Getting off free from a sure traffic citation

I'm a cop, but have been on a Special Ops squad for several years. When I was a patrol officer, I often rewarded folks who took responsibility for their actions by giving them a verbal warning. If you made lame a$$ excuses...well, I was probably gonna give you a souvenir...

Things are different now...most cops are college grads...not given a "quota," and are allowed to differentiate between the folks who ARE the problem and the folks who just made an honest mistake.

If you put someone else at risk...I'm likely to cite you...or if you almost collide with MY Dodge Charger...

Socal has some lingering "ol' school" types I'm sure...(I used to live in Long Beach)...but you did the smart thing. Own up like a grown a$$ adult.

Cheers,
Officer Friendly

 

I was pulled over going 77mph in a 55mph zone. There was a car behind me just tailgating me the whole time and not passing me (it was only a 2 lane/2 way road). I saw the highway patrol driving in the opposite direction and was thinking "oh crap" as I watched the highway patrol pull over and turn around. The car behind me immediately turned on the next road, in the middle of farmland. I was pulled over and told him I was sorry that I was speeding and the person behind me was making me nervous. He told me that he had clocked two people at the same speed. We then saw the person that was behind me, coming back onto the road. He said for me to have a nice day and he was gonna go get that guy. I told my mother this immediately after and she asked "How much cleavage were you showing?" haha...

Then one time I was on my cell phone driving through downtown and I guess I did a "california stop" even though I could've sworn I didn't. I was pulled over less than 200 feet away from work, where I was heading. (I was taking care of an elderly woman who had a stroke). He asked if I knew why I was pulled over and I told him "Yes, I was on my phone" and then he mentioned I also didn't stop completely. The guy asked for my license and registration. I pulled my license out and he just said "Ok, hold on" and walked back to his car. He was on his radio for a second and then handed me back my license and said next time to stop. So I went to work and that night when I left I had a note on my car. It was from my cousin Sabrina who was a police officer in our town. She said she heard about it over the radio and asked the officer who pulled me over "Does she have purple hair and piercings?".. Once he said yes, she informed him I was her little cousin so he let me go. I'm glad I wasn't one of those people that name drops in an attempt to get out of a ticket. She told me if I had mentioned being related to her I would've definitely gotten a ticket.

 

I wish it could've worked a couple days ago. I was heading down a hill, not too fast, but approaching a light that turned yellow. It wasn't a familiar neighborhood, so without knowing the light timing I thought I'd be fine, and could see even if I was slightly wrong there were was no safety impact, so I kept going instead of slamming on the brakes.

Two bright white lights flashed as I entered and left the intersection. I'm expecting my automated traffic cam ticket anyday now :-(

 

I was doing 68 in a 55 in my Mustang and was pulled over by state police. We had a nice chat, he went back to his car. I'm watching him in the mirror, and he starts looking frustrated. He then starts shaking his head and looks more frustrated. He then comes back up and announces that I was going to receive a ticket, but he couldn't get his printer to work in the car, and he didn't want to give me a citation without being able to hand me something in writing, so he logged it as a warning. We talked about the Mustang for a bit and then I left.

 

I have gotten warnings instead of tickets a couple of times because I didn't try to BS the officer.

 

A number of years ago I was visiting my brother who was working as a lifeguard at a camp one summer and I was driving back home shortly after midnight. I wasn't really familiar with the area and I was going down a hill when a car that was coming toward me suddenly turned in front of me and made me hit my brakes... I was a bit surprised when that car immdediately backed out of the driveway it had tuned into and turned on it's lights and pulled me over.

Two cops got out of the car and one stayed back by the rear passenger door and the other came up to my door and asked if I knew what the speed limit was. As luck would have it, I stopped right in front of a speed limit sign, so I kind of sheepishly pointed up to the sign and said, "Well, I guess it's 30". He then said that they clocked me at 50 going down the hill and asked for my license and registration.

I handed him the documents and just as he started to turn to go back to his car another car flew up on the other side of the road and literally screeched to a stop. The two cops and I looked over at the driver who yelled "There's a car on fire a few blocks down the road". The cop looked back at me, then he looked at the guy in the other car, then he looked at my license, then looked back at me and said "Well, keep the speed down... and let us pull out in front of you". He handed me back my documents and they ran back to their car and took off with their lights and sirens on.

Sure enough, I passed them a few blocks later next to a car that was indeed on fire.

 

This is a true story:

I turned onto a street and immediately realized I was going the wrong way on a one way street. The cop was sitting right there, and I was pulled over. The policeman says, "Didn't you see the arrows?", and I said, "Officer, I didn't even see the indians!"

I got my ticket and neither of us was laughing. Maybe he was Native American.

 

I've never been pulled over. Ever.

I've sat back, doing the speed limit (usually with cruise on), and watched the nice officers cutting aggressive/speeding/stupid drivers out of the traffic, like misbehaving calves being cut from the herd. I usually think to myself, so, how much time did those drivers save? How's their blood pressure now?

The other evening, I had one guy zip past me really fast, then pull in front of me and slow down. This usually annoys the crap out of me. Then, the nice officer pulls up beside me. Okay, I drop my speed way down, giving the officer the opening he needed. Yup, he pulls in front of me, and his lights go on. Bye bye, speeder!

I feel like I should just randomly hand out Starbucks cards to every cop I see.

 

Yup, that's what I do in my Prius: slow down, sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. My Prius driving habits make my wife crazy, and she's a good driver!

 

These two statements show you have excellent decision making abilities.

 

I was pulled over for speeding near the airport on the freeway, asked if there was any chance of a warning and the officer let me off with a warning, after checking my license and registration. A month or two later was pulled over for speeding in the same area but going in the opposite direction. After giving my license and registration to the officer, I asked if there was any chance for a warning. He asked if I had gotten any other warnings, without thinking about it I told I had gotten one the month before. He said the previous officer had put a mark on my registration so he knew I had received a warning. He let me off since I told the truth.

Another time I was pulled over for speeding and asked if there was a chance for a warning, pointing out it was my birthday, officer gave me back my license and registration...Happy Birthday!

Another time I was pulled over for speeding by a cop using radar. He recognized me as a friend of a friend without me saying anything and let me off.

I had a judge dismiss a radar ticket of 54 in a 25 on a winding mountain road because he couldn't believe someone could drive that fast.

 

Damn. If only I'd known that would spare me a ticket, I would have dyed my hair years ago.

 

HAHA it isn't that easy.

 

An officer once waved me over at the bottom of a steep hill and said "I KNOW you were speeding, but I couldn't get a good reading, and nobody would believe me anyway. But you slow the hell down Son, so I don't have to come scrape you off the pavement." That coastal 101 is an absolute blast on a bicycle.

Well, I won't be developing cleavage anytime soon, so that won't work either.

 

I was about 15 over coming home from Michigan one year and the cop pulled me over asking if I knew why. I told him I knew I was about 15 over the limit and he sent me on my way without a ticket and just told me to slow down. Maybe they just appreciate honesty. I can imagine the lame excuses they hear all day long.