Is this right to you guys

[rslinger]

So the other night at 1 a.m. i am driving down a country road and I miss my turn. I pull into a drive way and turn around. using my blinker and all. i get turned around and i notice a car half mile or so behind me coming over the hill. i drive about 200 feet and take a left and i look in my mirror and the car has caught up to me. drive about another 100 feet and the cop turns on his lights. i pull over he walks up to the car and ask me if i am lost and need directions. said he stopped me to see if i needed help. then proceeds to write me a ticket for driving without a **************. Now i know i should not have been driving without one and that is my fault. But really is that what it has come to. I was not drinking, swerving, or speeding just driving minding my own business. Do you guys think i8t is right for a cop to just pull someone over because they turned around and might be lost?

 

[darthtang aw]

You were out right breaking the law, and you want to argue semantics?
No wonder society is the way it is..........

 

[rslinger]

I am not saying that i didn't not diserve the ticket not all at. i am not say i should get out the ticket. Just is that really a just reason to pull someone over.

 

[darthtang aw]

You turned around on a dirt road in the middle of the night. No matter how lame you think the reason is, the law gives officers a lot of room for reasons to pull people over. Had you not been driving illegally you would have probably thanked the officer for his concern and been on your merry way. But since you were violating the law you decide to question the pull over.

 

[beth]

All I can say is that I hope that cop is patrolling my neighborhood. Cops can stop you, and if you don't have what the law requires, then its your bad.

 

[meowzer]

Originally Posted by Beth
http:///forum/post/3248765
All I can say is that I hope that cop is patrolling my neighborhood. Cops can stop you, and if you don't have what the law requires, then its your bad.
LOL...I have to agree. One JOB of a police officer is to question anything that does not look right....a strange vehicle pulling into and then out of someones driveway in the middle of the night is not considered a normal occurence.

 

[rslinger]

The point is not the ticket at all right i should not have been driving i don't disagree. But even if i had not got a ticket i would still be pissed is this a police state. Is there a curfew? Is it against the law to turn around? He was just hoping i was drunk. That's not cool in my mind because i did not swerve or anything to make have a reason to pull me over. to think i was drunk so he made up his own. And no he did not even ask me if i had been drinking he knew the second he saw me i was sober as can be. If he had said i had crossed the center line or something maybe then he would have a reason but to just pull me over to ask me if i am lost is crazy in my mind

 

[aquaknight]

Correct, by definition of the law an officer can not stop you for merely because they feel like it. There has to be some form of probably cause, swerving, broken taillight, speeding, etc, or in your case "probable suspicion." But like Darth mentions, there are soo many things possible.
He probably could find a reason to pull you over during your U-turn. You didn't do an exactly 3-point turn, or even if he when if was following you, you could have been just the slightiest bit off to one side of the lane, and so on.

 

[rslinger]

Correct, by definition of the law an officer can not stop you for merely because they feel like it. There has to be some form of probably cause, swerving, broken taillight, speeding, etc, or in your case "probable suspicion." But like Darth mentions, there are soo many things possible.
He probably could find a reason to pull you over during your U-turn. You didn't do an exactly 3-point turn, or even if he when if was following you, you could have been just the slightiest bit off to one side of the lane, and so on.
Agree, but he stated none of those as the reason for pulling me over. Just wanted to know if i was lost. just seems to cross the line to me. i really don't care about the ticket I was on my way to get a friend who was to drunk to drive and would not have even been driving other wise have not been driving for months. but anyway thank you for your reply's. keep them coming i find it interesting to see how other people view there rights.

 

[rslinger]

Correct, by definition of the law an officer can not stop you for merely because they feel like it. There has to be some form of probably cause, swerving, broken taillight, speeding, etc, or in your case "probable suspicion." But like Darth mentions, there are soo many things possible.
He probably could find a reason to pull you over during your U-turn. You didn't do an exactly 3-point turn, or even if he when if was following you, you could have been just the slightiest bit off to one side of the lane, and so on.
Agree, but he stated none of those as the reason for pulling me over. Just wanted to know if i was lost. just seems to cross the line to me. i really don't care about the ticket I was on my way to get a friend who was to drunk to drive and would not have even been driving other wise have not been driving for months. but anyway thank you for your reply's. keep them coming i find it interesting to see how other people view there rights.

 

[meowzer]

Originally Posted by Rslinger
http:///forum/post/3248839
Agree, but he stated none of those as the reason for pulling me over. Just wanted to know if i was lost.
IMO, he saw something "out of place" which is a good reason for an officer to stop someone or question them....

 

[reefraff]

A cop can pull you over for anything but being a certain race. Think about it, you whip in and back out of a driveway on a dark night. Falls under suspicious behavior and I'd rather see the cop pull you over to have a look see than heading to the nearest Krispy Kreme.

 

[scotts]

Let me give you a couple of examples. A lady at work was upset because her son was stopped at a red light and a cop was behind him, the cop ran his plates and he had a warrant out for his arrest. She was upset because what right did the cop have for running his plates.

I did not point out that what the cop did caught someone who had a warrant out for him.
My sister was upset because she got a ticket for speeding on New Year's eve. She was P.O'd because in her words the cop should have been out getting drink drivers. She really got upsed when My mom pointed out that the cop caught a speeder.
Yesterday I was geocaching off a highway. A highway patrol pulled up behind us, I motioned that we were OK, but he still wanted to know what we were doing. I appreciate that, the cop was seeing if we needed help. Sounds like the cop was looking out for the people that live in that area. A car driving a little suspiciously at 1 in the morning.

 

[aquaknight]

Originally Posted by Rslinger
http:///forum/post/3248839
Agree, but he stated none of those as the reason for pulling me over. Just wanted to know if i was lost. just seems to cross the line to me. i really don't care about the ticket I was on my way to get a friend who was to drunk to drive and would not have even been driving other wise have not been driving for months. but anyway thank you for your reply's. keep them coming i find it interesting to see how other people view there rights.
He doesn't have to give you one, if you don't ask. Of course in that process you could offend the cop and he'll write you up and down for whatever he wants. The cop says you crossed the yellow line, you say you didn't. Who's the judge that sees the cop once a month going to believe? The perpetrator/victim/whatever you want to call yourself is at a constant disadvantage.
I have more then my fair share of tickets. When dealing with the cop, it's best just to go with his flow. You don't have a license, as in you never got one, your's expired, was suspended/revoked? Guessing it's not the latter as the cop let you drive off. In most states if you read the ticket, if the cop didn't explain it to you, all you have to do is show a valid license to the courthouse within 30 days and it's like a $49 processing fee.

 

[yearofthenick]

I think good police officers have good intuition. If they have a hunch something is going on, it usually is. I call it the "mom" hunch. You know your mom is going to find out what you did wrong, and somehow she knows all about it the second you walk in the door.
Anyway, I know my wife has been pulled over in the past without a license or insurance and got off with just a warning, but if you've seen my wife, you'd know why... she's very pretty.
I think it's a case-by-case thing for many cops though... some are chill and others are real tight-asses looking for anything to make their quota.
At the end of the day, you gave him a reason and he took it. End of story. Go to court, pay the $10 fix-it, and keep your license in your pocket from now on.

 

[ibanez]

Criminals don't care about your rights. If there was a car pulling out of your driveway at 1 in the morning after having robbed you, and a cop drove by, you would probably be upset that he didn't pull over the suspicious car. I have no problem having "my rights" infringed upon by people whose purpose is to protect me and my family. I would rather have a cop pull me over unnecessarily than someone break into my car or my home. I also think the time of day has something to do with it. If this happened at 8 at night, then I doubt you would have been pulled over. I would guess as a percentage, more than 50 percent of people out at that time of night have been up to no good, or have been drinking.

 

[pezenfuego]

I wouldn't consider that arguing semantics...but whatever.
The question isn't whether he should have gotten a ticket or not, the question pertains to whether or not he should have been pulled over and asked for his ID.

 

[reefraff]

Cop has the right to demand to see your license any time your car is on a public road. Now if the guy had searched the car or something I could see being upset. That cop might have been parked up the road and saw him turn around. He might have figured he saw the patrol car and was trying to avoid him for some reason. I'd say that falls under suspicious behavior.

 

[socal57che]

Busted.
Cop was 100% in the right.
End of story.

 

[bulldog123]

If your not a criminal than you dont have a problem with this.