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Keith B wrote:

RoyGBiv wrote:

Commander Cody wrote:I see nothing wrong with the stop. The police man thought you were texting, you told him you were not texting... done deal.

The policeman THOUGHT.....

Not a very high bar you're setting...

A policeman can THINK whatever they want.... they cannot act without PROOF
It requires PROOF to exceed the burden set forth in the 4th Amendment.

It is NOT, IN ANY way OK for anyone to stop me while driving my car because they are unable to see both of my hands.
The day this becomes the law is the day America is lost forever.

OMG.! I'm becoming a Libertarian.!

Actually, they can. All that is required to make the stop is reasonable suspicion. In this case, I believe he had that. However, he should have asked IF the OP was texting or not and allowed for an explaianation instead of just assuming that was what he was doing.

Yes.. Reasonable Suspicion is the threshold... Agreed.
I guess I'm a bit chafed that "not seeing both my hands on the wheel" might become "reasonable suspicion" that I'm texting in a school zone.
That would be setting the bar WAY too low, IMO.

Commander Cody wrote: Does not mean anything unless you can PROVE it. The policeman does not have to prove anything to ask you a question. He may have to PROVE something to make it stand up in a court of law, but I still think it was a good stop.

I know... there are a myriad of "excuses" that LE can use to pull you over if they want to...
It seems like the more we tolerate it, the less freedom we'll have.

Do I want LE to stop "bad guys"? Sure.
Do I want to be stopped because I have one hand on the stick shift? No.

Am I prepared to lose a few BG's so that I don't get stopped for having my hand on the shift? Yes.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety", Ben Franklin.

Cheers Commander.

Commander Cody wrote:I see nothing wrong with the stop. The police man thought you were texting, you told him you were not texting... done deal.

The policeman THOUGHT.....

Not a very high bar you're setting...

A policeman can THINK whatever they want.... but they cannot act without PROOF.
It requires PROOF to exceed the burden set forth in the 4th Amendment.

It is NOT, IN ANY way OK for anyone to stop me while driving my car because they are unable to see both of my hands.
The day this becomes the law is the day America is lost forever.

OMG.! I'm becoming a Libertarian.!

3dfxMM wrote:You're driving 20-25 mph. How much shifting are you having to do? :)

I might be anywhere from 1st to 3rd at that speed.. depending on whether I'm accelerating, slowing or idling..
If a LEO "catches" me shifting, and my cell phone is in the cup holder near the stick, am I "guilty"?

I've knocked on a few windows walking through the pickup line at school, pointed to the sign, and reminded several chatty drivers they were exposing themselves to a ticket. I'm not against this law. Quite the contrary.

I am, however, against being harassed for something I "might" have been doing.
If I have a hypodermic needle, I "might" have been shooting heroin, or taking insulin.
If I have a box of cookies, I "might" have been smoking marijuana, or I might have just dropped off a car full of kids that needed an energy boost.
If I have a gun, I "might" be a murderer".
I believe the terms is "lacking probable cause".

How far do we allow this to go?

glbedd53 wrote:The new law will require that both hands must be visible at all times while driving in a school zone.

And how does one manage this if they drive a standard (manual) transmission vehicle?