I had a police officer apologize for giving me a ticket last night.

[BYUMizzou]

I usually play taxi driver on Wednesdays taking 4 of my kids to church plus 2 or 3 of my nieces/nephews. They don't all fit in my car, so I drive my wife's suburban. After dropping them off at church, I drove over to Walmart to pick up a few things. After finishing my shopping before I even got out of the parking lot at Walmart, I got pulled over for having my license plate "obscured." We live on a gravel road, and there's been lots of rain lately, so the back of the suburban is caked with dirt and mud.

As it turns out, my wife didn't have the current insurance card in the glove box. The old insurance card was expired by about 3 weeks, so I called my wife and had her take a picture of the current insurance card that had been sitting on her desk at the house and text it to me. After showing it to the officer, he still wrote me a $52 ticket for failure to have current proof of insurance.

After writing the ticket, he proceeded to explain how to deal with it. I told him I was an attorney and was familiar with the process, at which point he immediately began apologizing for giving me the ticket. He said that he didn't know who I was and that if he did, he wouldn't have pulled me over. He then said that since he had already written out the ticket, he had to give it to me, but that he would call the prosecuting attorney in the morning and tell him not to prosecute the ticket. It got to the point where I felt like I had to tell him it was okay and that I wasn't bent out of shape over it.

I drove away feeling like I'd just been in some sort of bizzaro alternate universe.

[smokymountainrain]

I usually play taxi driver on Wednesdays taking 4 of my kids to church plus 2 or 3 of my nieces/nephews. They don't all fit in my car, so I drive my wife's suburban. After dropping them off at church, I drove over to Walmart to pick up a few things. After finishing my shopping before I even got out of the parking lot at Walmart, I got pulled over for having my license plate "obscured." We live on a gravel road, and there's been lots of rain lately, so the back of the suburban is caked with dirt and mud.

As it turns out, my wife didn't have the current insurance card in the glove box. The old insurance card was expired by about 3 weeks, so I called my wife and had her take a picture of the current insurance card that had been sitting on her desk at the house and text it to me. After showing it to the officer, he still wrote me a $52 ticket for failure to have current proof of insurance.

After writing the ticket, he proceeded to explain how to deal with it. I told him I was an attorney and was familiar with the process, at which point he immediately began apologizing for giving me the ticket. He said that he didn't know who I was and that if he did, he wouldn't have pulled me over. He then said that since he had already written out the ticket, he had to give it to me, but that he would call the prosecuting attorney in the morning and tell him not to prosecute the ticket. It got to the point where I felt like I had to tell him it was okay and that I wasn't bent out of shape over it.

I drove away feeling like I'd just been in some sort of bizzaro alternate universe.

"I'm an attorney and I am familiar with the process"
"I'm an attorney and I am familiar with the process"
"I'm an attorney and I am familiar with the process"
"I'm an attorney and I am familiar with the process"
"I'm an attorney and I am familiar with the process"
"I'm an attorney and I am familiar with the process"
"I'm an attorney and I am familiar with the process"
"I'm an attorney and I am familiar with the process"

Okay, I think I've got it.

[dabrockster]

I usually play taxi driver on Wednesdays taking 4 of my kids to church plus 2 or 3 of my nieces/nephews. They don't all fit in my car, so I drive my wife's suburban. After dropping them off at church, I drove over to Walmart to pick up a few things. After finishing my shopping before I even got out of the parking lot at Walmart, I got pulled over for having my license plate "obscured." We live on a gravel road, and there's been lots of rain lately, so the back of the suburban is caked with dirt and mud.

As it turns out, my wife didn't have the current insurance card in the glove box. The old insurance card was expired by about 3 weeks, so I called my wife and had her take a picture of the current insurance card that had been sitting on her desk at the house and text it to me. After showing it to the officer, he still wrote me a $52 ticket for failure to have current proof of insurance.

After writing the ticket, he proceeded to explain how to deal with it. I told him I was an attorney and was familiar with the process, at which point he immediately began apologizing for giving me the ticket. He said that he didn't know who I was and that if he did, he wouldn't have pulled me over. He then said that since he had already written out the ticket, he had to give it to me, but that he would call the prosecuting attorney in the morning and tell him not to prosecute the ticket. It got to the point where I felt like I had to tell him it was okay and that I wasn't bent out of shape over it.

I drove away feeling like I'd just been in some sort of bizzaro alternate universe.

:bsflag:

[Green Monstah]

:bsflag:

Lol.

Did he have a well-trimmed moustache and start doing pelvic thrusts to disco music? If so, he may not have been a cop.

[Donuthole]

As it turns out, my wife didn't have the current insurance card in the glove box. The old insurance card was expired by about 3 weeks, so I called my wife and had her take a picture of the current insurance card that had been sitting on her desk at the house and text it to me. After showing it to the officer, he still wrote me a $52 ticket for failure to have current proof of insurance.

Just to demonstrate Las Vegas' misguided sense of capitalism, the same violation here costs . . . . $1,200. Yes, you can generally get it dismissed by later showing proof of insurance at the time of the ticket, and if you didn't have insurance at the time, you can get it reduced to $200 by showing proof of current insurance obtained since the ticket.

The trend continues with other traffic violations, where a $40 speeding ticket in Utah (5 over, say) is $145 or $190 here, depending on the jurisdiction.

[BYUMizzou]

:bsflag:

Not BS, but one of the heretofore unknown benefits of living in the rural midwest.

[UtahDan]

That is sort of a chicken shit charge. Still, I would never mention to a police officer that I am lawyer. If it is an officer I know, I will get the benefit of the doubt from them (and have a couple times) and don't need to mention it. If I don't know them, lets just say that isn't the sort of thing that gets you more favorable treatment in most cases.

[ERCougar]

Not BS, but one of the heretofore unknown benefits of living in the rural midwest.

Yup.
I bet I was pulled over at least 10 times in the first 6 months I was here. No tickets, and now they know my car, so I don't get pulled over anymore.

I've also gotten out of a 30 over speeding ticket because I had scrubs on. I did have to pay a speeding ticket in a total BS speed trap near the AZ-NV border and another one near Elko. Both NHP cops and both total dicks.

[BYUMizzou]

That is sort of a chicken shit charge. Still, I would never mention to a police officer that I am lawyer. If it is an officer I know, I will get the benefit of the doubt from them (and have a couple times) and don't need to mention it. If I don't know them, lets just say that isn't the sort of thing that gets you more favorable treatment in most cases.

I didn't mention it to try to get out of the ticket. He'd already written the ticket and had handed it to me. He was just wrapping up and trying to be nice (I guess) and explain what I needed to do with the ticket. At that point I was late in getting back to the church and picking up the kids, so I was just trying to speed up the process without being rude by telling him as an attorney I was familiar with how to deal with a ticket. I would generally agree with you and think police officers have more reason than most to hate lawyers.

[ERCougar]

That is sort of a chicken shit charge.

I agree. This happened to me once and the cop just said to send in proof of insurance and it would be dropped.

[wuapinmon]

I got pulled over in 1992 taking the elders home. Luckily, I had my McDonald's uniform on and we gave them free food, so he said, "Slow down, or I'll feel guilty giving you a ticket next time when you give me free food all of the time."

I was doing 45 in 35 on a four-lane road with no houses or business on it.

[byu71]

Part of getting old and cranky for me is I don't want to make the effort to talk them out of a ticket.

If they start lecturing me, I tell them I appreciate what they do, but I am an old man and don't need a lecture. Just write out the ticket so I can move on.

[SteelBlue]

My roommate in college told me about a prof he had at BYU who taught them his "sure fire" method to avoid tickets. He said it had gotten him out of several over the years. Because I like most of you, I'll share it.

His theory was that cops tend to end up as cops because they enjoy being in authority. So, after the officer explains why he has pulled you over, you simply say very matter of factly, "I see. You have no choice then but to give me a ticket". The officer will view you favorably, seeing you as someone who takes responsibility instead of whining or denying. But more importantly, he will take the words "no choice" as an unintended challenge to his authority and will seek to prove to you, the driver, that he indeed does have a choice. This proof comes in the form of a ticketless warning. I've not been pulled over since learning of this method, so I can't speak to its efficacy. Sounds risky to me.

[Scott R Nelson]

Part of getting old and cranky for me is I don't want to make the effort to talk them out of a ticket.

If they start lecturing me, I tell them I appreciate what they do, but I am an old man and don't need a lecture. Just write out the ticket so I can move on.

Old age seems to help me get warnings instead of tickets, at least since I got the GRAMPAA/GRAMMPA license plates for my car/motorcycle. I've had at least half a dozen warnings since getting those plates and no tickets with those particular vehicles (one in my wife's car when it must have been zero tolerance day in Alameda). I try to do all I can to get them to think of me as an old guy before they talk to me.

The last ticket that was turned into a warning a couple of years ago I was certain would be a serious ticket, but because I stopped the second I noticed the red and blue lights way behind me and was respectful, I got off with a warning and a request to slow down a bit. And I did.

I think your attitude makes a bigger difference than what words you say. Having your vehicle and paperwork in order helps too.

[Colly Wolly]

My roommate in college told me about a prof he had at BYU who taught them his "sure fire" method to avoid tickets. He said it had gotten him out of several over the years. Because I like most of you, I'll share it.

His theory was that cops tend to end up as cops because they enjoy being in authority. So, after the officer explains why he has pulled you over, you simply say very matter of factly, "I see. You have no choice then but to give me a ticket". The officer will view you favorably, seeing you as someone who takes responsibility instead of whining or denying. But more importantly, he will take the words "no choice" as an unintended challenge to his authority and will seek to prove to you, the driver, that he indeed does have a choice. This proof comes in the form of a ticketless warning. I've not been pulled over since learning of this method, so I can't speak to its efficacy. Sounds risky to me.

??? What's to stop him/her from responding that he/she does indeed have a choice, and that the choice is to issue the ticket.