FormerWineGirl

...like going through a routine traffic check today and having NOTHING to fear! Before I quit drinking I would have had a laundry list of worries: Are there any visible "empties" (or worse, open containers!)? Do I smell like alcohol? Do I look intoxicated?!

I never thought a traffic check could feel so darn good 😀

HopeandFaith1

You are right that's a very good feeling. It is great to be free from that kind of anxiety. I would sometimes crack open a cold one driving home from work. Can't believe I used to do that. Hope and pray to never do that again.

least

I know what you mean. It's a good feeling.

Soberwolf

MIRecovery

Like Pavlov's dog I can't see a police car without getting nervous. A conditioned response over too many years. The thought is fleeting because I know I'm not guilty of anything

FreeOwl

I've actually found myself passing a police officer and thinking "I hope he pulls me over...."

Just because I knew I had nothing to fear.

GnikNus

I'm the same way. After that twinge of anxiety, I remember I don't drink, and think... "Wait a minute, I have nothing to fear."

ardy

hahah you all are so great.. from 1983 to 1989 I drove with insurance owned the car but did not have a drivers lic.. no kidding.. in clown going to parties and coming home shopping and a couple of times with my children in the car... drinking not in the car but at Polly Place.. pause.. reflect (Willy Wonka time) that was a great place... sorry.. miss her.. and all of the sillies there.. just had the smell pass by ..ekekekekek but we did have so much fun.. and I even had police officers that were friends of mine .. never pulled over.. got my lic because how kids here's the trick. you need a real lic driver when you go to take that test. go figure.. wow.. so at 39 I found a legal none drunk that did not have a war for their arrest to come with me.. and paid them to be there... for the 4 try... not taking the test just getting to do the test.. guy from the state over 6 feet tall.. gave me that look like your Dad gives you.. I opened the car door for him.. Ok Dad lets take a ride . you tell me were and how and I will follow your instruction... he was screaming at other drivers .. writing their lic plate information down. and when we got back to the station. he looked at me and said what were we doing??? you were testing me for a lic. really did we do it???? kids I thought crap Iam going to have to do this again. hahahaha passed hands down.. he tested all 3 of my kids. ahahhaha Ivan he came back white. the kid needs to practice and pay his fines.. Barry he passed on the second attempt.. he needs to focus on driving.. ( he drives a Tank for the Army Now) Melly poor melly the car blew out its elec system twice. and blew up once.. last attempt he got his BMW out and she drove that ahahahahah passed cause the car worked.. she now drive one of those. hahahahaah hugs kids and thanks for letting me tell you a family story.. love to you all.. and hey you know most of your ciites have Citizen Academy that you can help out with the traffic stops like this see what really happens behind the tape lines.. Happy 4th of July 2016

Soberpotamus

It's nice to live with a clear conscience.

August252015

SO TRUE!!!

Quick story- just this morning, I turned left (on the turn light) but didn't realize I turned too far left of the left lane- and very narrowly avoided hitting a (small) median. My reactions were spot on and immediate and I missed it- and there are cops ALL over this part of my neighborhood. I laughed to myself thinking about what could have happened if I had been drinking. Good feeling to know I handled a kinda routine thing anyone could do - soberly and without getting pulled over

Sometimes I still get a little apprehensive driving- it took a couple months for my sense of depth perception etc to stabilize. But I know that's not because I am still drinking!

Safe weekend to all!

Dee74

Great post FWG

D

dcg

I don't like being pulled over by cops, and it doesn't matter that I didn't do anything.

I pulled out of a plaza that had only a bar and a supermarket open that late at night and I happened to be using the exit located on the bar side of the plaza since that's the direction I needed to go in.

Cop lies his ass off saying he smells booze. I tell him I haven't had anything to drink. Cop lies more and says he has an educated nose, is good at his job, blah blah blah. This goes on for a few minutes and then wants me to exit the vehicle so he can obviously watch my footwork. I get out cleanly, and more harassment ensues.

He then starts trying to play buddy, "Come on... you can tell me. It's okay. Getting in a car after having one beer is no big deal; you're not going to get in trouble - just be honest with me." which I would find funny if I weren't so irritated so I tell him, "whatever, but I-have-not-had-anything-to-drink-and-I'm-getting-very-tired-of-telling-you-this."

He then gives me the eye test with his pen. He does it incorrectly by moving too quickly, which can cause a nystagmus to occur in a stone cold sober person.

Where I live (and probably in all of US) you can blow a 0% and still get a DUI (up to a cop's judgment) so if a nystagmus had occurred, then I'd be cited for DUI; I would demand a blood test be done at the hospital, screening for all drugs, and then I'd have to hire an expensive attorney to contest a DUI because of some cowboy cop. I know someone who had something similar happen to him years ago, and it cost him over $6K to prove his innocence.

Next time this nonsense happens, it goes down like this:

"Have you had anything to drink tonight, sir?"
"I don't answer questions."
"You don't answer questions?"
"I don't answer questions."

I've also had other bs encounters, but yeah, I get the general sentiment of the thread... ymmv though.

thomas11

May I ask where you got a routine "traffic check"?

notgonnastoptry

Yes, me too, but I have an expired sticker on my plate. Well, that's better than 2 weeks ago, when I had an expired license, empties, opens in the car, etc.

I always wondered, though, what if you are at a picnic (as a non-alcoholic) and you decide you want to take your Kettle One (maybe only half done) home? Is it still illegal?

notgonnastoptry

I've also heard this approach, saying you won't answer, can get you in trouble as well. I am scared of cops, too, and would prefer not to be stopped. I did go through a routine stop while slightly buzzed (had a new bottle tucked away in the super messy car. based on the vehicle I drive, the fact that I'm a woman, and look innocent, they didn't even bother stopping me, and waved me right on. Others, who are probably profiled, were out doing the test. I would fail that test sober.

dcg

In most states, the open container, (e.g., half bottle of Kettle), would have to be in the trunk; having an open bottle somewhere in the passenger areas of the car would lead to the driver being cited even if sober.

dcg

I fail to see how exercising your 5th amendment rights will get you arrested of a crime you didn't commit... quite the opposite. Talking to cops is how people get arrested for something they didn't do. They ask questions for people to self-incriminate, not to prove innocence (that's for the courts to hash out).

Obviously, if you're drunk off your ass, then not answering questions and refusing field sobriety tests is the correct action, so in all cases there is no upside to answering any cop's questions. Yeah, they may think you're an ahole, but they'll have to let you go no matter how much they want to punch you.

notgonnastoptry

If you are drunk off your ass, though, would they just let you go, then? Isn't that a risk to others?

LadyBlue0527

I'm not sure where you live but my refusal has cost me 6 months of having a license. I can't even get a ignition interlock if I voluntarily asked for one. At least if I submitted to a test I would have only had to deal with 90 days and after 30 days they would have allowed the interlock. Now, I have no license under any circumstance until December and then I can get a work license until I regain my full license in March.

A license is a privilege not a right. Some people seem to forget that.

dcg

If the officer feels you are drunk, then they will arrest you. They don't need a field sobriety test to make an arrest; it just makes it easier to make an arrest and get a conviction, which is why most states have harsh consequences for test refusals.

It is a privilege, and it's my right to refuse field sobriety tests and thus give up my privilege to drive.

It's 12 months suspended license for refusal in my state, but it's up to 6 months jail time for a first time DUI conviction. I'd rather not have a license for a year than have a DUI, and it's far easier to have a lawyer tear apart a cop's testimony about his judgment than the testimony of a breathalyzer result.

That said, if arrested in my state, they would get a warrant for a blood test, so people are screwed either way. However, you did not state whether you got a DUI conviction in addition to your lost license for 6 months. If all you lost was your license for 6 months and no DUI conviction, then you got off pretty easy (assuming you were above the legal limit).

As usual, everyone should know the laws in his or her area and make the best decisions possible. In my state, if you're going to drink, then the best decision is to get hammered at home and stay there or use Uber to get from point A to point B. So while I'd take a field sobriety test if requested, I will no longer ever answer any cop's questions; that is my constitutional right whether behind the wheel or on foot.

Of course, alcoholic or not, driving intoxicated is a net negative to everyone, regardless of the laws, and that is the real issue here.