I know - all laws are important and we should all follow them. But honestly, sometimes I wonder why the police make a stop.

Today, driving in Idaho, I saw a Highway Patrol on the right shoulder of the road, so I got into the left lane. Once I passed him, I got back into the right lane, and he comes up behind me and pulls me over. The reason? I only signaled for 2-3 seconds, instead of the required 5. Fortunately, he only gave me a warning, but really?

What's the dumbest thing you've ever been pulled over for?

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
I know - all laws are important and we should all follow them. But honestly, sometimes I wonder why the police make a stop.

Today, driving in Idaho, I saw a Highway Patrol on the right shoulder of the road, so I got into the left lane. Once I passed him, I got back into the right lane, and he comes up behind me and pulls me over. The reason? I only signaled for 2-3 seconds, instead of the required 5. Fortunately, he only gave me a warning, but really?

What's the dumbest thing you've ever been pulled over for?

So wrong on that.

If you live your life by principles, there is little need for laws. (Mathew 22: 34-40)

This can work in religion, child rearing, business, and highway patrol stops.

Anything much beyond this is superfluous.

H&K-Guy

He was fishing.

I've had my DL for 50 years and have been pulled over 3 times. All three times I was delivering newspapers in the middle of the night. They were fishing for drunks.

Not necessarily pulled over but when I was 18 a friend and I had my car parked along a parkway that goes around Lake Nokomis, a lake with park areas in Minneapolis. He and I were playing frisbee before we headed out to Brainerd for the drag races. I had my trunk open and windows down with the radio on turned up pretty good, not an uncommon practice and not disturbing anyone nearby. A squad car pulls up and waves us over. He gets out and starts looking around the car, checks id's and even asks if he csn look through my cooler in the trunk which I comply with. I was 18 and the drinking age was 19, there was beer in the cooler along with some steaks. Told him we were headed to brainerd for the races and he never said a word about the beer. However for some reason he felt he had to ticket me for something as he wrote me up for "leaving my keys in the ignition" I had to have the keys in to listen to the radio. What a dick move.

I had my cruise set at 78 in a 75 out in the middle of nowhere on I-10, and my radar detector went off. I checked my speed and didn't even hit the brakes because I'm only going 3 over. Texas DPS officer comes racing down the on-ramp on the opposite direction, drives through the median practically rolling his cruiser, and pulls me over.

I rolled my window down and put my hands at 10 and 2.

He approaches my window and asks, "what's your damn hurry?"

I politely responded that I wasn't in a hurry that I was just doing a steady 78.

He repeats, "what's your damn hurry?"

He looked over my paperwork, finally dials back his rhetoric (the 5 foot nothing Officer had a major case of Napoleon sydrome), and admits that they're looking for stolen Silverados which are being used to haul drugs. I politely give him permission to nose around and he can see that I have pets and suitcases since I'm moving from SoCal to Houston.

The motherfucker gave me a ticket for 82 in a 75. I looked at it and said I was only doing 78. He just smiled and went back to his cruiser.

I ended up getting an attorney and fighting the ticket just out of principal since I wasn't driving 7 mph over (also, since I had a California license I couldn't attend the bs traffic class to get rid of points). Judge gave me deferred adjudication as long as I went ticket free for a year (which I did).

1976 - going 56 in a 55 - driving through NJ on the TP in a custom van. Was an unmarked beside me that showed his badge and pointed for me to pull over. He actually said I pulled you over for going 56 in a 55 (it was all I could do to not roll my eyes). He asked what we were doing, I told him we were coming back from vacation in Florida. I think Florida and van he saw big drug bust. 2 marked stopped. They asked to search, I gave the ok. After looking through the van and nothing found - they let me go with a warning for cooperating.

quote:

Originally posted by BRL:
Not necessarily pulled over but when I was 18 a friend and I had my car parked along a parkway that goes around Lake Nokomis, a lake with park areas in Minneapolis. He and I were playing frisbee before we headed out to Brainerd for the drag races. I had my trunk open and windows down with the radio on turned up pretty good, not an uncommon practice and not disturbing anyone nearby. A squad car pulls up and waves us over. He gets out and starts looking around the car, checks id's and even asks if he csn look through my cooler in the trunk which I comply with. I was 18 and the drinking age was 19, there was beer in the cooler along with some steaks. Told him we were headed to brainerd for the races and he never said a word about the beer. However for some reason he felt he had to ticket me for something as he wrote me up for "leaving my keys in the ignition" I had to have the keys in to listen to the radio. What a dick move.

I got a ticket at that very lake, for parking too close to a water fountain. Bastiges.

H&K-Guy

I got pulled over one night for having a taillight out. I had just replaced and tested both tail lights. They worked an hour or so beforehand.
When I asked the officer to show me the light so I could have it replaced he let me go. I assume because I was 19 at the time, he wanted to see if I was impaired, which I was not.

Another time I was pulled over for speeding, which I was. The cop claimed to smell marijuana. I most definitely was not smoking pot, did not have pot, and had no desire to smoke pot. All I wanted to do was get home from my camping trip. He ripped my car apart, took my seat covers off, took every bit of camping gear out, unpacked bags etc. he found nothing and wrote me the speeding ticket. I was beyond pissed.

16 years old in a 1989 Sentra driving home one evening well before curfew. Passed a cop in a legitmate 90 degree turn. No big deal, so I thought. A few minutes later he's caught up to me with lights and sirens. He said he clocked me at 65MPH in the turn, I wanted to chuckle. He was fishing and I was on my way home.

Got nailed for doing 58 in a 55 just a bit north of Cincy one afternoon too. 3 freaking miles per hour over the limit. He didn't hesitate to write that ticket one second.

Officer: "Do you know why I pulled you over? You were all over the road back there."

Me: "Well.... Actually I was going straight, it's the road that curves."


A long, little used curving road I drove several times a day. The road waved this way and that way for no good reason. You could just drive a straight line down the center of it, it got to be sort of a game. Which got to be sort of a habbit. Which I was apparently still doing a little of with a cop behind me. lol

My tire "touched the fog line" when I pulled out of my driveway.

$150.

And the police are puzzled to why we don't like or trust them.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
My tire "touched the fog line" when I pulled out of my driveway.

$150.

Ouch.

I got pulled over in high school for illuminating my turn-signal while changing lanes instead of activating the signal, letting it blink a time or two, and then changing lanes.

No ticket.

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
I know - all laws are important and we should all follow them. But honestly, sometimes I wonder why the police make a stop.

Today, driving in Idaho, I saw a Highway Patrol on the right shoulder of the road, so I got into the left lane. Once I passed him, I got back into the right lane, and he comes up behind me and pulls me over. The reason? I only signaled for 2-3 seconds, instead of the required 5. Fortunately, he only gave me a warning, but really?

What's the dumbest thing you've ever been pulled over for?

Just yesterday a WHP officer merged onto I-80 in front of me. At the end of the acceleration lane he blinked his flasher exactly once as he merged onto the highway. He exited just one exit later--no signal at all.

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
He was fishing.

Yep. Using a legitimate but minor traffic violation as the justification to stop the car, in order to check if the driver is drunk/high or has something like warrants, drugs, or a trunk full of dead hookers.

If nothing is amiss, then a warning is issued (as a means of recording the details of the stop, in case it's needed later) and the driver is quickly sent on their way.

A relatively large number of crimes are discovered/solved and wanted persons located thanks to traffic stops based on minor stuff like broken tail lights, speeding a few miles over the limit, failure to signal at least 100 feet from the turn, etc.

I don't see the point in ticketing otherwise law-abiding folks for piddly stuff while fishing, though.

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
He was fishing.

^^^^This.

I got pulled over for hood scoops. Yep the hood scoops that was factory on my 1969 Dodge Super Bee.

The, I'm not going to be nice about it. Idiot cop wrote my a ticket for obstructed view.

You know, for FACTORY INSTALLED hood scoops. I had to miss work, drive down town to court and since my last name begins with a "W" set there all freaking day for FACTORY INSTALLED HOOD SCOOPS! I showed the judge a picture of my car and factory literature of my model and it was dismissed.

Still to this day when I think about it, that idiot cop pisses me off. He cost me a day of work, plus parking lot fees and though it was dismissed I still had to pay court costs.

All for freaking FACTORY INSTALLED HOOD SCOOPS!

Now, I ain't sayin I was a freaking angle. Back then I was a lead foot, and I will admit it would pick up a race here and there. But that day I was just driving my car, obeying all traffic laws. When smart ass Johnny Law, pulls me over and write me a ticket for obstructed vision for I'll say it again FACTORY INSTALLED HOOD SCOOPS!

I was polite and courteous and followed all the orders. Yet he had some kind of attitude, from start to finish, even in court. Where the judge himself could not believe that he wrote the ticket.

I will say, I'm not a cop hater, as a matter of fact, I thought about law enforcement as a career. But that badge heavy imbecile sure didn't need to have that job.

So. Long story short. Factory installed hood scoops. I was pulled over and ticketed for factory installed hood scoops.


ARman

I got pulled over as i was pulling into the parking lot at work - so all my coworkers could see. He said my registration stickers were eight months expired. I had the sticker in the glove box.

Not stupid on the cops part - more on my part for not putting the new year sticker on my car! He was surprised id gone 8 months. No ticket though.

I also got stopped by a Lehi officer. She said i looked like a known felon in the area and that id looked away from her when she drove by like i was hiding my face, and she asked, very aggressively, well, then why do i recognize you?

Uhhh. Because when i worked at Chick fil a a few years backn you got mad at me for following CFA's policy of giving officers free food before 8am and 50% off from 8am to 8pm?

She remembered then and we had a laugh, ran my info - and their system even had a note that said i was a manager at CFA still, and let me go.