The last time you got pulled over...[redux]

In My Humble Opinion
1

I did this poll once before about six years ago [link to prior thread]. I thought the poll options and stories behind them were really interesting, so I decided to revisit it. I’m curious to see how many posters from the last thread have new stories from their most recent encounters.

At any rate, as before, the point here is to share the outcome of the last time you were stopped by law enforcement while driving. Please feel free to tell as much of the story as you care to.

And, for those keeping score, that date I was on the last time I was pulled over (still the last time, by the way) worked out pretty well for me.

Poll to follow.

2

You don’t have an option for “I was given a random breath test, found to be below the limit and sent away with a cheery wave.”

3

I was pulled over for speeding a few summers ago. Highway 102 into Halifax slows from 100 to 70 far too soon IMHO then down to 50 while you’re still technically on the highway so it feels unnatural to slow down so much and by the time I passed the police car I was still trying to get down from 70.

He was lovely and when he saw my UK licence he either assumed I’d never pay it or he was just being nice to a tourist…which I’m not since I grew up there.

My kids were pretty “impressed” I got off but couldn’t wait to narc on me to my father 10 minutes later

4

On my motorcycle, in the passing lane. Asshole car in front of me wouldn’t move to the driving lane. So I nailed the throttle, swerved hard to the right, around him, and then back in front of him. I never downshifted though, so I actually cut in front of him closer than I meant (though not hazardously close).

That’s when I noticed in my mirror that the motorcycle that had been 100 yards behind me was suddenly right behind me, and he shortly thereafter flipped on his lights and pulled me over. He asked me why I drove like that, and I confessed all: I was frustrated at this car staying in the passing lane, and I let my frustration get the best of me. In the end, just a verbal warning. Some things I think probably worked in my favor:

-I like to think the cop could tell that I was actually a little pissed at myself for succumbing to my emotions like that.
-I was wearing head-to-toe safety gear, including a hi-viz jacket.
-As soon as he walked up to me, I asked if I could dismount so that we could move away from the driving lanes, for the sake of both of us.
-When he asked for my docs, I asked for permission to reach for them.
-While he was back at his bike radioing things in, I stood in one spot on the grass off of the shoulder, facing him, hands clasped in front of me, not moving at all.

TL,DR: I tried to communicate that safety was a priority for me, I was already beating myself up for my stupid maneuver, and I wasn’t any kind of threat to him.

5

The last time I was pulled over was in 2009, because the officer thought I didn’t have insurance. I didn’t have my insurance card with me (oops) and even though I knew I had insurance, his computer said that I didn’t. I had just bought a new car a few weeks back, and apparently the MVD didn’t update their records. So it was just a matter of having the insurance company fax a letter and it was dismissed without me having to go to court. I’m sure they hear “but I do have insurance, I swear!” all the time, and I hope that that particular officer found out that, in my case, it was true.

6

I was driving a big rig on some state highways heading home. I was pulling an empty trailer. I came up to a 3 way intersection. I was going to go straight through and there was another road perpendicular to my left. There was a traffic light. Before I got there, there was a 45 mph speed limit sign, so I checked and I was going about 40. I wasn’t in any hurry. Anyway, this intersection had a really FAST yellow light and there was NO way I could safely stop without entering the intersection, so I just floored it (I was in the right lane) and pulled on the horn cord. Anyway, I made it through the intersection okay and in my checking of my rear view, I noticed a white sedan with flashing blue lights pull behind me. So I signaled for a right turn and as soon as there was a good place, pulled over to the right, put it in neutral, set the parking brakes and the 4-way flashers.

So, I rolled down the window and dug out my license, medical card, and the permit book while the officer walked up. He had 5 stars on his collar (THE CHIEF OF POLICE!). I started off our conversation by telling him that there was no way I could have safely stopped for that light. He told me he knew that, but the other vehicles waiting at that intersection saw him and saw me blow that light, so he had to be seen doing something. So we chatted for a while, then he said something like “Well, drive safely” and I said “Have a good one” and I drove off. He didn’t even ask to see my CDL or anything.

Oh, as Machine Elf mentioned, it’s always a good idea to keep your hands in plain view. And if you need to take something out of a pocket, let the officer know first. You know you mean no harm to him, but he does NOT know that.

7

They’d just completed a beautiful, gently rolling, wide open parkway that is to be a toll road soon (not yet) up to a small town north of me and no one as yet is really using it. So when I got on for the first time, 4 lanes wide, NO traffic, a carefree afternoon and I’m in a 997 that’s prepped for track events I almost immediately found myself doing just shy of 90 in a 65. A Challenger was lingering 100 yards behind me and while going around a gentle curve and hill I check my rear view mirror for him and see a police SUV in an obvious speed trap arrangement to the side of the road. Too late to brake I just held my speed until he went out of sight in the hope he’d been preoccupied and hadn’t seen me. I must have gone two miles and slowed to the limit and took my exit home. Then I see him coming well over 100 with lights flashing. I was in the wrong and was caught red-handed, my first ticket in about a decade, so I rolled down the window, put both hands in clear view and had license in one.

What I wasn’t expected for was his overt anger. He claimed that although he only had me at 88, 23 over the limit, that he ‘just knew’ I’d gone much faster out of view and if he got me for 25 over then I could have my license suspended. I calmly tried to convince him that wasn’t the case but sheesh, this guy was hell bent to make the issue a crippling one for me. Thank goodness he had to stick with the gun (radar) and everything else was perfect on my car and record, believe me he looked everywhere for an excuse. A few months later I did the online Defensive Driving course and had it dismissed.

8

Four days ago for doing 67 in a 55.
Turned from a highway with a speed limit of 65mph to a county road with a limit of 55mph. LEO let me go with a warning considering I knew those limits and just took maybe a half-mile to slow down to the right speed.

He was a lot more understanding than the deputy last year than manufactured a “rolling through stop sign” violation.

9

Deserved to and didn’t, but not for what the cop ostensibly pulled me over for. Traffic was going 80 in a 70 zone and I saw an opening in the left hand lane and took it, and it was pretty close to the car behind me and I didn’t notice that it was a cop. He pulled me over and complained that I wanted to go faster than him when he was already going 10 over. Ohhh-kay then. He let me go I think because he was a Deputy who I assume was not on traffic patrol. I do think I was driving unsafely for the traffic conditions, being very heavy traffic, but I don’t think I would have deserved a ticket for speeding since everyone else was going the same speed.

10

It was late and I was tired, and I was pulling out of a restaurant parking lot that was just south of a 4-way intersection. I looked side-to-side, saw no one, and pulled out. As I pulled out someone turned in to the intersection and thus was coming right at me so I rammed the accelerator to get out of the way and in to my lane.

The car that had been turning was a cop and he pulled me over. For recklessness maybe? I didn’t really do anything but get out of his way, as he wasn’t there when I had looked and decided to go.

So, I didn’t get a ticket and I didn’t deserve to get pulled over. But, it’s all good.

11

I totally rolled through a stop sign. Cop was right there and saw me do it. I was contrite and he let me off with a warning. I wonder if having an otherwise clean driving record with no citations in many years matters in these minor infractions.

12

About 8 mos. ago I sped up to about 10 mph over the limit(45 or 50, I don’t recall) to get past the annoying pack of people and onto the interstate when I got pulled over, right on the shoulder of said interstate. Admittedly I *was *speeding but I think slowing down rush hour traffic to give me some pissant ticket is a bit of a dick move. Anyway, the cop was all entranced by my car (it’s only a Subaru, people) and I told him it was still new and that I was still getting used to it and my old car hadn’t had any working gauges so I was still getting reaccustomed to looking at them, etc etc (all true for the most part). I got off with a warning, for which I’m grateful. That very same cop gave me a ticket several years ago in almost the exact same spot.

13

One morning in 2009 trying to get to my birth mother’s house (and say goodbye to my nieces) before I am due to leave for my adoptive mother’s house 2 states over.

I live in Florida, where they typically give you lavish amounts of room for turn lanes.

She lives in New Jersey, home of jughandles, gas pump attendants, and other such hopelessly confusing highway relics. And where space is at much more of a premium, natch.

Plan to make a right hand turn at a light-the turn lane, which, such as it is, is only 20 feet long. Here, they are often 100 feet long, if not longer. I see a thin solid white line delineating the right hand median, am waiting at the light, note I am only like 10 feet from where the right turn lane starts, figure what the hey, and pull in, stop on red, and go.

Only then seeing the cop parked in the nearby business parking lot.

Sonofafucking bitch (snot nosed rookie too) must have had his eyes light up a very nice and shiny shade of green when he saw my out of state plates. And had the utter gall to say to me that his main interest there was “safety.” I was tempted to say, that if that were true, he’d be parked on the nearby interstate ticketing tailgaters left and right, instead of cheerfully sipping coffee and munching on donuts while reaching for the lowest hanging fruit imaginable. I mean, we have municipalities in this state which are nothing but revenue grabs (Google “Waldo Florida tickets” and have fun…), so it’s not like I don’t know how the scam works.

At least they could take all of that revenue (well, whatever meager leavings are left over after all of the breakfast repasts, and such, are paid for, of course) and extend the lane another 50 feet…

If I lived there, I would have fought it. I voted “not deserving” even tho technically I was. But here, unless you are one of those who ride in the median for like 3 miles to avoid a traffic jam on the interstate, the cops simply are going to let something like that slide, every time. If one of you anal types out there want to make a semantic issue out of it, I ain’t going to discuss it (to put it politely).

Noticed that they did extend the turn lane back c. 100 feet several years ago, which means that it is now legal to drive where I was. Bastard.

14

There’s a rather steep hill near here, where the speed limit changes from 25 to 50. At the bottom of this hill was a speed trap at the exact spot where the limit changes. I was going 35 and decelerating, got a ticket. Deserved or not?

15

Last time was about a year and a half ago. Weirdest stop of my life. I was driving along a main drag, and passed a cop who was waiting at a stop sign on a side street. Reflexively checked my speedometer; I was going about 32 in a 30. No way I would be pulled over for that, right?

Cop turns onto the main drag behind me. Trails me for a quarter mile or so, then pulls up right behind me briefly, backs off, then a while later lights his lights. I pull over. NB: this is probably the first time that I remembered to keep my hands on the wheel and not reach into the glove compartment for my insurance cards.

The conversation:
“License and insurance, please” (I hand him my license, and I’m about to tell him my insurance card is in the glove compatment).
“Sir, what’s you name?”
“Fachverwirrt.” (At this moment his radio crackles on with something to the effect of “car is registered to ‘fachverwirrt’”.)
(Cop hands me my license)“Thank you. You’re free to go. Your car matched the description of a shooting suspect.” (Cop leaves and peels out.)

I’m a little curious what would have happened if I had reached into the glove compartment.

16

IIRC I was driving down a rural 2-lane road that had always been 55 MPH speed limit for decades. It’s a little curvy and a little hilly but has white lines on the shoulders and yellow lines in the middle.

But in the last 5 years or so due to safety and/or influential residents complaining the state has lowered many curvy roads to 45 MPH and removed many passing zones. This was one of them, and I was doing 53 or so and got pulled over, but just got a warning. I don’t really see the difference between this road and many other roads that are 55 MPH, but so be it.

17

7 over the limit, I would say that’s borderline worthy of a pretext stop. As to whether you deserved the ticket or not, I’d say it depends on:

-your driving record prior to this particular stop (if you’ve got a string of tickets, then you obviously aren’t learning your lesson, so you should expect to get spanked harder this time), and

-your conduct during this stop (if you were a total dick to the cop, then any merciful tendency he might have felt as he walked toward your vehicle likely evaporated in fairly short order).

If you had a clean record (i.e. no past infractions so severe that the cops in those incidents had to cite you), and you were polite and deferential during this current stop, then you encountered a dick cop.

18

None. Can’t even remember my last before that.

Polite. After all, I am a retired Fed. I didnt “play that card” however.

19

I’d never own up to deserving any of my tickets! And the last one I got was the first one in about 5 years, so I was surprised I didn’t get off with a warning. I think the podunk town I was in needed the $110 badly. It was one of these little 2 stoplight towns in the middle of nowhere. There was a cop positioned at the end of town, just waiting for me to start accelerating from 35 to 55 a bit early, which I did. Got my ticket for doing 45 while still in the 35 zone. I think it qualifies as a speed trap and I wasn’t too happy about it, but whatcha gonna do? I didn’t feel any better that the officer doing the ticketing looked to be about 19 years old.

20

My wife and I were pulled over for missing tabs on our license plates. We had paid for and placed the correct tabs, but apparently it’s a thing to steal car tabs around here. After the cop verified through the state system that we did have current registration and payments, he told us how to order a new set and let us go.