Have you pulled over because you saw a cop behind you (before he turned on the lights)?

[yurbud]

That is one part of Sandra Bland's story that even as a white guy, I identify with.

After getting a ticket or two when I couldn't afford them, if I saw a cop car right behind me, I would pull over and let him pass.

I think it was because one time when I was driving cross country, I noticed a cop behind me when I entered a small town, so I was careful to follow the speed limit, come to full stops at stops signs, and all of that from one end of town to the other. Just as I was about to hit the open road again, he hit the lights.

When he came up to my window, he asked if I had been drinking because I was driving so slow and weaving. The weaving was because I was constantly checking my rear view mirror to see if he was still back there. He let me off with a warning.

Once when a cop was behind me on a two lane street, I literally pulled over to the side and stopped to let him pass, and he came back to ask why I did that and said it made me look guilty of something.

Most of the time, I try to be more subtle now.

Needless to say, I was never arrested, jailed, or killed for doing this.

I'm wondering how many other people have or do this, and what the results were.

22 votes, 1 pass | Time left: Unlimited
	No, I don't notice if the cops are behind me until they hits the lights
	5 (23%)
	Yes, I do this and the cops never notice.
	9 (41%)
	Yes, I do this and the cops have pulled me over and asked me about it, but I didn't get a ticket or anything
	0 (0%)
	Yes, I've done this and cops have ticketed me for it.
	0 (0%)
	Yes, I've done this and cops figured out a reason to arrest me for it.
	0 (0%)
	I notice the cops, but figure nothing will stop them from targeting me
	3 (14%)
	OTHER
	5 (23%)
	1 DU member did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Facility Inspector]

1. No

there is no reason to pull over unless the officer activates his emergency lights/siren.

Pulling over will guarantee the law will fuck with you.

Maintain speed limit, obey all applicable traffic laws.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

2. Other... When I see a cop behind me (I'm white, btw), I do nothing except mind the traffic laws and

only pull over if he/she hits the lights.

Also, it burns me when there is a cop on the freeway going slower than the speed limit and all the traffic around him/her is also matching his/her speed. I try to find a way around and pass the cop and have never been stopped for doing so. Sometimes I'll look over as I'm passing and give the cop a furrowed brow for holding everyone up.

[kentuck]

21. Me too!

I will usually go about 3 mph above the speed limit and get around him....then give my turn signal and get in front of him. Then slow down about 2 mph below the speed limit.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

22. Damn, I thought I was brave, lol! I really do hate that shit though because I'm a lead foot and

going the posted speed limit is torture for me as it is.

[ecstatic]

31. Wow that's bold! I've passed a cop maybe once or twice but

never on the freeway and only when I felt that matching their slow speed would be too awkward and/or lead to unwanted attention.

As far as passing cops on the interstate, I definitely can't imagine getting in the far left lane to speed past a cop and then switching back over in front of the cop as the law (at least in GA) now dictates? Way too much can go wrong in that scenario. Maybe if there were at least 2 lanes to the left of the cop, but not if there was just one. My strategy, which has worked so far (knock on wood), is to avoid being noticed, a process that starts at the car dealership. Silver cars go unnoticed for the most part but style and brand matter too. Stay away from the type of car a cop would like or envy.

[kentuck]

39. I have been pulled over a couple of times in Georgia...

Once, a motorcycle cop pulled me over because I had Florida tags on my car, which I had just bought. I still had a Kentucky driver's license and was driving in GA.

However, I had just moved to GA and had not yet got the tags changed. I thought I had 3 days to get it changed?

They took me down to the East Point jail, where I stayed for about 2 hours. The only time I was ever in jail. I swore to myself that I would take them all the way to the Supreme Court!

I had an appointment to see a judge about the incident but I somehow confused the dates and arrived at the courthouse a day late. Somebody told me that I "was a day late and a dollar short" and sent me over to see someone else and pay the fine. I paid $50 and never heard from them again. I felt like I was robbed of $50.

[Man from Pickens]

3. sort of

If there's a cop hanging out behind me I won't pull over to the side of the road for no reason, but often enough will pull into a gas station or store, or loop around on a side street, just to minimize the risk of being a victim to some quota-driven revenue collection activity.

[whatthehey]

5. This for me too.

[yurbud]

12. good way to do it.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

14. Same here. Luckily I've never needed "evasive action" on the highway, just around town.

[etherealtruth]

37. Yep! n/t

[Xyzse]

4. I was heading home from Baltimore, after hanging out with a friend.

It was around 1 AM. I just exited towards the Highway. All of a sudden, a car comes up close to me from behind. I was going pretty slow, right about the speed limit, but the car behind me was just tailing me really close.

I looked behind and saw an orange light dot, which made me think whatever is happening is being recorded.

So, what I did, was move to the left and slow down while there were other cars there.

Which meant that the cop car was just to my right side, where they just followed my speed, and sped up and slowed down as I did.

This lasted for a good 2-3 minutes before they just finally sped up and left me alone. I exited the next exit, feeling as if I got harassed.

[yurbud]

15. I've had variations of that too

[Xyzse]

24. I was so glad not to be pulled over.

I think, when they saw me wearing a suit and tie, that might have lessened their ardor in stopping me.

[yurbud]

26. are you black?

[Xyzse]

32. Nah, I'm asian but look hispanic.

[yurbud]

38. that could do it.

[bunnies]

6. If more than one lane, I change lanes to let the cop pass.

I only pull over to the side if the blues come on. But... If theres an opportunity to pull into a gas station or something I always do it. A cop behind you long enough will always find a reason to pull you over.

[johnp3907]

7. I do it if I can be inconspicuous.

Pull into a prking lot of a place where I could believably have legitimate business.

[Capt. Obvious]

8. I do

Unlike most of my fellow Massholes though I use my blinker.

[kentuck]

9. I got pulled over once for dodging potholes...

and he said I was weaving.

But nothing came of it.

[DawgHouse]

10. I also got pulled over for driving too slow because the officer thought

I might have been drinking. It was when I worked nights at the PO and I was coming home at about 5 in the morning. I was driving slow but there was NO traffic. He looked in my car with his flash light and asked if I was okay. I told him I had just left work and was tired. I was literally a block from my apartment and he just said "Ok, just wanted to make sure because sometimes when people drive too slow, it's because they've been drinking."


I didn't pull over until he hit his lights, I was so in the zone, I didn't even see him behind me until the blue flashers went on.

I would not pull over until a police officer turned on his lights unless it was clear that he was following me.

[Prism]

13. This happened to a friend

He worked an odd shift and was exhausted and driving home at 3AM. A cop pulled him over saying he was going under the limit and seemed to be erratic. My friend explained the situation, the cop checked him, and let him go. A half a mile later another cop pulled him over and wanted to do a field sobriety test. My friend told him he'd just been pulled over not five minutes before. Apparently 2nd cop got 1st cop on the radio and they let him go.

He's white, so his attitude was that he felt hassled. Can only imagine how a PoC would feel (or what the result would have been).

[yurbud]

17. I think that's part of the lesson here. If you're white, you MIGHT get stopped for doing it...

but you won't be arrested or killed.

[Prism]

19. I don't fear police

I've never had cause to. Which is an enormous privilege.

I also haven't been pulled over in 18 years (I'm 36). Which is also a function of privilege.

[Prism]

11. Depends if the cop is tailgating

Of course, as soon as I notice a cop behind me, I slow to the exact speed limit that no one ever actually does on that street (I'm a 2-5mph over the limit type). If the cop starts getting bumperistically intimate, I change lanes to let them pass. If it's a single lane road, well, we're all going to be here awhile.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

25. "bumperistically intimate" ... lol. I like the way you use words :) nt

[closeupready]

16. I pull to the side ALL the time, ANY time someone is tailgating me.

Cops or otherwise. I absolutely HATE that.

[Tipperary]

18. I have tried to find a shopping center, etc to pull into.

I hate cops behind me.

[sadoldgirl]

20. No, but I slow down a bit,

because I usually drive a little to fast.

[Iggo]

23. No.

They'll let you know if they want you to pull over.

[riderinthestorm]

27. It looked like Sandra Bland pulled into the right lane so the cop could pass her

On the left lane.

She failed to signal that lane change as far as I see it.

I do what she did. If I notice a police car coming up I immediately pull into the "slower" right hand lane for the police officer to pass me on the left. But I've never pulled ALL the way to the side of the road

[MineralMan]

28. No. No lights, no change in my driving.

They're just part of the traffic until they hit the lights.

[951-Riverside]

29. No but I will turn off on a side street or into a business if one is behind me

I did that the other day when a motor cop was behind me.

I don't feel like being tailed by a trained predator.

[randys1]

52. I am surprised you can do that and get away with it. I am surprised you, as a BLACK driver

can do anything and not get pulled over.


Now me, I am white, older and drive a new car.

I hardly notice cops, ever.



Having said that, I should now worry.

While I have little reason to distrust or dislike cops, I do both and I dont want to be hassled.

So, just kidding, cops reading this, I love you, I really do

[villager]

30. After too many shakedown experiences with the LAPD, I don't trust them when I'm in traffic with them

I've even had the same chickenshit "failure to signal a lane change" nonsense (which is really, "ephemeral language that lets us pull you over, just because&quot . Of course the difference was -- yeah, I'm a middle aged white guy -- I didn't end up dead as a result.

But basically, in this neighborhood I used to live in -- it was a "transitional" neighborhood between barrio areas, working class neighborhoods, and "nicer" suburban streets -- the message transmitted by roaming cops was "we're not here to help --we're here to shake a few hundred dollars loose from you."

So, if I find myself in traffic with a cop car, I'll usually make a turn somewhere and take a temporarily different route until they're riding abreast, or behind, someone else....

[jberryhill]

33. No, but I make sure I am compliant with all posted signs and lights

I figure making any alteration of my driving behavior while being followed may be interpreted as suspicious.

[Marr]

34. When I can do so inconspicuosly, I do.

If there's a parking lot to pull into or something like that, I'll pull into it and let them go by. If it's just a curb in the middle of nowhere, no-- that just looks suspicious. I remember pulling over in a spot like that when I was a teenager and the cop just circled the block like a shark for about 30 minutes, waiting for me to leave so he could pull me over. It was bizarre.

I'm in Los Angeles, for what it's worth.

[LittleBlue]

35. No

I'm not obligated to pull over. I do sometimes change lanes to get out of their way.

[FSogol]

36. Just follow Dr. Thompson's advice: "Few people understand the psychology of dealing with a HW Cop"

[BlueJazz]

40. I just drive like I usually do..

[Downwinder]

41. Had one tell me,

"You pulled over before I could clock you."

No ticket.

[benld74]

42. In college, driving to finals from my parents home,,,

I had a small town cop follow me, WITH LIGHTS, for 10 miles before I noticed him in the mirror. I had other car poolers with me thankfully. Got the ticket too, the jerk! Thereby making us ALL late for finals that day.

[Snobblevitch]

48. If you drove for ten miles

without noticing a squad car behind you with lights flashing, you deserved a ticket.

[Quayblue]

43. No

But I stay conscious of their presence. I learn the body styles and colors of all cop cars in any town I frequent (in Orange County, NY). If one is behind me, I glance in the rearview mirror to get some read on body language, then I don't look back.

The times I excessively watched them in the mirrors, I got pulled over.

I don't go out of my way to accommodate, and I definitely try not to pay them an ounce of attention. Learned the hard way after being pulled over in a dimly lit area when I was 19, and was told to pull up my dress or go to jail. I don't know how I got out of that one, but thank goodness I'm here today.

[olddots]

44. I have been profiled since 1964

Cops scare me ,I consider them armed amd dangerous plus very prejudiced toward everyone other than other police .

I think it shouldn't be this way but have almost given up hope .

[yurbud]

46. are you black?

[udbcrzy2]

45. Only have had two tickets

I was speeding both times and waited until the lights came on before pulling over. My friend's two sons get pulled over all the time and have numerous run-ins with LE, but they are young. One of her sons ran from the cops (just ran) and was caught, beaten (he went to ICU), then to jail and then charged with assault on a cop. He is white, but I never saw anything on the news about it.

[panader0]

47. I don't because the cops view that as suspicious.

I have turned off the road onto a side road to get them off my ass.
A while back I was behind a cop at a red light. His bumper sticker said: "Smile, I could be behind you."

[Blue_In_AK]

49. I usually wait until I see the lights.

I did have a cop scare me pretty good one night, though. I had been working very late and was driving home to Eagle River (suburb of Anchorage) about 2:00 a.m. on the dark highway. The cop pulled up behind me and started following me closely flashing his high beams. No way I could see it was a cop, of course, so I kept driving, speeding up a little, because he scared me. Finally after flashing me like that for several miles and really freaking me out, he put on the blue-and-reds and I pulled over. So he said I was driving fine, not doing anything wrong, he just wondered what I was doing out on the highway so late at night. As if it was any of his business. I wanted to say "You scared the fucking crap out of me, asshole," but I let it go, explained about my job and went on my way. I'm glad he didn't try to rape me or anything. If I hadn't been a white woman, I probably wouldn't have gotten off so easy.

[Yo_Mama]

50. Yes, of course. It's part of defensive driving.

Same thing for ambulances. In fact, I will generally move over if I see a cop driving behind me just moseying along because I don't want to be forced to make a sudden lane change later if the car does get a call. If I saw one speed up behind me I would certainly get out of the way!!!

And I will always get out of the way of an ambulance, even if it doesn't have the lights on.

Some things you just do.

I had a cop stop me for driving too slowly late one night. I was having an asthma attack and was going to the store for an OTC treatment. That was probably legit.

I've had a cop stop me for driving too slowly for no damned reason at all - I was probably driving a bit slowly because I had hurt my back and I was making NO sudden moves and was not going to let the car bounce around. Then he jerked me around six ways to Sunday. I finally told him off and he backed off, but not before he spent twenty minutes trying to find something on me.

I am white. Not totally, but I look white. I think some cops are just effed up in the head, and it almost always seems to be the young ones, like they're trained that way. To be jerks, and then to cover their jerkdom by trying to cause a problem. I bet the jerk cops pick on anyone who looks vulnerable. They probably joined the force for the wrong reason. They should be weeded out.

Dash cams are great things - an aid to good cops and a defense for the innocent victims of bad cops.

[Stellar]

51. Yes, I've pulled over just in case the cop was in a hurry to get somewhere important.

[Igel]

53. Don't notice cops are staying behind me.

If they even do.

Pulled over 3x in 39 years. 2 for speeding, one for expired inspection sticker. The speeding tickets were before I turned 22.

Wife's been pulled over ... Never in 22 years.

[madokie]

54. Shore 'nuf

Just recently actually. My ass is lilly white, well maybe pink but that shouldn't matter should it?

She was pulled over and ultimately, (I think the evidence will show that she was murdered,) murdered because she was a black woman from out of town. Can't be having that now can they
I"m more scared of cops than I am of anyone in this country right now.

[Agnosticsherbet]

55. I always check my speed limit, and become hyper vigilant, because I don't want a ticket.

But I am an older, white male, and have absolutely no concern other than the hit to my pocket book.

[yurbud]

59. as a white guy, that's the hit I'm worried about too. Tellingly, I never got ANY tickets until

I moved to the LA area, and I was driving a beat up, older car in wealthier communities like Malibu.

[Agnosticsherbet]

61. I have an old Datsun B210, I take to the beach.

I've never been stopped, though it is held together by duct tape and Bondo.

[Thor_MN]

56. I once pulled over when I was doing 40 in a 30 and saw the cop do a UTurn behind me.

Fairly empty section of road, it was a downhill in a creekbed. I was busted and nothing was going to change that. Nicest LEO I ever met.

[Polly Hennessey]

57. No.

Why would I? I'll pull over if I see the flashing lights. Otherwise, not interested if a cop is behind me. I "usually" obey the laws.

[sir pball]

58. Got pulled once for the"slow weave", never (randomly) since then

I was barely 17 the first time, the story was identical to yours. Now when I notice one, I keep checking the rearview every 30 seconds or so as I normally would, but first and foremost do not get target-fixated on the guy behind me. Just make real sure to dot my Is and cross my Ts - of course go the speed limit, signal every lane change, quick head check every time, brake slow and early, stay as near to perfectly in-lane as I can. I have been lit up a few times since then but it was always for something before he got behind me. YMMV.

[One_Life_To_Give]

60. Easier to drive 5 over the limit behind them

I usually notice a Cruiser at a considerable distance. I avoid doing things incorrectly infront of them even when fairly sure they don't care as it puts them in an awkward spot. Knowing in my area they frequently drive over the limit so as not to cause congestion. I find a way to get out from infront of them so they can go about their business. (And I can get back to my double the limit minus 5 )

[Rex]

62. Not at all, I move into the other lane if they have someone pulled over

or pull over if their lights are on.

[beforeiknewbetter]

63. Yes I have

I was driving to work on a road that is about 3 miles long .
It's a narrow road and the posted speed limit is 30 miles an hour the whole road.

I didn't he was a cop because I work 3rd shift driving in at midnight.

I saw the car from a distance in my rear view and saw the head lights closing in.

The car ended up right on my ass and I just wanted to let his pass at this point so I pulled over.
The car also slowed down and pulled up slowly driving by me. I saw it was a cop.

He then speed up again and took off

[B Calm]

64. No, I knew it was a cop behind me, but since I was doing nothing wrong & doing the posted speed

why in hell would I pull over!

[rollin74]

65. Other. I do notice if the cops are behind me...

but I don't pull over or "get out of their way" unless they turn on the lights

It draws attention to you and looks suspicious to police

you are far more likely to be stopped if you do that than if you just continue on your way

[Humanist_Activist]

66. Yes, then they usually swerve around me and go speeding on their way, without lights on...

apparently cop cars are exempt from traffic laws, even when lights and sirens aren't on.