Got pulled over by police today - most ridiculous reason ever

[Ravin]

I think my stupidest tops that, mainly because I did get a ticket.

 

In my state, when you pay your yearly car registration you get a sticker that you put on the drivers side of the windshield. Until recently, when you got your car inspected they gave you a different sticker. I got my car registration in the mail and I couldn't get the old registration sticker off. Car inspection was due next month or the one after that. So, I decided to ask the car inspection guy to remove both old stickers.

 

I was pulled over and ticketed for having two registration stickers in my car. Yes. An actual ticket.

 

He'd also gotten his nose out of joint because he'd seen a few diet coke cans jammed between the two seats. Even after I'd told him I hadn't had anything to drink in a few months and I showed him each one was Diet Coke. I NEVER drank in the car, or did drugs at all so there is no way there was anything 'funny' he could have smelled. He seemed to think it was my fault he thought they were Coors cans.

I'd have been insulted. "No, officer, those are not Coors cans, I would never let that swill pass my lips. I like something with some body and actual flavor, preferably draft but at least in a bottle."

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yeah really I wouldn't even wash my car with Coors.  LMAO

 

 

[Joker]

I was pulled over once for no reason. I was only 16, though, and the cop told me to get into his patrol car. When my family found out, they flipped. It wasn't for safety reasons because the cop left my little brother sitting in the front seat of my car. I only received a warning and he didn't do anything, but I was told after that to never get into their car. Some of my family went to the local station and had a chat and I was told I wouldn't have to worry about that particular officer again.

 

I was pulled over another time but only given a warning as well. My driver's license and registration had expired but still no ticket. I've actually never received a ticket.

[SKL]

Yes, this! 

 

And, on the flip side, am I the only one who is seeing what seems like a greatly increased number of drivers who are neglecting to turn on their lights at all? My loose working theory is that, since many cars have automatic daytime running lights, drivers may not notice when it gradually gets dark. However, those low-level headlights don't do a thing to help other drivers see a car from behind. And if the vehicle happens to be a dark color, it's extremely disconcerting for other drivers to try and keep track of it without the tail lights. 

 

Yes, I've caught myself driving without my lights on.  Usually when it gets dark as I'm driving.  The feature of having lights on all the time means I don't notice the lights are needed.  In older cars, you can't see your dashboard etc. if your lights aren't on in the dark.

[Bootsie]

I got stopped on my way home from teaching a night class a few weeks ago.  The officer said that he was stopping me because the license plates on the car did not belong on that automobile.  It was dark and the officer had been behind me less than a quarter of a mile.  So, apparently he was driving down the road checking license plates against automobiles they were registered to???  He must have been paying more attention to a computer screen than to his driving???  I was leaving the college campus at night, and I think he probably thought he was stopping a student.  (I showed registration materials that had my name and that license plate number; new plates had been mailed but I didn't have them yet.)

 

I was just glad that I was stopped rather than it being my teenage son.  A Michigan teen was killed during a traffic stop for flashing his lights at a cop when he thought the cop had his brights on.  http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/16/us/michigan-sheriffs-sergeant-teen-shooting-lawsuit/

[SKL]

When I was a teen, my sister and I were driving home from our college campus.  A song came on the radio that we happened to both know how to play on the piano.  So we started "playing" the song there in the front seat of the car.  A cop spotted us and was pretty sure we were drunk or high or something.  :P  No, we are just that crazy.  A warning was issued, and we laughed and placed it in the cup holder.  The next day one of us was stopped again by the same cop, who said, "was your sister or friend driving this car yesterday?  She was acting really weird."  Meanwhile the warning from the previous day was still sitting in the cup holder.  LOL.

 

My family members have gotten tickets for hitting an ice patch and ending up in the ditch.  Nice.

[Luanne]

Ugh. Who has time for that?

 

Funny thing, I was just thinking of starting a thread on the dumbest reasons for getting a ticket. Someone posted on my facebook this morning that she got a ticket for throwing out a cigarette butt. (Gross, but yeah, cops must not be very busy.) And I've had a few really dumb tickets. It seems like something that would be fun to vent about. :)

 

As for being slowed down, I have a little petty vent today. I was in a hurry to get to the library so I could intercept my kids' passport applications before they went out in the mail. I needed to add a couple of items. So, kind of important. I had enough time. But, then I got stopped behind the handicapped school bus. Which I wouldn't mind, except this particular bus keeps its red lights on for 10+ minutes each time, including at least 5 minutes after the rider is on the bus. I guess it takes that long to strap him in or whatever, but couldn't she shut the lights off so traffic could resume? Then it turned out that I had to follow the same bus almost all the way to the library. Thankfully it only made one other stop during that time. Whew. Stressful.

You can't see why it is a bad idea to throw a butt out the window?

[Carol in Cal.]

I once got lost looking for the pension I was staying in in Germany.  It was late, and dark out, and I was lost in Germany.

And then I got pulled over.

I was terrified.  I figured I had broken some obscure traffic law, and since I was over there on business I would shame my company in addition to missing my plane back to the states while sitting in jail trying to figure out the German legal system without knowing the language.

 

But no.

 

It was a nice police officer who had noticed that I had gone past him several times, and offered to lead me to wherever the heck I was going.

 

[Mrs. Y]

1. My DD AND DIL were late for a wedding. They were lost in some town out of state and so were caught speeding. The cop didn't give them a ticket. He gave the a police escort to the church they were looking for!

 

2. I was once stopped by a cop in my big 15 passenger van. As he walked up to the window he drawled, "Are you a bank robber?" (My brake light was out, I guess, and he was telling me about it. I begged him to let me drive the 3 miles home and he relented and let me.)

 

3. We were once stopped by a Barney Fife type. The whole family was in the big old van. He put on lights and sirens on a country road close to home. Dh was driving very slowly with the 4 ways on looking for a suitable place to pull off. When B.F. came up toward the van he had his hand on his holster and was approaching very cautiously. When he got to the window he was a nervous wreck, poor guy. He told dh he almost called in pursuit because he viewed us as a police chase. I was shushing my teens in the back because they were laughing so hard about the ridculousness of trying to out run a cop at 20mph in a 15 passenger van.

 

4. A young friend of ours was once ticketed for driving too slow.

 

My hat is off to honest, hardworking, brave law enforcement. Their job is no picnic!

[mom@shiloh]

I wish they would ticket more often for that. Not frivolous imnsho.

Me too.  I never understand why people think it's ok to throw cigarette butts everywhere.  

[shawthorne44]

I'd have been insulted. "No, officer, those are not Coors cans, I would never let that swill pass my lips. I like something with some body and actual flavor, preferably draft but at least in a bottle."

 

That is funny because I am a bit of a beer snob.  I think of Coors as bottled urine.  I only know two jokes and one is about beer.  

 

There is a North American Brewer Convention, and a Coors, Bud, Miller and Shiner person go to a pub for lunch.  The Coors, Bud, Miller guys order one of their beers while spouting off their companies slogan.  The shiner guy orders a coke.  The others ask why.  He answers, "It didn't seem right since no one else is drinking beer"   

Yes, I'm in Texas.  Shiner isn't fabulous but for college keg parties it is amazing, so the fond memories help.  

[TranquilMind]

That is a GOOD reason to get a ticket.  Aside from the fact it is littering, it could be very dangerous, too.  A few weeks ago my husband and kids passed a couple fire engines fighting a fire in a median.  It was caused by someone "just" tossing out a cigarette butt.  Since it was in the median, it wouldn't have spread, but I remember a time when I was a kid and we were on the way to my grandparents' house.  My parents had to stop at a convenience store and call 911 because someone had thrown a cigarette butt out their window and it had started a fire on the side of the road.  That time it wasn't in the median and when we passed the fire it was almost to the trees next to the road.  If it's dry out, cigarette butts can and do cause fires.

 

 

Wait.  Isn't that what you are *supposed* to do???

Apparently, not in this city.  I should have never entered the intersection at all unless my arrow had just turned green and I was first, apparently.

 

I asked a big city cop where I live if I did the wrong thing and he just laughed out loud.  The big city cops have real crime to deal with, so they don't bother people for ridiculous stuff like this.

[OnTheBrink]

What if...his stopping you prevented you from a terrible accident? As in, that few minutes of delay kept you from being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Weirder things have happened. I dunno; I'm just trying to put a positive spin on an annoying stop. I'd have been irritated, too. 

 

Tuesday morning at 4:45 am, an officer banged on my front door, rousing me out of sleep to tell me he'd caught someone breaking into my daughter's car. He got the guy before he could get anything, but the punk did have dd's back pack, duffle bag and wallet out on the ground. I looked over the stuff, determined nothing was actually missing and thanked the officer. Then he kept chatting. And chatting. And chatting. It's 30 degrees, I'm in my jams and a coat and he's chatting. Nice guy, but please let me go back to bed! I've never had an officer what to stick around and yap! Especially in the wee hours when it's cold, and I have morning breath! LOL

[MyThreeSons]

I got a ticket for hitting a roadside mailbox.  Why this was stupid is that I had gone back and apologized and offered to pay the guy to replace his mailbox.  There was no need to call the cops.  But the owner felt he "had to do the right thing."  Then the cop felt he "had" to give me a ticket so my insurance would pay. 

 

One time, my dh was driving to a friend's house on a back road, and started to drive past the driveway. He stopped quickly, threw it into reverse, and backed into a gal who was behind him. There was minimal damage to both vehicles, so they exchanged information and went on their ways. Within an hour, we got a call from a police officer, telling dh to return to the scene. The young driver had gone home and told her folks what happened. They insisted on calling the police to deal with it. The officer was not too happy about having to go out to the boonies to deal with it. He gave dh a ticket for improper backing, but gave the gal an even more severe ticket (cost and points) for something like unsafe driving / following too closely. 

[Hypatia.]

I was pulled over and ticketed for disorderly conduct for something that is now (and probably then) covered under freedom of speech. The judge threw it out.

 

Hey, I was 16, and the car was unmarked and had passed in what I considered to be an unsafe manner, I considered it non-verbal communication.   :leaving:

[Liz CA]

I was pulled over and ticketed for disorderly conduct for something that is now (and probably then) covered under freedom of speech. The judge threw it out.

 

Hey, I was 16, and the car was unmarked and had passed in what I considered to be an unsafe manner, I considered it non-verbal communication.   :leaving:

 

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

And he was probably speeding too...

[plansrme]

I was pulled over once for blowing my horn at a car that had done something extremely unsafe. I don't remember what, exactly, but I nearly t-boned him (he must have turned left in front of me). Anyway, I blew my horn a normal amount, and I was pulled over and threatened with a ticket for disturbing the peace. Dude was turning into a Home Depot--it was hardly a quiet little street. I was livid. I am out here trying to make our streets safer by reminding a careless driver that he nearly got himself killed, and I get pulled over.

[luuknam]

Yes, this! 

 

And, on the flip side, am I the only one who is seeing what seems like a greatly increased number of drivers who are neglecting to turn on their lights at all? My loose working theory is that, since many cars have automatic daytime running lights, drivers may not notice when it gradually gets dark. However, those low-level headlights don't do a thing to help other drivers see a car from behind. And if the vehicle happens to be a dark color, it's extremely disconcerting for other drivers to try and keep track of it without the tail lights. 

 

I can't stand the bluish headlights. They're mesmerizing... I have a tendency to stare at them.

 

Anyway, I thought pretty much all newer cars have a feature where you can just leave your lights (front and rear) on at all times, and when you get out of the car they all turn off automatically? Our 2009 super-cheap Kia Rio does. I only need to remember to turn the lights on after getting an oil change, when the guys have turned the lights off and didn't turn them back on before handing the car back.

 

When I was a truck driver for a large company it was company policy to always drive with headlights on (and those trucks did not have the automatic-on feature) for safety. Most (all?) motorcycles always have their headlights on (as in, you can't turn them off) for safety. It's kind of crazy that cars don't always have their headlights on. From experience, my "oh shit there's a car there" moments have involved cars that didn't have their headlights on during daytime. Obviously, I *should've* seen them sooner, but you really are more visible with your headlights on. Especially to people who are driving while tired, or on streets that always have a lot of parked cars and very rarely have moving cars (causing the assumption that any car without headlights is a parked car), etc. Never hit anything though, but anyway, I don't get why people *don't* have their headlights on at all times. It's not like it wears out your headlights that much faster.

 

Never had a ticket, btw. I did get a warning once for going 53 in a 40 (in my defense, the speed limit was 55 not that much further down the road - I don't do 53 in 40s all over the place).

[trulycrabby]

Yes, that driving while pretty will get you pulled over a lot.

[kiwik]

I had to take a day off work to go to court because a cop gave me a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt.  I was wearing it the whole time but he insisted I put it on after I saw him,  To be honest I didn't see him until he turned his lights on and was very surprised that he pulled in behind me rather than passing me when I pulled over,  It turned out fine but I could have done without the stress.  

[arliemaria]

I got pulled over for the first time in my life a few months ago.  I was taking my 6 year old to speech therapy.  My new baby was in the car with us and my 3 yo at her grandma's house.  I was so nervous.  My plate had expired the month before and I hadn't noticed... the month we just brought home our new baby so I'm sure it was just our negligence and forgotten.  Thankfully my husband is the muni prosecutor and I told the officer who he was and he laughed.  That would have been a funny night in court to appear before my husband.  

 

My father-in-law was the executive director for the WV ACLU for some time and helped with the DWB stuff a lot.  That is a very sad situation.