Well the infamous killer metallic windveil blue 05 Mustang GT strikes again. 4 bullshit traffic stops in 4 years, not one ticket written.

This time my factory installed license plate light was not bright enough.

*sigh*

If you see that car on the news involved in a slow speed chase, and the driver is flipping off the news and police helicopters, don't worry, it's just me and yes, I had a federal security clearance two years ago.

Coming home from a church group meeting, no less.

I have been stopped for this 3 times in my 06

vince

I got stopped for supposedly my license plate lights being out a while back...  After the cop left I pulled into the next gas station to see if they had any bulbs...  Only to find that not just one of my lights were working...  both were.  I guess it was just a BS excuse to stop me because it was ~2 AM.  But I hadn't had a drop to drink...

Edit to add: Non-descript 2003 Silverado, not anything particularly sporty looking.

So, how did this genius determine the light was not bright enough?  Did he have a meter?

I've been pulled over before, because the cop said my brake light was out (in a red POS 99 civic hatchback).  of course when I go home, i placed a tool box on the brake pedal, walked behind the car, and lo and behold, both brake lights work.  He followed me out of my dad's neighborhood, and for an additional 3 miles or so, then I saw his lights suddenly come on.  that bastard probably was expecting some up to no good minority.  he got the minority part right, but not the up to no good part.  no ticket, but he did waste about 15 minutes of my time.

Terry stop?

The infamous evil black '65 Plymouth hasn't been stopped in ages. It's got a twin turbocharged fuel injected 440 with straight pipes exiting in front of the tires that set off car alarms regularly. Fat tires and a Max Wedge hood scoop add to it's not-so-friendly appearance. I don't remember if the license plate light works or not. I don't run a front plate. Cops leave it alone. They turn their heads and watch me go by but never pass a dirty look.

Maybe they're just checking out the Mustangs because of the street racer kid image.

Is that what they're using now? I've been stopped for "suspiciously throwing a cigarette out the window". At least that's the reason the cop used. I don't smoke.

Sometimes you just want to ask people "Couldn't you think of a better lie than that?"...  Of course that doesn't just apply to cops pulling people over and then making up a BS excuse...

The worst I ever experienced like that in a traffic stop was the cop who first told me he pulled me over because I "didn't look like I belonged in that area".  This was driving on a major through street with an interstate exit...  I asked him what the zip code was and what was the zip code on my license (same).   He then hemmed and hawed and said that they had reports of a red Thunderbird driving fast through there.  Both my friend and I in the car started laughing and I told him only an idiot would mistake my not red Chevelle for a Thunderbird and that I had just come from the next county over.  He turned beet red, threw my driver's license at me, stormed back to his car and took off like a bat out of hell without saying another word.

Roland Carnaby Fantasies?

Is a license plate light not being bright enough reasonable suspicion for a Terry stop?

I find that hard to believe.

As far as DPS is concernedfor state inpection there is no is it bright enough check. Either it works or it doesn't. I agree it was a BS stop. I was pulled over for changing lanes and "nearly" hitting a troopers car. He was atleast 4 cars back when I changed lanes. I don't know, maybe he was bored or didn't like my LaRue sticker.

Yeah, my truck's license plate lights passed inspection without problem a month or two after I was pulled over for them supposedly not working...

Ask the officer to please take his sunglasses off at night next time.

I was stopped in Nashville by a trooper 7 years ago for doing 63 in a 65... wanted to know what I had to had and why I was trying so hard to blend in...
Then proceeded to ask if he could search my vehicle.. to which I replied,no kinda half smart ass and half scared. He then proceeded to obtain a warrant (or so he led me to believe).
Another trooper showed up and seemed to have authority over the trooper that stopped me. The one that stopped me was acting like the presence of this new trooper
gave him the right to search my vehicle. At that point I was put in the back of the new arrivals cruiser. He took out all my luggage, a full size ALICE pack and 2 large duffel bags.
and strew it all over the back of the car and then came and told me that I was free to go. He never looked in the trunk or the glove box which was locked.

Those kind of troopers give LEOs a bad name...  

I suppose it could have been worse, they could have demanded your keys or even worse punched out your locks to get into the glove box and trunk.

All these are called pretext stops, or in police lingo "shotgunning". US Supreme Court sanctioned it in 1996 under a case entitled Whren v. US. The scope of the stop has been expanded since then under other various rulings, like requiring all passengers to produce ID or name and DOB on demand.

Read here:http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/95-5841.ZO.html

Basically if a police officer thinks you're suspicious for any reason he/she gets a pass to pull you over by either using a real or bogus reason in order to check you out.  Usually its failure to signal a lane change or some other traffic infraction.

I'm generally a safe driver, but its absurd how out of hand this kind of policing has expanded.  I've been pulled over numerous times in an old 1987 suburban used for weekend work, once  3 times in 4 months by different DFW area PD, each time I was cleared and given a BS excuse and a verbal warning.   Back in March, a Southlake officer zapped me from 100 yards behind, and came up at least at 80mph. I was the lone vehicle, no other traffic on a Sunday evening going to the movie theater with my 4y/o niece. He said he pulled me over for allegedly speeding 53 in a 45 zone on the eastbound 114 access road, the problem was there was no posted limit and the cop knew it. He then proceeded to ask a bunch of personal questions that were irrelevant to the stop, and I politely told him so. Combined with this and my pointing out that there was no limit posted, and that I was driving a reasonable speed for the road conditions, he got beligerant, and proceeded to lecture me, then took my DL and made me and my 4y/o niece wait 20 minutes while he ran me, causing us to miss the beginning of the movie. He then let me off with a warning. I just let him vent, although I had to calm my niece who was screaming and crying in the child seat, thinking I was going to jail. Someone must have challenged a ticket there later though, because 2 months later a new speed limit sign was erected. Go figure. Other times the excuse has been failure to signal a lane change excuse after the cop has tailgated me for a mile, waiting for an excuse.  Nice to see some creativity popping up. I know that the reason I get pulled over in the work truck is usually based on profiling, whether its economic (too poor looking for the area, ie: above story),/crackmobile/illegal immigrant perception, because I go out of my way to scrupulously obey the traffic laws while using it, and keep it inspected and insured along with no obvious safety defects.  Not once have I been pulled over while using my daily driver, a Mercedes.

I've been pulled over for the "no license plate light" several times.


Only once was it actually not working.  Never have received a ticket for it.

Just FYI....(don't shoot the messenger)
The Texas Statutes concerning the LP light. The fact that it's "working" isn't necessarily good enough. It has to satisfy a level of efficiency. That part isn't checked at inspection stations.
See highlighted below:

Sec. 547.322.  TAILLAMPS REQUIRED.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (b), a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or vehicle that is towed at the end of a combination of vehicles shall be equipped with at least two taillamps.

(b)  A passenger car or truck that was manufactured or assembled before the model year 1960 shall be equipped with at least one taillamp.

(c)  Taillamps shall be mounted on the rear of the vehicle:

(1)  at a height from 15 to 72 inches; and

(2)  at the same level and spaced as widely apart as practicable if a vehicle is equipped with more than one lamp.

(d)  A taillamp shall emit a red light plainly visible at a distance of 1,000 feet from the rear of the vehicle.

(e)  If vehicles are traveling in combination, only the taillamps on the rearmost vehicle are required to emit a light for the distance specified in Subsection (d).

(f)  A taillamp or a separate lamp shall be constructed and mounted to emit a white light that:

(1)  illuminates the rear license plate; and

(2)  makes the plate clearly legible at a distance of 50 feet from the rear.
(g)  A taillamp, including a separate lamp used to illuminate a rear license plate, must emit a light when a headlamp or auxiliary driving lamp is lighted.

revenue pere and simple

Kinda makes you want to pull up next to all the officers in a new charger and say, your welcome.
I couldn't help but notice while I was working down in laredo that  EVERY single broder patrol agent had a 08 or 09 charger or tahoe.
and I could count 30+ of them every day. although that may be more in thanks to the cartel's/

Or maybe its the fact that the Dodge Charger is the cheapest fleet police vehicle on the market.

And the front seats suck too.

Would you trade it for a Challenger?

Funny... I've been driving my Jetta with no front plate at all for a year and a half, and have never even been pulled over.

I think it's a dare. They want me to try and outrun them. Better engine than the Crown Vic plus a 1000 lbs lighter. Charger has a bigger engine, but that's another heavy car, my GT could take it, even the little 303 hp chevy Malibu, I could smoke it. Don't see many new cameros out there yet for police use.

They'd be calling for the helicopter.

Fuck you AROCK!

Heh.  I haven't had a front plate on my f-150 since 2005.  I've never been pulled over specifically for not having a front plate.  I have had a ticket written for it, though it was tacked on in addition to speeding.  City cop.  Judge dismissed the no plate ticket when I agreed to deferred adjudication for the speeding.


I've been told the way TX law is written if you don't have a front license plate bracket then the front plate isn't required.  Though I have no idea if that's true or not.  Kinda doubt it.

TX requires a front and rear plate no matter the make or model of the vehicle.

What does that have to do with anything?  

FWIW, the OP says he has been stopped 4 times, and has not been issued a ticket.  Has nothing to do with revenue.  My guess is it was PC to check for warrants.


Thanks for the new cars BTW.  

Maybe ya'll could give us a raise one day, or maybe those of you who cry about revenue want to be the buffer between law abiding citizens and the like of MS13 and similar turds.

It's a reference to that guy who was pulled over for something or other and claimed to work for the CIA while refusing to get out of the car. IIRC, the situation ended with him being shot dead.

lol I remember that. Guess that guy shouldnt have done that.

Google my previous post - Roland Carnaby.