The Truth about Traffic Stops and Avoiding Injury or Death

Yesterday I wrote an entry entitled “Police Officers Using Citizens as Human Shields Out of Stupidity”. If you haven’t yet read that post it is about how officers are trained to put their safety above the well being of those they are stopping for traffic violations. The title may have come across a bit outrageous, but that was my intention. This is an issue that is completely overlooked by the general public, and when spoken about by LEO almost never is citizen’s safety taken into consideration. It is always about officers putting themselves in harms way to “protect the public”, not the reality of the situation, which is officers are putting citizens at risk over simple traffic violations.

No, officers are not actually using citizens as human shields along side our roadways but sometimes it sure feels like it. I personally have received one ticket in the last 14 or 15 years. I was doing sixty some MPH in a 45 zone. I was in a brand new SUV that I had picked up a few hours before hand, and, to be quite honest, I didn’t even realize how fast I was going. But that doesn’t really matter as I was breaking the law and deserved my ticket.

About 15 minutes prior to this ticket I had left the scene of an accident where I assisted a couple of college kids that had spun out their Mustang and ended up embedded into the side of the mountain on a rain soaked road. I knew the road conditions were less than ideal, but in my normal driving style I drove at my comfort level, not according to the posted traffic signs.

This particular spot was a speed trap. One of those areas that goes from 55 to 45 and back up to 55 with no apparent reason, and, of course, the officer was lying in wait in the 45 zone. Regardless, even if the posted speed hadn’t changed, I was speeding.

I am not what law enforcement would consider a good driver, at least from my attitude. However, my driving record doesn’t reflect that assessment. Let me explain: you see I do not obey traffic laws, but I have had a spotless record for about 15 years. I obey Rob’s law of common sense. This has not always been the case because when I was younger I had numerous violations that lead to the suspension of my driving license and ultimately to my license being revoked entirely. I chalk that up to youthful ignorance.

I do not obey speed limits, but I always obey stop signs and traffic lights. I never, ever drink and drive. I keep cell phone use to an absolute minimum, almost always use a headset and don’t use it at all in high traffic situations. I slow down in construction zones. If I see a vehicle pulled over along side the road in front of me I will move to the outside lane if it is safe to do so and if not, I will slow down. I do this if it is a police cruiser or a semi-truck, it doesn’t matter, as I try to move away from any potential danger.

You will often see me driving 75-90 on the freeway even if the posted limit is 65 and doing 40 or 45 at other times because I don’t feel conditions are right to be doing the posted limit. I always make certain my vehicles have the best tires and brakes I can buy and I always do my own brake work because I have had bad experiences with so-called mechanics in the past.

Recently I took my truck into a Tires Plus for an oil change and tire rotation and asked that the brakes be checked while they had the tires off. I was told that they were in “great shape” when in reality they were completely worn and due to be replaced. It doesn’t take an ASE certification to know when the pads are a bit thin. Another time I had a mechanic leave a clip off a rear brake assembly that caused the brake system to come apart, locking up the right rear tire and causing a spin out and, fortunately, only a minor accident.

I also have a couple of trailers, and treat equipment safety the same way with them. New tires long before needed, new brakes, axle bearings lubed more often than even the manufacture recommends and the best electric brake controller money can by installed in my truck along with an over rated trailer hitch and ball for the pull behind and 5^th wheel hitch for the other.

When that officer pulled me over for speeding it was along side the highway late at night and put us both in danger. He was of course in far more danger than me as I was in the relative safety of an SUV and he was unprotected but either one of us could have been injured or even killed if we were rear ended.

My point to all of this is why should I allow you to put me in danger when I normally take every precaution to be safe?

According to the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration, part of the federal Department of Transportation, “Many officers are killed each year and thousands more are injured in traffic related incidences” making the writing of tickets on the shoulder of the road one of a police officer's most dangerous tasks.

Sometimes the law enforcement group can be a twisted bunch. If I went and stood alongside the highway and got hit by a car, some may feel sorry for me but most would call me an idiot. Here you guys are pulling people over and standing next to the road day after day, of course some of you are going to get hit.

Stop doing it. Don’t put yourself or any of us at unnecessary risk. Write the tickets that need to be written but do it at a safe place even if it means driving two or three minutes down the road to find that safe spot.