First Encounter - Good but confused

[rgraham541]

About 100 yards from leaving my driveway there is a slight rise in the road and just as I reached the top I could see the top of the Comal County Sheriff's car off to the side off the road. Looking down at the dash I saw my speed was between 35 and 40 (35 MPH speed zone) so I backed off a little to pass the Deputy a kept on going. As I looked in the rearview I saw the lights come on and the Deputy pull out. Thinking the Deputy had received a call I pulled over to let him pass and, to my surprise he pulled up behind me. Windows down, DL, CHL, and Insurance in hand with both hands on the wheel. Presented my documents and the Deputy asked if I knew what the speed limit was to which I responded 35 MPH. The Deputy responded that the limit was 30 MPH and he showed me doing 38 as I came up over the rise. Never once questioned if I was armed or where my sidearm was.

Long story short:

Got a warning (Good). Deputy said he would take my word on the 35 MPH speed limit. Warning lists reason for stop was speeding but the field for posted limit and clocked speed were left blank.

Posted speed 35 MPH. Speed limit sign fifty feet behind us. He had to drive by it when he pulled me over.

Told by the Deputy that all roads in Texas posted at or over 35 are required to have a center strip painted and this road is not marked(?) I'm not on the TXDOT team so this comment baffled me as if I was supposed to know this.

Technically yes, I was speeding. 3 MPH over posted speed. But the Deputy not knowing the posted speed? I think maybe the Deputy was doing a little noon time fishing.

[USA1]

Technically yes, I was speeding. 3 MPH over posted speed. But the Deputy not knowing the posted speed? I think maybe the Deputy was doing a little noon time fishing.

He might have been doing a little fishing. I've been hooked and released a few times myself.

Personally since I'm on the good side of the law (except for a little speeding here and there) I don't mind them (legally) fishing because that's how they catch people who are up to no good or have warrants in many instances.

I have great respect for Law Enforcement. They have to deal with the worst of the worst on a daily basis.

[gigag04]

Yeah - I have no idea on that one. First thing I do is check the speed of where I'm running traffic.

[KD5NRH]

I have great respect for Law Enforcement. They have to deal with the worst of the worst on a daily basis.

They don't have to eat in the cafe. There's room in the car for a sack lunch.

[Drewthetexan]

I think maybe the Deputy was doing a little noon time fishing.

I've also been stopped for no "real" reason a few times. Once by a Dallas constable running radar for window tint that he "thought was too dark". It was daytime, my light transmittance was 70% - nowhere near being illegal, and we both knew it.

I wanted to tell him to stick to serving papers...

[budroux2w]

Told by the Deputy that all roads in Texas posted at or over 35 are required to have a center strip painted and this road is not marked(?) I'm not on the TXDOT team so this comment baffled me as if I was supposed to know this.

Weird, I know of at least one off the top of my head posted at either 40 or 45 with no center stripe.

[gigag04]

I wanted to tell him to stick to serving papers...

He would've given you a funny look because thats more a constable function. Or a city marshall if in an incorporated area.

That center stripe thing is just weird. I have no idea on how to interpret that aspect. I'd probably shake my head and walk away...with a smirk.

[Abraham]

I was smoking cigars with two off duty LEO's yesterday and one commented on stops and attitude. Suffice it to say, he was essentially stating if he felt it necessary to stop someone and they didn't act belligerent about it, he'd find out what he needed and both would go on their merry way...none the worse for the experience.

LEO's are people too.

If all treat each other with courtesy - odds of a mutually agreeable experience are enhanced tremendously.

[srothstein]

Told by the Deputy that all roads in Texas posted at or over 35 are required to have a center strip painted and this road is not marked(?) I'm not on the TXDOT team so this comment baffled me as if I was supposed to know this.

Just out of curiosity, I tried to verify or disprove this. I couldn't find anything in the law about it so I checked with the federal guide on highway markings. If anyone is curious also and wants to read it, the US Dept. of Transportation maintains the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices as a standard for all the states to use. I vaguely recall TxDOT adopting it for the Texas standard, but we might have one we modified (and I did not check). Anyway, it is available on the web at http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/html_index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

The best I could find is a standard that requires a center line based on an average daily count of 6000 vehicles, or engineering standards if the count is not available.

And like most of you probably do, I know of many rural farm or ranch to market roads that are posted at 65 and have no center line. Some are posted that fast and barely wide enough for two cars it seems too.

I hate officers that make up their own rules to justify stops instead of doing their job correctly to begin with.

[ELB]

...I've also been stopped for no "real" reason a few times. Once by a Dallas constable running radar for window tint that he "thought was too dark"...

Yes, I was stopped for "window tint" once and I knew right off that was baloney. Later in the stop, after we sorted things out, I pressed the officer for what was really going on. He admitted he originally thought I might be sneaking illegal aliens in my (four-door) pickup, called in my license number with an incorrect digit, and of course it didn't match, so he thought he might have a stolen vehicle (as well as illegals, I guess). When I handed him my DL and CHL, he got a perplexed look on his face, walked around to my license plate, made another radio call, and suddenly relaxed a whole bunch...

[OldSchool]

... called in my license number with an incorrect digit, and of course it didn't match, so he thought he might have a stolen vehicle (as well as illegals, I guess).

This is similar to one of our favorite family stories. A few years ago, while our kids were still in High School, the younger kid was driving the four of us home in our 1967 Mustang. He was doing fine, stopping at all stop signs (a habit I forced upon my family -- but that's another story) and going the speed limits (same story). A block from our house, he's pulled over by a city cop. Our confusion was certainly evident as the officer came up to the car, but it became clear he was even more confused when he asked, "Is this an Oldsmobile?" He said the license plate indicated stolen -- we easily proved otherwise.

We did not start laughing until he had quickly gone back to his car and already left the scene (it was tough holding it in, though, for that long).


In earlier times back home, I was friends with all of the authorities, almost all of whom I greatly respected (even the ones others felt had a superiority complex), and they respected me. Over the past few years, though, I have become more and more concerned....

[ninemm]

I wanted to tell him to stick to serving papers...

He would've given you a funny look because thats more a constable function. Or a city marshall if in an incorporated area.

That center stripe thing is just weird. I have no idea on how to interpret that aspect. I'd probably shake my head and walk away...with a smirk.

Uh, it was a constable he was talking about.

[WildBill]

"Is this an Oldsmobile?"

[chabouk]

"Is this an Oldsmobile?"

Yes. This is not your father's Oldsmobile.

[OldSchool]

"Is this an Oldsmobile?"

Yes. This is not your father's Oldsmobile.

We were all pretty much struck dumb at the question (not a common thing for this family!) so didn't come up with anything witty like that. Probably better that way....