[beachstartup]

note that i indicated plural. windows. that's the thing he missed. they want to have a clear non-glass-obstructed view into the vehicle from both sides, especially at night.

and they will always approach on the passenger side if there's a lot of traffic.

'the protocol' is tricky. even i forget things sometimes, and need to be told by the cop. but i usually get enough of it right that they don't yell at me. it's hard when you're new at this and the adrenaline is pumping when you see the blue and red lights. he probably left his engine running too. not good.

somewhat un-intuitively, if you nail it perfectly (meaning you've clearly learned this through many pullovers), they tend to be more lenient. this is my own personal experience from being pulled over multiple times per year for 17 years of driving.

[jonlucc]

It makes me sick that we have to do those kinds of things to make them feel safe. They're the ones who took the job willingly.

Anecdote: I was recently pulled over on a rural Arkansas road for speeding (at the front of a pack of cars one of whom was riding my ass on a 2 lane road, but I digress). I followed most of the "protocol", but I didn't roll all my windows down. The officer approached, and when I told him that I needed to reach into the glovebox for the rental information, he said "you're fine" in a dismissive way.

It immediately struck me that I had no way of knowing whether he meant that he was a cop that won't over-react to reaching into the glovebox without the disclaimer, or that I was white.

[PhantomGremlin]

this is my own personal experience from being pulled over multiple times per year for 17 years of driving

Wow. That's a lot. I've been driving for over 40 years and have been pulled over about a half dozen times total.

Part of it must be that you're not white, and part of it must be the sports cars. But maybe you're driving around in the "'hood" a lot? Policing is probably much more aggressive in certain parts of town.

[voxic11]

So do you have motorised windows on all your cars or do you get into the passenger seat to roll it down? I can't reach my passenger window from the driver seat and I always assumed it would be better not to be moving around a ton while the officer approaches...

[beachstartup]

well, chances are if you're driving a car that old, the cop is going to be on high alert anyway, and will know to approach from the driver's side, or tell you what to do from the loudspeaker.

i didn't make the world an unfair place, but that's how it goes.

[b_t_s]

Imagine if he had crank windows & had to reach across the seat to roll it down the passenger side...woulda been shot for sure ;P