1 Surprising Thing Idaho Cops in Unmarked Cars Can’t Do
Commuting from Boise to Nampa
Picture it: it's late and you're driving home from Boise to Nampa after a 12-hour workday. Because you're done with people, exhausted, starving, and dying for a shower, you're hustling to get there.
Speeding Down Boise's I-84
Lucky you, I-84W is a ghost town, so you decide drive about 10 miles over the 65 mph speed limit. No big deal, right? Well, it wasn't until you flew past an unmarked police cruiser sitting on the shoulder near the Eagle exit.
You wait for it. Any moment now the cruiser's lights will start flashing to signal you've been caught pulling a Ricky Stenhouse Jr. But it never happens.
You're coming up on the Meridian exit, and still, no flashing lights or the hint of a cruiser in the rear view mirror. You're not not sure how or why, but you just avoided what would've been a $90 speeding ticket in Idaho.
Wait...Idaho cops in unmarked cars can't pull you over for speeding?
Nope. If they're on duty in an unmarked patrol car or cruiser, it's outside of Idaho law enforcement's purview to issue traffic tickets. Henry Cesari of Motor Biscuit says, "police may not use an unmarked vehicle for either routine or official traffic control. Idaho State Police are currently proposing a less strict policy."
So even though you were guilty of auditioning for Nascar on your ride home from Boise to Nampa, you can probably consider yourself in the clear.
There's a **potential** catch...
An Idaho police officer in an unmarked ride could "radio a fully marked police car or police SUV to pull you over" if they wanted to. If you ask us, we'd rather not chance it.
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