An example of why you should always be nice to cops

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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[IMPORTANT NOTE: This thread is about as MPSIMS as it gets. You have been warned.]

Earlier this week, I got a speeding ticket. It was completely my fault – I stumbled upon a wide-open stretch of PCH with NO visible traffic in either direction, and I couldn’t help myself. :cool: As always, I kept one eye on the road while my other eye scanned the vicinity for cops, but sure enough, I missed one…

Now, I know that whenever you get pulled over, the WORST thing you can do is immediately reach for your glovebox – the cop will think you might be lunging for a weapon, and while he probably won’t shoot you, it will make him extremely nervous and he’ll treat you like a jerk. However, I didn’t want to waste time, since I was late for an appointment and I don’t like waiting idle by the side of the road in any circumstance.

So here’s what I did: As I reached for the glovebox, I held my left hand over my head with palm wide open, to communicate that my intentions were non-hostile – in addition, I held up my documentation as soon as I retrieved them. When he asked if I knew I was speeding (he said I was doing 65, but I could’ve sworn it was closer to 70) I apologized profusely, admitted guilt, and was basically calm and nice about the whole thing.

As it turns out, the insurance card in my glovebox had expired, so he asked if I had another one. I did, in my wallet, but that one had also expired, albeit more recently. Again, I apologized and assured him that my insurance was indeed valid (not a lie), and I could provide proof if necessary.

The result: He did write me a ticket, but he marked my insurance as “valid”. He also engaged in some brief, meaningless small talk, and thanked me for my cooperation. The entire encounter took 3-5 minutes, tops. After that, I was on my way again.

So, there you go. Whenever you encounter the police, always always ALWAYS be nice to them. They will appreciate it and often reward you for it!

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Agree, I have one speeding ticket in my life (~30 yrs ago) and about 30 warnings since.

When I get pulled over, I am always polite and somewhat apologetic (but not over the top). I guess my method works as I get so many warnings [knocking on wood]

3

I’ve received one ticket and many warnings. I wasn’t being nice when I got the ticket. Not nasty, just youthful rudeness.

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I always toss my papers at them. They seem to appreciate it. :smiley:

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This guy - a former border patrol agent - put together an excellent write-up on how to comport yourself during a traffic stop so as to minimize the amount of hassle, expense, and physical hazard for yourself. Apart from common courtesy, the basic rule is to not do anything that might possibly lead the officer to believe his life may be in danger. Hands on steering wheel while officer walks up to your window, no sudden moves, no reaching your hands in hidden places (like a pocket or glovebox) with letting the officer know what you’re about to do. I’ve done this during the past couple of traffic stops and managed to escape with just a verbal warning each time. Hopefully the trend continues.

6

Yup. My experience has been similar. Hands in plain view, no sudden moves, polite demeanor at all times, advising that I need to get my wallet to show my license, etc. No tickets in years. Even when I’ve been stopped in another state.

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This is one of my favorite stories from my days of running a pizza place.

My policy was to give the police a 50% discount, for anything, at all times. A couple of the benefits of this were: at any given time there was a good chance there was a cop in the restaurant (this was in Downtown San Jose), and many times my drivers would get away with a warning when they should have gotten a ticket.

One such time, a driver was heading down a street bordering the university, and there was a cop a few blocks ahead of him. After the cop had passed, a pedestrian approached the curb at a crosswalk, so Steve the Driver started slowing down. The pedestrian waved at him to go on through, so he did, and the cop immediately circled around, got behind Steve, and pulled him over.

Steve tried to explain his case to the cop, who wasn’t having it. He remained polite, but let the cop know he thought this was wrong. After Steve had signed the ticket, he made one last effort: "I still think this is wrong. I mean, I’m working right now – "

Cop: “Where to you work?”

Steve, indicating the logo on his t-shirt and the pizza bag in the back seat: “Pizza a Go Go.”

Cop: “Oh, really. Well…” (takes the ticket back from Steve, after he’d signed it) “… I guess I can let you go this time, but just be sure you always stop for pedestrians in the future.”

After Steve told me this story, my reply was “and that, my friend, is why we give the police a discount.”

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Coming home at 1:00 from the bar, I completely blow through a stop sign that I KNOW is there, that I see the cops at regularly, etc. I see the headlights pop up from the cross street, and before he even turns on his lights I have pulled over. Cop comes whipping around the corner, and has to stop in FRONT of me because I pulled over so fast.

He walks up, I have all docs on me and available, and I immediately admit obvious guilt and stupidity.

Warning. Have a Nice Day. Don’t be Stupid.

Amazing how being polite, courteous, and dropping the attitude can get you out of trouble.

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And the difference between that and a bribe is…?

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The best advise I ever got regarding being stopped was from a cop who told me that the way they treat you is based almost entirely on the first thing you do when they walk up to your car. If you’re polite and cooperative you may still get a ticket but they’ll still probably give you some kind of break if not just let you go with a warning. If you’re angry and start yelling at them immediately, I guarantee you’re going to get a ticket every time, possibly something a lot worse.

I used to get pulled over a lot, as did one of my friends.

I was always polite and cooperative. I never argued or offered up explanations or excuses or without being asked. I never said anything that wasn’t a direct response to a question.

I never got a ticket.

My friend on the other hand, upon being pulled over, would do the exact opposite of everything I just described.

She always got tickets. Big ones. Every single time.

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I never get asked “Do you know how fast you were going?” I always get

“Are you active?”
Why do you ask, officer? Oh, did you see my Army ID sitting on top of my license? “I was. I got out after we came home from Iraq.”
“Have a nice day.”

Last time I got pulled over (two weeks ago), I had a missing front license plate, an outdated inspection, no insurance proof on me, no registration card, a bad address on my license, AND I was 20 mph over. He wrote me up for the inspection and told me to fax proof to the courthouse that I’d taken care of it and we’d be good to go. No fine or anything.

Officer Barnes*, I salute you!
*or whatever

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Nothing. That was the point of the story.

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After many years of experimentation, I’ve come around to a slightly different approach.

When I was in my 20s and 30s, polite and apologetic NEVER got me out of a ticket. Not once.

I never tried angry and argumentative; I wasn’t ever that dumb.

But what’s worked for me has been to be assertive, but within the bounds of politeness. (At least in instances when I’ve believed I was driving safely, if over the limit, and felt I could make a good case for that. If I’ve got no argument, then polite and apologetic it is.) The cops I’ve encountered seem to respect that. At any rate, I’ve gotten a number of warnings this way over the years, but rarely a ticket.

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My very first speeding ticket was when I was returning from Atlanta to my fraternity house at UGA.
It was about 2100 on a Sunday evening and I was late for a meeting.
The speed limit was 55 and I was pulled over by a good-ole-boy who informed me that I was going 78 MPH.
For some reason, I got it in my mind that it would be funny to point at the highway sign and say, “But Officer, the sign does say 78”, that being the number of the highway that I was speeding on.

As I recall, he blinked twice then drawled out, “Well, boy, I’m sure glad you wasn’t driving on the perimeter!”

He let me off with a laugh and a warning.

For what it is worth, the perimeter highway around Atlanta is I-285.

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THIRTY warnings?? Wow…are you an attractive young woman who can cry at the drop of a hat? Or do you hex the cop first? :smiley:

I’ve been told that with motorcycle cops (like the one who pulled me over) the best way to get out of a ticket is to keep a motorcycle magazine in plain view, or have it “accidentally” fall out of your glovebox when you open it. He’ll start talking your ear off about motorcycles, and ultimately let you go with a warning.

Oh, piss off. :wink:

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The cops in the next town over (pop. 3000) are cracking down. The paper publishes a list of offenders and what they were ticketed for. We’re seeing speeding tickets for 1-2 mph over the limit. Not 5 or 10, 1 or 2.

A cop recently stopped our former mayor, who is also a volunteer coach, 50 plus years old – doesn’t fit any profile except maybe upstanding citizen. He was 2 miles over the limit. He handed the cop his license and registration. Cop asked for proof of insurance and the guy reached over to the glove box. He goes to hand it to the cop and the cop’s pulled his gun and is pointing it at the guy.

Guy gets nervous but not angry, puts the stuff away while cop is writing the ticket. Cop asks to see the proof of insurance again, saying he didn’t to check the date. Guy reaches back in the glove box and again the cop pulls his gun. WTF?

People are crazy. I’m the city clerk here, and the treasurer has asked for bulletproof glass for her office at city hall (which is also my office). The council is actually considering installing it. We have nothing worth stealing, and our citizens (all 200 of them) are friendly and law-abiding.

It makes me wonder, if people in small towns in the midwest are becoming so fearful, what must it be like in Detroit and D.C.? You guys wearing bulletproof vests to work?

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With the insurance policy number he can tell if you have current insurance even without a current card.

You are required to carry a current proof of insurance, so he could have got asshole-ish if he wanted to, but he knew that you had valid insurance once he plugged the policy number into his computer.

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Absolutely correct. A traffic stop is the most dangerous situation that a cop encounters on a routine basis; up to 50% of cop fatalities happen at traffic stops. Therefore, he will always be nervous when he approaches your vehicle, especially if he can’t see clearly who you are or what you are doing.

For example, in my OP scenario, had it been at night instead of broad daylight, I would NOT have reached for my glovebox at all. At night, you should do nothing at all except turn on the dome light, and wait for his knock on the window.

There are friends of mine who always argue with cops, claiming it’s their right because they pay the cop’s salary, blah blah…they have a point, but that has nothing to do with it. The most important thing is to get the situation resolved as quickly as possible, and the best way to do that is to make the cop feel relaxed, let him to his business, and be on your way. After all, he’s only human, and he wants to fill his quota and get back to the donut shop as bad as you do. :smiley:

Ahh…didn’t know that, thanks.

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Holy crap, Auntie Pam! That is just ridiculous!

I have rarely been pulled over and ticketed, but when I have been pulled over, I was nothing but polite. Most of the time I got off with a warning, but I have been ticketed a few times. Yes, I deserved the tickets, and they actually cut me a break by saying I only exceeded the speed limit by five or at the most 10 over.

The only time I received a ticket I didn’t deserve was from a red light camera. Complete and utter bullshit, but that’s another story altogether.

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A few miles up the road from me is the longest stretch of straight road in the state. More than forty miles with no turns, intersections, private driveways, or pull-outs, so this is where people go to test out a new car or bike. I know a man who went out there to test out his new BMW and was pulled over doing 140 in a 60 zone. He was very friendly and helpful about it, and the cop only wrote him up for 80; said “With a bike like that, it’s a sin not to see what it can do.”

The one time I’ve been in a car that was pulled over, it was my girlfriend driving my car home from a party. I was three sheets to the wind (but in control, calm, and helpful) and she was sober but without her license, since she hadn’t planned to drive. The officer chewed us out for driving without her license handy but admitted that he was glad she was driving instead of me, so he let us go.