Whaddaya mean that’s not what ’safe driving’ means?!………Okay, maybe that’s stretching a point. But when you get stopped for a traffic violation, you look in your mirror, and you see the officer striding up with that BOHICA look in his eye - have you fought off the urge to crack wise? C’mon, I know you really, really wish you had it in you to make the donut joke just this once. How many traffic violators - every day folks like you and me - who have been caught speeding, or running a red light, or rolling a stop sign, DO give in to that urge? Given the millions of traffic tickets and citations handed out over the past hundred years, my guess is hundreds of thousands of donut blasts have been dropped on traffic cops. And what’s the one common thread among all those ticketed drivers? They think the cop deserved it.

So what is it about traffic cops that turns respectable souls (that’s you and me) into venomous detractors of law enforcement - at least for an hour or a day or two? Here’s my take: we hate getting caught cheating. WELL - it’s damn embarrassing, and a total stranger who nabbed you red-handed is about to give you a souvenir for your lapse in driver awareness that could cost you hundreds, even thousands of dollars through increased insurance premiums. Even if the police officer’s a true pro and doesn’t lay any attitude or guilt on you, aren’t we experts at feeling stupid and wishing he’d go catch some real criminals? We can spool up all on our own, no further assistance required thank you officer, and find that Blue Meanie responsible for trashing what had been a wonderful life up to that point.

So how to avoid a potential stay at the Crowbar Hotel for unloading all your life’s regrets on a traffic cop who just wants to give you  a simple ticket and get on to the next scoff law? Ok, maybe that’s a little dramatic - although some of you have managed to escalate a routine traffic stop into a brawl. But to avoid giving the police a reason to pile on (issuing a mitt full of terribly minor but horribly expensive F.U. charges), try counting to 10 - maybe just to 3 for some of us - and stuff your ego into the glove box!!

That Suit outside your window has ALL the power. It makes our job here at WTL a lot tougher when the officer has detailed notes on what a brutal attitude you had. SO, let go, give it over - just for a few minutes - because that way you’ve given your traffic court gunslingers from Web Traffic Law some critical leverage to use on the prosecutors - an awesome client to defend!

…..while I get my license for you. Have you ever had a thought like that? Lord knows I have from time to time. We all have a bad cop story to tell, one of your own perhaps, but most often something you heard from a friend about someone else’s friend etc., etc. Have you ever really put yourself in a police officer’s uniform and thought about what it’s really – really – all about? You may have given it a noble try but I guarantee you didn’t get close. As a former police officer and Founder, CEO/President of Web Traffic Law, I’ll tell you why I say that.

You know how you treasure your privacy, how important it is that no one looks over your shoulder while you’re working. And you know how agitated you get if an unwanted intrusion of your privacy comes along. Chances are you can get away from it or make it go away. And I’ll bet you’ve never walked into a room where no one was happy to see you. Uniform police officers make their living under those very adverse conditions every single day. When you see them driving around in their patrol cars and stare at them to see what they might be doing every other person who sees them is doing the same thing. That police car is a 4-wheeled fish bowl for all ten hours of their work day. Imagine everyone staring at you while stopped at a red light, while you walk anywhere (all the time), while you’re dealing with a motorist, even while you’re just cruising the neighborhood. Absolutely no privacy. In fact, severe scrutiny is the order of the day. Now add in all the calls you’re sent on where, at best, half the people are glad to see you and the other half are angry to see you. Or worse, everyone is unhappy to see you when you walk in, and they’re likely drunk or high to boot. That’s a normal day for uniform police.

Having personally experienced all of this and then some for 16 years as a police officer, I can tell you that circle-the-wagons mentality police officers have between themselves and the public is a well earned, but skewed, perspective. Web Traffic Law is committed to bridging that gap by educating its site visitors and clients about the realities of policing. You won’t find any wilful blindness or pandering to the cops here – if they’ve performed badly you and I will rant about it. And if they’ve performed well I will always offer a Beautiful Bouquet (my expression for praise). My vision is to evolve Web Traffic Law into North America’s premier resource for traffic court defenses and traffic enforcement knowledge. Your input – your rant – is an invaluable asset to all of us who seek justice in our legal system. So give it to me!!