Cops and Nurses

Nurses General Nursing

Published

So a lot of the nurses I have spoken with believe they have a greater chance of being given a warning, instead of a ticket, for speeding if they have their RN badge visible when they are pulled over. Who here has been pulled over on their way to or from work and been given a pass? Who has bee ticketed? Is there any truth to it?

Specializes in ER.

I've been pulled over twice, for speeding, once by a local cop and once out of town. The local officer found my registration expired for 2 days (I'd been waiting for my paycheck) and could easily have cooked my goose. He recognized me from the ER and let me go with a warning. The out of town officer wrote me a ticket, but I went to court to plead my case. The judge and prosecuter fudged a few things and dismissed the charges. I think just showing up presentable was a big plus in court, and they were very kind once I told them where I worked.

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

I got pulled over in mickey mouse scrubs and was given a warning. I'm not a nurse but I guess he assumed. I was on my way to school ;-)

So I guess it's safe to say that some law enforcement officers take it into consideration and some don't.

Yep, sounds like it.

Specializes in nursing education.

True story... pulled over for speeding after PM shift... cop noticed that I had my nurse's uniform on. She asked why I was in such a hurry, I said I was just on my way home after a long shift. She get me go with just a warning. That didn't work after an equally long night shift though.

Specializes in military nursing.

I think being a nurse and intimately working with patients in motor vehicle accidents has deterred me from speeding. I can wake up a few minutes earlier or my co-worker is able to wait 5 more minutes for me. As far as expired plates, registration, whatever, what happened to attention to detail?

My husband is a cop and he doesn't write nurses (within reason).

I think being a nurse and intimately working with patients in motor vehicle accidents has deterred me from speeding. I can wake up a few minutes earlier or my co-worker is able to wait 5 more minutes for me. As far as expired plates registration, whatever, what happened to attention to detail?[/quote']

Ohhh YOU'RE the perfect person in the world. I wondered if I'd ever get the pleasure to meet you.

In 30 years as a nurse I've been pulled over for speeding maybe 7 times and have NEVER gotten more than a warning.Helps to have RN on your plate, I believe because the last time I was doing 90 !

Specializes in Cardio-Pulmonary; Med-Surg; Private Duty.

I have a friend who is a LEO and we discussed this a couple months ago. He said that unless the offense is something egregious (DUI, 20mph over the limit, driving on the sidewalk), he never writes tickets for nurses, clergy, or teachers. (The teachers thing surprised me until I stopped to think about it -- their work shift can be just as hellacious as ours... I know I couldn't handle it!)

As for the people who are offended that nurses get "professional courtesy" from cops, I just have this to say: Deal with it. EVERYONE has the chance to not get ticketed for any minor offense at any time for any reason. Life's not fair -- never has been, never will be. Here's a straw, suck it up, buttercup.

I've been ticketed before I was a nurse, and I've been let off with a verbal warning before I was a nurse. All of my incidents were speeding, 5-10mph over the limit, on a highway. I'm not out there swerving back and forth or going 75mph through a residential school zone and drifting around corners. Speeding is not always dangerous -- it certainly can be, but it is not always so.

Many speed limits are set artificially low in my area -- a few years ago the state mandated that speed limits be raised on many main roads around here because they did not match the needs of the traffic in the area. In one village there was a road that had a different speed limit for different sides of the road, and that "just happened" to be where the cop would sit and write speeding tickets (and the magistrate whose office collected a good portion of the fine "just happened" to let the dual speed limit remain in place).

If a cop wants to give someone a pass, that's up to the cop to decide, not a self-righteous nurse on an internet forum. I'm sure you don't want a cop telling you which size IV catheter to insert, or how long a piece of tape to use to secure a bandage.

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PACU.

One of our practitioners got pulled over one evening and she told the officer she was called in for an emergency...she was really on her way to a party. He said to her "Let me give you an escort" and brought her to the hospital, waited for her to go into the lot! She was also 45 minutes out of her way lol

Specializes in L&D.

I was pulled over for speeding on the way to the hospital once. The officer let me go for being a nurse. I try not to speed and make sure my cruise control is on b/c sometimes I daydream while driving.

Specializes in Emergency, ICU.
There's no reason to get a pass from a police officer, since you (global "you") should be following the rules of the road. We aren't special; drive safely!

Thank you! I was reading the responses and was shocked! I think I've been pulled over only once in my entire driving life ... And it was a cop telling me one of my break lights was out. No ticket. I'm not a slowpoke on the road either but I was trained by a great driver who taught me the tricks of safe driving (even when speeding). It's all about safety.

To answer the question, Yes. I do think cops let nurses go easy. And for the looks of it, maybe they shouldn't ;)

+ Add a Comment