Professional courtesy from police at traffic stops

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Has anyone else gotten leniency from the State Patrol or Police during a traffic stop? I have gotten many warnings instead of tickets when I am on my way to work or if I manage to mention my occupation. I got stopped last week, I was in uniform and when the officer found out I was a nurse he said that he'd just write down my info really quickly so I could get to work on time. He didn't even ask for my insurance card! :lol2:

Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.

Locally, they all know me. I dont get tickets.but Ive been here for nigh on 20 yrs

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Specializes in Cardiology, Oncology, Medsurge.
and the winner is....

#1 "you didn't think we give tickets to pretty women? you're right, we don't. sign here..."

oh yeah! and that's the truth! end of the month ticket quotas for pds rule over hormones!

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Specializes in icu, er, transplant, case management, ps.
I live in Chesterfied, Va. and work in Richmond, Va. and I guess that my police officers are just the common vernacular for memberes, but because the last 3 tickets that I got (which were over a 12 year period) have been for stupid things and twice I was actually in uniform coming or going to work. The other time leaving the gym parking lot. Twice the tickets where for not having my wheels come to a complete stop at the corner stop sign when turning. And once was going around a garbage truck on a 2 lane road (one lane each way). Needless to say, I hate cops. I think that just mess with people. I never donate to their cause when the phone for solicitation. And I just wish that one of the ones who ticketed me needed my help at some point so that I could remind them of such. If I could remember them. As it is, we did have one cop (but he was a detective) and I treated him as I would "want to be treated" not as their kind treats me. :uhoh21:

Better be even more careful. Your state has raised the fines, on moving violations, in your state, for state residents only.

Woody:balloons:

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Has anyone else gotten leniency from the State Patrol or Police during a traffic stop? I have gotten many warnings instead of tickets when I am on my way to work or if I manage to mention my occupation. I got stopped last week, I was in uniform and when the officer found out I was a nurse he said that he'd just write down my info really quickly so I could get to work on time. He didn't even ask for my insurance card! :lol2:

I had a pt that was a police officer and he told me that they give people in medical field profesonal curttiy because if they are shot and you are the nurse coming in to help them they don't want you to think o this is th jurk that gave me a tic,:uhoh3:;):idea:

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
I've heard this before but it sounds like an urban myth to me. My stepdad was a cop for 20 years and no one in our family ever had a special bumper sticker.

My dad was a firefighter for 20+ years and they had stickers they would put on the back window of the car to identify them. They were red with the firefighter logo and usually what city.We were able to put them on our cars as long as we lived with him, but as soon as we moved out off the cars they came. They usually got my dad off with a waring, however one time he went out of state and the tropper didnt care and gave him a ticket.

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... He said he pulled me over because my windshield was cracked (which it is, but low on the windshield, not directly across my line of vision, and it has been that way for the past 4 years or so). He looked at my license and asked if I still lived at that address which I did, then asked if I was going to work at the hospital, I said yes I was. I was a little irritated, but I was making the effort to be pleasant, because I do appreciate what they do, but I lived in a bigger city area up until about 3 years ago and pulling people over for broken windshields was what the police out there did when they suspected something else was going on in the car that they wanted to check out. I couldn't imagine what made me look suspicious, I was driving a decent looking car, going the speed limit and obviously wearing scrubs. He just gave me a warning which I was happy about, but I was late for work and now I am all worried about getting pulled over again since I haven't gotten the extra $200 to get myself a new windshield yet!

REC

Seriously rec, the cracked windshield is very serious. The wind force on a windshield is very high at interstate speeds, and a crack seriously degrades the strength of the windshield. There have been lots of wrecks and injuries because the windshield collapsed. A family member of mine was driving fat, dumb, and happy at about 80 mph with a cracked windshield, when suddenly the windshield was in her lap, glass shards in her eyes, wind blasting in her face, and she still had to get the car stopped. Came out OK but what a mess!

Word of advice: check with your insurance company, depending on what kind of coverage you have you may be able to get the windshield replaced with no deductible. In my state, the insurance regs require that windshields be replaced at no deductible if the operator has comprehensive and/or collision. There are even car glass companies that come to you or were you work, and replace windshields, so you don't even have to take the car in. Look into it. Good Luck.

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I live in Chesterfied, Va. and work in Richmond, Va. and I guess that my police officers are just the common vernacular for memberes, but because the last 3 tickets that I got (which were over a 12 year period) have been for stupid things and twice I was actually in uniform coming or going to work. The other time leaving the gym parking lot. Twice the tickets where for not having my wheels come to a complete stop at the corner stop sign when turning. And once was going around a garbage truck on a 2 lane road (one lane each way). Needless to say, I hate cops. I think that just mess with people. I never donate to their cause when the phone for solicitation. And I just wish that one of the ones who ticketed me needed my help at some point so that I could remind them of such. If I could remember them. As it is, we did have one cop (but he was a detective) and I treated him as I would "want to be treated" not as their kind treats me. :uhoh21:

Sorry you feel that way US-RN. Just remember, cops have a job to do. Society demands that they do it, and supervisors direct them to do it. Traffic stops are the most common, and sometimes the only, contact between police and the general public. It can be unpleasant for the motorist and the officer too to have to enforce the law. There are things that nurses do that are unpleasant. The next time you start an IV the patient just might regard you as the common vernacular for a lady parts. But you do it because it's your job.

I would advise against taking out your frustrations on an officer you encounter as a patient. Even if it's just verbal, he/she could still land you in hot water. You worked too hard for that license to throw it away for bad judgement.

Ya know, I gave a lot of breaks to nurses on traffic stops. How come I rarely got a break when I was the patient? The stories I could tell...

Flyer

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

I have a friend who is going to cop school (or whatever you call it) and he told me that if I ever get stopped, I will never get a ticket if the cop knows I'm a nurse. Unfortunately, every time I have gotten stopped I was never on my way to/from work, was not wearing scrubs, and/or did not have my badge. :o

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
Sorry you feel that way US-RN. Just remember, cops have a job to do. Society demands that they do it, and supervisors direct them to do it. Traffic stops are the most common, and sometimes the only, contact between police and the general public. It can be unpleasant for the motorist and the officer too to have to enforce the law. There are things that nurses do that are unpleasant. The next time you start an IV the patient just might regard you as the common vernacular for a lady parts. But you do it because it's your job.

I would advise against taking out your frustrations on an officer you encounter as a patient. Even if it's just verbal, he/she could still land you in hot water. You worked too hard for that license to throw it away for bad judgement.

Ya know, I gave a lot of breaks to nurses on traffic stops. How come I rarely got a break when I was the patient? The stories I could tell...

Flyer

Thanks, that needed to be said. :yeahthat: There's no point in hating everyone in a certain occupation, that's illogical and absurd. And just voicing the desire to get revenge on a patient is utterly appalling. We should treat all patients with the same respect, even if we don't like their race, occupation, religion, lifestyle, or even if they are a criminal shackled to the bed. We have to always remember this. :nono:

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I have had friend get out of tickets when wearing their hospital ID/scrubs. But here in Tucson they actually sit in a 25 zone in back of the hospital (apparently residential streets here are almost always 25) just waiting for the doctors and nurses to come along so they can ticket us. When I got my ticket I was new here and from out of country, never even saw the speed limit signs...they also like to space them extremely far apart and usually hidden off to a side. I've dated police and still have some ex-police friends and they all are the same it is professional respect that they will give us warnings. This guy however didn't care and then had the nerve to try and chat me up while I'm getting very close to being late for work. I was not impressed... I got the last laugh, because being from out of country as were my plates, it does not affect my insurance, I don't have to go to traffic school, and I didn't pay the ticket... they have no real way to get me. I just have to be careful not to get pulled over again.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

There is a reason residential streets are 25 mph, because people live there. The reason they are staking out those streets is probably because the residents got totally fed up with people speeding to work and complained. So, I think the police were in the right to be enforcing the speed limit there.

In my state, residential streets are always 25 mph, it is a question on the drivers license exam and you are expected to know it. They don't post it because it's crazy to have to post it on every residential street, the driver is expected to know this law. The limit is to protect children and other residents of the neighborhood, not to annoy drivers.

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Well, I live in Florida, home of Crazy @$$ drivers. Holy cow, everyone here drives at least 10 miles over the speed limit.

I got pulled over early one morning on my way to school, we have white scrub tops, and he kindly approached my door and then

He said, "Ma'am, it's awfully earlier to be driving so fast. Is everything ok?"

I said, "Well, yes and no." (Insert puzzled look on his face)

I said, "I have an exam at my nursing school this morning and if I don't pass I am gonna just die (Obvious overstatement)"

He says, "Well, lets do this. You go to school and take your test and Pass; and I will forget all this happened this morning."

Of course I couldn't leave well enough alone...

I said, "What if I don't pass?"

He says. "I guess there will be one less obviously determined nurse in the ER when I might need one (Insert official cop wink)."

So....I passed..... Now every time I take a test I think of that cop and him saying what he did.

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