Giving up rights to not get a traffic ticket makes no sense to me. When I am stopped for an infraction I always assume I am going to get a ticket not a warning. I have recieved one warning out of all my traffic stops, and I suspect that the officer was on a fishing expedition for drugs. The stop was very early in the morning hours and the officer appeared to have realized he had stopped a good guy when I acted appropriately by performing the proper steps (windows down, engine off, lights on etc.) during the stop and being a CHL holder. My CHL is not a means of avoidinig tickets. If I get caught in a driving offense I deserve a ticket.JNMAR wrote:While I don't have a lot of experience in dealing with LEO, I do have some. It tells me that even though I might be perfectly within my rights to refuse his "offer" to check my weapons to see if they're stolen, a refusal, or any challenge of his/her presumed authority for that matter, is almost certainly going to guarantee that I get a ticket instead of a possible warning for whatever infraction he used to stop me for in the first place. As I have matured I've learned that sometimes the pleasure is just not worth the pain.gigag04 wrote:
I would consider running your SN of your guns through TCIC/NCIC a search, and I would decline. If he asked to disarm me I would allow him to (if I was only a CHL holder), and tell him that I do not allow him to run my guns to see if their stolen. It seems like an utter waste of time for the officer anyway...he would have no reasonable suspicion that the guns are stolen.
I have only been searched twice, once as a teen and once when I was in the military. I was not aware of my rights then but I doubt it would have made any difference. Long stories not relative to this discussion.
Now when I am stopped, I only answer questions pertaining to the stop. I do not respond to fishing questions and I do not respond well to being lectured especially by HPD officers bent on revenue generation. I will also not submit to any searches. I have never been disarmed but I will not accept it quietly as I am not a hazard to any LEO and I do not accept being disarmed for my safety. If my safety is at rsik then the LEO should disarm as well. My firearm is presenting no more of an issue than his is presenting.
I always turn my tickets over to an attorney who normally gets me deferred adjudication and probation. It is cheaper than paying the fine usually and I do not have to take driver ed. I never go to court.
I have toned down my driving habits recently and reduced my speeding tendencies. I figure that if I minimize the risk of being pulled over I then have less to worry about with respect to these issues.