Posted on 02/14/2019 3:21:46 AM PST by servo1969
||While driving through Arkansas I had a run-in with law enforcement . . . which showcased professionalism and the benefits of mutual respect.||
I've been driving cross-country across the southern U.S. and it's been a lovely trip. For the past many years, barring one summer trip to Civil War battlefields, my trips have been to Europe and Southeast Asia. They've been great trips and I've seen wonderful things. I don't regret those travels at all.
Nevertheless, I really enjoy traveling in my own country. I like how vast America is. I like how friendly Americans are. I like American architecture, from the cheesiness of the roadside attractions to the charm of classic American houses, schools, and churches. I like the comfort of an American fast food place where I can get a cheap, reliable meal and a clean bathroom. I like that, with the chain motels, I can always find a clean room, in towns big and small. (Currently, Best Western is my favorite, just as it was when I was a child in the 1960s and early 1970s as a child traveling with my family.)
But this post is about entering Arkansas, for no other reason than that I want to tell the story. Within twenty miles of entering the state, I saw flashing lights in my rear view mirror, and it was clear that the Arkansas highway patrol officer wanted me to pull over. I did so responsibly and carefully and kept my hands on the steering wheel because I've been taught well.
I was baffled, though, as to why he stopped me. I'd been signaling nicely when I changed lanes, wasn't weaving, and had my cruise control set to 72 in a 70-mile zone. In California, speeding is ten miles over the freeway limit. Moreover, I was in the slow lane, so I wasn't the fastest car on the road.
So, as I said, I pulled over, lowered the window, and kept my hands visible as a (to me) young officer walked over to the car and politely introduced himself. Then,
"I tracked your speed for over a mile, Ma'am, and you were going 74 miles the whole time in a 70 miles per hour zone."
At this point, my California brain says, "Wow, they really do pull out-of-state cars over for things like that." My mouth, however, was both sensible and polite.
"Oh, dear! I had my cruise control set to 72." I didn't say more than that because clearly even my cruise control beat that 70-mile rule, but at least I made it clear that I wasn't trying hard to speed.
"The speed limit here is 70 MPH, Ma'am."
"Oh." (What more could I say?)
"May I see your license, registration, and insurance, please."
"Of course."
He takes the documents and walks away to check his database.
He comes back and asks why I'm driving through Arkansas and where I'm going. I answer with brevity and specificity.
He looks at me, hands me my papers, and says, "Just remember that the speed limit here is 70 MPH on the freeway."
I say thank you, and the interaction ends.
The officer was never anything but polite and professional and, as far as I was concerned, the whole interaction ended well. Also, unless Arkansas really is OCD about speed limits (and you can bet that I'll assume that it is for the rest of my travels through this state), I wonder whether he saw my California plate and thought I might have been a drug runner - which, once you see me, I quite obviously am not.
It was a weird experience and left me a little shaken, because I prefer to obey laws and not have to interact with law enforcement. It was also a reminder that, if you treat people with respect, they tend to reciprocate that respect. He was polite to me, I was polite back to him, and all's well that ends well.
” I did so responsibly and carefully and kept my hands on the steering wheel because I’ve been taught well.”
The take away: Americans are scared to death of cops lest some innocent movement could make them “fear for their life”.
I remember driving through Arkansas with my parents in about 1971. There was a posted speed limit as we entered the state and under the numbers was the phrase “No excess allowed” or something like that. The state made it clear that the posted speed limit was the maximum and if you exceeded that maximum, you could be pulled over.
She should have identified herself as a sovereign citizen and said, “I don’t have to give you shit!” before rolling up the window and sitting there waiting to be tazed.
“and thought I might have been a drug runner - which, once you see me, I quite obviously am not. “?
I guess you have not seen , The Mule???
The idea that this is news speaks volumes.
I have had Police encounters in some of the harshest, most repressive countries in the "Free" world including Mexico, Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel. Many of these places give their police wide latitude and little oversight. To this day if I hear "Springen!" (German for "Jump) I'd answer "Wie hoch?" (How high?).
I am of the firm belief that no cop administered ass whopping, tazing, or shooting ever started with "Yes, sir" or "No, sir". The Street might be a good place for dick measuring with your Bros but if you do it with a Cop you get what you asked for. Play Stupid Games - Win Stupid Prizes. They have a job to do, it's a dirty, dangerous job and the vast majority of them are honest people doing good work. Chances are if they're being an asshole to you it's because you showed attitude for no reason. I got a cop fired in my hometown, I didn't do it on the street, I did it in the Chief's office. I would have lost on the street and I was smart enough to know it. Playing Billy Badass is stupid under the best of conditions, doing it with an armed LEO is Darwin territory.
Having lived in Arkansas for a few months last year I can tell you that very few drivers are going the speed limit. There is more to this story. It may have been the out of state tag or the officer was bored and decided to make the stop just to have something to do. As a thirty year retired LEO I use to give 15 mph before making a stop for speeding. Even with such a lenient standard I could write all the citations I wanted. I never ran out of violators or excuses from the operators for their speeding.
That trooper would be run ragged and worn down to a frazzle if he moved just one state west to work the Turner Turnpike/I-44 between Tulsa and OKC. Staying to the 75 mph speed limit in the right lane could get you run over and left for road pizza.
He was caught doing 59 in a 55 zone on I-75 by an Ohio State Police aircraft that patrolled the interstate from the air.........LOL!
Nope.
Cops have GOOD reason to suspect ANYONE they pull over since so many have been killed and wounded doing this.
Heck; even an elderly, white gentleman like myself KNOWS that anyway I can lessen the tension a policeman has, doing his job, will be a plus for both of us.
Did the driver BEFORE me piss him off?
I hope not!
Bingo!
When I get pulled over I roll down my window and hold my hands out so they can see them clearly. If it’s dark I first turn on my interior cabin lights. They walk up feeling 100% at ease. I have never been written a ticket.
This story is BS. Nobody in Arkansas says ‘freeway’, they say ‘highway’.
not anyway, but any way
I recently got pulled over in my mid-size metropolitan city. To put it bluntly, I got a 45 second butt chewing. I’m 59 years old; I don’t usually put with that. I did this time for two reasons; I deserved it and it was better than a $200 speeding ticket. The guy never asked for my driver’s license or anything, just chewed my butt and let me go. The encounter went something like this:
Cop: Is there any reason you’re going 54 mph in a 35 zone?
Me: No.
Cop: Well, blah blah blah slow down.
Me: Okay.
That gave me a chuckle this morning. Thanks.
All the drugs in Arkansas travel first class air mail.
“It was a weird experience and left me a little shaken, because I prefer to obey laws and not have to interact with law enforcement.”
So, the cruise was control knowingly set above the speed limit and yet the person claims to obey the law?
Nope. You can’t make that claim while doing the other.
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