[fabsroman]

Yeah, I wouldn't want the officer's job either. They don't know anything about the driver, and sometimes the driver isn't even the owner of the car so they have no idea what the drivers DMV records show.

When I get pulled over, I usually have my license and registration in my hand before I stop and I put both hands on the steering wheel with the license and registration in them when the LEO is approaching the car. I understand that routine traffic stops are a way of life.

I also have to correct the above statement. The last time I was pulled over was 5 years ago for speeding. Everything went well there. I was going 48 in a 30 at 12:30 at night coming from visiting a friend that just got out of the hospital. The officer wrote it down to 39 in a 30, I requested a hearing only on sentencing (i.e., the officer didn't have to come to court), and asked the judge for Probation Before Judgment, which he readily gave me.

I was involved in a traffic stop last winter when my fiance got pulled over with me in the car. That one went smoothly too because as she was looking for a place to pull over I got the registration out of the glove compartment and she had her license out before the officer got there. That was in Winchester, VA and she went to court on that one. The judge wasn't very friendly. She also got a ticket in Fairfax, Va a couple of months later, but the judge was much friendlier and he waived the fine but still found her guilty. She did put up a good defense for a non-attorney (i.e., she is a pharmacist).