Over a running a stop sign. I guess I didn't come to a full stop long enough for the cop to deem it a "stop." Thankfully, I only came away with a warning. Thought I was going to be written a ticket since I did piss him off a bit. I didn't stop right away, but instead decided to make a turn into a parking lot and then stop. For some reason, I also was compelled to step out of my car afterwards and asked him calmly what was the problem (he told me he could shoot me because I got out of my car).

Ugh, not a good start to a Monday morning. I really should know better too considering the area I work in is rather secured with cops everywhere (one of the annoyances of being a contractor). So you guys have any cop confrontation stories to share?

That's complete bull**** and any cop that does this ever should be stripped of his badge and put in jail for the rest of his life.

But you're still an idiot for getting out of the car.

Yeah, you handled everything the exact opposite way that you're supposed to. Good job. You should be thankful you only got a warning. Learn to drive.

One day me and my friends were hanging out in the street after we'd been to a second-hand-clothes store. That store had great vintage flyers so I had taken a big bunch of these, planning to use them for CD covers or something like that. Anyway, we hung out on a large stairway and a cop car came by with the window down.
Suddenly it hit me. I jumped up and ran down the street after their car, quite a bit, and when I got side by side to the moving car I threw the whole bundle of flyers through their window into the cop car while still running. Then I stopped and walked back to our place where I smoked a cigarette.

Of course they came back not too long after. The guy was visibly burning with rage, constantly threatening to take me to the departement, etc. (To this day I wonder what he actually planned to accuse me of.) The woman on the other hand admonished me a bit but was also somewhat amused by the whole thing (She actually asked if I thought they needed better clothes and if that was the reason. lol) and she took it for what it was in the end: A stupid spontaneous teenage test of courage/ practical joke.
I didn't even go to prison!

Once again, proving teenagers are stupid (don't worry, I'm including myself in this one when I was a teenager as well)

You what is more fun than getting out of your car? Having 3 of your friends and yourself with hoodies get out of the car and walk toward the cop.

Yeah, that was really kinda stupid. I actually still don't know why I did that. It just seemed like a funny idea at that moment.

356 counts of littering.

That's funny that you bring that up. I just watched "The Experiment" (the original & the American remake) via Netflix which are both based on the Stanford Prison Experiment.

Well I acknowledge the fact that I handled the police confrontation poorly so no need to hurl out these insults. But the fact that I didn't come to a complete stop long enough, does seem a bit overzealous to warrant the warning in the first place considering the drivers I've seen.

It's a common reason for people to be pulled over. Come to a complete stop and you won't have issues. Stop means stop. Yield means yield. The signs even have different shapes to make it easy for you.

I like to think there's a special place in hell for the people who don't yield and cut me off on a daily basis during my work commute... I finally saw someone get pulled over for it a couple of weeks ago, and it made my day.

Yeah, people that don't know how to yield properly and don't understand right-on-red laws (where applicable) really get my goat. It makes me wish they'd get into a horrible accident for me to witness.

Not sure on your sentiment, but I won't go into too much detail as we've already once discussed stopping a loooong time ago to great lengths.

If you're saying he shouldn't complain for breaking the law, that's true. Stop does mean stop, and he's just doing his job as a cop.

But it doesn't mean I agree with the ideas of stop signs in general. I think they're overused, significantly so. I'd go as far as to say if it's in a neighborhood and not a 4+ way stop, it shouldn't be a stop sign. It should be a yield sign. My friend lives in a neighborhood where most intersections use yield signs, and it is glorious. It provides the same function, without requiring people to make full and complete stops for no discernible reason.

Oh I agree completely. The problem is that the vast majority of people (of course different areas will have different percentages) are terrible drivers, resulting in the overuse of things like stop signs. Cities and towns use buzzwords like "dangerous intersection" as a reason for changing blinking yellow lights to blinking reds, etc. It's not the intersection that's dangerous, it's the drivers. Unfortunately this causes the rest of us to suffer. Simple solution is to make it more difficult to obtain a license. The problem with that is people are going to drive without one anyway because hey, it's a right*. So this is what we deal with.

*if you can't tell this is a joke, go diaf.

I didn't notice this before, but what exactly does being a contractor have to do with being in an area full of police?

Why shouldn't driving be a 'right'?

Or, to put it another way, why should anyone have the right to tell someone else they can't drive?

Incidentally, it's not illegal to drive a car without a license (most places). It's illegal to drive a car on a road owned by the government without a license. On the other hand, if you pay taxes, you own the road. So why should you need a license?

Because driving is a perishable skill that can greatly endanger other people.

And because I'm always right. So go diaf.*

*meant in the friendliest way possible

You just answered your own question. A driver's license is like a membership card to an exclusive club (roads and highways). You are agreeing to adhere to traffic laws by having a driver's license. It is about safety. Your argument about paying taxes is moot because kids can get their license at 16. They're not paying taxes.

Uhhh, to show that you understand how to operate a motor vehicle, and that you understand the rules of the road.

But you don't own the road. You share it with every other taxpayer. Your "rights" do not interfere with others. Without a license there's no guarantee that you're going to be a safe driver at all.

Disagree with this completely.

I wouldn't shed a tear if every single yield sign disappeared (and was replaced with a stop sign). Also.. 3-way stops in 4-way intersections: worst thing ever. I'd never even seen one until I moved to this strange place. Talk about an accident waiting to happen.

You're welcome to disagree. You're wrong of course, but you're welcome to it. (Lulz)

What reason could you have for wanting LESS yields instead of more? Especially if you're one who does not completely stop at every stop sign?

I do completely stop at every stop sign. It gives me time to check for cross-traffic without requiring that I take my eyes away from what is in front of a moving quarter-ton vehicle. It really helps when people actually stop at a stop sign so I can tell who actually stopped first. I just love it when I come to a stop just as someone else pulls up to the stop sign, but they don't actually stop, so they assume they go first.. when they never even stopped.

If having a license did guarantee that you're going to be a safe driver, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

A drivers license has nothing to do with keeping the roads safe. All the state actually cares about is collecting the fee. It's a tax.

That's what it's turned into. It was not the intent.

I don't mind stop signs so much as street lights that stay red when there's no one but me on the road at 3AM. However, an entire neighborhood full of 4-way stops can indeed be a bit irritating.

I personally think that the driving age should be 21 & the drinking age should be 18. A person should be given the opportunity to begin drinking (legally) & develop an alcohol tolerance before they're allowed to drive. I don't think that anyone should be permitted to drive without relatively extensive training. I don't think that driver's education courses should be offered in school (like they are now). They should be offered by the state or federal government, should require a fee & should last for at least a year. I think that a driver's permit should only give a student permission to drive with a certified trainer present.

Yeah, let's severely punish the kids who are actually responsible, just because some of their peers are dumb ****wits!

Nothing? At all?

It does so poorly but that IS what it is designed to do.

The first time I ever got pulled over/ticket was for the same thing, "rolling stop".. That was only the beginning, I've actually had lots of encounters with police officers on the road way (Young and dumb, with a "fast" sports car). Im always very polite, keep my hands on the wheel have the windows rolled down, explain to them if I am reaching for my registration/insurance card. Usually just doing this will make the officer feel more comfortable and less likely to actually write a ticket in my experience.

A friend of mine gets pulled over on a regular basis for having ridiculously dark/mirror tinted windows. He gets so upset and acts like a total ******* to the cops that they write him the most expensive ticket they can every time, some people just never learn.

I don't see how that could be considered "punishment". It has nothing to do with punishment & everything to do with public safety.

I find it utterly ridiculous that 15 year olds can drive in certain parts of the US.

There is a fee, even for the courses offered in school. Just because it's hidden and included in tuition doesn't mean you're not paying for it.

I for one would encourage more stringent driving tests. But how does one enforce that? The one I took was a joke, but I prepared a lot for it. Including how to parallel park (which wasn't even tested on). Any moron with basic motor skills (PUN INTENDED) could have passed it.

And that's where money comes into play.

When I was 17 I took a defensive driving course at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. They put us in cars with full roll cages and ran us through testing our reaction times through various different road scenarios. Then threw us in a skid car to test our car control ability. My point is, every new driver should have to attend this course. If you fail, you do not get your drivers license. The roads would be a lot safer. There may be some controversy about driving age, but let me tell you something, at the go-kart track these kids start racing at 4 years old. There are very talented drivers that are, 11, 12 years old (These karts are faster than your grocery getter), I would rather be a passenger to one of these kids than some 65 year old woman. I think the bottom line when it comes to road safety is people do not respect it and they take it for granted. The minute you do not respect your auto it will kill you.

Luckily I drive cars like a pro

The reason we have driving licenses is so that people who don't have them are banned from driving on public roads. It's kinda hard to make people carry around a 'complete ****wit who can't drive' card.