Ugh, run in with a VA State Cop
 

So, for a little intro to this story, I'm doing some temp work right now with the Northern Virginia Traffic Authority on how quickly their most active parking lots fill up. This entails getting to the parking lot/garage by 7 a.m. and doing car counts of the number of vehicles in the lot every half hour between 7 and 10 (or until the lot fills up).

So this morning, when I left the specific parking lot, I didn't see any sign that the way I was going out was for HOV-3 only. I realized, after I was on this HOV only side road, that I was in the wrong place so I saw a cop who had already pulled somebody over, and I pulled in behind him and waited for him to finish up with that so I could ask him how to get back to the main road. Well he comes over and is like "You're in violation of Viriginia state law blah blah blah." I tried to explain it was an accident and I was lost and trying to get back to the main road, and he was like "I don't care what you're trying to do, why are on you on this road, there is no reason to be on this road."

So I explain about the car counting, and he's interrupting me, "Why would you be doing that, you have no right to be doing that." So I start to pull out the letter explaining what I'm doing and that it's authorize and stuff, and he doesn't let me even get that out. He says something to the effect of, "Now why would I want to read that? I don't care about that, you are in violation of Virginia HOV law and you have no excuse to be in this lane, I don't believe you're here by accident."

So he takes my license and registration and i'm at this point fuming mad with him, because he's been rude and an asshole to boot. I mean, why would I PULL MYSELF over if I wasn't lost? By the time he finished writing up the ticket before me, I could have easily been to the highway, long past him. So I'm writing all his info (state car tag number, officer name, location, time, all the relevant info) and then he comes back with my license and registration and says, "Ok, ma'am, I believe you're really lost and that this was all an accident."

So I thanked him and got the directions I was looking for and no ticket, but shit. It was like he needed to verify I wasn't a felon or something before he decided I was legit? I mean, why on EARTH would I have pulled up behind a cop who was already giving somebody else a ticket if I hadn't been genuinely confused?! Plus i was worried, the fine for HOV violations in Virginia is a max of 1,000 which I don't have. It was crazy, and I couldn't believe how rude he was and how he was treating me like a prison bitch.

All's ok now, but what a nightmare. I love being guilty until deemed worthy of being innocent.

/tk

Maybe he went to Duke?

Virginia state cops are the rudest, most malicious cops I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I used to drive through Virginia about twice a month, and routinely got pulled over for, as far as I could figure, having out of state plates with tinted windows.

Simple. All Maryland drivers are horrible and we have instructed our police force to make sure you stay out of the state.

;)

HHAHAHAHAH, yeah right! Someone needs to teach the VA drivers that the Fast lane isn't for driving 10 miles below the speed limit.

It is when we see you coming :)

Did he have a bloodhound named Flash?

I travel by Chariot.

VA State Cops are awful. I lived in VA for 15 years. They suck. They're rude. They're on power trips.

Well, for the record, I think that Maryland drivers have such problems in Virginia because of sign labels. If you don't know where you're going exactly in VA, you're screwed. What I love in particular is how places like Mapquest or Yahoo Maps will give you street names, but the street signs all designate by numbers (Road 3100?! Sure!).

Plus, I've found, in driving on various Virginia side streets, that it can be hard to read those itty bitty signs on the side of the roads. Why can't they label a major street in the center of the road on an overhanging line like most every other state I've driven in does?!?

;)

/tk

Yeah, you can get bad cops at bad times. It sucks and you never know what you are going to get with one, just as well as they don't know what they are getting with you.

I only have two tickets ever. One was near downtown Houston on I-10. The cop was on the side and I cam up over the crest of this hill. I started coming down it and there was a large piece of a couch in the lane in front of me. To avoid it I sped up to get over into the other lane without hitting anyone or the piece of couch. The cop pulled me over and gave me a ticket for 65 in a frickin' 60. I was being passed by other cars still when I did this. Cop wanted to hear nothing about it.......

if you were a dude, you'd have a ticket right now

There are probably bad cops everywhere but it is notable that I have never lived in VA but it is the ONLY state I have ever gotten pulled over in - and every single traffic ticket I was issued was dismissed in court.

imagine what would have happened if you didnt have tits?

Now, for all I know, this guy could be a full-time jerk & nothing would have mattered, but ... some LEO's can get a bit nervous when someone they don't know approaches from behind during a traffic stop or similar. I've known a few who were very uneasy about that situation, so (given the change in his demeanor later), it's at least possible that he was on edge during the initial contact with you.

Not saying that's the case, just saying that it seems possible.

I don't think man-boobs help much.....

ok, you meant TK

Depends on the cop really.

how did you know his sign?

I agree.

Just cause you know who he is(a Cop) does not mean he knows/cares/gives a flying fuck about who you are. So of course he's gonna be on his guard cause you probably stressed his ass out. And if you are like any other female, you probably talked way to much, and thought that he actually gave a fuck what you were saying.

Not bad Fritz, not bad at all.

That's an interesting point, and I'd thought about it when I pulled up behind him. I tried to keep things clean/even by making sure my hands were on the steering wheel at all times until he came over to me, visible from outside of the car. I thought that might help keep things smooth.

/tk

They advertise this fact quite broadly.

A little detail they don't mention is that the fine for the first HOV offense is like $50 or $75, and you cannot get the big fine until your 4th or 5th.

This post makes me smile.

Stay away from the Boston area!

(Although MA is at least starting to get into putting up "xxx Rd next intersection" signs, which can be very handy.)

I thought Archie Bunker was dead.

Were you blasting NWA when you rolled up on him?

Nah... All you have to do is rev your engine up to 6,000 RPM's just show him what's up!

http://www.housetepes.net/sounds/iroc.mp3

30 minutes of pure gold.

Something my fellow Virginians (particularly those who have lived in Northern Virginia) have not mentioned...

The HOV lanes up there are a SERIOUS advantage to a commute. The abuse that goes on is ridiculous and a serious detriment to the legitimate HOV'ers. So, Cops are particularly hard-core about the HOV lane violations. There are so many scammers (including people putting inflatable dummies, etc in the car) that it is logical that the cop would assume you are trying to scam... "oh crap, he's pulling people over.. I better be proactive and act like I'm lost"... I'm sure it's been done before, and probably even done to this cop before.