That’s it. What were the circumstances surrounding the last time you were pulled over by an officer of the law? What happened? What was the ultimate outcome?
In my case, I got pulled over in Vegas on Christmas Day. I bought my current (used) car about a month ago, and I’ve yet to receive new tags for it. Even though I have a sticker on the front of my car that says that my temporary registration is valid, the tags on the license plate show that the registration expired in February of 2009.
The officer who pulled me over inquired about it, and I explained the situation. He asked me if I had a valid license and insurance, which I told him I did, but he never even asked to see it. I think the entire ordeal was over in three minutes before he let me go. Pretty much a non-event. Of course, now I’m really paranoid that I haven’t gotten my new tags, yet. I’m no fan of getting pulled over.
For me, it was on Super Bowl Sunday of 2005. We were in the process of moving into our new house, and I was taking a carload of books from our apartment to the new house. I was driving along the freeway, going about 10 miles over the speed limit, when I see the flashing lights in my rear-view. I think, “oh crap!”, and pull over.
Now, at that point, I drove down that stretch of freeway twice every day, going to/from work, and almost never saw any cops, so this was a bit of a surprise, especially because I wasn’t going that fast. (I regularly saw people going 20 over, so I wondered why he was picking me.) The cop comes up, I roll down the window, “Do you know how fast you were going”, etc. I give some lame answer, and he says, “that’s OK, we’re mostly just checking for drunk drivers today. So what are you doing?” I tell him, “I’m taking some stuff to my new house, you can see those boxes in the back…” CRAP!
Now, I mentioned that I was taking books. Well, as it turns out, I had packed them all in liquor boxes. So it was a little tense there for a moment. He believed my explanation, once he took a closer look, but it certainly was a bit of a heart-pounder there for a few minutes.
Last weekend, on the interstate. State Trooper pulled me over and asked why I was going so fast, said he clocked me at 88 mph. I said I thought I was in my DeLorean. He asked again, without a trace of a sense of humor, and I said that I have a lead foot.
I got the ticket. I didn’t really expect to get out of it. And I was driving way too fast.
Got pulled over in one of the speed traps in Georgia (Cordele, iirc) for going 71 in a construction zone. No one was working, and I just drove through there again this last week, about 6-7 years later. It’s still a construction zone and there’s still no one working. Officer couldn’t / wouldn’t show me his radar, and couldn’t tell me the amount of the fine: “They’ll send you a notice with the amount in a couple of weeks”. It was a bit over $300. That county will not accept traffic court as a way to avoid the points, but it seems I never got any points anyway.
I was going about 60 miles an hour with the flow of traffic, and didn’t realize that the speed limit was 50 (or 55?) there. My mistake was not to be in a pack of cars so he could easily get up behind me.
I do drive over the speed limit and have been rightly ticketed for speeding on other occasions, so I’m not perfect and I guess this is karma.
I guess I deserved it. I was going over the Speed limit.
It was when I was 17yo with my Mom in the Car (who was telling me to go faster because we were late for the Dentist’s)and I was going 38 in a 35.
I got ticketed and had to go to those remedial classes for a day in order to have it removed off my record…
We had to go around and introduce why we were there. So when everyone announced their speeds and reasons for why they where there (“I went 75 in a 35, oh yeah? Well I did 100 in a 55!”) I had to admit that I was caught going 38 in a 35… The entire class just stared at me.
The Cop lived down the street and his neighbor was complaining about people speeding past his house, so that Cop simply sat there w/ a laser and ticketed everyone that passed that street (which was right outside my own neighborhood intersection) that sped past. He still does that every few years I’ve noticed, but I always now try to check to see if he’s hiding in his usual hiding spot…
I’ve only been pulled over once, and it was back in high school. I was driving in the vicinity of a local courthouse. I wasn’t speeding or breaking any laws. A police car pulled up behind me and followed closely for a few blocks then pulled me over. He approached and asked if I should be driving in a really aggressive, almost taunting tone of voice. I was very confused and told him I wasn’t sure what he meant. He took my license and registration and went back to his car for a few minutes. When he came back, he let me go with no explanation as to why he had stopped me.
I later did a little research and found out that another person with my same name had been in the court for a DUI hearing that day. I’m guessing the police officer was cruising around running plates and thought he had caught a guy leaving the courthouse with a suspended license.
Was that a legal stop on his part?
I was driving about 2 miles over the speed limit, probably a bit slower than the bulk of traffic, on my way down to Indianapolis for work, with a co-worker in my car, and another bunch of co-workers in my boss’ car a minute or two behind us. I got stopped just outside of Indy by a cop who looked about 12 years old. He was very polite, asked what we were coming to town for, etc., and then let me off with a verbal warning.
IIRC, it was about a year ago. I was driving back from having dinner with an friend who was on a business trip in the area. I rarely drink, but that night I had had 1 glass of wine, which I became extremely conscious of, even though I had followed it up with several glasses of water and a cup of coffee with dessert. (funny the things you focus on at a time like that.0
I had a front headlight out.
I actually posted about it on the dope, because the cop asked me to step out of the vehicle and walk back to his vehicle, and then offered for me to sit up front with him. As a woman alone on the highway at night, i declined and stood outside the passenger side instead in the misty rain, trying not to slide down the embankment in my heels.
He wrote me a warning and sent me on my way. I put that I deserved a ticket, because my headlight was out (although I wasn’t aware of it.)
I am truly starting to hate the traffic enforcement in Calgary. Any time I drive, I can count many serious infractions of people running red lights, running red lights to make a right turn, running stop signs, running stop signs to make a right turn, and EVERYONE speeding, yet I never see police ticketing people for them. I got a $300 ticket for a rolling stop, so I’m not doing that again, but when I come to a complete stop before making my right turn on red or at a stop sign, I am taking a chance on getting rear-ended every time because I’m the only one who is stopping - everyone else just cruises through, barely even slowing down.
The speed differences are dangerous, too - if I go the speed limit, I’m the only person on the road doing so. I get tailgated for going the limit almost 100% of the time. Having one driver (me) following the rules and everyone else not following them is just plain dangerous, but if I don’t follow the rules, I get really expensive tickets. It’s such a no-win situation that it’s making me very frustrated. I’m actually hoping that we get much more electronic enforcement here, because then maybe everyone will obey the rules, instead of just me.
I was pulled over a few years ago in a suburb that is known for it’s racially homogeneous population and its police force’s hostility toward minority drivers. It was about 3 a.m. I was cognizant of where I was, and at a four way stop sign, even though there were no other cars visible on the road at all, I stopped to the count of five. I had barely started out again before a cop pulled around the corner (where he’d been sitting without headlights on, waiting for someone to pull over) from the cross street and put on lights and sirens, despite the fact that we were in front of residences at that hour.
I was questioned as to where I was going. I gave a vague answer. I was questioned as to where I was coming from, and simply said “home” which was not entirely true, but neither of those issues were the officer’s business. My car was scrutinized, I was scrutinized, my driver’s license and vehicle information were run for warrants, suspensions and whatnot. Finally after nearly 15 minutes, during which time lights came on in at least five of the houses that were being disturbed by the strobing lights on the top of the cop’s car, I was given back my documents and sent on my way without a word. No citation, no warning, not even a mention of why I was pulled over.
It was harassment, pure and simple.
Last time I got pulled over it was routine as all hell. I had a burnt-out headlight and on the way home I stopped at AutoZone to buy a replacement bulb. I was pulled over for the headlight on the way home because it was starting to get dark. I just showed the officer the receipt and the bulb and told him I’d fix it as soon as I got home. Good enough, he said.
He probably didn’t even bother to write that one down.
I’ve only been pulled over once, about 3 years ago when I was in college. I was heading over to this guy’s house who I had been hanging out with and we were planning on drinking and playing Wii.
Got pulled over, was internally freaking out cause I had no idea why I was being pulled over. Cop was actually VERY nice and informed me I had a headlight out. I had no idea, and he thankfully believed me and told me sometimes cold weather (it was very cold that winter) can cause headlights to break. I told him I would get it fixed ASAP and asked him how do I get it fixed?
When I arrived at boy’s house I told him I had just gotten pulled over and if we were gonna drink, I had to stay over cause I wasn’t gonna risk getting pulled over again. We didn’t do anything dirty that night but we did sleep in the same bed and had a goodbye kiss (our first kiss) the next morning when I left for work. We’ve been together 3 years in April.
Thanks cop 
And I got the headlight fixed the next day.
2 years ago April for speeding. I was stuck behind someone who was going slow on the 4 lane interstate. I switched to the left lane to pass and an instant before I signaled this slow car also moved into the left lane. I moved right to get around and sped up a bit. I was pulled over by a motorcycle cop that I didn’t see.
I had taken my seatbelt off to get my license out of my coat pocket. Don’t do this; don’t do anything until the officer comes to you. I didn’t even think about it because I figure he saw me before he pulled me over. I got a ticket for:
- Speeding. This speed limit is 65 mph, but it slows down to 55 mph as it nears the city. I drive it fairly often, but since the traffic stays a steady 65 mph even in the 55 zone, it didn’t register to me that the limit was lower here. I was doing 85 mph in a 55 zone.
- No insurance card. I had one, but it had expired. I had to go home and find my current card and bring it in. I have started to put my new cards in our cars the day I get them.
- No seatbelt. I always wear one because my car makes an annoying ding if I don’t. It doesn’t shut off, either.
The outcome: Since I had to go to the court building to present my proof of insurance, I decided to try and get the seatbelt violation dropped. I know I was wrong to take it off early, but what does it hurt to state the truth? I presented my proof of insurance to the lady behind the counter, then I had to wait to see the clerk of court about my seatbelt deal. I got in after waiting about an hour, and the clerk of court dropped the seatbelt violation before I even asked him. I basically kept my mouth shut and he granted me a stay if I got no more moving violations within the next year, and paid court costs. The court costs were cheaper than my fines would have been if I had just paid the ticket, and nothing went on my driving record. No insurance increase, no points lost. I stayed clean for a year and it was like the whole thing didn’t happen.
I did learn some valuable lessons, but my driving record is intact.
I was driving home from golf. Was a little later than had expected to be and had been delayed by a long train, so I was flying on a main road in light traffic on a road I could drive in my sleep. Probably going 70-ish on a 55 mph road. Had never noticed the stretch where it was reduced to 35. Plain and simple speed trap. When the cop pulled me over he was very pleasant and professional. Wrote me up for far slower than I was driving to avoid a higher ticket. And said if it made any difference in how I felt, he was going to go right back to where he was and would catch someone else within a minute or 2.
That was 2 years ago. First ticket I had gotten in decades. Before then I ALWAYS drove 5-10 or more over the limit. Now, I take my time.
Hmm, is this inspired by my current pit thread?
I last got pulled over eight years ago. I got ticketed for speeding. I was, indeed, speeding.
Last time I got pulled over was, as near as I could tell, for the heinous crime of driving a '71 VW bug. Since I was driving a hippiemobile, I must have been smoking illegal substances or something. The good officer looked surprised that I was in a business suit and there was no cloud of suspicious smoke when I rolled down the window. He hemmed and hawed, looked at my documents, ran my plates, and eventually came up with something about my tags expiring in a couple months. So much for my lunch hour.
A friend of mine - a former border patrol agent - has a web page in which he gives some very good advice about how to conduct yourself during a traffic stop. Most people don’t realize how “on guard” a cop is until they’ve determined that you’re probably not a threat to their life. Your first job is to make it clear, through your words and actions, that you are not dangerous; your second job is to not challenge his authority/control of the situation.
Two years ago I was riding through Ohio on I-75 on my motorcycle. Cop gets me on radar, 80 in a 65. He swung in behind me, lit me up. I wave in acknowledgement, signal/head for the shoulder, and come to a stop. Before I can finish getting my helmet and gloves off, he’s at my right side, and declares that I had been going 80 in a 65. I apologize as I continue to remove my gear, and he asks for my license and registration.
Any time you reach where a cop can’t see, or make any other move they’re not expecting, they’re gonna get edgy. To take the edge off, you make it a point to ask his permission before you reach/move.
"My license is in my back pocket, do you mind if I reach for it? “go ahead.”
"My registration/insurance is in my glovebox, do you mind if I reach for it? “go ahead.”
“Do you mind if I step off of the bike?” “no, go ahead.”
So then I’m standing on the left side of the bike, watching approaching traffic shoot by just a few feet behind me. I’ve seen just enough videos of idiots crashing into roadside traffic stops to make me nervous. The cop (now behind my bike) says my insurance is expired; I apoligize, telling him that I’m bad about taking expired ones out, but that my current one definitely is in the glovebox.
“Would you like me to go digging for it?” “Yes, please do.”
I finally get it out, and after examining it he asks for my credit card, since out-of-staters have to post bond before leaving the traffic stop. At this point I’m no longer comfortable standing so close to the highway traffic lanes:
“Would you mind if I stepped away from the traffic lanes?” “no, go ahead.”
I then move completely off of the pavement, several feet down the grass bank, and turn to face oncoming traffic so I can watch it. Cop retreats to his car for a few minutes. At some point I guess he figured out that despite my elevated pace, I was probably not the biggest threat on the road that day, and handed my paperwork back with just a written warning. Maybe my bike (fitted with extra driving lights and reflective tape) and my gear (armored head to toe, hi-viz jacket) were a factor here, but I’d like to think my demeanor during the stop had something to do with it, too.
The last time I was pulled over was almost ten years ago. I was tired, and my girlfriend at the time was also in the car and we were talking, so I wasn’t paying as much attention on the road as I should. Somehow I managed to make a left turn on a red light. Even better, I did that when a police car was directly behind me! The lights came on in no time. I had no idea what I did until the police told me he pulled me over because I ran the red light. He said he couldn’t believe someone would be stupid enough to run a red light with a police cruiser behind them! I apologized profusely and told him that I was tired and must have missed the light. He let me go and told me to pay more attention on the road.
Good advice. I often handle traffic cases as a magistrate, and hear from a lot of people who took off their seatbelts before the officer stepped up beside them and could look in.
My last ticket was for running a red light. My family and I were in a hurry to get to a concert and I thought I could make the light; I was just a little too late. I deserved the ticket and didn’t try to sweet-talk the cop out of it.