A simple burned out headlight was a lesson to me on how easy police can violate our rights.

a reply to: WeRpeons

“sir have you had any drinks tonight”

You should have said: -YES, water and coke.

He would have said: -Cocacola or coccaine?

Then you could have said: -Coooooooooooocacola!

Sounds like the cop was being nice to you.

Doesn't even sound like you got a ticket for the broken headlight.

originally posted by: WeRpeons

What says you ATS?

Totally agree.

Most people don't know their rights anymore, and that you have a right to say no to any types of searches. Even though that is not what you brought up, it's true. They attempt to turn every traffic stop into a search of your vehicle, that's the next step after the initial questioning.

I'm in my 40's now and I've noticed I don't get this type of treatment as much, but in my younger days, it was common and definitely... a violation of my rights.

a reply to: Rezlooper

It seems like a lot of posters to my op don't see it that way. I understand why they feel like I was making a mountain out of a mole hill. To me, it's small things like this that eventually chip away at how police officers or government officials can go to insinuate something that clearly isn't the case. If someone insinuates someone may be steeling, it's not only offensive but wrong if they have no probable cause to even insinuate that!

We've already allowed government to record our conversations, read our e-mails and spy on us in the name of protecting us from terrorism. Just like they're justifying out of bounds questioning or having DUI checkpoints to protect us from drunk drivers! I wouldn't have been offended by the question if I was driving erratically, speeding, had all my lights off (not a stupid burned out headlight), smelled of alcohol, or my eyes appeared blood shot or I had slurred speech.

a reply to: ByteChanger

He was nice to me, I never implied he wasn't. I just had a problem with him asking a question which clearly was out of bounds considering there was nothing there to insinuate I was drinking.

My headlight wasn't broken, it was burned out! I would think any cop with any kind of understanding that lights on vehicles can burn out while driving, wouldn't be a prick and give someone a ticket when the driver wasn't aware of it in the first place! I could understand if I was pulled over a day or two before and never got it fixed. Maybe they should record instances like this instead of just handing out tickets to innocent people for circumstances out of their control.
How many people know a light is burned out on their car unless they accidently notice it, or until a family member or someone driving by brings it to their attention. My van doesn't have an alarm that informs me a light has burned out.

I think its a good thing that you got offended.
Unless we start at a point where we are offended by unnecessary questions we cannot dial back the rather abusive behavior that a lot of officers display.
If more people got offended by this line of questioning then the more egregious things would decline.

Still waiting for what the offensive or rights violation was?

Were you subjected to an unlawful search which is not allowed without probable cause, no you were not.
Did the cop ask you a question which was justified in trying to give him a complete picture, yes.
If a friend saw you stumble and said" what you are drunk?" is that a violation of your rights? I guess that isn't even comparable because the office didn't even go that far.

The fact that a few posters here are some how claiming "Did you have any drinks?" is a violation of your rights is just as scary to me as those people that say the police should be able to do whatever they want because they are police.

originally posted by: WeRpeons
My headlight wasn't broken, it was burned out! I would think any cop with any kind of understanding that lights on vehicles can burn out while driving, wouldn't be a prick and give someone a ticket when the driver wasn't aware of it in the first place! I could understand if I was pulled over a day or two before and never got it fixed.

Does your car pass inspection if the light is not functioning?
Did you get a ticket for this?
Exactly how is the cop supposed to know that your light burned out vs something else ?

originally posted by: WeRpeons
a reply to: Rezlooper

It seems like a lot of posters to my op don't see it that way. I understand why they feel like I was making a mountain out of a mole hill. To me, it's small things like this that eventually chip away at how police officers or government officials can go to insinuate something that clearly isn't the case. If someone insinuates someone may be steeling, it's not only offensive but wrong if they have no probable cause to even insinuate that!

We've already allowed government to record our conversations, read our e-mails and spy on us in the name of protecting us from terrorism. Just like they're justifying out of bounds questioning or having DUI checkpoints to protect us from drunk drivers! I wouldn't have been offended by the question if I was driving erratically, speeding, had all my lights off (not a stupid burned out headlight), smelled of alcohol, or my eyes appeared blood shot or I had slurred speech.

Yep. LEO's aren't there to protect and to serve anymore, not in the old sense of the phrase. No, they have been taught now that everyone on the roads is the enemy, not your neighbor or your friend.

I've known a couple of guys who I went to school with that chose to be cops, and guess what... they both said they had to be cops elsewhere because they didn't want to have to arrest their friends. That's just the way it is.

And now with all these police shootings making everyone all tense, the cops are really on the defensive. It's not so bad in my town, but I feel for ya's living in the big city.

originally posted by: network dude
a reply to: WeRpeons

And never volunteer anything to a cop. Like "I must have been speeding", or "did you stop me because of that body in the trunk?", or "do you think this bag of weed is more than I'm allowed to have?"
Be polite, and speak when spoken to. (IMHO)

This is gold! Be Polite, speak when spoken to (and might I add, keep your hands where they can see them and be still and you won't get shot!) a certain group of people can't seem to understand that.

originally posted by: WeRpeons
a reply to: enlightenedservant

Sorry to here about your incident. Sounds like the gestapo! I just think too many times the police are overstepping their bounds.

I know my incident was small, and posters feel I've been overly dramatic, but at the same time I really felt like the officer was fishing for me to say I was drinking! So if I had one beer, which I didn't, would that give him the right to give me a breath analyzer test? It was a measly burned out headlight bulb and he's trying to turn it into something more!

From my experience, they almost always use simple issues as an excuse to fish for more. It's up to the individual officer's discretion on whether they want to dig deeper into a stop or place you under arrest. Remember, it's up to the court system to determine if you're actually guilty or not.

Now just imagine if similar situations happened to you multiple times, with them doing additional unneeded checks and questionings. Eventually, you'd probably get angry about constantly being pulled over and searched or interrogated even though you didn't do anything "wrong".

originally posted by: WeRpeons
Late last night, on my return from dropping my sister off to catch a flight in Canada I was pulled over by a police officer for a burned out headlight. A quick background on what started this encounter......

What says you ATS?

Imagine if you were black.

a reply to: Dragoon01

What was abusive?

He was merely asked if he'd been drinking. That is not abusive by any reasonable standard.

a reply to: opethPA

Does your car pass inspection if the light is not functioning?

My car passed inspection 2 months ago. If I had a light burned out my mechanic would be required to replace it for my car to pass inspection. Like I said, the last time I checked, all my lights were in working order. I'm mechanically inclined so I usually can replace light bulbs and do simple fixes on my own. As far as I know, cars don't have warning lights or alarms that tell a driver a light burned out. Especially when my van is 12 years old!

Did you get a ticket for this?

No I didn't get a ticket. I don't think anyone should get a ticket for something that is out of their control at the time and certainly the person is unaware there was a problem. I think the cop was nice enough to realize I wasn't aware of the problem. If I was stopped days before having a burned out headlight and it showed up on the police dash computer than of course give me a ticket for not taking care of it! In fact, the next morning I purchased two headlight bulbs and replaced both of them!

Exactly how is the cop supposed to know that your light burned out vs something else ?

Well, he wouldn't know unless he had a voltage meter and checked it on the spot. The headlight certainly wasn't cracked indicating I was in an accident. Again what does that have to do with asking if I was drinking because I had a burned out headlight?

a reply to: DupontDeux

Well, you were driving - at night -without having the presence to notice that your headlight was not working. And you seemed to be unaware of how fast you were going.

For one thing, when I left the airport in Hamilton, Ontario it was daylight. By the time I made it into the states it was nighttime. It's funny that the officer at the U.S. border didn't notice I had a burned out light bulb when I had to stop and show him my passports. Like I said, the bulb must have burned while I was driving! I was flipping between my high beams and low beams because the roads were so dark. It could have easily caused the one headlight to burn out.

I pretty much kept to the speed limit because I was accommodating my wife's speed anxiety. Driving 5 or 10 mph over the speed limit because I'm not paying attention to my speedometer could easily happen to anyone. It's why I was being honest and asked the officer if the reason he pulled me over was because I might of exceeded the speed limit. That was the only possible thing I could think of why he was pulling me over.

a reply to: WeRpeons

I encounter oncoming vehicles here with a non-working headlight nearly every day, occasionally even a vehicle with the parking lamp and headlamp on the same side not working which makes it feasible to mistake it for a motorcycle. The officer you encountered did his job looking after your, and everyone else's, safety with what appears to be the minimum of fuss to bring a safety issue to your attention.

A 'yes' answer to the drinking question should see you breathalysed every time whereas a 'no' puts it at the discretion of the officer asking.

Wow. Did my brief observation strike a nerve or something?

originally posted by: WeRpeons
a reply to: ByteChanger

He was nice to me, I never implied he wasn't.

I never implied that you implied that he wasn't. It was just my observation.

Ok... so this 'nice' cop violated you.

I just had a problem with him asking a question which clearly was out of bounds considering there was nothing there to insinuate I was drinking.

a) You didn't know how fast you were going. (Was I exceeding the speed limit?) (Who talks like that anyway...)
b) You didn't know that your head light was "broken".

Not very observant for a sober fellow are you....

My headlight wasn't broken, it was burned out!

OMG. Get a grip. Broken or Burn out. It doesn't work. Either way, you cannot see properly without it.

I would think any cop with any kind of understanding that lights on vehicles can burn out while driving, wouldn't be a prick and give someone a ticket when the driver wasn't aware of it in the first place! I could understand if I was pulled over a day or two before and never got it fixed.

Why can't a cop be a prick? In Canada, you get a ticket, it says to repair what is noted, bring the vehicle to a police station and prove it was repaired OR pay a fine. If you don't do the repairs, you pay the fine. Simple concept really.

I'd bet something similar happens in the USA.

Maybe they should record instances like this instead of just handing out tickets to innocent people for circumstances out of their control.

They probably do. Like I said above, in Canada, they give you a ticket and you fix the car or pay the fine. It really is a simple concept, and I'm sure the Americans have figured out something similar.

How many people know a light is burned out on their car unless they accidently notice it, or until a family member or someone driving by brings it to their attention. My van doesn't have an alarm that informs me a light has burned out.

I know when a headlight is burned out. It quits beaming light to one side of the vehicle. This makes it darker on one side.

I wasn't sure before, but by your nit-picking response, I'd bet... you were being a smartass to the officer. Asking him for suggestions on what to do at that time of night? What did you expect him to do? Give you the directions to a 24 hr garage. Maybe provide you with a police escort? Really, what sort of an answer did you expect from a police officer?

That is probably why he asked you if you were drinking. He sensed you were 'copping' an attitude with him. No pun intended.

Then, you wanna jump on some public forum and cry foul because a cop asked you if you had anything to drink!?

Seriously... How many people got shot by cops under questionable circumstances and you come here and cry foul about a cop asking you if you had anything to drink?

You admitted you exceed the speed limit while driving w/ 50% of your vehicles lighting. That cop probably saved some kid or biclists life by making you get your car repaired.

I guess, since this cop was being nice, and not a 'dick', you didn't even get a ticket.

You want some cheese with your whine? Geez...

I'm starting to think you are just trolling now.

a reply to: ByteChanger

a) You didn't know how fast you were going. (Was I exceeding the speed limit?) (Who talks like that anyway...)

b) You didn't know that your head light was "broken".

Not very observant for a sober fellow are you....

Who talks that way? Excuse me, I was being honest with the police officer because I had no idea why he pulled me over. Maybe I should have been rude or not said anything all. I know many police officers who have said they appreciate people being honest and friendly which makes them less likely to give you a ticket.

Not very observant? We're you there? Did you see how the front of my car still looked like both lights were functioning??? Geesh. I can't explain why it wasn't so apparent. When both my wife and sister-in-law said the same thing. I even shut my headlights off and on to see if we could tell if a headlight was burned out. It sure looked like both were functioning from our vantage point.

Why can't a cop be a prick? In Canada, you get a ticket, it says to repair what is noted, bring the vehicle to a police station and prove it was repaired OR pay a fine. If you don't do the repairs, you pay the fine. Simple concept really.

Who said I would have had a problem with that? I would have had a problem if he sited me with a ticket just because I was completely unaware I had a burned out headlight! So in Canada they give you a chance to get it fixed before they fine you. In the U.S. it's up to a cops discretion! You're comparing apples to oranges.

I know when a headlight is burned out. It quits beaming light to one side of the vehicle. This makes it darker on one side.

What are you a wannabe psychic, lol. After he told me to proceed, I looked at my wife who is always my back seat driver and said look at the front of our van, does it look like there's a headlight out? My wife who has high anxiety and is always hounding me to be careful when driving on the highway or in the city, certainly wouldn't have noticed the headlight being out (and she was sitting on the passenger's side). My Honda van could have had the brighter halogen lights which didn't make it apparent that a bulb was burned out on the passenger side. Even my sister in-law sitting in the back seat said she would have never realized a headlight was burned out!

You weren't there so how can you even make that assessment? I've actually been called a perfectionist, and I can't go a day without fixing something that is broken. If I noticed a headlight being out before heading to Canada, there is no doubt I would have replaced it. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to change a headlight bulb.

I wasn't sure before, but by your nit-picking response, I'd bet... you were being a smartass to the officer. Asking him for suggestions on what to do at that time of night? What did you expect him to do? Give you the directions to a 24 hr garage. Maybe provide you with a police escort? Really, what sort of an answer did you expect from a police officer?

I don't even know why I'm taking the time to explain my circumstances with you. Again, you want to insinuate something that didn't happen! I've never been rude to a cop in my entire life!!! Even though he offended me by asking if I was drinking I politely said no. My wife who is the nicest person you would ever want to meet, interjected when he said "were you drinking earlier in the day." She politely laughed and said "officer we're not drinkers."

Simply put, you don't know me so don't insinuate something that isn't true. Have a good day!

originally posted by: WeRpeons

My car passed inspection 2 months ago. If I had a light burned out my mechanic would be required to replace it for my car to pass inspection. Like I said, the last time I checked, all my lights were in working order. I'm mechanically inclined so I usually can replace light bulbs and do simple fixes on my own. As far as I know, cars don't have warning lights or alarms that tell a driver a light burned out. Especially when my van is 12 years old!

My question wasnt "did your car pass inspection 2 months ago" My question was does your car pass inspection if a tail light is not working?

No I didn't get a ticket. I don't think anyone should get a ticket for something that is out of their control at the time and certainly the person is unaware there was a problem. I think the cop was nice enough to realize I wasn't aware of the problem. If I was stopped days before having a burned out headlight and it showed up on the police dash computer than of course give me a ticket for not taking care of it! In fact, the next morning I purchased two headlight bulbs and replaced both of them!

Then im not sure why you went on a rant about getting tickets for this event.

Well, he wouldn't know unless he had a voltage meter and checked it on the spot. The headlight certainly wasn't cracked indicating I was in an accident. Again what does that have to do with asking if I was drinking because I had a burned out headlight?

The cop pulled you over because you had a tail light out .. It doesnt matter why, it doesnt matter how it went out..You had one out and that is against established rules for legal driving. Since that gave the cop legal and just reason to pull you over he then asked , as per your own description , in a very polite manner logical questions as he is trying to understand the situation in front of him.

Honestly if you feel this is a violation of your rights..the world is going to eat you up.

originally posted by: WeRpeons
If this is normal protocol to ask drivers if they've been drinking, I think it's wrong. It's like insinuating a person is guilty without having any evidence to the fact.

He was ASKING, not insinuating. If he had said, "You're driving seems erratic and you were weaving... Have you had anything to drink?" THAT would be insinuating.

He had no probable cause to ask.

He doesn't NEED probable cause to ask you a question! If you are operating a motor vehicle, he has every reason to ask questions to determine whether or not you are capable!

Seriously, MILLIONS of people wish their rights had been "violated" in this manner...