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May I take a moment to point out that Ms. Moody’s photographs, when viewed with scrutiny reveal that her beef may not be with the driver’s operation of their vehicle, but with the driver’s occupation. May I point out that:
1. Ms. Moody’s prime argument is that the officer “she appeared to be having a problem keeping her vehicle on the road (as photos will show).” Neither of the provided photos show the officer in violation of Florida law. The officer has positioned her vehicle is the left most part of the lane with the tires touching the “fog” line; this is not a violation of FSS 316.089.
Ms. Moody however, assuming she is shooting the photo as a passenger and not the driver, and is not leaning over to interfere with the operation of the vehicle, shows the positioning of their vehicle to have the center of their vehicle on the “fog” line, which would be a violation of the aforementioned statute.
2. Ms. Moody contends that the officer was driving between 70 and 85 MPH. Did Ms. Moody determine this by pacing the Officer’s vehicle at the same speed, or a visual estimation? If so is she qualified to make such estimations accurately, or is her vehicle equipped with a certified speedometer? Is it possible she is inaccurate?
Also, both photos show the positioning of Moody’s vehicle to be 120 feet behind the patrol car. (Each white line is 10’ and each intervening space is 30’ – Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices). A vehicle at 70 MPH a vehicle travels 102.66 feet per second. Given either standard (2 car lengths for every 10MPH, or 2 second rule) Ms. Moody was far too close to the Police car to safely stop in an emergency.
3. Based upon distance determined by roadway markings and light pole placement (average 250’ apart) in the first photo time stamped 16:24, the Police vehicle is approximately 750 feet from the crosswalk overpass. In the seconded time stamped 16:25 it is approx 250’ from the bridge. The gap between the SUV and the Mercedes in the center lane is approx 120’, which the officer traverses in approximately 320’. If we assume the Mercedes is going 55, then the 250’ between photos should be around 3 seconds. The Police car travels an addition 120’ in the same time indicating its speed is 72 MPH. Ms Moody’s speed was apparently slightly faster since it appears that the distance between she and the officer closed in the three seconds between photos.
Ms. Moody’s problem here appears to be not with the driving, but with the fact that many of our underpaid and underappreciated public servants have the benefit of a take home car, that allows them to respond to emergencies without delay. On their time off with their families, they can immediately drop what they are doing, and go directly to assist the public, yes including Ms. Moody, without having to wait on traffic jams, going to the station, and then to the emergency. It seems obvious by her letter that she doesn’t care how the officer drives in her personal vehicle, just in the Police car. It’s not about safety, it’s about sour grapes. Ms. Moody, maybe you should try putting on the Badge for a while.
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