[The_President]

If you’re on the interstate in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, and hope off of it to take some back road, you’ll throw a flag.

They sent someone out to intercept me at 3 am. Just drug traffic monitoring. Once I was cleared by having “just as surprised to see you as you are to see me” conversation, I was on my way. Two things about being near the border at night: 1) don’t ride dirty, 2) you will get pulled over just speed anyway.

[ProllyInfamous]

>you will get pulled over just speed anyway

If this is in Texas, absolutely. Doing 75 in an 80 is suspicious AF.

A few decades ago I did contracting work on Texas military bases; I would always smoke a pre-rolled blunt between the border bases and inland-checkpoints. To the chagrin of drug dogs just looking for people to harass (surprisingly: rarely me).

>don’t ride dirty

We were always taught to only break one law at a time.

[The_President]

States like Texas, Louisiana, and Florida are those kind of states where an unwashed car stands out pretty much anywhere and is another way to increase chances of getting pulled over. Deep cultural expectation to "take care of your stuff."

[ProllyInfamous]

Absolutely — a car wash before any road trip South.

[salawat]

>If this is in Texas, absolutely. Doing 75 in an 80 is suspicious AF.

Oh, please. Half the damn signage in Texas hasn't been updated from 75, and if you weren't a Texas resident to read when the State updated the daytime speed limit to 80 in the newspapers, you wouldn't know that signs notwithstanding, 80 is the speed you should be going in the day. If you're just passing through the state, speed limit signs on parts of the interstate that haven't been updated still tell you 75. If anything it was a masterful move by Texas LE to engineer probable cause to do a traffic stop on anyone who wasn't a local, which would tend to select for non-resident traffickers.

I say this as someone who was a resident in the state when that change happened and is disgusted every time I go through and see unupdated signs. It is disingenuous, yet effective, profiling of the worst sort that seems to be ignored by most in favor of thinking like quoted poster's.

I seem to be of a minority that believe that a State has an obligation to clearly and consistently communicate the actual state of their traffic management regime to drivers from in and out of state via signage. Not play games to manufacture justification to surveil subpopulations that aren't likely to be represented/incapable of voting.

[ProllyInfamous]

I grew up in Texas, but only visit from out-of-state, for the past couple decades.

I remember when the national speed limit of 55mph was removed, and Texas raised the speed limit to 65, then 75; but also created a night time speed limit that was still stupid slow. Not too long ago, a toll road now has 85mph (with 99mph tolerated, if uncongested).

Didn't realize so much old signage still existed, but from the looks of most Southern state infrastructure... we probably can't raise the speed limits too much more due to potholes, alone (but really outside of cities should be like Montana was, decades ago "drive prudently").

Still waiting for the first state that implements an "enhanced drivers license credential," which would be en external emblem showing the driver was more-skilled // better-insured and therefore legally able to drive faster.