Police Had Pulled Over a Driver

[Audax67]

The peelers here have the sneaky radar binocs out quite often. I saw a car stopped last Saturday with a gendarme leaning in the window. Oh what fun.

[thirdcrank]

... - and this being France, I guess it wasn't of the "'ello 'ello 'ello!" variety! ...

More likely, "Good moaning. Wire's the fear?"

[honesty]

I have been in a car 3 times that has been pulled over. All times have been in a foreign country.

Twice in Italy. One I was small enough to not remember why, but the other time we got stopped by the Carabinieri. One of them was lounging against their Alfa smoking, and looking impeccable in his shades and uniform, the other was gesturing at us with a sub-machine gun. Unsurprisingly dad stopped rather sharpish. It turned out that they wanted to chat to us because we were English and were rather disappointed when dad answered them in Italian.

The other time was on the motorway in France with me, 2 other lads, and about 70 bottles of wine from Italy. We got stopped because we were 3 young men in a very loaded car. One of the policemen took a very detailed interest in an open jar of viscous fluid on the back seat. We got waved over rather quickly when the other copper cottoned on that it was honey and started taking the pee.

[nez]

I think you'll find gendarmes almost invariably respectful. When They answer the phone they say blah di blah 'a votre service' as a salutation. Now crs, that's another matter.

[Manc33]

When I was 17 with my mates in the car I got pulled every night. Every single time I had to take my documents to the police station the next day, or whenever I could get there. No explanation, no reason, no paying my petrol costs or compensating me for the time it took to drive to the station, nothing. I think there should be some sort of counter claim form for this so you can claim back some money for the inconvenience. What it all hinges on is that there wasn't a lawful reason to stop someone and demand that they produce their documents and that person should be compensated.

I almost got fired one morning because of it. What would I be able to do if me being held up getting pulled over (without a reason, as it was every time) had caused me to get fired? Absolutely nothing and that is my point. Cops need to be held accountable for their actions, cops of all people, especially when they are barking up the wrong tree. When they pull you they say stuff like "You seem nervous" lol. Nice mind trick you've got there, what else have you got up your sleeve, come on, impress me. I should have said "I am pretending to be nervous".

What I was nervous about, was being held up for work and potentially losing my job because some asshat thought it right to pull me over without any reason. They even ask stuff like "Where are you going at this time" lol. Well here's a clue - I was driving there quite happily and was going to get there on time until you came along, HURRY UP.

[beardy]

Every single time I had to take my documents to the police station the next day, or whenever I could get there.

You would think that sooner or later you would decide it was easier to carry your documents in the car, to avoid all this hassle.

[661-Pete]

I now have this recollection, back when I was a kid (early 1960s I think it was) of us being pulled over by the cops whilst on a camping holiday in Italy. They had staked out a position just past a bend, with a solid white centre line, pulled us over, and accused my father of having crossed the line. Now, it's quite normal to let a couple of wheels stray over the line on a left-hand bend (in drive-on-the-right countries that is), so as to take the curve more smoothly. But the policeman kept on shouting "tutta la macchina" implying that the whole car was over the line. My father vehemently denied this (in his broken Italian) and challenged them to prove it. They were demanding an on-the-spot fine of something like 6,000 lire (about £3 back then - but that would be £60-£70 in today's money). My father stood his ground (he was quite an argumentative sort of bloke) and at length they backed off and let him go. Afterwards my father, recalling the incident, used to say he was sure they were running a scam*, picking on cars with foreign number plates and pocketing the fines.

I think I'd have caved in and paid the money, if it was me....

*I don't think my father would have used the word "scam" though - did it exist back in the 1960s?

[Ben@Forest]

They were demanding an on-the-spot fine of something like 6,000 lire (about £3 back then - but that would be £60-£70 in today's money). My father stood his ground (he was quite an argumentative sort of bloke) and at length they backed off and let him go. Afterwards my father, recalling the incident, used to say he was sure they were running a scam*, picking on cars with foreign number plates and pocketing the fines.

A friend told me a story many years ago of her father driving in the backwoods of the deep south of the USA. He got pulled over for no apparent reason but the intent was clear - pay this fine for the alleged transgression or you'll be in a cell overnight. He paid up. He wasn't a foreigner, but evidently well-off compared to most of the locals and a long way from home so felt it was the easiest way out.

[eileithyia]

I've been pulled over a few times;
1. 'Out of town' registration in one of Coventry's less selubrious areas... copper was quite rude, should have complained but never got round to it.
2. early morning in Oxford; had bikes in car and check to see we were not stealing them... fair enough (was going to National 100)
3. Tea time near the Velodrome in Manchester, again a check to see we were not stealing them
4. Quite late one night (ok probably early morning) driving down a back street in Kirby Stephens, Why was I parking there.... It was the advised place to park for the YHA and despite not having had a drink they insisted on breathylsing me... quite shocked me..... but at least it proved i was telling the truth.... warden later said they would never have pulled a local driver.
5. Twice recently there have been van checks locally; what are we carrying, Diesel check, etc., with customs, police, and other agencies all involved.

[661-Pete]

1. 'Out of town' registration in one of Coventry's less selubrious areas...

I'm a bit puzzled by that. In the UK car registrations stay with the car, whatever part of the country it's been moved to (this is not the case in many other countries, where if you move into a different area you have to get the number plates changed). And the big car dealers ship used cars all over the country. My present car has a number plate beginning with 'N' which is the code for north-east England, even though I live in Sussex and bought it locally.

[Manc33]

Every single time I had to take my documents to the police station the next day, or whenever I could get there.

You would think that sooner or later you would decide it was easier to carry your documents in the car, to avoid all this hassle.

No because if the car was stolen it can be passed off as not stolen and no because I was not the one initiating the "hassle".

[beardy]

You could have just carried your documents in the car as opposed to leaving them in the car.

The law gives you a choice, present them at the time or make a trip to the Police station. It is your choice which you choose to do.
Not having the documents enables the hassler to create greater hassle, carrying them is a way to deprive them of that pleasure.

[thirdcrank]

I've no recent experience of the production of driving documents but I fancy that putting everything on line reduces the need to produce anything at a police station.

The only common exceptions I can think of are when a fixed penalty notice is issued for an offence which attracts an endorsement and the licence has to be surrendered or when the user's third part insurance cover is unclear: eg when somebody is using somebody else's otherwise uninsured vehicle on their own policy which covers them to use any vehicle etc.

[Flinders]

Every single time I had to take my documents to the police station the next day, or whenever I could get there.

You would think that sooner or later you would decide it was easier to carry your documents in the car, to avoid all this hassle.

And then your car gets nicked, complete with all its documents...............

[Manc33]

Every single time I had to take my documents to the police station the next day, or whenever I could get there.

You would think that sooner or later you would decide it was easier to carry your documents in the car, to avoid all this hassle.

And then your car gets nicked, complete with all its documents...............

Already been answered - you're expected to carry them on you at all times, which is just as inconvenient as taking them to the Police station every now and then. Plus all these (arguably valuable) documents would get tatty in no time if they were kept in a wallet constantly being folded and unfolded.

If you just passed your test, have short hair and a few mates in the car and drive around any city or large town - expect to get pulled at least every other night, if not every night.

Papers please.

The point is if there's no probable cause and no crime taking place, anyone being pulled over by the police in cases without reason, the driver should be able to claim some sort of compensation back for that at a later date. The fact that the police are making a mistake is being ignored. Isn't it "wasting civilians time"? One answer to it would be for the police to arrange a time that is convenient for you so they can be shown the documents on your doorstep. You didn't request for them to ask you to show them your documents - they want to see the documents themselves. It shouldn't be down to someone to "get to the police station" in these cases.