How should I respond as a motorcyclist to getting pulled over? You guys (law enforcement officers in general) have a helluva difficult job, and I don’t want to make it any more stressful than it already is. I want to signal my intent to the cop that I’m not a runner and I’m not a fighter – I’m just a good ol’ law abiding guy who will take what I have coming with good graces. I figure, then, that I have two options upon getting pulled over:
A) Stay on the motorcycle with hands in plain view as the officer approaches
B) Dismount and wait by the side of the motorcycle as the officer approaches
I fear that either choice can put the cop ill at ease. Option A may make me look like I’m going to peel out and speed away as soon as he approaches; Option B may make me look like I’m prepared to put up a fight.
So while I understand you’re not a traffic cop, which option would best signal my intent to you that I’m not going to cause any problems? Also, what about my helmet? Taking it off may signal my intent not to run, but may at the same time appear as if I’m getting ready to start swinging with it.
And let me add my voice to the chorus singing your praises, Badge. An awesome thread!
I think that staying on the motorcycle is best, but it shouldn’t make too much difference. The only thing I would add is that it would be best to shut off the engine.
I would prefer to see you take off the helmet and set it down. Not being able to see your face would make me more nervous than you having the helmet in your hand.
Can you think of a way that being color blind would affect someone in your position to the point of where they would not be able to do their job?
I know that in Los Angeles they will make you take a color vision test. I am color blind (red/green) and wanted to know if that would disqualify a person.
Well, we do have to be able to identify people, cars, evidence, etc. If you’re given a BOLO (Be On the Look Out) for a green car, would you be able to spot it?
The best thing would be to check with any department that you’re applying with to see if that would be disqualifying. I don’t remember that ever coming up in our testing procedure, but I may have just missed it.