Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Cross your fingers for me.....

How many of us enjoy getting pulled over by police officers? I imagine not many. However, I have this total anxiety thing going on with getting pulled over now. If I see a police car I start running everything through my head... am I speeding, are any lights broken, are seat belts on, am I weaving at all, do I look like a weirdo.... you name it. Is there a reason for this, you ask? Why yes. Yes there is. Funny you should ask that...

When I lived in FL I hardly ever got pulled over. It was not a big deal when it happened. Never bothered me, except for the basic frustration of having to pay a ticket. When we decided to move to MS it never occurred to me that I might have to worry about police issues. I mean, come on... it's MS but it is also the 21st century. I am a white woman. I am not a freak (at first glance! LOL) and there is no reason I should have to worry about it. Right? No. Wrong.

When we moved here my daughter stayed in FL to finish out the year at school. We had already brought up a uhaul van full of stuff. But, being that we have a lot of stuff, we still had the entire station wagon stuffed full and were pulling a uhaul trailer behind us. Just west of Tallahassee (in FL) the car broke down. Fun. It added about 3 hours onto the trip. So..... by the time we hit MS I was exhausted. I was driving. DH does not drive. I was very tired. The Boy was about 6 mos old at the time and was sleeping, DH was asleep in the passenger seat. It was about 2 am I think and were only about 1/2 hour away from the new city. I was soooooo tired. I guess I was weaving a bit. The uhaul made driving fun. It was windy, I was tired. Next thing I know, we were being pulled over.

The State Trooper was a K9 unit. He was very nice to me. Then he asked DH to get out of the car. And he saw the tattoo. And the long hair. Next thing I know we are being questioned about illegal substances. Had we done any drugs, been drinking, etc. ummmmmm...... no. We don't do drugs. I have not been drinking. I am just tired. AS you can PLAINLY see we are moving and it is 2 AM. Tired.... hello?

Nope. Since I had been slightly weaving as I was driving down this road, the cop decided he just had to have the K9 dog check out us, our car and the trailer. Which was cool. No problem. Until the dog hit on the trailer. It suddenly became not so cool. The cop shifted from "Aw shucks sorry to bother you mode" to "you scumbags, you are drug dealing scum and I will catch you mode". So, there we are. At 2 AM. On the side of the road in MS. Having to unload the entire uhaul trailer. So that the dog can check our stuff.

Of course they found nothing. The dog continued to hit on the corner of the trailer even after the trailer was empty. The cop was unable to locate anything suspicious. The Boy woke up and was screaming. DH and I were freaked out. Finally, the cop apologized and said he was just doing his job. And we could be on our way. But of course he did not offer to help reload the trailer.

Now, fast forward a year and a half. I get pulled over for speeding. No insurance. BIG TICKET. Had to go to court. Got put on probation. PROBATION! For not having insurance.

THEN, not even 2 months later I was driving down the road. I had just left the house and The Baby was fussy. I had my seat belt off to reach in the back and give him his pacifier. As I straightened back up I saw a police car. I put my seat belt back on. Sure enough...... party lights. I got a ticket for no seat belt. If I had not put it on, he would have never noticed I was not wearing it.

So. Now I am paranoid about getting pulled over. You know what makes it even worse? My speedometer is not working. Ever try to figure out how fast you are going using only your tachometer? It ain't easy, folks. So, the next time you see a woman pulled over on the side of the road by a police officer.... cross your fingers for me. And I hope it's not me!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hubby is reading your blog on his account, so you might get a bit of a recap (or two diff stories entirely, 'cuz I see things in a different light) from the two comments.

First and foremost, let me point out that my car has COP MAGNET written across the hood. And I'm overly suspicious that is just because the hood is white, the car is blue, and they must think we are scumbags who can't color coordinate.

Last June, I was pulled over on the way to pick up hubby from work so we could go back to my nephew's baseball game. Flashing lights appeared as I was less than a quarter of a mile from his work. I wasn't speeding, the car was legal, the seat belt was on, everything was fine. Except me.

The cop was decent enough, but SOMEONE HAD CALLED and turned me in for having no license, and driving. And told them what I drove, where I would be on what day, and at what time. Mean people, I tell you. SO, he let me drive the 1/4 mile to pick hubby up, and gave me a big fat ticket. Like, $250 big fat ticket.

I get my ass in gear, find out if I can just renew my license.. but HEY! It turns out that when my permit was changed to a license, my license was dated with the NY 4 year policy for renewal. Their systems?? Had me up for renewal 6 months after getting my license. No one cared to tell me either.

So.. 2 weeks later.. my ex-roomie who is an older gentleman, gets pulled over with MY CAR. IN THE SAME SPOT. AS HE WAS PICKING MY HUBBY UP FROM WORK. They thought he was my hubby, and thought that they should be checking up on him.

It turns out that although the roomie had a valid Florida license, his NY license had a suspension on it, and he wasn't allowed to drive in NY. He was ticketed too, nice huh?

Sooo... hubby checks to make sure his license is ok.. nope. Slight suspension lift fee. Grr.. he paid it, and all was good. I ran a marathon and took my permit test, a 5 hour course, and my road test within 2 weeks. I was legal. According to the DMV, for the first time in nearly 6 years.

Hubby was pulled over in November on the way home from a nephew's football game, they ran the plates on my car (just 'cuz they could and were bored) and found that our plates, which were still in our ex-roomie's name, showed as the driver was suspended. Hubby handed them his license, and paperwork, and was cleared to go.

A month ago, we were pulled over for no brake light. We made it out unscathed. But, I checked on my license before heading out for a big trip that I was supposed to drive for, and after paying my big ass fine they inform me that no, my license is suspended. From a no seat belt WARNING I received back in '03. They turned the ticket in, and never told me about it.

So anyway.. long ass comment.. sorry just had to let you know that you aren't the only one!!

T-Bone said...

Too funny... I know your paranoia. Lately, within the last 6 months, we have had a rash of cops when it comes to our car. First it was Porkchop getting pulled over while coming to pick me up from work. She was driving without a license. Then a week later our roommate was pulled over with our car while coming to get me from work. He had a license in another state but had an insurance lapse in New York State and didn't pay the fine so...he was basically driving without a license in New York. A few months go by and then I get pulled over after coming home from our nephew's football game at 10:00 at night, we stopped at a 24 hour gas station where there just happened to be 2 town cops. As I left the gas station, one started to follow me. I wasn't in the wrong in any way. This cop followed me for a ways then turned his lights on. He came up to the window and proceeded to tell me that my license is not valid. Bullsh**!!!! I showed him my paperwork that stated I was in the clear. He then told me that he ran my plates and was informed that the owner of the car had a suspended license. Well, we don't own the car, our roommate owned it. So we were free to go. Then about a month ago, we were pulled over after grocery shopping in a town about 15 miles from our town. Was I speeding? Yes I was but only 8 mph over the speed limit. Come to find out, he pulled us over for no brake light. So I got it fixed then showed it to another cop. He signed the ticket stating that it was fixed and I had no fine to pay. I guess my point of that story is the fact that our car is a cop magnet. lol.

And as for the "Hot Pussy" song very hilarious. Thank you it was a great laugh.

Nana The Nana said...

To much drama for me! It is no wonder you are a basket case. Just keep on driving slow and put your belts on and paying your insurance. Hopefully the van is in working order with all the little things..Is it?

Jessica said...

No wonder your nervous. If I had to go through all that I would be too. I can't believe he didn't have the decency to help you reload your truck.