Almost Got a ticket last night

[KJSatz]

My personal rule thumb on the cops and getting pulled over is, if they light of the Christmas tree pull over pretty quickly, shut down the engine, lower the driver window 3-5 inches (it's harder for them to pretend to smell "something" to justify a crazy search then), and put my hands at 10 and 2. Any passengers are told during this prep time not to say anything. If LEO asks if I know why they pulled me over, I say "Why did you?" Or if they open with some other line, I ask "Why did you pull me over, officer?" Don't admit anything or say anything else crazy, just cooperate in giving them license/reg and whatnot. I'll even get out of the car if they insist (first, "Why is that necessary, officer?" and then if they get all-upons about it), but lock the doors behind you ("out of habit" if they ask). Say "I don't consent to any search" if they make a move (though they are allowed a pat-down if there is probable cause you might have a weapon...something which is abused to be certain, to our detriment). If they start on some crazy line ask "Am I allowed to leave now, officer?" and of course they can't detain you so they'll give you your ticket for whatever and off you go to court if you want.

Actually I haven't been pulled over yet, so I am not sure how on the script I would be able to stay....

Watched the ACLU videos in driver's ed w00t.

[claytori]

I just came across this thread, and the story in the original post is almost identical to an incident I experienced back in the late '80's. I was driving home after having dinner at my sister's apartment. The route took me onto an elevated freeway with a speed limit of 90kph (55mph). It was about 10:00 at night and there was very little traffic. Soon after I merged onto the road, a pair of headlights approached from behind at very high speed and ended up about 3' from my bumper. The lanes on either side were open for passing. The lights stayed at that distance for some time. I was driving at the speed limit, and began to slow down very slowly. I had no idea at that time whether the driver of the car was a cop or a drunk or a crazy person. Then I noticed a cast of red on my dash board, and realized that it was a cop and he had put on the roof lights. He was so close that I could not see the actual lights in my rear view mirror because they were cut off by the roof. I stopped and the cop came and spoke with me. I received neither ticket nor warning nor explanation of why I had been stopped. He asked me how fast I was going. I answered at the limit.

[equation112]

well.. THAT was a stupid question on his part... since he was obviously at your bumper for some time looking to intentionally freak you out.

next time a cop does that to me I am going to have to ask him 'sir, if I had had to slam on my brakes for some reason, you would have been at fault in the accident... do you realize the position you are putting yourself in? that tactic you used is the kind of thing one would expect to see from a drunk driver, not a law enforcement officer.' let him chew on that...

hell on my way home last night a police officer cut directly across the front of a minivan (from right to left to get into the median emergency lane where another officer had apparently pulled someone else over - he didnt want either me or the van he cut off) just a few car lengths in front of me on I-95 - this was AFTER I had observed this officer with his light bar ON speeding up on me from the rear for at least a mile. all he had to do was fall in behind me and pull off to the side... but no, he HAD to save 2 seconds (if in deed he actually saved any time at all) by speeding up and cutting off the minivan with barely a hair's breadth of clearance, almost causing the van to shove its' nose up his tailpipe. btw, the other cruiser also had its' light bar on, so its' location was clearly visible from over a mile away. the cop had no other traffic to contend with, so he could have easily pulled into the emergency lane at any time. he was looking to be a D**k.

and they say ricers are bad.

[jdwave]

We could all come up with Police horror stories, I have a few myself.

But I certainly have an incredible amount of respect for them.

Dad's a cop, Dad's Dad, and so on.

My fathers favorite line is, "Call me a Pig if I act like one."

It's just life, sometimes you run into good people, sometimes good people on bad days, and sometimes you run into genuine "not-so-good" people.

And I will tell you, after many conversations with my father, cops will try to make their quota.

Just doing their jobs, you know?

But I will tell you, my Dad works with a few jerks, as well.

-Josh

[Thalass]

Originally Posted by trikkonceptz

...a whole bunch of stuff

I'm wondering how exactly you were told to walk to the cop's car. Was it the whole "pulls out his gun, shouts at you over the megaphone to open the door from the outside, then get out slowly and walk backwards towards him" thing?

[dcb]

Originally Posted by equation112

...hell on my way home last night a police officer cut directly across the front of a minivan...I had observed this officer with his light bar ON speeding up on me from the rear for at least a mile...

Why were you guys in the way of an emergency vehicle to begin with?!?

[bodyshop]

Originally Posted by 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.

As an ex-cop from the late 70's garys_1k is right in that cops watch for driver just below the speed limit hoping not to draw attention to themselves. Once pulled over they want you to speak so to check for slurred speech and breath check. This cop though rude seems so-so just poor people skills. Challenging authority is good most of the time as long as you remain calm, cool, and collective. Using the lawyer bashing is bad idea (only a mother could love a lawyer "just a joke guys".) Try to keep all your challenges in the form of a question.

• Is riding my back bumper safe?
• How do I contact your supervisor?
• Do you have a badge number?

The bumper riding is done to intimidate criminals into making a mistake and/or starting a 10-80 (car chase). I have no problem with car chases that start spontaneously, but don't think provoking them is in the best interest of "John Q Public"

Originally Posted by Arminius

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

I think this is a good idea for two reasons first is why this thread started and second is to promote EM driving to others!

BTW trikkonceptz I got a speeding ticket back in the mid 80's going through the tunnel, back when I lived in Oakland Park, FL. I guess the cop didn't like my ROSS Beach Cruiser Bicycle going faster than his Harley, The grade in the tunnel is steeper than it looks from in a car! And all I said to the cop is you've got to be kidding me...

[aerohead]

Originally Posted by 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 ..

I'm pretty big on the "walking a mile in their moccasins" before judgement club.Had I been either one of you,I would have behaved identically.I know some law enforcement folks,and they can get hammered from all sides.They're routinely expected to walk into harm's way.There's a lot of alcoholism,divorce,broken families,KIA,etc.. I'm not defending what the guy did,and am impressed with your presence of mind when in an altercation like that.If I were a screen-writer,I'd get it into the script of a major motion picture.Maybe cast Sean Penn for the part.I suppose" profiling" has become a permanent part of the American landscape.I like to think he'll remember your car and the context for your "behavior".

[equation112]

Originally Posted by dcb

Why were you guys in the way of an emergency vehicle to begin with?!?

we were NOT in his way... this happened in the middle of the night on I-95, which in the area that this occurred is FIVE to SIX lanes wide, and aside from him, there was no other moving traffic in the vicinity. the minivan and I were both in the same lane, and the officer had PLENTY of BOTH time and SPACE to go where he needed. he could have calmly rolled into the emergency lane right behind the other cruiser, but deliberately chose to cut the van off instead. since both the van and I were already in the far left lane, we simply stayed there, as cutting all the way back to the right would have definitely put us in his way... like I said he had 5 other lanes plus the left emergency lane to work with.

[dcb]

Originally Posted by equation112

since both the van and I were already in the far left lane

OMG, you saw him coming a mile away, with his lights on, and didn't move right. Who gave you a license?