I am not giving legal advice, but I do know the answer to this question. "Going with the flow" is not an excuse for violating the speed limit. Of course, you can argue in court that the radar gun must be incorrectly calibrated since you were going with the flow of traffic and other cars were passing you and thus the cop tagged a car but confused it with your car. That will not necessarily carry water legally. Driving above the speed limit even if it's below or with the flow of traffic will still subject you to a ticket. From the little I have been told, anything under 6 miles over is safe; 6-9 miles and you will likely get away without getting pulled over (except where we are talking about speed limits below 45 mph); anything 10-15 mph hour and you are flirting with the possibility of a ticket; anything 15+ over the speed limit, and you will get ticketed sooner or later.

I have yet to see an unmarked police car that didn't look like an unmarked police car. Whether it's a Crown Vic or a Camaro.

(I'm not including the 1973 Monte Carlo that the vice guys use and stuff like that.)

My understanding in Ohio is that the "unmarked" cars are forbidden from making traffic stops.

It also appears that the New Jersey State Police are going away from completely unmarked cars in favor of regular cruisers without the light bar on top. Only the trained eye will spot the white Crown Vic behind them with no front markings for what it really is, but when they make a stop, they can pull up alongside and the sides are clearly marked.

Florida FHP has been doing this for a while and have cruisers that appear in the mirror only as yellow Mustangs, but the sides are black with markings.

I've enjoyed reading this thread and have a few more random observations.

• I've heard that unmarked police cars are illegal / do not exist in New York state.
• In Illinois, only state police can patrol the interstates. (With the exception of the City of Chicago.) This is wonderful, as podunk local cops have to stay off highways.
• Many times a squad car along the road is indeed more dangerous than safe; people slamming on their brakes for no other reason, while going 70mph, is a scary thing, and I've had people in front of me do that many times. Thankfully I've never seen an accident result from a squad car's presence, but I'm sure it has many times in the past.
• The US Interstate system was designed for travel at 75mph.
• If I ever get a ticket on the Tri-State freeway here in the Chicago area, I have a plan to get together with three or four buddies one morning at 7am, and go side-by-side at 55mph, in all four lanes, from the Indiana border to the Wisconsin border. It should take about two hours and will likely back up traffic for miles. Then I'll take footage and news reports of the activity to court in the hopes of demonstrating that 55mph on the Tri-State and other tollways and freeways is inappropriate and extremely widely neglected, and thus my ticket should be thrown out, as driving at ~75mph on dry pavement is safe, commonplace, and doesn't merit a citation. I heard that a group of people did this between Dallas and Fort Worth some years ago, and reports of their protest prompted me to consider doing that here.

To get an answer to your question, you many want to check the GA driver's handbook. Another state used to have wording which went something like: "Traffic on freeways tends to move at higher speeds. You should always drive with the flow of traffic." Later it was amended to include the phrase "while not exceeding the speed limit." The wording in the GA handbook may help you if you do get pulled. I've always thought that if I were pulled in that situation, I would argue that this was a case of double jeopardy: either you exceed the speed limit or you drive so far below the flow of traffic that you are causing a traffic hazard, thus driving recklessly, also against the law.

However, beware: Several years ago, a wife of a friend who was visiting in GA was pulled on I-285 for speeding (I think 20 over the limit). Probably was her NC plates which distinguished her from all the cars on the road with GA plates going about the same speed. As a result of reciprocity between NC and GA, her penalty was based on the NC provisions, and she lost her license for a year. (Yes, it's possible that there are more details that I am not aware of.)

All unmarked police cars are Crown Victorias
 

Washington State uses among other things, taxicabs and vans.

Oregon has just added a few new vehicles that do not resemble any of the above. They were featured on the news this weekend. Conspicuously absent was any view of the license plates.

"Many times a squad car along the road is indeed more dangerous than safe; people slamming on their brakes for no other reason,"

To make it even more dangerous, Oregon has instituted a law that you must slow down appreciably and move into the other lane when a police vehicle is on the shoulder.

That just recently became law in Wyoming recently, although the driver must do either one or the other, not both simultaneously, to my knowledge...

The same kind of law became law in Wisconsin not too long ago. I think we should have a study conducted about whether accidents are at higher levels on highways when police are present and/or have pulled someone over. I m curious if highway accidents are concentrated in areas where police are most concentrated and pulling people over.

On one-lane, two-way county roads and state highways in Wisconsin, this law will kill people. All it takes is pulling over slightly in a no-pass area, and, smackkkk, we will have a need for an ambulance or two.

It always annoys me whenever there is a police car hiding along the highway, waiting to chase a speeding car to ticket the driver for speeding, when just up the road is a motorist awaiting assistance outside of an inoperable vehicle...

Well first of all, as you probably know with your time in our state, traffic enforcement is hardly a priority for most. However, maybe this is because of the restrictions on the money. There are, however, ways for local government to get around getting almost all of the monies into the hands of the state. Mainly these are diverision programs.

I got stopped a few years ago by the state police after coming from a casino in a rural area and I always suspected that they have some increased patrols in those areas. I told him I was a loser and I got a warning. Maybe I would have got a ticket if I had been a winner. But regardless, I cheated because I had a badge of my own at that time. I have only been the Harrison County casino once but the casinos themselves have short-staffed the state police because they are responsble for security on the boats. It's a long story but the casinos pay for this but there aren't as many new troopers to make up the difference. You may notice more state cars in those areas but they almost never will pull you over. Generally, they will have unmarked Ford Taurus' but it could be a marked substitute car.

If you have, in general, noticed more state cars, it's merely a coincidence.

Is that what they call them?

I think my state started this mess. A few years ago, truckers were playing a game of trying to blow the hat off of the troopers while they were on traffic stops. Well, luck ran out about 20 miles from my home and a trucker hit the trooper and killed him.

http://home1.gte.net/joking1/Winzenrd.htm

Just this past weekend while driving on the BW Parkway I saw a cop driving a recent model silver Honda Accord EX

Are you sure that he was on duty and not just driving his personal car? As far as I know, police departments are only allowed to buy American cars.

Do you just mean in the DC area?

http://www.aspenpitkin.com/depts/53/...ons_patrol.cfm

THese things only remind us that we are guided by rules wherever we are. :D