About two months ago I was driving a beat-up Buick Century around 1am in the city of Indianapolis. I had to be going around 55mph. A cop pulls me over and says I'm getting a seatbelt ticket. My question is how could he have possibly seen that I didn't have a seatbelt on? The thing that really irked me was I had just taken it off to find something in my backseat. I think I was being followed because my car looked like a "drug" car. I get pulled over at least once a month. The excuse most of the cops use is that my backtail light is busted out. They pull me over even when I have red tape covering it. Do you guys think that it was just by the cops convenience that I didn't have a seatbelt on? Because I don't see HOW he could have seen inside my car at 1am. I think he was looking for an excuse to pull me over. BTW, don't respond if you're just going to say it serves me right that I got one or that I was disobeying the law, etc. I already KNOW this.
2007-09-24 18:40:40 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Hey Mac guess what?! I DID pull over to look. I just forgot to put it back on. Also, I'm not endangering ANYONE by me not putting on MY seatbelt. Jerk off.
2007-09-24 19:03:07 · update #1
The whole POINT I was trying to make was that the cop had to be following me BEFORE he could see that I forgot to fasten my belt back. I'm totally aware that I was "breaking the law" or whatever but that wasn't the point. My car was being profiled.
2007-09-25 04:28:16 · update #2
Cops profile all the time. I had one cop use the excuse that my rear license plate light was out, one problem when he turned on his lights he was in front of me not behind me.... If it isn't the seatbelt they use as an excuse its just something else. Basically half the laws that cops use are designed for one purpose: an excuse to pull over suspicious cars. If they are going to use the laws illegally anyway, they might as well just allow cops to pull people over without having an excuse, that way my police record wouldn't show a huge number of warnings that I didn't really deserve.
2007-09-24 18:58:22 · answer #1 · answered by scorch_22 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If the cop was behind you, he probably saw you take it off. Seatbelts can be seen through a rear window. An officer can see if it is across you (where it should be) or just hanging by the door. It used to be that in order for a cop to cite you for a seatbelt violation, he must have detained you for another violation first (you got pulled over for speeding and then the cop also cited you for not wearing one, for example). Not anymore.
Most states now have seatbelt laws that require the use of them at any time the vehicle is in motion. Taking it off even for a minute is grounds for a citation. Next time, wait until the vehicle is at a complete stop and that you are safely off the roadway.
As for the tail light, red tape won't cut it. You need to get a new one. My tail light was broken by an unknown source. I put red tape over it while I waited for my new one to come in the mail (thank God for eBay...it was cheaper and faster). I kept my eBay receipt in my truck just in case I was pulled over in the interim.
Get your light fixed and make sure you wear a seat belt all the time. If you need to look for something, pull off the road.
You were cited for legitimate violations. Pay your fines and learn from them.
EMT
"Profiled"? Oh, please. If that were the case, everyone with a junked-up car would be getting pulled over. The solution is simple...fix what needs fixing...including your attitude.
2007-09-25 03:40:58 · answer #2 · answered by emt_me911 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I got a similar "warning" from a cop driving thru the Central State Hospital property in Indy. He said he could tell but I still don't know how! I agree with the comment about the random pulling over for seatbelts and searches.
2007-09-24 18:49:44 · answer #3 · answered by columind99 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Where's the issue? He stopped you for no seatbelt and you did NOT have it on. It's very easy to see if the driver is wearing a seatbelt from behind. The red tape over the tail light does not excuse you from getting a ticket for a broken tail light. That's why they keep pulling you over.
2007-09-24 23:59:27 · answer #4 · answered by spag 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A Buick Century is a "drug car" in Indianapolis?? Man, that is sad. . .
Seriously, it does depend on where the cop was when you drove by. If he was approaching in the other lane, he can see thru the front windshield or thru the side window as you went past. If he was following you, he could see if the top strap was crossing from the door pillar to your shoulder. But the deciding factor was that he saw you did not have the belt on when he walked up to your door.
2007-09-24 20:38:20 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most modern police vehicles are equipped with vehicle warning light sensors. This technology allows them to tell what warning lights are on or come on your vehicle's dashboard.
So for instance the officer can tell if your cruise control is on or if your "check engine" light is on so he can ticket you for driving an unsafe vehicle. And of course he can tell if your selt belt not fastened light is on.
P.S. this still works if the warning light bulb is burned out as it senses the electrical impulses.
2007-09-24 18:59:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
MOST cops give you that reason? How many times are you going to get pulled over before you take off the tape and get a lens cover?
2007-09-24 18:56:09 · answer #7 · answered by Skipper 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Maybe you should have kept your seatbelt on, pulled over then unbuckled it and then look for whatever in your back seat. But anyways, the cop was probaly just an anal jerk who felt like pulling you over for no reason THEN he saw you wernt wearin a seat belt. lol
2007-09-24 18:45:15 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
depending on the amount of light, the position of his lights entering your vehicle and the difference between your shirt and the seat belt its is quite possible that someone could make that judgement.
however what alot of people dont know is that police have a quota for each month, generally the last week of a month is where cops crack down on stupid offences that they would normally ignore like slightly speeding or burnt out lights.
given that your car looks like a "drug car" and you have a light taped up is only added incentive for them.
2007-09-24 18:54:22 · answer #9 · answered by JDub1933 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
in most cities cops are instructed not to pull someone over for not having a seatbelt off, and you can only get a ticket if you have it off when they pull you over for somthing else, maybe he pulled you over becuase you were swerving or somthing, and forgot to ask you about that, becuase he was too busy giving you a ticket, IDK, some cops just arn't smart, some are, there just normal people, that take your money
2007-09-24 18:45:17 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋