I was heading home from a day spent in Lake Tahoe. Home is Nevada. I was in Stateline Nevada, driving past the major casinos there, when I noticed a cop was following me with his lights on. I had no idea what I did. I didn’t run any red lights, no burned out tail lights, etc.
I pulled into an alley near Harrah’s Casino. The officer told me, “Do you know your registration is expired?” Now, I knew this couldn’t be true. I remember sticking the little red tag to my license plate in January. At first I thought it might have fallen off. But, no, it was there.
I pointed out to him, the large number 1 on my little tag, which meant “January”. Then, I pointed out the small “2005” on the side of the tag.
It came clear to me this cop was a California cop. He said, Oh, they’re doing it different now."
He must have thought the large number 1 meant 2001, which would mean my license had been expired for 3 years.
He apologized and was on his way. I sighed a huge sigh of relief. I wonder if police officers now, how freaked out some of us get when they pull us over.
Yeah, I think they do. I got pulled over once for not driving with my lights on during dusk and I was terrified he would ticket me. And since it was dad’s new car I’d be in deep trouble having gotten a ticket on my first day driving it.
(First post, please be gentle with me)
I once got pulled over right in front of a friend’s house that was hosting a party.
To back up a bit, just as I was leaving home to pick up a friend to go to this party I realized one of my headlights was out. No biggie, no time to change bulb, I would do it the next day…I would only be driving a few miles that night while it was dark anyways.
So I pick up friend, stop at grocery store a couple miles from the party to buy beer and hit the road again.
A police car ended up behind me, I knew it so made sure I followed the rules of the road. The police car followed me for a couple miles, which involved a few turns and ended up in a residential neighborhood where the party was being held. I pulled up to park in front of the house where the party was being held; the police car pulled up behind me and hit the lights. Uh Oh…crap…
As I am waiting for the cop to come up to my window I look over at the house and see a bunch of people, all of whom I knew, come up to the window to see what was going on. Great, now I have lots of witnesses too!
The cop comes to my window and asks me if I knew my headlight was out. Of course I responded that I did not and thanked him for letting me know. And off he went…probably not realizing how bad he had freaked me out!
Since I had only ever seen the police car behind me I don’t know when he had seen I had a headlight out. It was barely dusk and I had only turned on my lights as I had left the grocery store.
Needless to say I took awhile before my friends at the party let that little incident go…a lot of them were also co-workers who made sure that lots of our regular customers knew that little innocent me got pulled over by a cop right in front of the party.
But in hindsight I do realize that a young male police officer might have a bit of incentive to pull over a cherry 1965 Mustang that’s driver had long blonde hair and a passenger with long curly brunette hair.
I could also tell a story about running a red light with a cop in my car - that too was tad bit embarrassing…
Welcome to the SDMB PeachNoMore! Excellent first post.
– Slight Hijack –
However, to back up your claim that you may have been pulled over because of your appearance, we’ll need to see pictures. And some of you too, of course 
How cherry was that Mustang?
– End Hijack –
To answer the OP, yes, the cops definitely know how freaked out you are at being pulled over. I’m sure they have a good chuckle about making some 16 yo kid nearly pee his pants. OTOH, they also have to watch for the loony with outstanding felony warrants or a body on the trunk who shoots at them. So I guess it’s OK for them to get a laugh at our paranoia once in awhile.
My friend got pulled over 6 times in 2 years. The police never even had a good reason. He wasn’t speeding or anything. It was a case of “A 19 year old driving a nice car? Must be stolen.”
So they’d pull him over, he’d show his licence and documents that proved he owned the car, and they send him on his way.
I once got pulled over leaving a pub carpark (The Three Nuns, allegedly the place where Robin Hood snuffed it, his ‘grave’ is in the fields behind). You can’t really blame them for it, I had dropped my girlfriend off at her house, and while driving back the interior light came on, telling me that she hadn’t shut the door properly, so I pulled in at the nearest safe place, the pub carpark, shut the door properly, and go on my way, pulling out onto the main road, in front of a police car, from a pub carpark, at about half 11. No sooner had I got onto the road than the lights came on, and I pulled over, stopped the engine, switched off the music and wound down the window. Quick interrogation about why I wasn’t the registered owner (my mum), and where I was going, then onto the real reason ‘Have you been drinking at all tonight sir?’. I ended up being breathalysed, and although I knew I hadn’t been drinking, but damn if you don’t feel guilty, and they seem to want you to blow into that machine for ages.
I think I was pulled for that well know offence ‘Driving While Young’ .
I’ve been pulled over once. I accidentally drove in a bus lane with a cop following just behind me. I didn’t realize that they had their lights on and were trying to get me to pull over for a while. Eventually they get me to notice and I pull over. The cop (a rather attractive female cop at that) comes over and asks for my license and informs me of my mistake. She then asks my friend in the backseat (I had 2 friends in the car as well) why he’s not wearing his seatbelt. Rather than “I was, but just took it off” or something along those lines “I didn’t think I needed one in the backseat” is what comes out. (It’s illegal to not wear a seatbelt in the car I think. Not sure if I would have been responsible for that or not). Anyway, then she heads back to her car, checks my license and does whatever it is they do. Then she comes back, informs me that I could lose my license for my mistake if she wanted to charge me for it (any infraction within first 2 years of having license and you have to retake driving test in Sweden!). She also informs me that I was speeding 10km/hr over the speed limit. Luckily she says that since it was my first time, she’d let it slide. Whew! (Now if they’d caught me on just about any other day when I normally drive at 30km or so over the speed limit, my license would have been gone in a flash… hopefully that doesn’t happen any time soon…)
It doesn’t really freak me out.
The latest was I got pulled over going about 80 in Delaware. Driving from Maine to Maryland.
Cop: why were you going so fast?
Me : It’s been a long drive and I really wanted to get home.
Cop: So, it’s a long day and you’re tired so you thought you’d driver faster.
Me: Well, I’m not really that tired.
Cop: I was behind you for about a mile to give you a chance and you never slowed down.
Me: I guess I didn’t see you. (pause) Obviously.
He let me go. I didn’t come across as totally smart-alecky, but kind of jokey.
The worst was back in high school. I’d had like 2 drinks WAY before driving but it might have still been on my breath.
Anyway, I got pulled over by a cop who was new to the force (it was newsworthy that she joined the force because she was like the first black, woman, cop in Maine ever, IIRC) for a taillight out.
Anyway, I didn’t have my license so she asked me if my name was the same as on the registration. I told her yes not thinking that it was my DAD’s name on the registration. She goes back to her car and next thing I know the local BAD ASS COP pulls up and asks me to get out of the car.
Shitfuck!!
He took me to the back of the car, asked me how much I had to drink, why I told the woman my name was the same as on the registration, and THAT HE KNEW MY UNCLE.
After determining my purpose he let me go. I thought I pulled a fast one on him but as I look back, I think he did me a solid.
Also, me and a buddy got pulled over after a night of moderate drinking once in upstate NY. My buddy was driving. The cop made him blow. Too high. The cop made ME blow to see if I was good to drive. Too high.
He let us go.
In our defense, and the cop’s, we were both like .02 and the limit was like .02. We weren’t actually drunk at all, just illegal according to a ridiculously low limit.
The intensity of the blue flashing lights on police cars is adjustable. This is either so they are just as visible in daylight as in the dark, or because we have been conditioned to respond a certain way to those lights, and intensity of that conditioned response is in direct proportion to the intensity of the lights (in other words, the more the cop wants to intimidate you, the brighter and faster the lights flash). I don’t know if I buy into that, but it seems plausible.