicated they were chasers. Whether it's wise to so decorate your vehicle is fodder for a separate discussion. But it's certainly damaging to the reputation of storm chasing when chasers deck out their vehicles with graphics and drive like idiots. If the stopped vehicles had no chaser graphics on them, the most likely scenario is that the occupants told the trooper they were chasers, which would be another example of a bonehead move.

I don't think telling the LEO you are a chaser is a "bonehead move." What other choice do you have, especially if he sees laptops, iPads and camera equipment all over the place; you don't need to have exterior graphics, decals or light bars. I have been pulled over many times over 20 years of two-week chase vacations, some years multiple times, some years not at all. But if the officer asks what we're doing out there, I tell the truth; it seems like the only practical - not to mention morally and ethically appropriate - thing to do.

 

[Jay Farlow]

I don't think telling the LEO you are a chaser is a "bonehead move." What other choice do you have, especially if he sees laptops, iPads and camera equipment all over the place; you don't need to have exterior graphics, decals or light bars. I have been pulled over many times over 20 years of two-week chase vacations, some years multiple times, some years not at all. But if the officer asks what we're doing out there, I tell the truth; it seems like the only practical - not to mention morally and ethically appropriate - thing to do.

Good points.

 

[Dan Robinson]

The other thing to remember in this saga is that most law enforcement personnel are actually friendly to chasers. I can't say with any certainty what the percentages are, but I hear about positive chaser-LEO interactions far more than the negative. In my own experience, my only LEO interactions on the Plains during storm events have been positive. I've been pulled over for a burned out headlight in Kansas, but that wasn't during a chase.

It's just like the spotter nets. Most are appreciative of getting good information from someone with a good knowledge of the current weather situation.

 

[Derek S Baker]

First of all, do we know for sure that they were storm chasers? While I agree 100% with Dan's post (the one just before mine), I do get the impression that some sheriffs & police like to score as many brownie points as possible with the voting public, and one way they do it is to create a crisis or find a convenient & obvious 'threat' that needs to be reigned-in. They then go about dealing with the perceived problem & loudly proclaim victory over the supposed threat or perceived crisis. I could see how Storm chasers would be a convenient target for creating a "threat", something we've already seen in a certain Kansas country last year. In that case, a cop & sheriff tried to make a mountain out of a molehill by complaining about chaser convergence in a local newspaper, and from everything I have heard/seen, it was unnecessary & excessive on the part of the cop. (I'm sure they'll be back at it this year, as soon as chasers begin to follow storms in the same county). Of course, I could be way off base here, but thought I would raise the possibility.

FOr what it's worth, IMHO, if there were indeed four spotter/chaser vehicles nabbed for doing those speeds, then for sure they should receive consequences for those speeds. Not only are they putting their own lives at risk, but those of locals & other spotter/chasers.

I don't know if it would work, but if we knew when the incidents occurred and in what country, couldn't the spotternet maps be used to determine who they were?

 

[joel ewing]

"Bailiff.....whack their pee--pees". (If you're over 50 and remember the old Firesign Theatre Stuff you will DEF. understand what this is about....I'm just fishing to see if anybody recognizes it).

 

[joel ewing]

Not to be a d**k, but them getting caught speeding isnt really THAT big of a deal, in my opinion. Nothing other chasers do will ever have an impact on me chasing storms. So what really? So they go a ticket... Just like anyone else who breaks the law. The only thing to really take from this is either A) buy a good radar detector B) dont speed or C) become a LEO so you can speed and get away with it. Other than that, if people want to break the speed limit, go right ahead. Its really none of my business. At least not enough to get bent out of shape over it.

Folks.....just a head's up regarding using radar detectors in Nebraska.....they are illegal. And those fine fine superfine Nebraska State Patrol men and women will remove them from your dashboard immediately....and give you a ticket just for your troubles. Seriously....in Nebraska....get 'em off your dash while you're in the state....they do NOT mess around with 'em there.

 

[Matt Tottle]

The other thing to remember in this saga is that most law enforcement personnel are actually friendly to chasers. I can't say with any certainty what the percentages are, but I hear about positive chaser-LEO interactions far more than the negative. In my own experience, my only LEO interactions on the Plains during storm events have been positive. I've been pulled over for a burned out headlight in Kansas, but that wasn't during a chase.

It's just like the spotter nets. Most are appreciative of getting good information from someone with a good knowledge of the current weather situation.

This. Granted I don't get out as much as a lot of you guys but I've never had a bad interaction. I used to have a big Skywarn sticker on the back of my truck (recently took it off because it was all faded and ratty).. One time I was up in Nebraska and all of a sudden I had cherries in my rearview. I pulled over (trying to think of what I did wrong of course, lol!), got my docs out, and when the cop came up to the window I went to hand it to him and he said "That's ok, we just get nervous when you guys start showing up and I need to know if there's anything coming our way that I should warn dispatch about". I was happy to spend a few minutes showing him the radar and the storm paths, nothing was approaching his beat at that time but told him to keep an eye on the sky because they were in the watch box. He thanked me for the info and sent me on my way..

Folks.....just a head's up regarding using radar detectors in Nebraska.....they are illegal. And those fine fine superfine Nebraska State Patrol men and women will remove them from your dashboard immediately....and give you a ticket just for your troubles. Seriously....in Nebraska....get 'em off your dash while you're in the state....they do NOT mess around with 'em there.

Uhhhhh. No. They're not. They're only illegal to use in VA and DC, and in big rigs. And LOL @ "will remove them from your dashboard immediately". Since when are they allowed to confiscate personal property that is perfectly legal to own? That's called "theft".

 

[MFPalmer]

Uhhhhh. No. They're not. They're only illegal to use in VA and DC, and in big rigs. And LOL @ "will remove them from your dashboard immediately". Since when are they allowed to confiscate personal property that is perfectly legal to own? That's called "theft".

Neb.Rev.St. § 60-6,275: It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or possess any radar transmission device while operating a motor vehicle on any highway in this state. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class IIIA misdemeanor. As defined, though, it appears a 'radar transmission device' is something that interferes with the police's ability to use radar to measure your speed. Under this definition, I think you're right, a radar detector, which (I assume) passively detects radar signals, would be fine. This is just what I'm gathering from reading the statute. They are within their right, however, to seize the property as evidence if you are charged with the violation.

Edit: They do appear to be expressly illegal in Oklahoma (47 Okl.St.Ann. § 11-808.1). Some states do not have statutory prohibition of radar detectors but agencies have construed them as interfering with police communication. If you're generally worried about whether a radar detector, I would call a state's highway patrol before traveling.

 

[Matt Tottle]

Neb.Rev.St. § 60-6,275: It shall be unlawful for any person to operate or possess any radar transmission device while operating a motor vehicle on any highway in this state. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a Class IIIA misdemeanor. As defined, though, it appears a 'radar transmission device' is something that interferes with the police's ability to use radar to measure your speed. Under this definition, I think you're right, a radar detector, which (I assume) passively detects radar signals, would be fine. This is just what I'm gathering from reading the statute.

There is nothing in that statute that applies to radar detectors. They are legal. Period.

They are within their right, however, to seize the property as evidence if you are charged with the violation.

No they aren't. They can not "seize" personal property that is 100% legal to own in every state "as evidence" over a traffic infraction. Evidence can only be collected or seized in indictable cases. That's like saying they are "within their right" to seize your car as evidence when you get a speeding ticket or roll a stop sign or that they are "within their right" to seize your cell phone if you get a ticket for using it while driving..

 

[MFPalmer]

No they aren't. They can not "seize" personal property that is 100% legal to own in every state over a traffic infraction. That's like saying they are "within their right" to seize your car as evidence when you get a speeding ticket or roll a stop sign or that they are "within their right" to seize your cell phone if you get a ticket for using it while driving..

Any device prohibited by sections 60-6,275 and 60-6,276 found as the result of an arrest made under such sections shall be seized, and when no longer needed as evidence, such device shall, if the owner was convicted of an offense under such sections, be considered as contraband and disposed of pursuant to section 29-820.

Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 60-6,277 (West)

If they believe your radar detector is defined as something that interferes with their ability to use their radar, they can seize it if they charge you with the misdemeanor. I'm not saying you're right or wrong with regards to whether a radar detector is defined under the statute, I'm saying the statute grants them the power to seize evidence. The statute they're alleging you're violating is a misdemeanor and more than a simple traffic infraction.

 

[Matt Tottle]

Any device prohibited by sections 60-6,275 and 60-6,276 found as the result of an arrest made under such sections shall be seized, and when no longer needed as evidence, such device shall, if the owner was convicted of an offense under such sections, be considered as contraband and disposed of pursuant to section 29-820.

Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 60-6,277 (West)

If they believe your radar detector is defined as something that interferes with their ability to use their radar, they can seize it if they charge you with the misdemeanor. I'm not saying you're right or wrong with regards to whether a radar detector is defined under the statute, I'm saying the statute grants them the power to seize evidence.

Your understanding of laws, statutes, and the rights guaranteed to you by the Constitution are seriously stunted.

A. It has already been established that the statute you quoted does not apply to a radar detector in any way shape or manner.
B. You can not be arrested for a traffic offense, so the "as a result of an arrest" qualifier in that statute renders any definition of "contraband" moot.
C. Radar detectors - being FCC Part 15 devices - do not "interfere with the ability of police to use their radar" in any way shape or manner, so there is no basis to apply the statute. Moot again.

Stop making things up. Radar detectors are 100% legal to own in all 50 states. They are 100% legal to use in passenger vehicles in 49 states (Virginia and DC being the exceptions). They are federally illegal to use in commercial vehicles with a GVWR over 10,000lbs per the DOT. So unless you're driving a large commercial truck, there no law or statute that would make it illegal in Nebraska - and even if you ARE driving a large commercial truck and get caught using it in Nebraska, there is no law or statute that grants police the power to confiscate any personal property as "evidence" with regard to a traffic infraction.

 

[MFPalmer]

I'm actually very satisfied with my understanding of the constitution, thank you. I have several really big books with tiny font on my desk all about it. One of them is even faux leather bound! Maybe you missed the whole part where I said *if* a police officer decides on *his or her own accord*, that a radar detector is prohibited based upon *his or her* interpretation of the appropriate Nebraska statute, and they subsequently charge you with the *misdemeanor* violation of the statute, they are able to seize the radar detector. I would not be surprised of this happening as there are cases in which this very thing *has* happened, and some of those cases are the reasons the current statutes of some states are the way they are. If you ever find yourself being charged in Nebraska under this statute, and if your detector is confiscated, you are welcome to use your arguments (which I never denied, btw. I actually said you were right, but I guess you missed that, too) in a court of law, where it actually matters!

 

[Matt Tottle]

I'm actually very satisfied with my understanding of the constitution, thank you. I have several really big books with tiny font on my desk all about it. One of them is even faux leather bound! Maybe you missed the whole part where I said *if* a police officer decides on *his or her own accord*, that a radar detector is prohibited based upon *his or her* interpretation of the appropriate Nebraska statute, and they subsequently charge you with the *misdemeanor* violation of the statute, they are able to seize the radar detector. I would not be surprised of this happening as there are cases in which this very thing *has* happened, and some of those cases are the reasons the current statutes of some states are the way they are. If you ever find yourself being charged in Nebraska under this statute, and if your detector is confiscated, you are welcome to use your arguments (which I never denied, btw. I actually said you were right, but I guess you missed that, too) in a court of law, where it actually matters!

Maybe you should get yourself a pair of reading glasses for all that tiny print. There is no "if". They can't just make up their own interpretation of the law "on their own accord". There is absolutely no situation where they can claim that a radar detector is "radar transmitting equipment" to apply that statute. To do so would be grounds for huge lawsuits for wrongful/malicious arrest, defamation, and plenty of other torty things. While I can absolutely guarantee that nobody has EVER been charged under said statutes for the use of a radar detector (and if you care to disagree, I challenge you to find and cite a single case), I would LOVE for them to try it with me. I could use a multimillion dollar settlement.

Radar detectors are legal in Nebraska. All you are doing is manufacturing FUD.