Ponch is Lookin' Goooood ......
we got up at 5 this morning to take joanne to the oakland airport. by the time we were on our way back, passing through marin, i was tired and desperately in need of coffee. plus, these jackasses in the fast lane were going at the speed limit with nobody in front of them. of course, i swing over to the middle lane and pass their slow asses on the right.
just didn't see the CHP car.
so i pull over to the shoulder, and up walks a cute female officer. i could tell she was in to me ... just the way her eyes got all needy as she looked across kimmy's pregnant belly at the hunk of manly goodness in the driver's seat, as her eyes settled on the suave sweatpants and slippers, and finally came to rest on my chisled visage. she was obviously having trouble breathing -- as the pheramones and adrenaline buzzed around in her head. i helped her out by offering a warm smile and my driver's license. "oh yeah," she seemed to say, "i have a job to do."
oops. sorry ... that's what you get when you're writing a letter to penthouse forum in another window while trying to type a blog entry.
anyway, in reality, she was very nice -- asked if there was an emergency (she obviously noticed kimmy's belly) -- i said no ... honesty being the best policy with people who are used to getting bullshitted. she ended up letting me go, but wrote a fix-it ticket requiring me to finally get off my ass and get my CA driver's license. i've been using the florida one, avoiding a trip to hell ... i mean, the DMV.
just didn't see the CHP car.
so i pull over to the shoulder, and up walks a cute female officer. i could tell she was in to me ... just the way her eyes got all needy as she looked across kimmy's pregnant belly at the hunk of manly goodness in the driver's seat, as her eyes settled on the suave sweatpants and slippers, and finally came to rest on my chisled visage. she was obviously having trouble breathing -- as the pheramones and adrenaline buzzed around in her head. i helped her out by offering a warm smile and my driver's license. "oh yeah," she seemed to say, "i have a job to do."
oops. sorry ... that's what you get when you're writing a letter to penthouse forum in another window while trying to type a blog entry.
anyway, in reality, she was very nice -- asked if there was an emergency (she obviously noticed kimmy's belly) -- i said no ... honesty being the best policy with people who are used to getting bullshitted. she ended up letting me go, but wrote a fix-it ticket requiring me to finally get off my ass and get my CA driver's license. i've been using the florida one, avoiding a trip to hell ... i mean, the DMV.
posted by Ben at 11:31 AM
3 Comments:
Ben, Ben, Ben.....and you're such a good driver along with all that other "manly" shit you threw in there. She must have been a very maternal cop!! Not that we didn't see any cops on the way to the airport, right!!!!
Momma J.
my stomach hurts i'm laughing so hard. love, mom
You're lucky you only got a ticket. Here is the way it could have gone...
... you have ten days to notify the DMV after you move. If you move from one state to another, you need to get a driver license from the new state.
I guess you could have told the officer that you are just visiting from Florida, but last time I check you finally got rid of those Florida plates and got California plates. It's also likely that your proof of insurance also has your local California address. So there are two indicators that you now live in California.
So the officer runs your name through the California DMV and finds that you use to have a driver license in California, but we can assume that is probably expired, plus when you got the Florida license it makes the California one invalid. "But Officer, my Florida license hasn't expired." You can't have a driver license in more then one state at the same time.
So this puts you in the category of "the unlicensed driver." This is what happens now:
You get a misdemeanor citation for 12500(a)VC, driving without an issued driver license, plus what ever the original violation was for.
Here is the part that really pisses people off... car gets towed. "But Officer, can my wife drive, she has a valid California license?" Sorry, California law says that the car must be towed if the driver does not have an issued license or is suspended/revoked. Plus it must be impounded for 30 days. The storage fees for that will probably be over $1,000. I don't know how other departments handle it, but mine will only release it early if you can prove that the driver had a valid license at the time of the stop.
Now this was a the worst case scenario. There's often more than one way to handle a traffic stop. You were probably cited for the section of the vehicle code that says that you have to inform the DMV within 10 days when you move, which is a correctable ticket (I don't remember the exact section, I don't think I ever used it).
I guess the moral of the story is that a good attitude goes a long way when it comes to dealing with police officers. Whether you agree with it or not, the law provides a lot of discretion on how officers enforce laws: sprit of the law versus letter of the law. We are taught that the purpose of traffic stops in education. If I believe that by giving you a warning will keep you from violating the section in the future, then a warning would be appropriate. If your attitude gives me the impression that a warning would not educate you, then a ticket would be appropriate, and the courts and DMV can do their part to educate you.
Most people aren’t very happy when they are stopped by the police, and many of those don’t express that unhappiness politely. So it is often a breath of fresh air when officers come across someone that doesn’t give them the attitude. You might still get a ticket, but it might not be as bad at it could be.
Or maybe next time if you just drive slower you wouldn’t have attracted her attention in the first place…
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