UPS badge gets respect from cops

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I was an Auxiliary Officer for a short time. Hard job. Not as hard as Loading for four hours, but it can be a tough job. We never hassled delivery trucks, Telephone/Cable/Power trucks, Mail truck or similar. But every department and division is different. I imagine running 50 through a school zone will get anyone a ticket, no matter what you are driving.

About two years ago while I was on my way to our HUB, I was caught under a red light because the guy in front of me stalled. By the time he got it re-started and moved, I had been under the light and in the intersection for about 30 seconds and other cars were blocked by me. Of course, a local cop was there and immediately pulled me over as soon as I cleared the intersetion. He ticketed me. I tried to explain I was only going to the UPS Center (sounded better to me than HUB) and was caught under the light by a stalled car in front. He didn't care, and wrote me a ticket. I guess I should have known the guy in front of me was going to stall. Silly me.

I decided to fight it.

I showed up in court, and me and about five others sat there for about 1/2 an hour waiting for the Judge. He never showed. We were told to come back in a week. A week later, I showed up and noticed there were only three others. Two gave up. Again, Judge never showed.
We were told again to come back in a week.
Following week.... Judge never showed, and it was now only me and one other in the room. As we sat there the Court Attorney came in and said to us in an obviously annoyed voice, "You know, your tickets are only misdemeanors. Yet you want to fight them?" He shook he head in disgust and said, "Here give me the tickets."
He discharged them for us. The cops who wrote the tickets never showed either.

Moral... sometimes.... it's good to be persistent.

RR, you were cited for being "in the box", not for running a red light. When you approach an intersection you must determine whether you can safely exit the box before entering it. Yes, you should have anticipated that the vehicle ahead of you was going to stall----it's called "proper following distance"---and planned accordingly.

 

[bluehdmc]

I got stopped one morning going home for blowing a red light. I explained to the cop about "decision points". (really after driving a tractor trailer all night I know I'm better off blowing a light with a truck than trying to stop, where in the car I can stop) Anyway the cop let me go saying, "I can't give a UPS driver a ticket, I'll never get my packages."
I wasn't gonna tell him I was a feeder driver.

 

[scratch]

I usually get waved through road blocks in my package car when they are doing license and insurance checks on my delivery area. Only the new officers will actually ask to see ID, most of them will just wave me by or joke with me. If I happen to be driving a little too fast, they will just flash their headlights so I will slow down. I have a couple of areas where I'm driving downhill on the road and its easy to exceed the speed limit a little. I know where most of the local LE guys on my area live, I try not to wake them up by ringing the doorbell if they have the patrol car parked in their driveway. I respect what they do, and they know that I am just working as safe as I can.

 

[cachsux]

RR, you were cited for being "in the box", not for running a red light. When you approach an intersection you must determine whether you can safely exit the box before entering it. Yes, you should have anticipated that the vehicle ahead of you was going to stall----it's called "proper following distance"---and planned accordingly.

Actually the safe driving habit you're trying to recall is "Leave yourself an out".

 

[rocket man]

HI to all there are only 2 words for all the posts answers to all of this (NO CONTEST)

 

[anonymous6]

cops have been great with me over the years. iusually get pulled over for weaving after a 14 hr plus snow night and still have my uniform on. they see that, talk for awhile to make sure im alert and let me go. it's amazing the difference. without the uniform on I'm treated like a criminal.

 

[RockinRobin]

About four years ago, I was ticketed and paid the ticket for something that really pissed me off. I had just finished as a Driver Helper, had my uniform on. Was driving home, needed to get off an urgent email.
Pulled over, and into a parking meter spot. There was TIME on the meter.

I'm sending the email on my BlackBerry. See a guy standing behind me writing a ticket. Parking Meter Nazi.

Parking meter meister walks up and says, "I'm writing you a Ticket" I get out, and say "Why? There is time on the meter!"
He says, "Your license tag is expired."
I walk to the back of the car, and sure enough, I had forgotten to put on the new sticker. I had renewed it, and the new sticker was IN the GLOVE COMPARTMENT attached to the new registration.

I pulled it out of the glove box, and put it on the car while Mr. Meter Infraction continued to write me. I say, "Look, I had it in the Glove Box! It's all good now. The car tags are current!"

He says, "They have to be ON the CAR, sir. "

I say, "They ARE on the car now."
He says, "They WEREN'T when I approached you. Here is your ticket."

End of story. Uniform did me no good with Mr. Parking Meter Nazi. Cost Me Fifty Bucks! Net, net; I worked that day for free.

That still pisses me off. As I posted earlier, I was an Auxiliary Officer and I'd never complete a ticket when the Registration was current. Parking Brownies obviously do!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

About four years ago, I was ticketed and paid the ticket for something that really pissed me off. I had just finished as a Driver Helper, had my uniform on. Was driving home, needed to get off an urgent email.
Pulled over, and into a parking meter spot. There was TIME on the meter.

I'm sending the email on my BlackBerry. See a guy standing behind me writing a ticket. Parking Meter Nazi.

Parking meter meister walks up and says, "I'm writing you a Ticket" I get out, and say "Why? There is time on the meter!"
He says, "Your license tag is expired."
I walk to the back of the car, and sure enough, I had forgotten to put on the new sticker. I had renewed it, and the new sticker was IN the GLOVE COMPARTMENT attached to the new registration.

I pulled it out of the glove box, and put it on the car while Mr. Meter Infraction continued to write me. I say, "Look, I had it in the Glove Box! It's all good now. The car tags are current!"

He says, "They have to be ON the CAR, sir. "

I say, "They ARE on the car now."
He says, "They WEREN'T when I approached you. Here is your ticket."

End of story. Uniform did me no good with Mr. Parking Meter Nazi. Cost Me Fifty Bucks! Net, net; I worked that day for free.

That still pisses me off. As I posted earlier, I was an Auxiliary Officer and I'd never complete a ticket when the Registration was current. Parking Brownies obviously do!

The registration may have been current but he had no way of knowing that. The ticket was justified.

 

[Catatonic]

About four years ago, I was ticketed and paid the ticket for something that really pissed me off. I had just finished as a Driver Helper, had my uniform on. Was driving home, needed to get off an urgent email.
Pulled over, and into a parking meter spot. There was TIME on the meter.

I'm sending the email on my BlackBerry. See a guy standing behind me writing a ticket. Parking Meter Nazi.

Parking meter meister walks up and says, "I'm writing you a Ticket" I get out, and say "Why? There is time on the meter!"
He says, "Your license tag is expired."
I walk to the back of the car, and sure enough, I had forgotten to put on the new sticker. I had renewed it, and the new sticker was IN the GLOVE COMPARTMENT attached to the new registration.

I pulled it out of the glove box, and put it on the car while Mr. Meter Infraction continued to write me. I say, "Look, I had it in the Glove Box! It's all good now. The car tags are current!"

He says, "They have to be ON the CAR, sir. "

I say, "They ARE on the car now."
He says, "They WEREN'T when I approached you. Here is your ticket."

End of story. Uniform did me no good with Mr. Parking Meter Nazi. Cost Me Fifty Bucks! Net, net; I worked that day for free.

That still pisses me off. As I posted earlier, I was an Auxiliary Officer and I'd never complete a ticket when the Registration was current. Parking Brownies obviously do!

Most of us work for free the first 4 months of the year before we pay off government extortions ... get use to it.

 

[upschuck]

About four years ago, I was ticketed and paid the ticket for something that really pissed me off. I had just finished as a Driver Helper, had my uniform on. Was driving home, needed to get off an urgent email.
Pulled over, and into a parking meter spot. There was TIME on the meter.

I'm sending the email on my BlackBerry. See a guy standing behind me writing a ticket. Parking Meter Nazi.

Parking meter meister walks up and says, "I'm writing you a Ticket" I get out, and say "Why? There is time on the meter!"
He says, "Your license tag is expired."
I walk to the back of the car, and sure enough, I had forgotten to put on the new sticker. I had renewed it, and the new sticker was IN the GLOVE COMPARTMENT attached to the new registration.

I pulled it out of the glove box, and put it on the car while Mr. Meter Infraction continued to write me. I say, "Look, I had it in the Glove Box! It's all good now. The car tags are current!"

He says, "They have to be ON the CAR, sir. "

I say, "They ARE on the car now."
He says, "They WEREN'T when I approached you. Here is your ticket."

End of story. Uniform did me no good with Mr. Parking Meter Nazi. Cost Me Fifty Bucks! Net, net; I worked that day for free.

That still pisses me off. As I posted earlier, I was an Auxiliary Officer and I'd never complete a ticket when the Registration was current. Parking Brownies obviously do!

It normally doesn't help to get in an argument with the officer.

 

[Johney]

The registration may have been current but he had no way of knowing that. The ticket was justified.

May be he could have ran it on the computer(if he had one)or called it in as I'd bet he had a radio on him. Sounds to me like just a plain a-hole cop/meter maid. It happens here due to theft of stickers on plates. Get pulled over for missing tag sticker,show cop current registration good to go.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

What ever happened to per personal responsibility?

 

[PT Car Washer]

You also could have taken the issue to court and explained the situation to the judge. Have seen the same thing with proof of insurance ticket. Person shows the judge his insurance card and that it was valid when he received the ticket. Judge dismisses the ticket but you still have to pay the court cost. Not sure if it would work but at this point what do you have to loose.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Yes, the cop could have run your registration, but you could have also made sure it was on your plate.

Do cops in your area give "fix-it tickets" for malfunctioning equipment on your car?

 

[PT Car Washer]

The registration may have been current but he had no way of knowing that. The ticket was justified.

Happens to me in the Spring on that first day I get the bike out. Ride around for a while than remember I still have last years sticker on the plate.

 

[brown metal coffin]

Got pulled over doing 65 in a 40 in full uniform heading to UPS. I saw the cop turn around in my mirror and I pulled over and was waiting for him with license and registration in hand. I said sir I was absolutely doing 65 in a 40 because i didn't want to be late for work but that didn't work out so well. He said would you get in trouble if you got a ticket; and I said that it was within UPS's discretion to pull me off the road if they wanted. He then handed me back my stuff and said have a nice day. I ended up being on time for work… Bonus!

 

[RockinRobin]

The registration may have been current but he had no way of knowing that. The ticket was justified.

As a former Auxiliary Officer, I would NEVER write a ticket for a sticker not being on the plate. It's ridiculous. The automobile IS in FACT legally registered. If the driver could produce a registration, heck, even if I ran the plate and found it to be legally registered, I'd simply tell him/her "You need to sticker that plate ASAP". It's not a ticket.

Now, a Meter Brownie as in my tale above? He was told by his supervisor, "If you don't see a current sticker, ticket" Anal robotic programming. They are not Cops, they are parking meters with legs. When I was a Cop, we called them "Brownies".

Can you imagine if every cop pulled you over for every single possible infraction? You'd be hard pressed getting through your day, believe me. If I wanted to, I could have pulled over many package cars, cable TV trucks, Telephone company trucks, garbage trucks, heck, even fire trucks when I was a Aux Officer. But you have to have a brain, and reason what a sane person would do in your circumstance. Plus, you don't want 100 complaints coming in to your Captain every week because you are being the proverbial Barney Fife.

 

[RockinRobin]

It normally doesn't help to get in an argument with the officer.

Yes, true, but this guy was NOT an Officer. He was a parking meter attendant.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Yes, true, but this guy was NOT an Officer. He was a parking meter attendant.

...who has a radio and can call a "real cop" if needed...

"Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers that you do unto me."

 

[upschuck]

I got pulled over because I didn't have the correct year decal on my license plate in which I knew I had put on. Turned out someone had pulled it off, and put it somewhere else on the car. Cop told me after we replaced it to cut it with a razor blade a couple of times, and sent me on my merry way.