Well, my seven year no-ticket streak, which included not being stopped by the police for the entire 5 years I've been carrying concealed, had to end... today.
I was driving a tad too quickly on the PA Turnpike, in a group with a few tractor trailers, when the group suddenly shifted around and braked abruptly but safely. I saw the Police Interceptor just a bit too late, well tucked in to a rest area, and he started rolling before I even passed his hiding place.
So, I got to test all the stuff I wrote in this thread 25 hours ago. I moved to the right and slowed down. He followed me to an area where the shoulder was very wide before he turned on his lights (and I wasn't the only "customer" being "served" in that area). I pulled over and stopped, opened the windows on both sides of the car, shut my engine off, and waited with my hands clamped to the top of the steering wheel.
I was alone in the car. My registration & insurance card were sticking out of the dashboard under the stereo (with copies of my DE & PA permits). My wallet was on the passenger's seat.
He came to the passenger's window. I said, "Good morning, sir."
"Good morning. I am Trooper S________ of the Pennsylvania State Police Highway Patrol. We are recording video and audio of this interaction today. May I see your license, registration, and proof of insurance, please?"
"Yes, sir." I separated the registration & insurance card from the permit copies, and handed them to him without the copies, saying "Here's the registration and insurance. My wallet is right here." I pointed down at it, opened it, and gave him my PA LTCF first, explaining "I should probably hand you this right away," and then I gave him my Delaware driver's license.
He looked at my LTCF, and at my Ford Police Interceptor with microphone clips still screwed to the dashboard, and asked me, "Where do you work?" He clearly thought I was with some police or government agency.
"Uh, nowhere, sir. I fix PCs. I'm a civilian."
"I see. Do you have a weapon on you?"
I replied, "Yes, sir... that's why my hands are clamped to the steering wheel, and all my papers are in plain sight."
"That's helpful, Mr. M___________. Is that your weapon, in the black case?"
"Yes, sir." It was in its Safepacker on my right hip, firmly strapped down under the lap & shoulder belt as well.
He handed my LTCF back in through the window; I returned it to my wallet.
"I stopped you for speeding."
"Yes, sir, I figured that... that's why I pulled over as soon as you started moving."
He went back to his car for five to seven minutes. I sat still, with my hands on top of the wheel.
He came back to the passenger's window again. "Here are your documents back, sir. The radar indicated that your speed was 83 miles per hour in a 65 mile zone, but I cited you for 72 miles per hour, which results in the minimum fine. Here is your citation." It was nicely printed on thermal fax paper, with a coupon to cut off and mail in with payment. "You need to respond to the court within ten days, sir."
I said, "I shall reply immediately. That was kind of you, sir. Thank you."
"Drive safely, Mr. M_____________."
"You too, sir. Thanks again."
Now, I just got done with a 900 mile, fourteen hour drive, so my thoughts may not be at their most profound or even sensible, but these are my initial impressions:
--I should have driven more slowly. (Duh).
--Having all my papers in plain sight, and handing him the LTCF right away to tell him I was carrying, turned out to be a very good plan.
--Keeping my hands on the wheel (and thus away from my gun) also helped a lot.
--The trooper treated me the way we would hope to be treated: he tacitly acknowledged my right to have a weapon by simply asking its location and then paying it no further attention. He didn't call for backup or draw his weapon, both of which might have seemed like reasonable responses. He didn't ask me to get out of the car, or to give him the firearm. (I would have done either, or both, without complaint... but he just let me keep my gun in my holster, possibly because he could see I was not going to to put my hands anywhere near it).
All in all, I wasn't treated like a criminal. I was treated with respect. Of course I'm not glad I got a $129 ticket, but I'm glad I got it from Trooper S_________.
