Agreed on all fronts . I generally consider myself as " on the same team " as LEO. I treat them with respect and offer professional courtesy . I answer all questions, , and have all my papers ready , both hands on the wheel . The key is to show them that you are basically a law biding citizen and will not be giving them any trouble .
I do however stop at consent to search and will not participate in any roadside sobriety evaluation tests. They will need probable cause, and or a warrant, and will just have to breathalyze me .
Even though I could feel myself being pulled into the revenue generator as they went on their fishing expedition, I never once gave attitude . I told him my inspection was expired before he even looked. I even thanked them for their professionalism when the stop was over . This is all key to going home in one piece , and helps at getting charges dropped in court .
Its pretty rare for me to have one of my personal vehicles not 100% road legal and I have a small fleet of cars/trucks.
I think where I get complacent sometimes, is that I drive cars not inspected on a daily basis for the purpose of testing/inspecting. My RT plates, and my inspection license clearly allow this . After hours is a different story , although with the correct paperwork I could easily plea this case . Im just going to be honest and take my licks though
There were two officers on scene on my little incident . The younger guy , I could tell believed my schpeel, and was somewhat understanding of the situation . The second officer who arrived on the scene, even though I answered all his questions and was polite , was sort of a condescending dick .
I still have not received my papers in the mail . I've been watching my mail box dilligently . Ill get my truck all back up to snuff this coming weekend and am pretty confident this will go away in court .
Since this incident, I have been taking photos of other tow truck operators running their plates in the same position I was . Its common practice . Reading the vehicle code, its seems gray area .
Next morning Downtown Pittsburgh
