getting pulled over.

[Apex3]

This is why I tape record them - their whole tune changes once they know they are on tape, but the trick is to get them to say something unprofessional before you let them know (usually not too hard). After they know that you've recorded the jackass thing they just said/did they'll usually let you go, lest that gem pop up in front of a judge.

Cops are not to be trusted - Jefferson knew it, Franklin knew it, Livingston knew it, Adams knew it.... What's wrong with us?

You know, I'm pretty sure you can't legally record it without telling them first, but I'm not 100% on that.

[skid542]

I've been pulled over four time since being in north Idaho. Three times to tell me my exhaust was illegal. They couldn't prove anything as the law reads "your exhaust cannot be louder than when it rolled off the show room floor". Nobody could prove anything and they all let me off with a 'warning', twice writting on my registration that I had recieved a warning for an illegal exhaust.

The other time was because I didn't have my headlights on when it was starting to become dusk, street lights weren't on yet. The cop didn't have his headlights on and I watch 5 other cars pass me while I sat on the side of the road drive by without headlights on.

I know my car is not subtle but they do and will pull you over to see what's going on. The last time they even asked for identification from my passenger. Make no mistake, cops can and often will make things difficult. That said, I know I have a flashy exhaust that is in all reality louder than stock and I have been let off with warning all times. A large part of that I contribute to the fact I don't fit the stereotype driver they expect to see behind the wheel of my car.

All of which though is more reason why I don't want a flashy FMIC sitting out in the open.

Not all cops are bad, and when I need one I hope they come, but the law is often not applied justly.

[fishbone79]

This is why I tape record them - their whole tune changes once they know they are on tape, but the trick is to get them to say something unprofessional before you let them know (usually not too hard). After they know that you've recorded the jackass thing they just said/did they'll usually let you go, lest that gem pop up in front of a judge.

Cops are not to be trusted - Jefferson knew it, Franklin knew it, Livingston knew it, Adams knew it.... What's wrong with us?

You know, I'm pretty sure you can't legally record it without telling them first, but I'm not 100% on that.

Technically you can video record anybody at anytime in public (otherwise speed, red-light and security cameras would be illegal - as would documentaries and news broadcasts), but to be on the safe side I have "fine print" on my driver's side rear window warning that "you are under video/audio surveillance." In many places simultaneously recording video and audio of a private conversation is illegal with out two-party consent, but most cop cars these days have A/V running constantly anyway - the problem is that those tapes "disappear" allot...

Your car has half the protections of your home visa-vis searches, etc. You are allowed to run video/audio surveillance of your property at all times and you don't have to tell anyone that you're doing it, technically.

EDIT: FYI, Here is the list of states requiring one vs. two party consent for audio recording: http://www.rcfp.org/taping/quick.html

This information is readily available on the net. Basically, there are 12 states requiring two-party consent, but many of those do not extend this protection to public servants (particularly police since their activities are distinctly in public venues with "no reasonable expectation of privacy").

[Mattheww044]

my thoughts on it are, if your not doing anything wrong, havent done anything wrong recently, and don't have anything illegal on you, why stress about a cop following you? Let him follow you and go about your business, if he does pull you over, he doesn't have shit on you.

I was pulled over in Sandpoint because some random lady who was driving by herself SAID that I cut her off and forced her in the opposite lane, none of this was true, no copes were around, I was stopped for it down the road, he talked about it for about 2 minutes, then proceeded to harass me and my passenger trying to find out if I had drugs in the car, he had me outside for an hour in sub freezing temperatures in a t-shirt, of course I wouldn't let him search and that's why he was mad, but if I did nothing wrong then he has no reason to search to begin with and shouldn't even be asking, especially not at 10AM. I've come to the conclusion that the whole reason he was harassing me so much about drugs was because I had a WSU sticker on my window.

After all of this he gave me a misdemeanor for 'Inattentive or careless driving', with a $300-1000 fine. I ended up having to drive back to Sandpoint 3 hours away just for the hearing, where they dropped it to a $75 ticket for some other crap because they knew it was BS, and scheduled a court date for the summer time when I'd be back in Seattle, I would have had to drive 7 hours to fight the stupid bullshit, but my parents pay my insurance and wouldn't let me go fight it, I wanted to out of principle though.

In another instance I was cited for my license plate lights being out, after the ticket I got out and looked, they were working perfectly fine. The reason he pulled me over? He was behind me and a coke spilled in my backseat, so I pulled into a parking lot and he thought I was trying to avoid him.

So YES I do have something to worry about whether I'm doing something wrong or not.

OK, well you just have EXTREMELY BAD luck then. I am speaking of my experiences. I've got pretty bad luck with most things, but apparently my luck with cops has made up for it. I can hardly believe the stories you said. I mean I believe you, but its nearly unbelievable if you get what im saying. I guess it really just depends on the cop, the situation, your history, area, etc or any combo of them.

[Mattheww044]

OK, well you just have EXTREMELY BAD luck then. I am speaking of my experiences( and I should have stated that). I've got pretty bad luck with most things, but apparently my luck with cops has made up for it. I can hardly believe the stories you said. I mean I believe you, but its nearly unbelievable if you get what im saying. I guess it really just depends on the cop, the situation, your history, area, etc or any combo of them.

I guess I should have said: If you haven't done anything wrong, you SHOULDN'T have anything to worry about haha