I’ve heard that in some parts of the country police are rewarding gift certificates to people they observe exhibiting good driving habits. My first question is, are the cops actually pulling people over, lights & siren? Or are they waiting until they stop somewhere? If they’re pulling people over to reward them for safe driving, what if the driver has a big bag of dope on the seat? Rewarding for good driving isn’t probable cause for a traffic stop (at least it wasn’t when I was a patrolman). This sounds ridiculous, but I admit I don’t have the full details. Can anyone fill me in?
Ummm, a big bag of dope on the seat?!
Is that why you’re a former police officer?
Just kidding, I’ve heard of this as well. It doesn’t seem to be done much anymore, at least around here, probably because there doesn’t seem to be anyone exhibiting good driving skills.
A gift certificate? I want just one thing: a traffic ticket that I can give to the next driver that cuts me off or tail-gates me.
No, I’m not a cop anymore because (at the time) I was faced with the decision to continue making the salary I was making or joining a college pal of mine at a consulting firm and immediately making over 20k a year more, the 20k more won. I was a patrolman with a very small township for 4 years. But if I had been told to pull over good drivers I would have laughed my arsh off. You’ve got to be kidding. And do what, pat them on the head like a dog and say “good boy”? What if a guy doesn’t want to be complemented for his driving? “Sir, I pulled you over to commend you for coming to a complete stop at that light.”
“***k you, cop! I’m late for work!”
Anyway, I heard on the radio that some municipalites are doing this, and I’m stunned. I couldn’t imagine doing this. Are they using the lights and siren?
Quietgirl once got a stuffed animal for having her seatbelt on when an officer pulled her over.
I don’t remember what she was being pulled over, but I think it was something minor.
I heard about something like this over 10 years ago. I haven’t heard anything recently. IIRC, they really did pull people over. I also saw a Candid Camera type show around the same time where a good driver was pulled over and after being led along for a while was given a big bouquet of roses. I’d personally be very pissed off if that happened to me, especially if I was late for an appointment or in the middle of a busy day.
The OP has a great point. What if the officer noticed something illegal in the car when the driver was given a $10 off coupon for KFC or whatever? It’d be an interesting court case. The stuff was in plain sight and the officer acted in good faith. The officer would probably let a bag of weed go but what if he saw a severed arm?
Haj
It seems to me that doing this would cut too much into a police officer’s time. What if he were stopping a “Do gooder” and because of that, a speeder or worse got away? I would think that a better solution would be to receive something in the mail. Hey, they can look up your address by the plates anyway. Why not have an officer just make a note of the plate, and have a gift certificate sent to your home? I’d appreciate it more than being stopped to be given something.
In the Toronto area, this does happen, at least around Christmas.
All year long, but especially at Christmas/New Years, the police forces in the Toronto area set up spot checks that stop all drivers passing a certain point to see if they have been drinking.
If a driver hasn’t been drinking, the officer will give the driver a coupon book. The coupons are usually good for things like a free donut when you next buy a coffee at Such-and-such Donuts (a chain of donut shops) or ten percent off your next oil change at a certain oil change location.
But they’re not gift certificates, and the police certainly don’t chase down drivers to give them a reward for “good driving.” They’re just coupons handed out to sober drivers passing through a spot check. Kind of a “sorry for the inconvenience but thanks for being responsible” thing.
However, I’m sure that the police would have something extra for even the most sober driver who has a big bag of dope on the seat.
Well a cop pulled me over this last Saturday. Told me I was doing an excellent job driving, and wasn’t speeding… Then he gave me a ticket for not transfering the title on my car yet (ran my plates while I was filling tires with air). So at least I can say that a police officer told me I was driving well.
I was watching one of those “Worlds Worst Drivers” video compilations. It was interesting because the did a short clip on one of the safest drivers. I think it was a driver in England. He did everything by the book. EVERYTHING. Never went above the speed limit. Always signaled before changing lanes. The twist was that he has been stopped by the police some ridiculous amount of times. Somewhere around 25+ times. He was driving so well, the cops thought he was trying to hide something.
I’ve heard of this being tried in the lovely little burg of Ludowici, GA, on US Highway 301, which has a long-standing notorious reputation as a speed trap. It was sort of a goodwill publicity stunt to show that they’re not just money-grubbing revenue enhancers. I don’t know how long it lasted though, or even whether they actually did it–but I did hear a news report several years ago that said that they were going to.