Nice try ...but no cigar ...

for all of my driving years (25), the police have tailgated ...several officers that I know admit that they do it for "fun" .... there is NO excuse for it ....you know darn well if we rode a squads rear bumber that hard we'd be making an un-voluntary contribution to some govt's budget ...

just last week in Indiana , I had one of the states "finest" in black and gold tail-gate the camper I was pulling so closely that I could not see him ... then he drove half in the "slow lane" and half in the "hammer lane" ...very very illegal ...then he pulls past me in the "hammer lane" and then flips on his "disco lights" ... then , after he interupts all of the traffic , he crosses over the median and goes the other way .... without his lights on ....

WHAT a JERK !!!

 

I've noticed that several people in this thread have mentioned brake checking the cops, and since this is about tailgating by cops gotta add my story of getting to brake check a tailgating officer, and getting away with it.
Story is I was traveling down hwy218 in Iowa following another big truck (I was driving a loaded semi tractor trailer at around 75k/lbs) there was another car infront of the the truck in front of me, I didn't realize that there was a DOT officer tailgatting me so close I could not see him. Now the car that was in front took the exit (I didn't realize they had at the time) and I started to take the same exit whereas the truck in front of me didn't, as I took the exit the car in front of me basically came to a stop (15mph all hte way up the off ramp from 65mph we were doing) I had to slam on my brakes, and did a quick check in my mirrors to see if anything was coming around me so I had some place to go, and when I did I seen lotsa smoke, and baby blue car sticking out both sides of my trailer as he was sliding sideways trying to get stopped. I did manage to get slowed down without hitting the car, and proceeded up the off ramp at which time the officer passed me on the left (he went that way to keep from hitting the back of my trailer) at which time he saw the car, and figured out what was happening even though I could see he was really mad he waved at me, and pulled the lady over, I went to my delivery which took about 30min, and when I came back he was still there with her, and a state trooper having a very serious conversation. now for those that think he was checking my info it was a bright sunny day pulling a trailer with the name of the company in 3ft high letters, and was clean so no problem seeing the plate if he had turned hsi lights on I would never have seen them, and if he hadn't been tailgating he wouldn't have needed to almost slam into my trailer (a car can stop alot faster than a loaded semi believe me) or had to through his car into a skid, and almost roll it.

 

Monster ...love your story ... I love "4 wheelers" that merge using their brakes instead of their accelerator ..ought to be a law !

and , yes , folks that drive in the middle lane or the left lane and keep pace with the right lane are VERY annoying !

 

Last year on vacation, my wife had a cop tailgating her through Boston for about a minute - she was doing the speed limit in a center lane (4 lane - one-way) and everyone else was flying by us. I finally convinced her to speed up and at about 85mph, the cop finally changed lanes and passed us. I don't think he was running tags or such, I think he was making sure we didn't get run over!

Cops are like anyone else in the workforce - you've got idiots, jerks, good ones, and guys that just want to retire. The idiots and jerks are simply easier to notice.

 

but the law doesnt justify speeding either

 

true , but common courtesy says to move over ...but ,I've seen alot of "non-courtesy" on the road the last 22,000 miles ....

people riding in your blind spot , people passing then hitting the brakes in front of you , people stopping on "off ramps" in the flow of traffic , mergers cutting in then hitting their brakes .... the funniest thing I have seen is on snowy roads ...someone with a 4x4 isn't happy at a safe speed , so they fly past and then I roll past them a few miles down the road while they sit in the ditch waiting for a tow ...

but , Mustang is correct ...most states have a "left lane for passing not cruising " law

 

I was on a two lane road in Kansas (highway 99) at night when a cop car flashed past me going the opposite direction. Couple minutes later a car come barreling up behind me at least 80mph in a 55 zone then got about 10' off my back bumper. I was blinded but I also knew it was probably the cop I'd just seen. After a couple minutes of this I slowed to 40mph in a passing zone to let him go by. All he did was get even closer on my rear bumper, I then slowed to 10mph and he still wouldn't go around. Finally I pulled over and stopped and he did too, I put it in drive to pull away and he finally flipped his cherries on. He asked me why I was going so slow and I told him so the ***hole that was tailgating me would go around!!! He procedes to tell me that he was 2 seconds off my back bumper which was legal, I asked him why he felt the need to be two seconds of the back bumper of a vehicle in an area known for deer, at night, on a winding road like this. No answer except to thank me for my "careful driving".

I know in my area its common for patrolmen to tailgate in effort to get drivers to try and "outrun" the headlights of the patrol cars. Its an easy ticket and on a Saturday night (late) its usually good for a DUI too.

 

Sounds like entrapment to me...I was under the impression that if they did something to try and make you break the law, the you weren't 'as' in the wrong...a la DeLorean...sure, he invested in a drug scheme, but the cops were directly in on the deal...