Do Nurses Get Traffic Tickets?

Nurses General Nursing

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We were having a discussion at work where one nurse stated she always hung her RN work ID from her rear view mirror in case she got pulled over. She said once the law enforcement officer saw that she was an RN, he/she would not ticket her. Another nurse said she got out of tickets by saying she had been called into work. Lol... she said this even worked when she was driving in the opposite direction of the hospital. A male coworker questioned whether this applied to males as well. I have not gotten pulled over (knock on wood) in the 4 years I have a nurse, so this was news to me. :redpinkheJust curious...what are your experiences with being pulled over as a nurse?

I have been pulled over twice for speeding ( 10 over).... AWAY from work. Cop let me go both times. There IS a code of respect between nurses and cops.

It does not always apply, as I had a nurse friend that was ticketed for the same offense.

Depends on if the cop got any the night before.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Peds, Geriatrics, Home Health.

I have had a policeman wave me through a sobriety checkpoint on the way home from work one night (after working 3-11 shift) while I was wearing scrubs. But I have also received speeding tickets while wearing my scrubs (also on the way home from work). I don't really like the idea of letting nurses go just because they are nurses. I think everyone should be held accountable for what they do wrong. That being said, maybe just pulling a nurse over and assessing the situation is enough to know whether or not she is under the influence and a warning is okay.... I'm okay with that, after all they give citizens warnings too. I'm just worried that letting nurses go just because they are nurses could be a mistake because it they were running some of these drivers licenses and/or plates they could be finding things such as felonies or maybe a nurse who is stealing and holding narcotics in her car.

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And I think your mistake may have been begging the officer to give you a verbal warning. I've been pulled over speeding home from a night shift, and I always apologize profusely and prepare to get the ticket. I don't beg them for a verbal warning -- I was speeding. I deserved the ticket. I got the verbal warning.

Exactly this. I have been pulled over for speeding, after nightshifts and I had NO idea how fast I was going. But I knew it was too fast! Cop comes up the side of my car, peers in and sees me, my scrubs, ID. Says something to the effect of "do you HAVE ANY IDEA how fast you were going?!?". To which I'd reply "honestly, no....but obviously it was way too fast....sorry....I just got off shift and all I can think about is getting home to bed. Really sorry, I'm sure I must have been speeding..." Ready to get my punishment.

And no ticket. Honesty works! OTOH, my dh wasn't so quick to let me off the hook....!

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I begged for a warning only after I saw him writing the ticket, when he first came out up to the window, I just gave him what he asked for, I said nothing, I gave it to him and he left, and I saw him writing the ticket, prior to this I explained to him I was night shift just got off work and just want to get to bed, but still he went and wrote it, that's when I begged for a warning, but no luck,sometimes it's not your attitude, it's just the cop and your luck

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
I begged for a warning only after I saw him writing the ticket, when he first came out up to the window, I just gave him what he asked for, I said nothing, I gave it to him and he left, and I saw him writing the ticket, prior to this I explained to him I was night shift just got off work and just want to get to bed, but still he went and wrote it, that's when I begged for a warning, but no luck,sometimes it's not your attitude, it's just the cop and your luck

You might have seen him writing a written warning -- not a ticket.

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I have NEVER receive a ticket from an officer in person and I get pulled over at least once every two months. Most of the time I'm my way to work and running later. They usually just tell me to take it easy on the road, make suggestion like i won't ticket you because you may be the nurse to save my life in the future or something like you have a hard job as it is am going to give you a break. The only tickets I have every gotten are from those speed camera's, those sucker don't care who you are;);)

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Specializes in Acute Care Pediatrics.

I work in a Children's hospital, and often deal with law enforcement on the floor in the case of child abuse investigations, etc. We were talking to a police officer one night at the station, and he said that it is an unwritten rule among the force that they don't ticket our nurses. He advised us to keep our employee ID in the car somewhere visible. I have yet to test this theory. I'm such a rule follower! LOL!

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I feel like even though cops and nurse's job descriptions are totally different, we can relate based on crazy interactions with the public. I've said---we are like cousins!

That being said, I have gotten a ticket. Then again, I haven't tried the ol' I'm a nurse trick. A family member whose also a healthcare worker with a long work commute used to swear by 'im en route to the hospital.' (He actually was, though).

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Specializes in Med-Surg Nursing.

I just got pulled over for speeding a few weeks ago. The cop said I was going 80 in a 65 MPH zone even though I had my cruise control set at 72:no: I handed him my drivers license. He asked me where I was going and I said to work. He asked me where I worked and I told him, said I was called in (which was a partial lie--I was put on-call and then taken off call but wasn't called in early :roflmao: ) sO He let me off with a warning and said to slow down.:up:

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Specializes in Critical care.

I got 2 tickets on my birthday in a span of 15 minutes. I never tell them I am a nurse or that my husband and son are cops. I was speeding and it taught me a lesson. Haven't got a ticket since.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgial, Cardiac, Pediatrics.

Got pulled over for running a stuck red light at 2am (I seriously sat there for like 10 minutes waiting for it to change and finally lost patience with it and ran it), in scrubs, with my name badge on, while I was going back to work after a break. Got a ticket, and no sympathy whatsoever.

Nope, don't count on it.

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