OK, so a couple hours ago I was out & about driving around in a winter storm (bad idea, I know). I had to get extra food for myself & my kitties. By a stroke of bad timing, I ended up running a red light because I was afraid that if I hit my brakes at the speed I was going when the light turned yellow I'd go into a spin. I'm pretty sure that the light was red before I was in the intersection. As I was crossing, I noticed that there was a cop to my left, waiting to make a left turn. Perfect. Of course he got right behind me, but he didn't turn his lights on or anything. He even followed me as I turned into the grocery store parking lot, but then he turned the other way & left. My question is: If he was going to give me a ticket, would he have done so then & there? Or was he following me to write down my tag number & stuff, & he's going to mail me a ticket? Or, did he follow me just to scare me & he ended up letting me off the hook?
2007-12-22 08:22:11 · 13 answers · asked by dementors_suck 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Sufi - just to clarify - I was going pretty slow for the conditions. I just didn't want to run the risk of stopping too suddenly & spinning. I very well may have been able to stop. I had just seen some cars that were going as slow as I was sliding around. At the time I thought my best bet was to narrowly run the light instead of run the risk of spinning & hitting other cars or other cars hitting me. I chose the lesser of two evils, I think.
2007-12-22 08:38:53 · update #1
I guess only he knows for sure, but any number of things could have happened...
He could have been sent on another call, he could have sympathized with you, or maybe he was in the holiday spirit.
He certainly could follow up later, but that would not be very likely. The possibility he didn't want to create a hazard by stopping you on the road is not likely, especially if you turned into a parking lot.
2007-12-22 08:26:18 · answer #1 · answered by trooper3316 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
He probably followed you to see if you were driving like a crazy person or if running the light had just sort of happened. If he was going to write you a ticket he would have done so. But if there is one of those red light cameras, you could still get a ticket. That would be nothing to do with the officer, it just is. No, he didn't follow you to scare you, just to see what you were driving like and maybe if you had a good reason to go out. You went to a grocery store, so he was okay that you had a good reason to be out, and he didn't feel that you were at risk for causing an accident. (You were lucky you didn't, and if you had, he would have had to write you a ticket)
2007-12-22 16:29:20 · answer #2 · answered by Ruth C 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you are ok, but you were going too fast for the conditions, and you are failing to take responsibility for that. when you drive in bad conditions you must go slow enough to be able to stop if the light turns yellow without spinning. an error in your judgment you don't seem to realize here. maybe he was deciding if you were going to continue to go too fast for the conditions, which is a ticketable offense just like running a light.
2007-12-22 16:26:33 · answer #3 · answered by Sufi 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Forget it, ya lucked out.
He CANT mail ya a ticket, because at this point he has no "smoking gun proof" as to who was actually driving. The ticket goes against the driver, not the car (unlike, say, an inspection sticker violation).
Stay in, and sleep well.
2007-12-22 16:27:07 · answer #4 · answered by marty p 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
He probably just ran your plate and got sent onto another more urgent call.. With a redlight camera i'd expect soemthing in the mail if your plate was visible.. The officer probably understood the conditions and was debating whether or not to stop you.. he/she obviously decided against it and you are in the clear..
2007-12-22 16:52:21 · answer #5 · answered by David J 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm sure you are ok. Like Trooper said, it's possible he got sent on another call or decided it wasn't worth doing a traffic stop over.
Stay safe out there and be careful.
2007-12-22 21:34:36 · answer #6 · answered by Crazyjester9 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If he was going to write you a ticket , he would have at the time, he ran your prior records to see if you had any tickets before
2007-12-22 18:52:01 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most likely he was checking to see of you were driving responsibly otherwise, and that gave him an indication of where your head was when you went through the light, he felt you were and went on his way.
2007-12-22 23:42:39 · answer #8 · answered by Gray Wanderer 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i bet he was just trying to scare you,cops r so dumb sometimes,they probably just wanted you to get the pic not to run a red light again! or maybe he was gay and thought you were cute,lol!
2007-12-22 16:26:47 · answer #9 · answered by ~!~party girl~!~ 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The posibility exists that he was simply
going the same way you were!!
So don't fret over it...
2007-12-22 16:35:34 · answer #10 · answered by klatuu 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋