I guess I could have accomplished the same results by running from the cops.

"I realized I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt so I figured the best way not to get caught for that too was to get out of the car before he got there."

So you broke two laws and the choice you made was to cover one of the violations by doing the thing every common practice in the situation mandates a citizen not do (when signaled by an officer of the law, pull over to the nearest right shoulder and await further instructions with your hands visibly viewable, preferably on the wheel) and your take away is "if the guy had only done what he was told hew would be here today?"

Your blindspot is gaping chasm.

 

I just tell them that my wife left with a cop a week ago and I was nervous they were bringing her back.

 

We all need a trunk monkey!

 

Anecdotal evidence with different fact patterns than other situations don't prove much.

 

If he would have asked, "Can I search your car?", would you have let him?

 

one of the best commercial concepts ever. So funny. There are about 10 different ones. If people have not seen them go to YouTube and search trunk monkey.

 

You were doing so well….oh well, nobody’s perfect.
lol

 

It's obvious what you intended by your post - namely, black people ought to act like you - but what you've actually done in my mind is show racial insensitivity.

I'd do the same as you did, but I'm white and I bet you are, too. Our experiences with cops are completely different than black folks'. Yes, they should act the same way you or I would, but I can understand how decades of negative interactions with cops have instinctively taught them to be fearful when stopped by cops.

The moral of my story: walk in another man's shoes.

 

I'd say no. And did on one occasion many decades ago. He went back to write a ticket and took his sweet time because he'd called for a canine unit and it took 20 minutes for them to get there. I just smiled when nothing was sniffed out and remarked that he had just wasted everyone's time without even a reasonable suspicion of the presence of contraband just because I'd exercised my constitutional right.

 

Just curious.

 

no contraband inside your car but you sorta did have something to hide. Not wearing your seatbelt. And responded in a manner that cops don’t like - getting out of your car.

 

That would have been the shortest chase in the history of police chases.

 

I wouldn't consent to a search. Unless they lied about smelling pot, there won't be any reasonable suspicion to search, unless the drubbed it up out of thin air. There's no way I'm going to benefit from a search, it's a losing proposition. Nothing but bad news could come from it.

A traffic infraction is why I'm stopped. Give my my ticket and let me be on my way. I'm not going to assist your investigation... into me. No thanks.

 

I disagree that you should have gotten a ticket. This one goes either way. You only 100% should have gotten a ticket if you did what you did on purpose to save time or for some unacceptable reason. Being cut off and put in a bad situation is different. Proper discretion was used by the police imo here. They checked your record and handled it properly. My opinion at least.

 

Nice anecdote. Glad you didn't receive a ticket!

P.S. Wear your seatbelt.

 

There were 3 separate traffic violations...the driving "maneuver," an equipment violation (the brake light) and the seat belt violation. I would have written him up for the seat belt violation. People don't forget to wear their seat belts, they think the rules don't apply to them. Couple that with his quick exit out of the vehicle to avoid detection. Writing a fix-it ticket is largely a waste of time and there were at least mitigating circumstances to driving the wrong way, so I'd let him skate on those two.

The point others are suggesting is that if our impaired driver was a black man, he likely would have been issued the trifecta.

 

lol I knew that was coming

 

Are you sure the covid vaccine didn't kill all those people?