Pulled over - odd reason!

[billt460]

I have been lucky. I've never had a DUI or DWI. Did I ever deserve one? No, I deserved 200 of them. But back in my younger drinking heydays, driving drunk wasn't a very big deal.

Back then the guys that I knew who did get them were given a $50.00 fine, and told by the judge, "And I better not see you in here again mister!" While he shook his finger at them.

Today it's different... And far more serious. A first offense can mean jail time in many states. And by the time you finish paying all the fines, attorney fees, "alcohol rehabilitation schooling", ignition interlocks, and find an insurance company that will take you after the one you had drops you, you're easily looking at as much as $10K or more before it's all over.

I don't need that kind of crap in my life, so I no longer drink period. Besides at my age it takes too much out of me. As it's been said, nothing good ever gets poured out of a bottle of booze.

 

[MParr]

Around here, the fastest way to get pulled over is having a tag light out. That little detail is the pretext for seeing if the driver has been drinking.

 

[Zee09]

Temp tags is the trick they use in Maryland. Then the flashlight wanders all over the inside of your car.

 

[thastinger]

I haven't had a moving violation in 30 years but it is common to be pulled over in the rural counties I go to, especially late at night.

 

[cptbarkey]

So the wife and I are cruising on home after a night of dinner, drinking, and dancing at our local roadhouse. Mrs lead-foot is at the wheel of her little Mitsubishi Eclipse five speed V6, but after her last ticket (#5) she finally took a lesson from me and was using cruise control, a safe 60 in a 55. We live just five minutes out of our little mountain town, and about half way home I spot a deer on the side of the road, very common in these parts, and where there is one there is usually more so I call out DEER and the lady punches the brakes. About the same time I catch a glimpse of a sheriff's car, lights out on the side of the road, but pay it no mind as we were not really speeding. A couple of minutes later we notice the car behind us has his high beams on, and again pay it no mind, until he lights us up with his blue & reds.

The deputy comes to the passenger side and I lower my window. Young guy with a 4" red beard (hey, this is Appalachia), and he couldn't be more polite. Wife passed her creds, minus her concealed carry permit as we weren't carrying since we were drinking. He says the reason he pulled us over was because he saw on his radar that we slowed by 10 mph when we approached him, and that usually means the driver has something to hide. Really? We of course said, in unison, that we saw a deer, which he understood. After chatting for a couple of minutes he was satisfied that we were not under the influence and wished us well.

Doesn't seem to me like a good reason to pull over a citizen when we were not really speeding or weaving. Is this a common practice for the law?

Yes it was a good reason to pull you over. He was doing his job. You happened to be sober at the time, unsure if you were when you made this post, but thank the cop again next time.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

So the wife and I are cruising on home after a night of dinner, drinking, and dancing at our local roadhouse. Mrs lead-foot is at the wheel of her little Mitsubishi Eclipse five speed V6, but after her last ticket (#5) she finally took a lesson from me and was using cruise control, a safe 60 in a 55. We live just five minutes out of our little mountain town, and about half way home I spot a deer on the side of the road, very common in these parts, and where there is one there is usually more so I call out DEER and the lady punches the brakes. About the same time I catch a glimpse of a sheriff's car, lights out on the side of the road, but pay it no mind as we were not really speeding. A couple of minutes later we notice the car behind us has his high beams on, and again pay it no mind, until he lights us up with his blue & reds.

The deputy comes to the passenger side and I lower my window. Young guy with a 4" red beard (hey, this is Appalachia), and he couldn't be more polite. Wife passed her creds, minus her concealed carry permit as we weren't carrying since we were drinking. He says the reason he pulled us over was because he saw on his radar that we slowed by 10 mph when we approached him, and that usually means the driver has something to hide. Really? We of course said, in unison, that we saw a deer, which he understood. After chatting for a couple of minutes he was satisfied that we were not under the influence and wished us well.

Doesn't seem to me like a good reason to pull over a citizen when we were not really speeding or weaving. Is this a common practice for the law?

Pretextual laws give a LEO the flexibility to pull people over for almost any reason. This is how they catch DUI, drugs, outstanding warrants, etc.

 

[Kira]

I do believe that "sudden braking" can indicate presence of a radar detector.

Mrs. Kira was flirting with both sides of 90 mph on the NJ Turnpike once. Ahhh, the joys if that Saab Aero!
I had simply tired of telling her to slow down.
There's a unique, single lane crossover for emergency vehicles between 2 well separated exits.
When wifey zoomed beneath it, a snowy white car descended the ramp and rapidly persued us.
I suggested she slow down. We were informed that she was doing the 'double 8'.

POINT: The officer asked how we knew to slow down and if we had a radar detector.
I told him, "I saw you back up to go down the ramp". He had the option to persue either northbound or south.

Everybody was polite and she got a littering ticket.

 

[Sayjac]

Just doing a little profiling, time of day, perhaps vehicle, looking to score some revenue and justify his time and job. Reason given, completely bogus, 'imo.' Slowed down to 10 mph under the limit.

Glad it worked out for you and your wife.

 

[ZZman]

I don't think that was enough for a stop. Might be enough to follow and look for an actual violation to make a stop.

 

[John105]

Just cutting to the chase. Why would anyone slow down just because they saw a cop? It is suspicious, but at the same time, nervous nellies do that. I’m being 100%. I have zero to hide and I drive normally even with cops around. One time, I said to a friend, I’ll show you left on red is legal. I made a left on red with two cops to my right. My buddy freaked out wth are you doing all panicked and giddy at the same time like when Tony Romo commentated before cbs had a talk with him. If they want to pull me over that’s fine.

 

[oldgrayman]

My wife was coming home from work late one night . Four lane, divided thruway . She passed a Police unit that was sitting in the median . No big deal , not speeding . He pulled out and followed her until she turned off , and then he lit her up . After the usual greeting and document handover she asked him why he stopped her . " You were slow to dim your lights." Uh , ok , whatever . He walked back to his unit to run her license . On the way back he must have seen her decal on her back window that says " Deputy Sheriff's Mom " .
His demeanor changed completely and she said he all but offered to give her an escort home .

 

[Pablo]

So the wife and I are cruising on home after a night of dinner, drinking, and dancing at our local roadhouse. Mrs lead-foot is at the wheel of her little Mitsubishi Eclipse five speed V6, but after her last ticket (#5) she finally took a lesson from me and was using cruise control, a safe 60 in a 55. We live just five minutes out of our little mountain town, and about half way home I spot a deer on the side of the road, very common in these parts, and where there is one there is usually more so I call out DEER and the lady punches the brakes. About the same time I catch a glimpse of a sheriff's car, lights out on the side of the road, but pay it no mind as we were not really speeding. A couple of minutes later we notice the car behind us has his high beams on, and again pay it no mind, until he lights us up with his blue & reds.

The deputy comes to the passenger side and I lower my window. Young guy with a 4" red beard (hey, this is Appalachia), and he couldn't be more polite. Wife passed her creds, minus her concealed carry permit as we weren't carrying since we were drinking. He says the reason he pulled us over was because he saw on his radar that we slowed by 10 mph when we approached him, and that usually means the driver has something to hide. Really? We of course said, in unison, that we saw a deer, which he understood. After chatting for a couple of minutes he was satisfied that we were not under the influence and wished us well.

Doesn't seem to me like a good reason to pull over a citizen when we were not really speeding or weaving. Is this a common practice for the law?

Drinking!! Cripes!!!

My dad in ~1970 told me - cops watch for sudden slowing and brake lights. Super common.

 

[Dave Hess]

Florida Highway Patrol got me early one morning doing 90 mph in a construction zone with posted 50 mph speed limit. I told FHP I was heading to work about 2 hours away and didn’t want to be late, which was the truth.

I could not find my insurance card and I knew I was going to get a big ticket.

Luckily he let me go with just a warning.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

I recently passed a cop at night in the breakdown of the local east west HW with all lights off.

I said what is this!? If he was running enforcement, that isn't safe and must be a statute violation. I could have rammed him if I was slowing to fix a flat.

 

[KrisZ]

That's when you say "I invoke my right to remain silent officer".
The small chit chat is to try and establish a probable cause, you got lucky the officer didn't hear a trigger word out of you or your wife.

 

[ATex7239]

I’ve had cops pull me over because I slowed when approaching, and because I didn’t slow when approaching… You slowed down, so you must be doing something wrong. You didn’t slow down, so you must be drunk or impaired. It can be interpreted either way.

Nothing against law-enforcement, I appreciate what they do, but they are going to pull you over if they want to pull you over… It is what it is. The state has a monopoly of force.

 

[wpod]

Drunk driving is really bad.

 

[2005jettatdi]

Around here, the fastest way to get pulled over is having a tag light out. That little detail is the pretext for seeing if the driver has been drinking.

Back in 2021 I got pulled over for DUI at 10:40 in the evening. My last drink was 26 hours before that and I was heading home after picking up relatives at the airport. He asked if I knew why he pulled me over and I said no. He then claimed I had a broken license plate light. In Arizona your license plate needs to be readable from 50' away. My plate has two lights, so phony excuse. While he was writing my warning ticket I called my wife and told her I was delayed because I got pulled over for DUI. She panicked for a moment and then the realization came to her that I could not have been drinking.

When the cop came back with my ticket I told him, "I know why you pulled me over and there is no alcohol on my breath." He just answered, "Well, you can't be too careful." I later mentioned the incident to the chief of police. I replaced both license plate bulbs with LEDs.

Those condemning OP for drinking and driving are being too judgmental. You do not know the wife's blood alcohol level. The cop did not notice a problem once they were face to face.

Never, ever cooperate with a field sobriety test. They are designed to make you fail. Just politely decline. If the cop threatens arrest just inform him you decline to testify against yourself. Informed consent only applies to breathalizer tests. Do not decline a breath test.

 

[Foreman04]

So the wife and I are cruising on home after a night of dinner, drinking, and dancing at our local roadhouse. Mrs lead-foot is at the wheel of her little Mitsubishi Eclipse five speed V6, but after her last ticket (#5) she finally took a lesson from me and was using cruise control, a safe 60 in a 55. We live just five minutes out of our little mountain town, and about half way home I spot a deer on the side of the road, very common in these parts, and where there is one there is usually more so I call out DEER and the lady punches the brakes. About the same time I catch a glimpse of a sheriff's car, lights out on the side of the road, but pay it no mind as we were not really speeding. A couple of minutes later we notice the car behind us has his high beams on, and again pay it no mind, until he lights us up with his blue & reds.

The deputy comes to the passenger side and I lower my window. Young guy with a 4" red beard (hey, this is Appalachia), and he couldn't be more polite. Wife passed her creds, minus her concealed carry permit as we weren't carrying since we were drinking. He says the reason he pulled us over was because he saw on his radar that we slowed by 10 mph when we approached him, and that usually means the driver has something to hide. Really? We of course said, in unison, that we saw a deer, which he understood. After chatting for a couple of minutes he was satisfied that we were not under the influence and wished us well.

Doesn't seem to me like a good reason to pull over a citizen when we were not really speeding or weaving. Is this a common practice for the law?

Cops get bored on the job and when you’re a young cop esp in the middle of Possum Flats, USA, he probably was bored out of his mind and you gave him something to do.

 

[DwightFrye]

Lifting one's foot off the gas when one sees a cop parked on the side of the road is a common and instinctual reaction. Even if one is traveling at the speed limit. Even stepping on the brake when the cruise control is active is a common reaction. People don't want to get a $300 or $400 ticket. So I don't think slowing is much of a pretext.

However if you are doing 10 or 15 MPH over the speed limit and you suddenly and rapidly slow down its another story. As far as the rules regarding when you have to present a license to carry a firearm, they vary by jurisdiction.