# Nice chatting with you; here's your ticket! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 1, 2006, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944 "2006-01-01T10:37:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/21 "2006-01-02T08:34:16Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Now that’s a shitty attitude to have towards cops. Thank Your lucky stars the cops you’ve been pulled over by, so far, have been cool. (Despite your condescending attitude.) I’m fairly certain the cop could have gave you a ticket for a busted headlight. _Cool?_ What’s “cool” about the **same** cop pulling me over literally night after night? (No shit, I have had the cop that pulled me over on Tuesday, pull me over on Wednesday. The cop that pulls me over on Friday, pulls me over on Sunday. It’s a town of 20K people and I’ve got **the only** 1981 Honda Prelude in town. They **know** who they’re pulling over before they ever hit their rollers.) What’s “cool” about getting pulled over on a damned pretense, just so the cop can see if I’m drunk or not? What’s “cool” about me having to dig through all my crap to have my license, insurance and registration at the ready, just so the cop can see it, if he even bothers to ask me for it? And the cops **don’t** bother to hand out tickets for busted headlights, since the ticket’s only $10 and thus not worth the paperwork. Add to that, I can drive through the wealthiest neighborhoods in Nashville (near where Al Gore resides, so the homes are multimillion plus) at 3 AM and **not** have **any** of the cops in that area pull me over, and quite frankly, the local police force is lucky I don’t go paleolithic on their asses when they pull me over. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/22 "2006-01-02T09:18:32Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > _Cool?_ What’s “cool” about the **same** cop pulling me over literally night after night? (No shit, I have had the cop that pulled me over on Tuesday, pull me over on Wednesday. The cop that pulls me over on Friday, pulls me over on Sunday. It’s a town of 20K people and I’ve got **the only** 1981 Honda Prelude in town. They **know** who they’re pulling over before they ever hit their rollers.) What’s “cool” about getting pulled over on a damned pretense, just so the cop can see if I’m drunk or not? What’s “cool” about me having to dig through all my crap to have my license, insurance and registration at the ready, just so the cop can see it, if he even bothers to ask me for it? > > And the cops **don’t** bother to hand out tickets for busted headlights, since the ticket’s only $10 and thus not worth the paperwork. Add to that, I can drive through the wealthiest neighborhoods in Nashville (near where Al Gore resides, so the homes are multimillion plus) at 3 AM and **not** have **any** of the cops in that area pull me over, and quite frankly, the local police force is lucky I don’t go paleolithic on their asses when they pull me over. Dude get you piece of shit off the road already. Also understand that driving is a privilage not a right. Also, in most states, repeatadly getting a ticket for the same thing. (even if you pay them) can eventually lead to the loss of your licinse. (admitably, I don’t know if that’s true for your state though.) What makes you think you’re so special you should be exempt from the law? :dubious: I’m sure the cops are hassling you because they want you to get that piece of shit fixed. I’m also sure they could make life A LOT harder for you since, by your own admittion, they’ve already warned you to get it fixed. To be honest with you those cops sound like saints to me. ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/23 "2006-01-02T10:48:58Z")
> [@Dervish Jones](#): > > you do not haul people out of their cars, causing them to fear arrest, rape, who knows what, and then “visit.” Are the cops really so bad in your town that you fear they’re going to **rape** you, or are you just a little high strung? ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/24 "2006-01-02T10:53:02Z")
> [@galt](#): > > Are the cops really so bad in your town that you fear they’re going to **rape** you, or are you just a little high strung? It’s not that, it’s that there are urban legends mixed with the occasional news story about fake cops who use uniforms and badges to lure their victims. Most women are taught to be careful of this. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/25 "2006-01-02T11:28:55Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Dude get you piece of shit off the road already. Fine you buy me a car or put mass transit in my area and I’ll be more than happy to do it. Don’t you think that if I could jam a headlight in there and have it stay, I’d do it? You think I **like** getting pulled over all the damn time? There is simply **no goddamn way for me to put a headlight in there without replacing the front clip.** And I **don’t** have the money to do that at the moment, the second I do, I’m going to. **Not** because I’m getting pulled over, but because there’s **not** a damn thing wrong with the car, other than that smashed front corner, and a 81 Prelude is a classic because of it’s age. > [@](#): > > Also understand that driving is a privilage not a right. No shit, Captain Obvious. > [@](#): > > Also, in most states, repeatadly getting a ticket for the same thing. (even if you pay them) can eventually lead to the loss of your licinse. (admitably, I don’t know if that’s true for your state though.) Yeah, well, they have to issue me the ticket first, and they have yet to do so. > [@](#): > > What makes you think you’re so special you should be exempt from the law? :dubious: Who said anything about me being exempt? I didn’t get pissed the first time it happened. I did start to get irritated when it became an obvious pattern. > [@](#): > > I’m sure the cops are hassling you because they want you to get that piece of shit fixed. Horsehit. I’ve spent enough time around to cops (my grandfather was one) to know. All they want is an easy bust, and the instant they don’t smell weed in the car or booze on me, they’re out of there. > [@](#): > > I’m also sure they could make life A LOT harder for you since, by your own admittion, they’ve already warned you to get it fixed. And they would if they thought that it’d get them a DUI or a drug bust, but since they can tell that I’m sober and not fucked up on anything, they move on. Quickly. > [@](#): > > To be honest with you those cops sound like saints to me. Again, horseshit. I got no beef with them the first time they pull me over, but when it becomes a definite pattern (same cops, always get a rash of pull overs during the first and last weeks of the month), then I get irritated. It’s all about them hitting their quota, baby, and when they realize I ain’t gonna be the guy to push them up a notch, they move on. Quickly. If they were concerned about the public safety, they’d run my license (to see if I had any warrants), check my registration (to verify that I wasn’t driving a stolen car), and check my insurance paperwork (since it’s illegal to **not** have insurance in this state), but **they don’t**. Even if it’s the **first** time they’ve pulled me over. Most of them don’t even notice if I’m wearing my seatbelt or not. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/26 "2006-01-02T14:50:22Z")
Obviously, there is no reaching you on this matter, but I’ll say this anyway: Bottom line is: If you can’t afford to spend what it cost to maintain your car, you don’t deserve to drive it. Yes, I get the fact you need a ride to work and there is no mass transit where you live. It sucks, I know, but as I’ve said before extenuating circumstances don’t exempt you from the law dude. This little bit made me laugh though: > [@](#): > > Horsehit. I’ve spent enough time around to cops (my grandfather was one) to know. All they want is an easy bust, and the instant they don’t smell weed in the car or booze on me, they’re out of there. I have multiple member of my family in law enforcement stretching back generations. I can tell you I grew up around police officers. That is about as far removed from most cops that I know I can’t even begin to explain. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/27 "2006-01-02T15:06:28Z")
I gotta agree with Shakes on this one. Tucker you are a risk not only to yourself but to others as well. What happens when your remaining headlight goes out? Either find some way to mount a cheap headlight (even if you have to have a bracket welded on) or get that piece of crap off the road. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/28 "2006-01-02T15:24:59Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Obviously, there is no reaching you on this matter, but I’ll say this anyway: > > Bottom line is: If you can’t afford to spend what it cost to maintain your car, you don’t deserve to drive it. Yes, I get the fact you need a ride to work and there is no mass transit where you live. It sucks, I know, but as I’ve said before extenuating circumstances don’t exempt you from the law dude. Well, the law in theis state says they **can’t** take take my vehicle away from me because it doesn’t have two headlights ( **no** vehicle inspections other than emissions) and _that_ is the only way you get a car off the road for certain. Pull someone’s license? Ha! There’s so many people in this state driving cars without licenses, they don’t even bother to process you. They give you a “written arrest” (i.e. another ticket) and tell you to show up in court. > [@](#): > > I have multiple member of my family in law enforcement stretching back generations. I can tell you I grew up around police officers. That is about as far removed from most cops that I know I can’t even begin to explain. Well, I’ve worked with a couple hundred over the years (being a former Stop-N-Rob clerk, I’ve known many a cop) and all of them I’ve met are like that. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/29 "2006-01-02T15:29:55Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > I gotta agree with Shakes on this one. Tucker you are a risk not only to yourself but to others as well. What happens when your remaining headlight goes out? Either find some way to mount a cheap headlight (even if you have to have a bracket welded on) or get that piece of crap off the road. I carrry a spare bulb, and if worse comes to worse, I can always reaim the high beam down. Believe me, I’ve looked for a cheap solution, I’ve tried finding a bracket to hold a bulb, but I haven’t been able to find anything which is legal, or I could be certain wouldn’t allow the headlight to vibrate loose and then fall out in the street (thus putting people at risk of a flat tire). If I was still working in a machine shop, I could fabricate something, but I don’t have access to one at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/30 "2006-01-02T15:54:28Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > It’s not that, it’s that there are urban legends mixed with the occasional news story about fake cops who use uniforms and badges to lure their victims. Most women are taught to be careful of this. > > Robin Sadly, it’s not always a _fake_ cop that spawns an urban legend. Remember Tim Harris, the Florida highway patrolman who raped and killed a woman in a wooded highway turnaround (after pulling her over for speeding) while he was on duty? Here in Charleston, a cop killed his wife and fled less than a year ago. I would never get in a cop’s car w/ males if I could avoid it, I’d sit in my car and ask to wait for a female cop while dialing 911 until he put a bullet in my head and dragged me from my locked car. Paying for more tickets that they write while aggravated w/ me beats rotting in a trunk or shallow grave. Cops are no more inherently moral and good than anyone other humans. They’re doing a job where they apply the law to other people and their behavior, and not everyone uses that power solely for good. **SHAKES** , you say that ‘extenuating circumstances don’t exempt you from the law’, but that sure didn’t apply to the dozen or so times my senile retired deputy grandfather got pulled over while driving recklessly out of debilitation and told to ‘slow down and watch where you’re going, okay buddy?’ by his cop friends. My dad was a passenger when it happened twice over the space of a weekend; my grandfather refused to let my dad drive, even when the second cop told him to switch places and let my dad drive the rest of the way home. That also didn’t apply when grandpa walked around w/ his service revolver in a paper bag telling people not to try to rob him at the car dealership when he went in for an oil change and then at the VFW(?!) or he’d shoot them. The last time, cops were called, they show up and see who it is and tell him to go put the gun in the trunk of his car. Then he had to have the waitress go show him which car was his, a need he often had. **Tuckerfan** ’s problem isn’t his vehicle’s shittiness, his problem is he doesn’t know any cops. And as an additional hijack, I wish to God that men who call women paranoid could look at the world through our eyes for a day and see the vulnerability we are subject to in everyday situations. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/31 "2006-01-02T16:30:59Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > I thought a police officer should never sit a civilian in the front seat. The first time I was pulled over, it was in Indiana in 1994 (by five squad cars, no less. Police were a little high strung after a recent incident and–for some reason–thought they had a chase on their hands. Anyhow, I got away with a simple speeding ticket that was bumped down.) In this incident, however, the cop had me sit in the front seat of his squad car as he ran my license, chatted to me, and wrote out a ticket. As for **Tuckerfan** , I have to side with him on this one: they’re most certainly looking for a quick DUI or drug bust. One of my friends had an old white Chevy Caprice which looked like a low-level drug dealer’s car. There was nothing illegal or unroadworthy about it. It just generally looked suspicious. At any rate, he got pulled over around a dozen times in one month–for various reasons, basically, a “make your own case” stop–yet never got written a ticket because the cops never smelled pot or saw anything suspicious when they glanced in his vehicle. In the end, he just sold his car because he couldn’t deal with the harrassment anymore. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/32 "2006-01-02T18:57:57Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > As for **Tuckerfan** , I have to side with him on this one: they’re most certainly looking for a quick DUI or drug bust. One of my friends had an old white Chevy Caprice which looked like a low-level drug dealer’s car. There was nothing illegal or unroadworthy about it. It just generally looked suspicious. At any rate, he got pulled over around a dozen times in one month–for various reasons, basically, a “make your own case” stop–yet never got written a ticket because the cops never smelled pot or saw anything suspicious when they glanced in his vehicle. In the end, he just sold his car because he couldn’t deal with the harrassment anymore. Hello…Do you not see the violation in driving with one headlight? Driving with a headlight, tail light or brake light out is an open invitation to be pulled over in any state I’ve ever lived in (and that’s a bunch of them). ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/33 "2006-01-02T19:09:24Z")
**Tuckerfan** , it sounds to me as if you’re kind of being snotty to the cops. Which is going to make them not like you. Which means that, if it’s a slow night and they’ve got nothing better to do, they might say, “Hey, here comes that asshole with the busted headlight. Let’s fuck with him a little.” Might try being civil to them, respectful, courteous, and not contemptuous. They might stop stopping you. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/34 "2006-01-03T16:54:29Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > It’s all about them hitting their quota, baby, and when they realize I ain’t gonna be the guy to push them up a notch, they move on. Newsflash, **Tuckerfan** : cops don’t have ticket quotas. They’re allowed to write as many tickets as they want. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944/35 "2006-01-03T20:25:22Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Newsflash, **Tuckerfan** : cops don’t have ticket quotas. They’re allowed to write as many tickets as they want. I know you’re normally a real stickler for accuracy, **Clothahump** , and that you always take care to make sure you’ve got reliable information before posting. So I don’t know what on earth prompted me to investigate; but after several long seconds of Googling, I found out that, newsflash, [Some cops do have ticket quotas](http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/07/761.asp). I’m sure this was just a fluke, though, and that your normal high standards of posting will not be affected. Daniel [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nice-chatting-with-you-heres-your-ticket/337944.md?page=1)