I was driving home around 11:30 last night. Speeding and tailgating (c’mon…dude was in the left lane going…the SPEED LIMIT.) I was pulled over and immediately got so nervous and flustered that I knew this was not going to go well. The facts: I was going 72 in a 55 (I thought it was as 60, but still would’ve been speeding,) I was tailgating, and I was driving my boyfriend’s beater car. The officer asked me where I was going and I told him “home.” He asked me where I lived and I said, “Earth City,” which is not true. I was so shaken up that I could not tell him my address for anything! I told him where I was coming from and so on, saying (what the hell?) that I had been to the Symphony with my dad (AND I SHOWED HIM MY TICKET STUB!) He seemed confused by this. The clincher is that my boyfriend had NO proof of insurance in the vehicle (vehicle is, in fact, insured…the card was IN HIS WALLET IN CINCINNATI.) Also, the officer asked me if I had had anything to drink. I truthfully replied that I had a glass of wine at 8 o’clock. He said, “Hmmm…I’m smelling hard liquor in here.” I have no idea what he’s talking about, but he doesn’t press it. Comes back to the car and tells me to drive slower…no ticket? So…sorry this was so long but HOW THE CRAP DID I NOT GET A TICKET. I was committing three illegal acts (speeding, tailgating, NO PROOF OF INSURANCE!) AND he suspected me of being drunk or at least of having been drinking hard alcohol. Does anyone have any idea why he let me go instead of not ticketing me for at least one of those things? I am literally stunned.
Are you cute?
Are you sure he was a real cop, and not some guy looking to meet drunk chicks?
Cops aren’t robots you know, they sometimes ignore minor crimes or violations because of sympathy for the accused or sexual attraction or subtle psychological stuff.
Why did the cop that obviously saw me drinking in public years and years ago not say anything? Maybe he just wasn’t in the mood etc.
He was trying to do DUI arrests.
Ticketing you would have wasted time that could have been getting very dangerous people off of the road… or his boss wanted him out doing DUI arrests to dope their stats.
11:30 PM on a Friday night is a good time to catch drunks. Not as good at 2 AM would have been in a state when the bars close then… but a good time.
The “I’m smelling hard liquor in here” thing could very well have been a ploy to get you to say “Well, I did have a cocktail/beer/more wine after the show” or “we did go to the bar and have a couple of shots afterwords, but that’s it”. He was just trying to get you to admit to more. If you didn’t appear to be impaired and you told him you hadn’t had a sip in several hours he probably wasn’t worried, but if he could get you to admit to having been drinking more recently he probably would have pulled you out for a sobriety test (and if you were nervous enough to not remember your address, you might have failed it).
That reminds me of my favorite one. I once ran a stop sign, going probably 50 in what I would guess was a 35 or 40 zone. As I realized I was doing it I looked to my left and saw a cop waiting to go. When I got to the next stop sign he pulled up next to me and yelled at me for about 10 seconds and that was it. It was an easy ticket, it was a nice summer day out (so he wouldn’t have been standing in the rain or wind), I’m guessing he was either on his way to a call or it was time for a shift change.
Moving to IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Political troll is obvious troll.
I got pulled over a while back for having expired (by like 5 months) tags. I also had expired proof of insurance, a driver’s license with an inaccurate address, and had been speeding by more than 10 mph.
I had the new tags in the center console of the car and I absolutely had insurance, I just hadn’t swapped out the cards in my glove box yet. When he asked me if the address on the DL was current and I said no, he peeked at me over his sunglasses and said, “We’re not doing too good, are we?” I said, “No, sir, we’re not.” When he came back to my car he handed me a warning ticket to change the address on my license (a real ticket would have carried a $100+ fine just for that one offense), told me to get the tags on my license plates as soon as I got home, informed me that he had called my insurance company and they agreed to send replacement cards that day, and sent me on my way. He never even mentioned the speeding.
Oh, that’s only the second time I’ve been pulled over in my life. The first time was close to 15 years ago when I was learning to drive a 5 speed. I failed to stop at a stop sign, failed to notice the cop behind me, was speeding, failed to stop at a second stop sign, finally noticed the cop trying to pull me over, did not have a driver’s license (not even a permit yet), wasn’t wearing a seat belt, etc. No ticket then, either. I can’t imagine the fines.
There could be a number of reasons you were blessed. If your record was clean, he might cut you a break since it would indicate you are an overall safe driver. Maybe he was “hunting” for drunks and did not wish to waste further time on you. Maybe he was not pressed for his quota this early in the month. Some officers prefer to hit only the most serious offenders, which you proved not to be. If he were at the end of his shift he might give a break to get home on schedule. Your traffic stop still goes on his log so he gets a form of credit for the stop even if his judgment call is not to cite. Some officers might begin a stop hoping for a big score which would include DUI, dope or fleeing.
Use this traffic break to correct the error of your ways. Your driving was dangerous and does not save you much time.
I don’t know what this means. Apologies if I’m being dense.
Agreed. And thanks for the info. I do have to admit to being completely inattentive to how fast I was going. Trust me; I spent all of last night counting my blessings. My night got about 300 percent better following my “release.” Also, I’ve been stopped only about four times in my life…that’s why I was so nervous. I don’t even know the proper procedure for leaving the “scene.” Do I pull out first or does he? It sucks because there he is, sitting there blocking my view with his vehicle and his flashy-flashes and cars are ZOOMING by. It’s hard to get back on that highway. Anyway, yep I am thankful…and I made my boyfriend e-mail me a copy of his insurance card today.
Age plays a role in it. I think. Sometimes. I’m 55.
Going to my brother’s house, different town, I sped through 2 school zones, and through a residential area. (Not by a large margin, however.) On top of that, I didn’t have insurance card. (Of course, it was at home.) So, he gave me a warning on the moving violations, and a ‘real’ ticket on the no insurance, which I dealt with by producing my insurance card to the court clerk. Case dismissed.
He coulda been a real cop, looking to meet drunken chicks, and then he saw she had a bf.
I have only gotten one speeding ticket in my life and that was when I was 20. I have been stopped 30 - 40 times since then and never gotten a ticket since. The last time was last Sunday morning. 88mph in a 65mph zone. I routinely go much faster than that (hey, don’t judge this is Massachusetts I-495). My mother bought me a book on how to talk your way out of a traffic ticket when I was young and it seems to work. I just great them with “Hello Officer!”. They seem to like that word. When they ask if I was doing something wrong specifically, I say that I don’t know for sure but I am sure they had a reason to stop me. It usually just goes with a complete pass and a wish to have a good day. The last one resulted in a written warning.
It isn’t just Massachusetts. I have been stopped in many states with no penalty. Simple recognition of authority and a polite demeanor seems to go a long way with almost all of them.
You’re not the only one.
Never once have I been pulled over and not gotten off without a ticket. I even got pulled over on a Saturday at 11 for not dimming my headlights. I was likely just pulled over to see if I was drunk. I was not but was still issued a 79 dollar ticket.
You mean:
Never once have I been pulled over and gotten off without a ticket.
right?
Because otherwise, saying you got a ticket would be inconsistent.
Or… are we reading you wrong?
I’m confused too. I think he’s accusing you of making up a story to prove some sort of point but I have no idea what even that could be.
I’d say that I get let go with a warning about half of the time. I’m always polite. A cop one time told me that as soon as they pull someone over they have already decided if they are going to give you a ticket or a warning. It’s almost impossible to talk yourself out of a ticket but easy to talk yourself into one.