What Would You Do If Pulled Over?

kuwisdelu said:

More importantly, did you bring me any chocolate, and does the chocolate have any booze inside?

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Damn! I didn't think of that. Chocolate's all gone now, anyway.

But several of the coffee plantations up the road sell their own coffee liqueurs. Will that make up for the lack of choc?

Fruitbat said:

What would you do if pulled over by the police?

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Keep calm and remember Chris Rock's advice.

I sense a certain fear and apprehension in some of the posts. Am I right about this?

Only insofar as I'm getting the sense Haskins has been following me...

I start live-streaming my GoPro.

robeiae said:

Only insofar as I'm getting the sense Haskins has been following me...

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He scares the crap out of me, too...

That weird no capitals thing...

Teinz said:

He scares the crap out of me, too...

That weird no capitals thing...

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Yeah, he's obviously anti-capitalist.

Teinz said:

I sense a certain fear and apprehension in some of the posts. Am I right about this?

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Actually, I remember once talking to a police officer friend who was talking about how he got pulled over and he shut the engine, put the keys on the dash in plain view as well as his wallet before the officer got up there. He'd been pulled over by a young cop who noticed but didn't know what to make of it. When they had established that they were both on the job, he said it was a courtesy, so the officer didn't have to wonder about where his hands were.

That stuck with me and I still do it today. Not that I'm pulled over very often.

Yeah, I'm not afraid of cops, but I do recognize that people they pull over often try to shoot/stab them. So it's about their fear of who is in the car and what they are doing, imho.

I have too many stories to go into here, lol. I wasn't always driving I've told my arrest story a million times (most polite person they'd ever arrested, got to pee in the cop's bathroom at the jail, got used for a trainee fingerprinter because I was so nice, had a bunch of laughs).

The scariest stop I had was with my brother driving on the highway between Baltimore and DC (speeding). That highway patrol cop was badass. I was lying in the back under blanket sleeping, and he didn't like that one bit. It was just in his demeaner, but he used his flashlight, and I sat up and un-blanketed myself without him having to say a word. I should have done that a few minutes earlier. They must see some rough stuff there (obviously).

My brother is very good with cops and military folks at remembering to say sir, so that was good (he has long hair and religious Muskogee tattoos on his wrists and arms, btw). It was a big, tough Black cop, and he was quite good at being intimidating! Good for him, given where he patrols.

Teinz said:

I sense a certain fear and apprehension in some of the posts. Am I right about this?

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Yes, because they're armed. I received instructions long ago, when I first started driving, to keep my hands on the wheel in plain sight when an officer stopped me. To let them know when I'm going to reach for my license and registration. No sudden movements. What the others said.

The last time I was pulled over, I was able to talk my way out of the ticket. It was confusion on my part over a traffic rule. A school bus had pulled over on the other side of a busy four-lane road. I wasn't sure if I needed to pull over on my side. There was no way kids would be crossing in that location and I probably would have caused an accident had I stopped. It happened to be right in front of the highway patrol office. The officer stopped me, and I told him I wasn't sure what to do in that situation. He let me off with a warning saying that it's mandatory to stop unless the four-lane highway has a divider. The more you know...

I was very polite both times I was pulled over, and I didn't make any sudden movements, but I'll be damned if I'm going to put my hands on the steering wheel, or ask permission to do things in my own car...if I get shot so be it...this isn't Nazi-fucking-Germany, and they aren't the Gestapo...

(for your own safety, don't try this at home)

Stacia Kane said:

This is pretty much what I do, too, except I put my hands on the ceiling where they're even more obviously visible. (And don't have a gun or permit.)

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My husband pulls people over for a living. I asked him about putting hands on the ceiling during a traffic stop. He said the only time he's ever had anything like that happen was when he pulled a guy over who was expecting to be arrested because he had multiple outstanding warrants. He calls it odd, but acceptable (as long as he can actually see your hands.)

MaryMumsy said:

A high school friend of hubby's was on the Phx PD for many years. He said to roll your window down before they got to you, and keep your hands in plain sight. He knew I sometimes traveled smaller roads in the state alone, and had my .38 with me when I did. He said in that situation to place the gun on the passenger seat, and get out of the car and close the door. As soon as the officer was in easy speaking distance, tell them there was a gun on the seat. As a small white woman, I was never concerned they would see me as a threat.

MM

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That's really not a good idea. Many cops will interpret the driver getting out after pulling over as an attempt to attack them or flee the scene. It'll immediately put them on edge. Then when you tell the cop you've got a gun in the car you're putting him in a very precarious situation. First, the word "gun" tends to make cops twitchy, the sight of a gun even more so. If you tell him there's a gun in the passenger seat he might think you want him to look at your passenger seat and take his eyes off you, giving you time to run away or to pull your other gun and shoot him. So you're giving him a lot of reasons to be very much on edge. Smart cops know that small white women can be just as dangerous as anyone else.

Stay in the car unless the cop asks you to get out. Don't show your gun unless local laws require it or the cop asks you to. It might make the difference between the cop wanting to see your permit and leaving you be or a felony stop.

asroc said:

That's really not a good idea. Many cops will interpret the driver getting out after pulling over as an attempt to attack them or flee the scene. It'll immediately put them on edge. Then when you tell the cop you've got a gun in the car you're putting him in a very precarious situation. First, the word "gun" tends to make cops twitchy, the sight of a gun even more so. If you tell him there's a gun in the passenger seat he might think you want him to look at your passenger seat and take his eyes off you, giving you time to run away or to pull your other gun and shoot him. So you're giving him a lot of reasons to be very much on edge. Smart cops know that small white women can be just as dangerous as anyone else.

Stay in the car unless the cop asks you to get out. Don't show your gun unless local laws require it or the cop asks you to. It might make the difference between the cop wanting to see your permit and leaving you be or a felony stop.

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Part of the gun issue might be differences in state law. AZ is an open carry state, and not that far removed from our wild west heritage. If my piece is clearly visible, I need no permit. I've stood behind a guy in the line at the bank who was wearing a sidearm I would have needed two hands just to pick up. This guy could have doubled for Sam Elliott in any western movie you want to name. And the armed security guard didn't even blink.

MM

I stick to "officer" for addressing cops.

I reserve "sir" and "ma'am" for my sexual partners.

There was this one other time. I was on my war to a bar. I had a passenger with me. An older gentlemen. Fact was, he was wanted on some old warrants. And we had some stuff in the back seat that could get us in trouble. Wasn't even hidden. Stupid, but I was young. Anyway, we got pulled over and I started to think we were in big trouble. But the older gentlemen never panicked. He just waved at them and said, "These aren't the droids your looking for."

Then we went on our way.

MaryMumsy said:

Part of the gun issue might be differences in state law. AZ is an open carry state, and not that far removed from our wild west heritage. If my piece is clearly visible, I need no permit. I've stood behind a guy in the line at the bank who was wearing a sidearm I would have needed two hands just to pick up. This guy could have doubled for Sam Elliott in any western movie you want to name. And the armed security guard didn't even blink.

MM

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Maybe so. We have very strict gun laws here and very few private citizens carry (legally). Still, exiting your vehicle during a traffic stop without being told to is a bad idea in all fifty states.

I only asked because... it's so alien to me.

I got pulled over once. A broken light on the back of my car. I expected them to be polite to me. And they were.

Just noting the difference here, not trying to be judgemental.

Teinz said:

I sense a certain fear and apprehension in some of the posts. Am I right about this?

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Cops make me nervous.

asroc said:

Stay in the car unless the cop asks you to get out. Don't show your gun unless local laws require it or the cop asks you to. It might make the difference between the cop wanting to see your permit and leaving you be or a felony stop.

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This is the absolute opposite of what UK police do. They always want you to get out of the car.

Yeah, asroc, I agree -- I watched a guy get shot to death by an officer who had pulled him over -- he got out of his truck and the officer opened fire. Since then, I haven't ever even thought of getting out.

When we travel with firearms or even replicas used in games/cosplay, we cover them with blankets in the trunk. I've never been stopped while carrying, but since I've been stopped a lot, I am always prepared in case it happens.

kuwisdelu said:

My nervousness tends to manifest more in uncontrollable shaking, blacking out, heavy drinking, and sometimes aimless punching.

Usually in that order.

I think I'm good.

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I've only been pulled over a handful of times in my life, and only once got a real ticket (the other times were for out taillights or headlights). But each time, I got incredibly shaky and my mind fogged, so I don't remember whether I did everything I was supposed to do. Good thing I'm a white female person I suppose.

I don't know why, but those colored lights make my heart start pounding when I see them in my rear view mirror. I've never had anything illegal in my car (except once in high school when I had booze), and I don't logically think a cop is going to arrest me, let alone shoot me. I'm certainly in a place in my life where I can afford to pay a traffic fine if it comes to that. I think it's just the running afoul of authority thing that gets my adrenaline pumping. I've always gotten the same way when a principle, teacher, or boss called me into their office at school or work, even when I have no reason to believe I'm in trouble (actually, I'm quite friendly with my current boss, and he's not the sort to chew people out or give them "those talks").

MaryMumsy said:

Part of the gun issue might be differences in state law. AZ is an open carry state, and not that far removed from our wild west heritage.
MM

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Actually, the wild west had some pretty strict gun control. And doesn't Arizona allow concealed weapons without a permit too? That's a pretty recent development, though.

kuwisdelu said:

I stick to "officer" for addressing cops.

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Me too because I don't know how to interpret the local police badges and rank thingies, so 'sergeant' or 'constable' might be wrong. 'Sir' or 'ma'am' doesn't work for me. A cop is entitled to respect as a human being. They're entitled to respect as human beings doing a sometimes difficult and dangerous job. They are not entitled to be grovelled at or to elicit some sort of automatic servility on the part of the citizen among the other citizens that they are sworn to protect and serve.

When pulled over here in Australia, if it's not on a busy freeway, I get out and meet them halfway between their car and mine and I say 'hello' and wait for them to ask questions or tell me my tail light's buggered and could I please get it fixed or whatever.

If I ever go to the states I'll stay in my car and keep my hands on the wheel.