Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Bully with a Badge

I went to go pick up the offspring from their father's the other night. I had to wait in the car a few minutes while they gathered their things. I blasted the heat so it would be nice and toasty for their arrival. *BIG MISTAKE*.

The heat triggered a bloody nose, which I thought was a sudden case of the mere sniffles as I backed out of the drive and headed down the street. By the time I got to the first stop sign, I realized it was a gusher and begged the kids to locate a tissue or napkin or something.

The blood gets all over my hands and shirt, and alas a napkin with only a little smidge of cheeseburger remnants is located. I do not care. I shove the thing up my nose and proceed to the next stop sign.

As I pull out of the subdivision onto the main road, lights are flashing behind me. I was being pulled over. I knew I wasn't speeding. And I knew I came to a complete stop back there. So, I figured I must have had a tail light out or something.

The officer approaches the vehicle and at first glance of my blood-stricken face, gasps slightly and asks, "Are you okay?" I respond, "Just a bloody nose."

He then asks for my driver's license, registration and proof of insurance, to which I oblige. He begins, "The reason I pulled you over ma'am, is because I ran your plates in my system and it shows that there is no insurance on the vehicle. Are you aware of that?"

"There should be insurance. My Ex is supposed to carry insurance on both vehicles," I explain, quickly wondering if the Ex has canceled my coverage without telling me.

"Well," the officer points out, "you're I.D. card is expired too. Do you have your new one with you?"

"Um," I stammer. "I doubt it. My Ex probably hasn't given it to me yet, but it's the same policy as what's on that card."

The officer tells me to stay put. He heads back to his car and remains there for a few minutes before returning. Then he says "You're right. The vehicle does have insurance coverage after all. But I am giving you a citation for not carrying current proof of insurance."

I was thinking, "What? First your computer says I don't have it but now it magically says I do?" In all honesty I don't believe he ever "ran my plates" to begin with. I think it is what he says to people just to pull them over. Then I think once they are pulled over he runs their plates and sees if there is anything he can cite them for. Besides, I was only at the stop sign for a moment. And the intersection is not well-lit. I have a hard time believing he had time to run my plates.

To top it off, he says that if I get an updated card and go down to the court in person (like I have time for that) then it *might* help me out. He follows that up with, "I need you to sign this citation. It isn't an admission of guilt, just a signature stating I explained it to you and that you have received it. Do you think you can sign it without getting blood all over my pen?"

I took his pen and while signing with my bloody hands replied, "I'll try."

The ironic thing is this. Earlier that day, I had to drive down to my sister's house in Happy Valley to pick up some stuff and then drive back home. It was dark. I was by myself, and it took about an hour each way. While driving back I noticed tons of idiot drivers. I remember secretly congratulating myself, "I'm a pretty good driver, if I do say so myself. *Never* been pulled over for speeding or even as much as a traffic citation."

Well, that will teach me!

22 comments:

Louise | Italy said...

You were lucky - you could have gotten a ticket for driving without due care and attention when you had your nose bleed...

deb@virginia blue said...

isn't irony the ultimate kick in the pants sometimes????

sorry about the bloody nose while driving...I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me...it's the reason I keep my vehicle stocked with tissues!

Dianne said...

Take it to court. Make the time to go down there. My BIL is a state trooper and most cops bank on the fact that you will not show up. If you show up and they don't, it is automatically dismissed here. Don't know about your state. Also, our local speed trap likes to pull stuff like this. It finally got bad enough that the local news busted them for it. Do a little digging and see what you can find! Turns out the local yokels were doing things they had no authority, training, or licensing for.

TravAndToni said...

Was he Highway Patrol? I wonder if he's worried about keeping his job... you know, maybe "If I give out enough tickets, hopefully I won't be one of the 42 patrolmen who the state is going to lay off."

I've never had a blood nose while driving before. I'm knocking on wood right now! I always worry about what I would do if there was a spider crawling on me while I was driving, but I've never considered how awful it would be to have a bloody nose while trying to not kill myself or other people. Hmm.

Denise @ Sunflowers, Chocolate and Little Boys said...

He sounds like a jerk. and a liar. I hope you can get the citation revoked.

Megan said...

I hope you got blood on his pen.

The Willeyes said...

See...you put it out there...that damn Murphy! :)

Rhonda said...

You shoulda totally bloodied the pen and then said, Hmm turns out I *can't* sign without getting blood on it. Ya know,pull the same crap on him that he pulled on you. Bait n switch type deal.

What a jerkface. My one and only ticket was for a school zone violation. I am used to driving my van, a cop was RIGHT next to me so I'm on my best behavior of course and my big ol' suburban happened to inch ahead of the cop next to me...by a SMIDGE. Well that's passing in a school zone. She wanted to just warn me but her higher ups told her she had to cite me. -sticking tongue out at highers ups-

oh well.

Unknown said...

You should've showed him some cleavage. If I'm not mistaken we've covered your "assets" before. Maybe that combined with the bloody nose would have swung him more in your favour;)

Vickie said...

What a jerk! You should have bumped your nose, to reignite the bloody nose and got it on his ticket book.

Regarding the nose. I put vasoline in my daughter's nose at night time for the same reason. Round the inside nostril. The dry heat in the house makes it bleed. Seems to work.

Danielle said...

First, I would have gotten blood all over everything...maybe even tried to sneeze in his face!

Second, go to your courthouse if you can...take your current card...similar situation...minus bloody nose...happened to me. I didn't have to pay the fine, just showed my proof of insurance and off I went...

Ronnica said...

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Ashley said...

What a jerk! Your nose is gushing and he has the nerve to ask you not to get blood on his pen! I would be p.o.'d for sure!

Megan said...

Oh the irony! lol Grr! That's frustrating. Some cops can be total buttheads!

He would deserve it if you did get blood everywhere! lol

"The Queen in Residence" said...

Right now I have a personal dislike for police. I know that we need them and that there are there to protect us, but I agree with you, where are they when someone runs the red, or changes lanes over the double white HOV lane. I mean really!
I sure hope that you gave him back a bloody pen - JERK!

Anonymous said...

Oy-what a day. Totally sucks!

Susie said...

Yeah...I think you jinxed yourself. He probably saw you bleeding all over and pulled you over to see if you were ok. He used the insurance as an excuse and then had to follow through.

Ruthykins said...

hmm, happy valley huh? where do i live? can't wait to hear my town's nickname.

Vickie said...

Hi, I am back. I have an award for you on my blog. When you have time, check it out.

Blog Stalker said...

Well, murphy's law just plain sucks. My problem is with officers who feed off the power that WE give them. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect and admiration for all those involved with the public safety.

It is with those who do not view their role as server and protector but see them selves as "above" ordinary citizens who must submit to their every whim. It is always the few who give them all a bad image.

I am sorry you had to run into one of these and be glad he didnt make it any worse.

And btw, very ironic that you had been thinking what a good driver you were, never getting pulled over. That will teach you to think.

Have a great day!

Holli and Billy said...

I said that same comment to myself this week about being a great driver never getting a speeding ticket. Then I got one. Blah.

Debbie said...

WOW! That is borderline harrassment...THAT IS SO WRONG! Glad you got the blood on his pen...serves him right...