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Old 04-02-2010, 08:18 PM
 
Location: Michigan
29,391 posts, read 55,441,216 times
Reputation: 22042

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I've havn't been pulled over by a cop for anything in 30 years. I drive like a old lady


Most of us have been stopped by a police officer at some point, usually for a minor infraction like speeding or an expired registration. And of course, all of us have seen movie and TV depictions of the cop who is stoic but unfailingly polite as he hands out a $200 ticket.

Read a Police Officer's Mind
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Old 04-02-2010, 08:54 PM
 
Location: Fairfield, CT
6,981 posts, read 10,900,665 times
Reputation: 8821
I've been pulled over about half a dozen times, so I pretty much knew everything that was in that article. The important thing when you get pulled over is to put the officer at ease quickly, so he recognizes that it will be just a routine traffic stop and not something more serious. That means keeping hands visible on the steering wheel, remaining in the car, and telling him before you do anything, such as go into the glove box. It's also a good idea to remove sunglasses so he can see your eyes, and to turn off any music that's playing.
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Old 04-02-2010, 09:28 PM
 
Location: Still in Portland, Oregon, for some reason
890 posts, read 3,687,118 times
Reputation: 743
Quote:
Originally Posted by dazzleman View Post
I've been pulled over about half a dozen times, so I pretty much knew everything that was in that article. The important thing when you get pulled over is to put the officer at ease quickly, so he recognizes that it will be just a routine traffic stop and not something more serious. That means keeping hands visible on the steering wheel, remaining in the car, and telling him before you do anything, such as go into the glove box. It's also a good idea to remove sunglasses so he can see your eyes, and to turn off any music that's playing.
Couldn't have said it better myself. This is my checklist:
  • Signal to the shoulder slowly and safely.
  • Put the car in park and turn off the radio.
  • Roll your window down.
  • At night I turn on the overhead light.
  • Sit still with your hands on the wheel until he/she gets to your window.
  • Only present documentation when they ask for it.
  • Don't go fumbling around and screaming "I know my insurance is here somewhere!!!" That doesn't help anybody.
I always keep my registration and insurance in the little owner's booklet so if I do get pulled over, I know exactly where they are.
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Old 04-02-2010, 09:42 PM
 
Location: Fairfield, CT
6,981 posts, read 10,900,665 times
Reputation: 8821
Quote:
Originally Posted by rosecitywanderer View Post
Couldn't have said it better myself. This is my checklist:
  • Signal to the shoulder slowly and safely.
  • Put the car in park and turn off the radio.
  • Roll your window down.
  • At night I turn on the overhead light.
  • Sit still with your hands on the wheel until he/she gets to your window.
  • Only present documentation when they ask for it.
  • Don't go fumbling around and screaming "I know my insurance is here somewhere!!!" That doesn't help anybody.
I always keep my registration and insurance in the little owner's booklet so if I do get pulled over, I know exactly where they are.
Last time I was pulled over, it was pretty funny. I had blown by a cop at 17 mph over the speed limit, and hadn't even seen him, so I didn't know I was being pursued. As luck would have it, I was hitting all the green lights, and there was almost no traffic, so I just kept happily flying down the road, blissfully unaware of the fate that awaited me.

It took the officer about a mile to catch up with me from the spot he clocked me. I saw the flashing lights racing up behind me and I moved over because I assumed he was going to an emergency. Soon I learned I was the emergency....

In any case, the officer had called for backup even before he pulled me over. In addition, I had crossed the town line, so he had radioed ahead to the other town about the pursuit, I guess in case I didn't stop. So withinn a minute or two after he pulled me over, two more police cars arrived. You'd have thought they were after a bank robber or something...

By then, the officer had decided that I was a harmless speeder, an otherwise law-abiding dude (an accurate appraisal), and he sent the other two officers on their way as he wrote me up a nice ticket. The final coup de grace was that as I was sitting there waiting for my ticket, a car full of teenagers came by in the other direction, stopped, pointed, and burst out laughing loudly at me. The whole thing was pretty comical.
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Old 04-02-2010, 10:02 PM
 
Location: Purgatory (A.K.A. Dallas, Texas)
5,007 posts, read 15,370,174 times
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I can tell you exactly what cops are thinking.

"Is this guy going to pull a gun and try and kill me?"
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Old 04-03-2010, 05:02 AM
 
Location: Poway, CA
2,698 posts, read 12,128,765 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by getmeoutofhere View Post
I can tell you exactly what cops are thinking.

"Is this guy going to pull a gun and try and kill me?"
Exactly. Like others have said, first priority is to convey to the cop that nothing's going to happen. Don't immediately go rummaging through your glovebox the second you get pulled over. He/she doesn't know what you're rummaging for. If it's dark, turn on the domelight. Other than that, lower the front windows (unless you have manual windows, in which case i would just wait) and leave both hands on the wheel until the cop comes to the window.

I had a buddy get nailed doing crazy high speeds on the freeway late one evening (thankfully little to no traffic as he tells it). He said that the second he saw the lights, he pulled over, took out the keys, and put them on the roof. His intention was only to let the cop know he wasn't about to end up on 'World's Craziest Police Chases', but it actually ended up helping break the tension. He said the cop was chuckling by the time he got to the window. He had never seen someone do that. It also probably helped with the ticket since it was written at a much lower speed than he was actually going.

Mike
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Old 04-03-2010, 06:28 AM
 
Location: Lehigh Acres
1,777 posts, read 4,842,019 times
Reputation: 891
I've been pulled over a few times, mostly for BS reasons, like a cop that lied and pulled me over saying my tag light was out, even though it wasn't, I know now to ask to get out and check when they pull me over for light infractions. Or the time some j/o wouldn't let me pass on a 2 lane 55mph road and he wouldn't exceed 30, so I turned on my highbeams, and 3 sets of fog lamps/offroad lamps and stayed behind him, until he (being a firefighter) called his buddies and 4 cruisers with 2 officers each pulled me over for "reported erratic driving" and when I asked if they had witnessed it, they said they hadn't, and all crawled around my truck, looking in all the windows with flashlights, so I rolled all, even the rear windows down and told them they were more than welcome to search the truck, I got a $38.00 ticket for not having my registration with me, which baffles me because the same information is on the sticker on the tag.... Some cops are j/o's and some are reasonable, sensible people, guess it all depends on what kind of day they're having
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Old 04-03-2010, 10:36 AM
 
660 posts, read 1,536,410 times
Reputation: 399
This is a good thread!

One time I got pulled over for speeding. My STBX was the passenger. I was really upset at myself, and that point in life I just didn't handle stress and my emotions were definitely not in check.

As the officer was leaving our vehicle, I completely stuck my foot in my mouth by muttering "f***ing prick". My STBX taps me in the arm and says "Honey!". I really did not think it was loud enough for him to hear. Next thing I know the cop is back at my door. He asks me "What did you just say?". I of course turned completely red in the face and didn't answer. He said something like "I pulled over for speeding. I was nice enough to give you only a warning". What I remember very clearly he saying was "I will remember this vehicle, the next time there won't be a warning". By this time I was shaking in my boots. I said "Yes, sir...." and he walked away.
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Old 04-03-2010, 12:39 PM
 
Location: Purgatory (A.K.A. Dallas, Texas)
5,007 posts, read 15,370,174 times
Reputation: 2463
Typically, cops aren't pricks. They are just doing their job, even though it may be unpopular. Most regular cops don't really care for running radar, either, as they feel it's a waste of time, and the danger level is high.

Also of note - if you carry concealed, tell them. My friend keeps a .45 in his center console, and if he gets pulled over, it's one of the first things he tells them, that he has a gun in the car and is licensed to carry it.
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Old 04-03-2010, 12:42 PM
 
Location: Fairfield, CT
6,981 posts, read 10,900,665 times
Reputation: 8821
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColorsOfMe View Post
This is a good thread!

One time I got pulled over for speeding. My STBX was the passenger. I was really upset at myself, and that point in life I just didn't handle stress and my emotions were definitely not in check.

As the officer was leaving our vehicle, I completely stuck my foot in my mouth by muttering "f***ing prick". My STBX taps me in the arm and says "Honey!". I really did not think it was loud enough for him to hear. Next thing I know the cop is back at my door. He asks me "What did you just say?". I of course turned completely red in the face and didn't answer. He said something like "I pulled over for speeding. I was nice enough to give you only a warning". What I remember very clearly he saying was "I will remember this vehicle, the next time there won't be a warning". By this time I was shaking in my boots. I said "Yes, sir...." and he walked away.
Wow, you're lucky he didn't change the warning to a ticket right then and there.
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