Strange LEO Encounter This Weekend

[tleeocinca]

So, Saturday I am visiting family in the bay area and I get pulled over for a break light being out. The officer was really nice and told me why he had pulled me over and asked for the usual documents. I told him that I had my DL in my travel bag and my registration and insurance card were in the glove box and asked if I could reach to get them. Of course the officer responded sure and so I slowly proceeded to get the documents and gave them to him. He goes back to his car to run info, so put my hands on the steering wheel and keep them there. He comes back and hands me a fix it ticket and all my stuff, then asks why I kept my hands on the steering wheel the whole time? I told him that I always felt that was the safest place to keep my hands during a stop and he tells me not to do that because it makes cops nervous... I'm wondering is this the general feeling? I figured that was proper place to keep my hands.

[Citadelgrad87]

So, Saturday I am visiting family in the bay area and I get pulled over for a break light being out. The officer was really nice and told me why he had pulled me over and asked for the usual documents. I told him that I had my DL in my travel bag and my registration and insurance card were in the glove box and asked if I could reach to get them. Of course the officer responded sure and so I slowly proceeded to get the documents and gave them to him. He goes back to his car to run info, so put my hands on the steering wheel and keep them there. He comes back and hands me a fix it ticket and all my stuff, then asks why I kept my hands on the steering wheel the whole time? I told him that I always felt that was the safest place to keep my hands during a stop and he tells me not to do that because it makes cops nervous... I'm wondering is this the general feeling? I figured that was proper place to keep my hands.

Your cop is a moron.

That's what they tell people to do when they ARE nervous. I put it in park, turn it off, dome light on, and hands on the wheel.

[hermosabeach]

If you want out of a ticket, you need to get a conversation started before pen hits paper

Dome light on
Windows all down
Hands on dash

They come up and normally ask why the odd behavior.

Then it is time to talk about friend or family who is Leo and the concern on every traffic stop.

You do this to make the approach as easy as possible for the officers safety.

It gets the conversation going and shows that you are a good guy.

Lots of ways to show respect for the job and to show that you are human long before a pen hits paper.

[bodger]

Weird. Why would he get nervous about seeing where your hands are at all times?

[barrage]

Weird. Why would he get nervous about seeing where your hands are at all times?

I imagine that some cops could interpret that kind of behavior as overcompensation, which probably occurs a lot when someone's trying to hide something.

[Hoshnasi]

Your cop is a moron.

That's what they tell people to do when they ARE nervous. I put it in park, turn it off, dome light on, and hands on the wheel.

If you want out of a ticket, you need to get a conversation started before pen hits paper

Dome light on
Windows all down
Hands on dash

They come up and normally ask why the odd behavior.

Then it is time to talk about friend or family who is Leo and the concern on every traffic stop.

You do this to make the approach as easy as possible for the officers safety.

It gets the conversation going and shows that you are a good guy.

Lots of ways to show respect for the job and to show that you are human long before a pen hits paper.

Do this every time. Traffic stops will go smoothly and often quickly.

[tleeocinca]

That's what I couldn't figure out.. He walks up to the window, I say good afternoon officer and then he proceeds to tell me why he stopped me. While he was running my info, I wanted to be cool and safe, so keeping my hands on steering wheel seemed to be the obvious spot.

It's stuff like this that confuses people and causes people to get hurt. You have most cops saying steering wheel, others saying no, that makes me nervous

[kjv146]

I would have asked him to suggest a location for my hands that won't make him nervous.

[bodger]

That's what I couldn't figure out.. He walks up to the window, I say good afternoon officer and then he proceeds to tell me why he stopped me. While he was running my info, I wanted to be cool and safe, so keeping my hands on steering wheel seemed to be the obvious spot.

It's stuff like this that confuses people and causes people to get hurt. You have most cops saying steering wheel, others saying no, that makes me nervous

I always keep my hands on the wheel if I get pulled over. Just always seemed like the safe thing to do. I've never been a LEO, but if I was walking up to a driver in a car I just pulled over, my first look would be at their hands.

[Citadelgrad87]

I would have asked him to suggest a location for my hands that won't make him nervous.

What if it got weird?

[bodger]

What if it got weird?

Depending on how weird, he might not get the ticket.

[tleeocinca]

The cop was pretty cool and the stop went rather quickly, he even suggested that if I switch one break light to do them both because the other one would likely be going out shortly after. I'm not saying the experience was bad at all, I just think that if you tell someone that keeping your hands on the wheel is making you nervous, it could end badly in another stop if you do the opposite because you don't want to make a cop nervous.. I mean ****, I'm nervous because you are walking up to my car armed.

[Divernhunter]

Of course he is going to give you a fix it ticket. That is $20 "fee" to help the revenue coffers.
I got one as I was turning into a auto parts store with the old bulb and a torx screwdriver on the seat to get a new one and fix it in the parking lot. The bad part was I have about 50 bulbs at home but not the one my Saturn required which was not the common 1157, 1156 or the newer flat spade GM one(I forgot the number something like 3257).

[isplice]

You got a brake!

[tleeocinca]

I'll be honest, it would have been cool if he just gave me a warning, but he was doing his job and I'm not going to be pissed about that. The light was out, I needed to get it fixed and I'm glad he told me about it. I've had a few bad experiences with LEO, so this one actually was a positive experience. Just a little confused about the steering wheel thing