My first ticket!

[ertyu]

This.

Common misconception is that prosecutors are all evil who like to crucify kids with traffic violations. They don't get paid to win and will often be more than willing to meet with you and help you out if they can. Just tell them the truth, be nice and ask if they can help you out. Don't feed them bullshit, they've heard it all before.

You have never been to Gilbert, Arizona then.

[Plow]

You have never been to Gilbert, Arizona then.

YAY COP ARGUMENT


No, seriously, I hate cops for the most part. And most judges, and most prosecutors, are asshats as well.


But he's right, if you're honest, and calm, and nice without being blatant kiss-asses (yes sir no sir etc. are seriously some of the most powerful words in the English language), they're almost always going to be cool for the simple fact that if both sides are cool about it, it's just that much easier.


I'll even give you a great example: I live in the boondocks. Everyone around me is catholic farmer complete hicks. Mailboxes are lucky to last a year out here cuz of the drunk kids, etc. I'm not catholic, and I'm pretty smart. Therefore everyone knew who I was, and had a natural dislike for outsiders. Anyway, to make a long story short, it was bad enough that the principal at my school tried to get me expelled for sagging. Yeah... permanently kicked out for wearing my pants too low.

One day I was driving my girlfriend to work, and this hick comes flying out of his driveway fishtailing and shit to get in front of me on this dirt road... and proceeds to go about 20 miles an hour. So I go to pass him, and he swerves wildly and basically runs me off the road, into a mailbox stand made out of a railroad tie.


The cop turns out to be my old principal's hick son, and knew me, and disliked me. But I was completely cool as I told him what happened, always said yes sir, no sir, etc. I ended up with this cop that didn't like me before he knew me going to the guy's house and straight up yelling at his wife and threatening her and all that shit...

And then let me not even report it as an accident because we knew the people whose mailbox it was and worked that part out with them.


All because I was respectful, honest, and said yes sir and no sir.

[jmc]

There are some cops who are just complete assholes..... usually because of a bad day.

Then there are cops who are completely neutral, and the person getting pulled over is the one who decides if said officer will be a good guy/girl towards them, or a asshole.

If I pull you over, I'm completely neutral and I will treat you with respect (License and Registration Sir, Sir do you know why I pulled you over etc....). Now your response, and your attitude towards me decide if I'm gonna continue treating you with respect....or being a asshole (disrespect me, and don't expect any respect in return).

Want a few tips, on how to get a officer on your bad side?

-When getting pulled over, just stop in the middle of the road or not bother pulling over to the right

-Decide to talk on your cell phone when a officer is trying to talk to you

-Just give a general attitude while a officer is talking to you (rolling your eyes doesn't help either)

-Refusal to get something for officer (registration/license etc...) *arrestable offense btw*

-LEAVING THE CAR RUNNING! I HATE THIS! Turn your damn car off when getting pulled over, nothing more makes a officer/trooper more nervous than someone who could possibly take off.

-Making sudden movements, or not keeping hands visible ...... nothing better than getting a officer to drag you out of your car head first in fear you have a weapon.

-Keeping your radio on, will easily piss off a officer. When talking to you, we don't like heaving liberal talk radio....political talk radio, country music rap etc.... were there to talk to you, not listen to some tunes with you.



Want some ways to get on a good side of a officer?

-Completely pull over to the right, in a nicely lite area (officer might tell you to move closer to a light/side street over his PA system)

-If the officer pulling you over is in a Marked car, in full uniform.... roll down your window all the way, don't leave is open just a crack. Not only is this respectful, but leaving your window only open a crack makes the officer believe your trying to hide a smell (liquor/drugs) from him/her.

-Turn off your car, put your hazards on and place your keys up on the dash board.

-Place both of your hands on your steering wheel, if you have to reach somewhere for your license/registration/proof of insurance tell the officer(s) where your reaching and what your obtaining.

-Be respectful!!!! Sir/Ma'am.... Yes Sir, No Sir goes a long way!

-Don't argue, it gets you no where. Don't scream at the officer and demand their badge number or ID number. The officer(s) are not required by any law to give it to you, their ID number can be located on the citation or written warning if you obtain one. A ID number is better than a badge number.


Thats all I can come up with for now, sorry for the list lol

[Killgannon]

in indiana, dunno about other states, we have a safe driver program (for moving violations only.), meaning if you pay it, and you dont get another ticket in the next 2 years, it doesnt go on your record... no points, nothing, im not even sure if it shows up on a back ground check... i got pulled over several years ago for 40 in a school zone, the cop was nice since i wasnt a moron and just wrote it as a normal ticket instead of a school zone, so i could qualify for safe driver dont know if your state has something similar

[Cephius]

If the officer pulling you over is in a Marked car, in full uniform.... roll down your window all the way, don't leave is open just a crack. Not only is this respectful, but leaving your window only open a crack makes the officer believe your trying to hide a smell (liquor/drugs) from him/her.

Agree with everything except this. I know you said full uniform so it should eliminate the possibility of the cop being fake, but you don't need the window down all the way to take my papers or smell if i'm drunk/high. The law doesn't require me to roll my window all the way down, and the cop can't ask unless he has probable cause. Normally I wouldn't care, but if I get pulled over on a side street in the middle of nowhere, I'm keeping my window up.

[jmc]

Agree with everything except this. I know you said full uniform so it should eliminate the possibility of the cop being fake, but you don't need the window down all the way to take my papers or smell if i'm drunk/high. The law doesn't require me to roll my window all the way down, and the cop can't ask unless he has probable cause. Normally I wouldn't care, but if I get pulled over on a side street in the middle of nowhere, I'm keeping my window up.

Its not more so a law thing, its just respectable treatment towards the officer.

Its the only reason why I said Full uniform, and in a marked car..... there is no way someone can fake being a officer with both of those. Uniforms could possible be ripped off, by someone obtaining things illegally. However a marked car, with the department logo/paint job... light bar on top, and Blue "Police" license plates cannot be copied.

If its someone in full uniform, in a unmarked car..... then ya, leave your window open a crack.... but the other I listed above, I don't see a problem with having your window down all the way.

[Octavious]

The only time I've ever been ticketed speeding was on the way home from Final Exams my Sophomore Year at OSU. It didn't raise my rate much, but it was pretty irritating since I was the one the Cop pulled over, and not the guy who flew by me doing at least 10mph faster than me. I was written for 40 in a 25 as well, since the road in front of The Horseshoe is a 25mph speed limit (though everyone drives 45-55 it seems). I usually always drive the speed limit, and it's irritating as fuck when dicks fly by you doing 30 over and don't get caught.

Recently this past summer, I was pulled over on the interstate at 5pm for doing (get this) 70 in a 65, while passing a truck. The Officer only wrote me a warning which I am assuming came from the realization he was a stupid fuck for pulling me over in rush hour doing 5 over. I really don't bug about people speeding past me, I usually don't do much more than 5mph over anyway. I'll tell you what really pisses me off is assholes who speed through school zones. I'll be doing 20 through a school zone in the morning and it never fails some fuckhead drives by doing 45. Where are the damn cops when you need them.

Oh and a funny Cop story to end my post, eh. The only accident I've been in involved a 16yr old girl driving after curfew at like...2am? I was driving home from my girlfriend at the time's house and they sat at a 4 way stop for like 5minutes. I ended up rear ending them at like ~20mph because I was assuming they would move (bad assumption). Funny story is, I got bitched apart by a female Cop who was dead set that I was racing or high on something. You know, because the 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass I drive is capable of actually racing anything. The conversation went something like...

"Excuse me, have you been participating in any racing son?"
>"Uh, I drive an Oldsmobile..."
"I know kids these days love to get out and race at night. Don't lie to to me, why are you out this late?"
>"I was at my girlfriends house."
"So were you drinking or anything?"
>"Uh...what don't you get? I'm driving home."

I really don't understand Cops, I even had the clothes i'd worn that evening on the passenger seat. I was working as a waiter at the time, and my shirt & apron were there. More importantly, I really want to see a 18yr old who would race in an Oldsmobile, seriously...

[Tyche]

When I get pulled over (hasn't happened since I was like 18 or 19, but it's happened probably 30 times) I do the following steps, most of which JMC has said.

Pull over to a safe spot, if a safe spot isn't available just slow down and turn on hazard lights and signal to the officer that you know he's there. Drive to a safe spot.

Roll down both windows and if you have rear windows with rear passengers, roll them down as well.

Keys out of the ignition and onto the dash.

Hands either on the window seal or in the 12-9 position.

If/when they ask for license/reg, ask permission to retrieve it if it's in a concealed location. Ever see those videos of cops getting shot on a routine traffic stop? yeah, cops have too, make them feel safe.

Be respectful.

If it's dark, turn on the interior light

Tell any passengers to keep their fucking mouths shut and only speak when spoken to.

As far as cops asking random shit, it's within their right, especially if you're out late at night. My first car was a van and I was driving home from a friends house late at night. I got pulled over because I forgot to turn on my headlights (I was in a well lit area). Cop wanted to search my van (because it was a teen driving a van), however the dispatcher told the officer to let me go (I was dating the DAs daughter at the time). Kids are usually out for suspicious reasons after midnight, so I'm not holding anything against them.

[Octavious]

Kids are usually out for suspicious reasons after midnight, so I'm not holding anything against them.

While I understand that, I was in a residential neighborhood that was higher-than-average. Not where I live, which i could understand if they would ask me those questions. It was a more upscale community, which combined with the fact I was in black slacks and a white dress shirt from my job, driving an Olds, made me wonder wtf they were thinking.

[Cephius]

Most cops are dicks, but can you really blame them? Especially the ones who work in areas with high crime rates.. they constantly see the worst humanity has to offer. I can't really blame them for being highly skeptical of kids and a bit asshole-ish when talking to you. They're practically conditioned to be suspicious of everyone they pull over and to be prepared if they have a weapon. Try putting on a happy face when that's your life day after day.

I wish they weren't dicks, but yeah, it's not hard to understand why. IMO they still deserve respect (read: to not be given attitude by teenagers) for putting their lives on the line.

[Octavious]

somethingsomething Career Decision somethingsomething. I didn't force it on them to be a Cop so they can get over their jaded sense of guilty until proven innocent.

[jmc]

somethingsomething Career Decision somethingsomething. I didn't force it on them to be a Cop so they can get over their jaded sense of guilty until proven innocent.

Nothing can prepare you for your first response to a actual problem. No academy training, nothing other officers tell you..... you know the job can be bad, from what you see....and as a officer you try to picture it into your head early to get it out of the way so you can get a "head start" but once you actually respond to something horrible, it really hits you hard.

So people go into the job, knowing how bad it can be.... looking at pictures of how bad it can be, but until you actually witness it while on the job it won't hit you.

Ive seen people leave the job for the private sector over things that no human would ever want to witness.

[Tyche]

You can change a cops attitude really fast. I remember a friend and I getting pulled over late at night in my Honda (mirror tint, lowered, suspicious car...). The cop asked to search my car, and I didn't mind at all. I wasn't in a hurry and he was just wasting his time, so I couldn't care less. He called in backup and asked us to get out of the vehicle while they searched. The other cop and I were bullshitting while he searched it making fun of the other cop. We talked about going tubing and getting wasted while floating down the river. Pretty cool guy who was being a dick at first. If you just cut the tension in a situation that is usually tense for an officer, they'll loosen up. I can recall one dick-head cop in being pulled over a ton of times, and that cop was notorious in my city for being a dick (it was rumored he gave his own mom a ticket D: )

[Mayareira]

Be courteous, respectful, give a good first impression(tidy, clean car and documents), etc.
I generally get away with warnings.

[0ni0n]

Be courteous, respectful, give a good first impression(tidy, clean car and documents), etc.
I generally get away with warnings.

What about that $20 that you slip to the cop during the "handshake"?