Almost Got a ticket last night

[trikkonceptz]

I just had to post this ....

I got pulled over last night ... sorry for the longwinded story, its how I roll.

Coming home on a three lane city street where the speed limit is 45mph I drive 40mph. It was 10pm and I was in the middle lane with no traffic to be seen. In the distance I see a set of headlights coming up behind me really fast. Fast enough to make me want to brace myself in case the idiot is drunk and doesn't know to swerve. Well once on top of me the lights finally slowed down to uncomfortable tailgating distance. After about 2 minutes a spot light came on which of course was aimed right into my rear view mirror. I immeadiately directed the mirror away from my eyes and thats when the lights came on ...

Since I wasn't speeding, the roads were empty and I was not in the mood to deal with this, I simply slapped the car in neutral, cut off the engine and coasted to a complete stop, (that took a while and about a mile). The cop then asked me to step outside the vehicle and walk back to his car.

I got the standard, "Do you know why I pulled you over?", to which I responded, "Because I was in your way as you were speeding down the road?". He then called me a smartass to which I responded I was. I asked him if he knew why he pulled me over. He answered with, "One more disrespectful remark and I'll ticket you." I asked for what?

He says I was driving to slow on the road ... I laughed, quite loudly and said,"Let me get this straight, you are going to give me a ticket because I am driving alone on an empty road 5 miles below the speed limit?" "Ticket me now so I can save the smart ass comment", I said.

He checked my license, reg, ins and then said, "I'm going to let you off with a warning", I interrupted him right there and said,"Let me let you off with a warning, remember this car, because I will not alter my driving habits to suit your power trip. Furthermore, if and when you give the ticket because I was driving to slow, there better be a sign stating what the minimum safe speed is for this road, otherwise, I will own the city via lawsuit for encouraging speeding by driving at the speed limit. And undoubtedly, you will have to answer to a pissed off judge when my high priced lawyer shows up in court and makes you look like an ass for wasting the courts time with such important matters. Therefore I hope YOU have a better evening and can only hope that 2 open lanes is enough space for you pass my vehicle in the future.

I collected my things got in my car and drove off @ 35mph with him following me for the next three miles ... LOL

Maybe later I'll post what really went through my mind as he was lecturing me on my driving habits .. LOL

Now I rarely challenge the law and I do not encourage this for anyone else, but I felt with a 15yr safe driving record behind me I could afford 1 ticket and perhaps a night in jail may elevate my rep amongst us ecomodders .... LOL

[SVOboy]

I feel like that's completely out of line on the officer's part. Did you get his badge number? I would report him. Cops should be doing more than pulling people over with absolutely no cause.

[echomodder]

YOU ROCK! I can only wish I had the guts to say that. You should report him. If anything else happens with this cop It will be on file that he messed with you. Any chance of getting a copy of the tape that he has in his car. It would be good evidence if he harassess you again.

[trikkonceptz]

I did, he did not volunteer the info, I simply remembered it from being in such a close proximity to his person. I also recorded his vehicle number and plate as he sped away, with his light off, I also witnessed him come to an intersection, turn his lights on, cross it then turn them off.

I gave this information to one of my cousins who is a lawyer and specializes in DUI. Hopefully he will give me guidance as to how make sure this type of behavior is frowned upon.

I hate to say it, but Cities, counties and states often cry about their budgets, then hack from education. Instead if THEY mandated safer ecomodding among all the vehicles in their use, car, trucks and busses I am sure they could offset any budget cuts and infact put money back into education, including programs on how to teach future drivers better driving habits. (Got pushed off soapbox, OUCH)

[cfg83]

trikkonceptz -

You're my Hero!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CarloSW2

[NoCO2]

O, reading that completely just made the rest of my evening, you sir are a hero of heros...I'm thinking this is a story worthy of digg...anyone else?

[ttoyoda]

trikkonceptz
I don't mean you any disrespect, but I have to disagree with what you did. It would have been very easy for the cop to put meth in your car, or just shoot you. Poking at a cop is like poking at a rattlesnake. It may be amusing, but it can be fatal.
Making a complaint thru channels is a good idea.

[trikkonceptz]

Originally Posted by ttoyoda

trikkonceptz
I don't mean you any disrespect, but I have to disagree with what you did. It would have been very easy for the cop to put meth in your car, or just shoot you. Poking at a cop is like poking at a rattlesnake. It may be amusing, but it can be fatal.
Making a complaint thru channels is a good idea.

I completely agree with you ... but, I know the temperment of my city, I have the incredible ability of expressing my opinions without losing my cool, and I totally expected to use my right to a single phone call. So I considered all my risks before going off on this tool. Also consider that I am educated, so I know what to do in the event this cop decided to flex any muscle and make my life a living hell.

[Red]

Way to go trikkonceptz!

[Johnny Mullet]

Here's the deal...............

A lot of people are slowing down to save gas and speeders are hard to find (when there is a cop around that is), so cops now go after the slower traffic.

[igo]

Amazing story. Way to stick it to the man

[garys_1k]

He probl'y thought you were drunk. They look for too-slow driving as a sign of being overly cautious, likely for a reason.

I wouldn't have gone off on him like that but you did good.

[RH77]

I've learned lately that there are 2 major divisions of officers in most areas these days (also a lengthy tale, as is my style )...

1) Traffic (mostly speeding), and
2) Patrol

Traffic assignments are fairly straightforward -- speed traps, driving the roads, clocking vehicle speeds and catching blatantly unsafe operation.

The second is "Patrol". This is generally the group that shows up to 911 calls, assists other officers, and cruises around for crime prevention and detection.

When a patrol officer pulls someone over, it's generally "for cause" to look for drugs, DUIs, weapons, warrants, mismatched plates to the vehicle, etc -- they perform this by observing "unusual" behavior or conditions: head/tail light out, slower driving, etc. -- and generally happens "between assigned calls".

This is likely what happened, Trik. It's too bad the officer was rude -- you didn't deserve that kind of treatment. The "cause for suspicion" failed on his part, and it sounded like he took it personally -- hoping to make a big bust or something.

However, I've learned that it goes sour quickly with any question of authority. I know it's hard, but you just have to answer the questions with respect, and if it doesn't go well, have your day in court and/or file a complaint. Police dash cameras protect the rights of both the officer and the suspect, so that could be used as evidence. It sounded like a "procedure" to run up behind someone quickly -- DUIs generally freak or act strangely. The speed was apparently cause for concern. I know hypermilers feel like a target lately, and that can get personal too.

I had an odd instance (not as bad) -- failure to display a front plate. I was doing 55-60 in a 65, saw the lights as he had someone pulled-over, I merged left (per State Law and safety/courtesy), and then all of the sudden he's on my bumper and flipped on the lights. I had no idea what the deal was. I got questioned about everything on the car: SG, Weather radios and antennas, the head unit was loose, so it appeared stolen (but the bracket's busted), etc. He told me about the plate, which finally ended the whole "discussion". I had the front plate in the hatch, so I got it out, presented it, and left with a "warning". It seems after that, I had the Police behind me about 5 times in the next 2 weeks. Maybe a similar car was involved in a crime, who knows.

I've worked with Sheriff Deputies, State Patrol, and local Police as a Medic, and the range is "human" -- there are nice guys, and jerks too.

RH77

[Arminius]

Being an officer is not an easy job and I have a lot of respect for them, so I'm not going to bash the profession. I have, however, had two really bad experiences with officers which left very lasting bad impressions. The 20 good following experiences with officers did not repair the damage done by the two egomaniacs. It's too bad a couple of goofballs have to ruin it for everyone.

Frankly, I think that officers will eventually get used to the slow drivers.

[cfg83]

ttoyoda -

Originally Posted by ttoyoda

trikkonceptz
I don't mean you any disrespect, but I have to disagree with what you did. It would have been very easy for the cop to put meth in your car, or just shoot you. Poking at a cop is like poking at a rattlesnake. It may be amusing, but it can be fatal.
Making a complaint thru channels is a good idea.

Yeah, I wouldn't do what Trik did. I always assume that the cop that pulls me over is the 5% bad cop that the judicial system assumes will be telling the truth in court. I also assume he/she might have just had a really bad incident prior to me, and is ready to take it out on me.

But Trik is still a Hero to me because he risked a world of hurt in a situation where he was justified. It was a calculated risk on his part, but still a risk. As he states, if he was in a different state/county, he probably would have behaved differently.

Hmmmmm, thought for food. I wonder what the cop did to the next alleged perp? Did he learn from Trik or did he just "take it out" on the person?

CarloSW2

[justpassntime]

Great story way to go!

Here's my favorite cop story.

I was in Charleston SC on a bright summers day many years ago. The street was a four lane with a center turn lane with traffic lights. The through lanes were red and the turn lane green. I attempted to turn into the turn lane when a police car came up from behind and cut me off. I had absolutely no choice but to run the red light. Immediately the police car slid in behind me a turned on the lights. I pulled over into a empty parking lot and here come five more back up police cars. A young female police officer came up to my vehicle and asked the usual stupid question "Do you know why I pulled you over?" I responded with "Maybe it had something to do with the red light." She says "That is exactly why. Do you always drive like that?" Then I returned "Only when I get cut off from a turn lane I was signaling for and get cut off by a speeding police car." She stood with a dumbfounded look on her face, the other police officers started laughing. She slammed her ticket book and stormed away and got into her car. Another officer came still laughing and told me I was free to go. The officers were still standing there laughing when I drove off.

I was so hilarious the way it happened. I guess maybe to really appreciate it you had to be there, unless of course you were the female officer, then maybe it wasn't so funny.

[SuperTrooper]

Just last night I was headed home from my second job at about midnight. Rt 93 was practically empty so I decided to practice a little P&G. I'd noticed a car in the left lane kind of staying with me, but since I was 3 lanes over I thought nothing of it. All of a sudden the car swoops over and starts to tailgate me while I was on a pulse up to the speed limit. He rode my bumper at 65 mph up to where the lanes reduce from 4 to 3 (about 3 miles), then flipped on his blues and pulled me over. Got me out and checked me over for DUI and explained "erratic" driving is often a sign of DUI. I explained about P&G and he was clearly interested. It seems Mass state troopers have been briefed on the AAA position on hypermiling practices. He let me go but warned me to expect similar treatment any time I'm observed doing P&G late at night or driving "too slow". He also warned me about tailgating trucks (guilty) and high exit ramp speeds (also guilty). All in all a very professional encounter.

[Bigs]

Great story! I'm happy you didn't let Mr Power Trip get all over ya. In court, you could have gotten that ticket waived off for sure. Not like you were slowing down a ton of traffic.

A$$ holes like that piss me off.

[trikkonceptz]

After a lengthy discussion with one of my family attorneys, he dropped this knowledge on me.

He says that the way we drive, (Safe and under speed), does mimic that of drunk drivers, the differnece being that we do not swerve all over the place. He advised me to be a bit more tolerant of law enforcement because they operate under suspicion at all times. He did not condone the treatment I recieved, just asked that I be more patient when approached at night by police until this becomes more mainstream.

I agree with the advice just not the profiling .. oh well what will cops do when a larger percentage of the populations begins to slow down ..

[Arminius]

This is why you need a sticker on the car that explains your speed. Seriously.