Evan!
Well-Known Member
Last night, I went to dog training class, then to a wine tasting at our offices. Had a few sips of wine, not enough to be near the limit. Got in the car and drove down 2nd street, which hits Market St. at a stoplight. This stoplight is "no turn on red" both ways---2nd street hits Market going one-way from both directions, so you have to turn left or right. like so:
127Market (2-way)
11111121|
11111121|
11111121|
2nd----> X <----- 2nd
11111121|
11111121|
11111121|
So I come up 2nd, and the light is red, but there's nobody coming for as far as the eye can see in all other 3 directions. Suddenly, the kids in front of me take a LEFT turn on red, obviously illegal at any intersection. I say **** it and take a RIGHT on red---legal in VA, but stupidly illegal at that intersection for no reason.
A couple minutes later, the blue lights are flashing in my rear view. Of course the first thing that goes through my mind is, will this guy smell the small amount of wine I had on my breath, subject me to a bullsh*t breathalyzer that is wrong 50%+ of the time, and send me on to prison? Second thing that goes through my mind is, how in the hell did this guy get me for taking a SAFE right on red, but miss the *****es who took an always-illegal LEFT on red 2 seconds before me? Up to this point, I'd been pulled over maybe 4 times in my life, and each time, the cops were real dicks. So I had no reason to be optimistic. Then again, I'd never been pulled by a C'ville city cop before either.
Much to my surprise, the guy was very nice. He mentioned that there was no turn on red, I did my best to look surprised and dumbfounded, but was calm and half-smiling at the same time. He said, yeah, the sign is kind of hard to see, but that I should know next time...and that he wasn't gonna give me a ticket, but he'd run my license. After he ran it, he told me to have a nice night and sent me on my way.
Whew.
So there you have it. My one and only experience with a cool officer @ a traffic stop. Cheers to that guy. He could have been a dick, but he wasn't, so:
127Market (2-way)
11111121|
11111121|
11111121|
2nd----> X <----- 2nd
11111121|
11111121|
11111121|
So I come up 2nd, and the light is red, but there's nobody coming for as far as the eye can see in all other 3 directions. Suddenly, the kids in front of me take a LEFT turn on red, obviously illegal at any intersection. I say **** it and take a RIGHT on red---legal in VA, but stupidly illegal at that intersection for no reason.
A couple minutes later, the blue lights are flashing in my rear view. Of course the first thing that goes through my mind is, will this guy smell the small amount of wine I had on my breath, subject me to a bullsh*t breathalyzer that is wrong 50%+ of the time, and send me on to prison? Second thing that goes through my mind is, how in the hell did this guy get me for taking a SAFE right on red, but miss the *****es who took an always-illegal LEFT on red 2 seconds before me? Up to this point, I'd been pulled over maybe 4 times in my life, and each time, the cops were real dicks. So I had no reason to be optimistic. Then again, I'd never been pulled by a C'ville city cop before either.
Much to my surprise, the guy was very nice. He mentioned that there was no turn on red, I did my best to look surprised and dumbfounded, but was calm and half-smiling at the same time. He said, yeah, the sign is kind of hard to see, but that I should know next time...and that he wasn't gonna give me a ticket, but he'd run my license. After he ran it, he told me to have a nice night and sent me on my way.
Whew.
So there you have it. My one and only experience with a cool officer @ a traffic stop. Cheers to that guy. He could have been a dick, but he wasn't, so: