Cops pulling people over (Re: Driving To Maine)

[AZDude]

So, another thing came accross my mind.  In Arizona we only require a rear license plate, also the tint on my windows are at 35% which is Arizona legal.  I understand that I will be driving through 13 states where my tint is considered illegal.  The tint came with my car when I bought it in 2005 and I am not taking it off.  Sure I could drive with my windows open, but I feel that I shouldn't have to.  Plus I don't like having them open.  So how is enforcement in New England?  

I am paranoid because of an incident in Dubuque, IA last year.  I was harrassed by a cop for my windows and no front plate.  He did the false alert trick on me, searched my car and dispite the fact that he found nothing illegal in my car (there never was and never will be) he accused me of transporting drugs.  WTF?  I have NEVER done drugs in my life.  I have a clean driving record and a clean background.  Yet I was being treated like a common criminal.  In the end he gave me a fix it ticket and told me that the reason why he was not going to arrest me was because he didn't want to ruin my trip.  

I don't understand why I was treated like that.  And I don't want to go through that again.

[agentsteel53]

I got pulled over several times for driving with a windshield that was obviously cracked in many places - New Mexico legal, but not so in other states.  I was given a warning each time with the strong undercurrent of "stop defacing our beautiful state with your shitty car". 

I have gotten pulled over for 58 in a 55 and had the car searched for drugs.  Police don't need an excuse if they don't want one.

[AZDude]

I have gotten pulled over for 58 in a 55 and had the car searched for drugs.  

Wow, I didn't know that 58 in a 55 = drug dealer  

Police don't need an excuse if they don't want one.

Apperently so!

[agentsteel53]

Wow, I didn't know that 58 in a 55 = drug dealer  

everyone's a drug dealer.  and if I were going precisely 55, they'd have gotten me for that.  Impeding the flow of traffic or the like.

[1995hoo]

The single-plate thing SHOULDN'T be an issue, though of course nothing is guaranteed. Even DC, which requires both front and rear plates and enforces it as to non-residents, makes an exception for residents of jurisdictions that issue only one plate. If they don't ticket for it, surely nobody else would, as DC is DRACONIAN. I know a guy, Virginia resident, who got a ticket in DC for "improper display of a license plate." His offense? The "month" and "year" stickers were reversed from how Virginia says they're supposed to go–that is, Virginia says the month sticker is to go on the left and the year on the right. This guy had them backwards, which for some reason isn't unusual in Virginia even though there's really no reason for not putting them on correctly. Either way, who cares as long as it's clear when the plate expires, right???? Not in the eyes of the DC ticket writers!!!

[Duke87]

DC has a lot of land owned by the federal government that they're not collecting taxes on. They need the revenue.

[hbelkins]

So, another thing came accross my mind.  In Arizona we only require a rear license plate, also the tint on my windows are at 35% which is Arizona legal.  I understand that I will be driving through 13 states where my tint is considered illegal.  The tint came with my car when I bought it in 2005 and I am not taking it off.  Sure I could drive with my windows open, but I feel that I shouldn't have to.  Plus I don't like having them open.  So how is enforcement in New England?  

I am paranoid because of an incident in Dubuque, IA last year.  I was harrassed by a cop for my windows and no front plate.  He did the false alert trick on me, searched my car and dispite the fact that he found nothing illegal in my car (there never was and never will be) he accused me of transporting drugs.  WTF?  I have NEVER done drugs in my life.  I have a clean driving record and a clean background.  Yet I was being treated like a common criminal.  In the end he gave me a fix it ticket and told me that the reason why he was not going to arrest me was because he didn't want to ruin my trip.  

I don't understand why I was treated like that.  And I don't want to go through that again.

Kentucky requires a sticker certifying the level of aftermarket tint (has since the late '80s). If your state also requires stickers, and they are properly affixed, that should be sufficient. Your car is legal in the state of registration and you are just passing through.

Same for the front license plate issue. Kentucky doesn't require them, and my pickup truck has a stylized "3" (Dale Earnhardt) plate on the front of it. I've never had any problems in states that require a front plate and I've driven through a bunch of them in that truck.

Aren't there reciprocity statutes that govern this type of thing? The same type of laws that permit you to drive in state A with a valid license from state B? And, are there any western states that still allow you to get a license at age 14? In my lifetime 16 has always been the required age in Kentucky but I remember that ages varied years ago. Is that still the case, or is the driver's license age pretty much standardized like the drinking age?

[AZDude]

Aren't there reciprocity statutes that govern this type of thing? The same type of laws that permit you to drive in state A with a valid license from state B? And, are there any western states that still allow you to get a license at age 14? In my lifetime 16 has always been the required age in Kentucky but I remember that ages varied years ago. Is that still the case, or is the driver's license age pretty much standardized like the drinking age?

I think there is but it may only apply to the back window and rear windows if the tint was installed from the factory.  The front windows is another story.  I know in Georgia the law says that out of state drivers are not exempt from getting a ticket, which is bullshit.  Thankfully their law is 35% too.

As for the driving age, I was once told a long time ago that the driving age in Nebraska was 15.  I never believed that.

[mightyace]

Aren't there reciprocity statutes that govern this type of thing? The same type of laws that permit you to drive in state A with a valid license from state B? And, are there any western states that still allow you to get a license at age 14? In my lifetime 16 has always been the required age in Kentucky but I remember that ages varied years ago. Is that still the case, or is the driver's license age pretty much standardized like the drinking age?

There usually are, but not always.  After I got my license at 16, I remember reading New York wouldn't let anyone under 18 drive even if they have a valid license from another state.  This may still be true today.  I'm sure one of our NY residents could confirm or deny this.

[newyorker478]

Aren't there reciprocity statutes that govern this type of thing? The same type of laws that permit you to drive in state A with a valid license from state B? And, are there any western states that still allow you to get a license at age 14? In my lifetime 16 has always been the required age in Kentucky but I remember that ages varied years ago. Is that still the case, or is the driver's license age pretty much standardized like the drinking age?

There usually are, but not always.  After I got my license at 16, I remember reading New York wouldn't let anyone under 18 drive even if they have a valid license from another state.  This may still be true today.  I'm sure one of our NY residents could confirm or deny this.

Nope, permit at 16 and liscence at 16 1/2. Out of state you must be 16.

[newyorker478]

Aren't there reciprocity statutes that govern this type of thing? The same type of laws that permit you to drive in state A with a valid license from state B? And, are there any western states that still allow you to get a license at age 14? In my lifetime 16 has always been the required age in Kentucky but I remember that ages varied years ago. Is that still the case, or is the driver's license age pretty much standardized like the drinking age?

There usually are, but not always.  After I got my license at 16, I remember reading New York wouldn't let anyone under 18 drive even if they have a valid license from another state.  This may still be true today.  I'm sure one of our NY residents could confirm or deny this.

The age is 18 in New York CITY not STATE where it is 16.

[corco]

Aren't there reciprocity statutes that govern this type of thing? The same type of laws that permit you to drive in state A with a valid license from state B? And, are there any western states that still allow you to get a license at age 14? In my lifetime 16 has always been the required age in Kentucky but I remember that ages varied years ago. Is that still the case, or is the driver's license age pretty much standardized like the drinking age?

As far as I know, the age is still 15 in Idaho for a license. My little sister got hers in 2007- permit at 14 1/2, then a full license at 15 with no night driving and no more than one unrelated passenger until 16. When I got mine in 2003 you could get a permit at 14 and full unrestricted license at 15.

I remember having trouble in Ohio when I had my 14-year-old learner's permit. I was driving around with my Grandpa in his old truck (I was already learning exclusively on a stick in Idaho, but he wanted me to get some practice on his 1974 Chevrolet with a giant V-8 and three on the tree) near Greenfield and the Ross County Sheriff pulled us over on the back road to Chillicothe because I looked young and then politely informed us that I couldn't legally drive in the state of Ohio with an Idaho learner's permit. They didn't do anything, realizing there as no way we could have known (the Idaho permit didn't say "This is only valid in Idaho")- they just made my Grandpa drive

[1995hoo]

Regarding reciprocity issues, Virginia will ticket out-of-state drivers whose tint doesn't comply with Virginia law, regardless of whether it's legal in their home state. Some cops–the more reasonable ones, IMO–will often let it go unless they pull you over for something else and you mouth off at them or you were driving like a complete asshole before they pulled you over. But some of the more uppity cops might give you a ticket for tint alone.

Virginia's rationale, BTW, is that the General Assembly has determined what level of tint is safe and it makes no difference where the car is from. A federal court challenge to the constitutionality of the ticket would fail because it's possible to comply with both states' laws, even if that means not using the maximum tint allowed in the other state. (That was one of the factors discussed in the famous 1959 Bibb case from the US Supreme Court involving Illinois' law regarding truck mudflaps.)

I don't know whether any other states are that picky about tint, or how many or which ones. But it's a mistake to rely on blanket statements about how "they can't do that" or to assume things.

[newyorker478]

As for the tint in New England, just stay out of small towns and you generally won't encounter a good deal of problems. NYS Troopers may be picky on this subject as they are on the Taconic.

[Michael in Philly]

So, another thing came accross my mind.  In Arizona we only require a rear license plate, also the tint on my windows are at 35% which is Arizona legal.  I understand that I will be driving through 13 states where my tint is considered illegal.  The tint came with my car when I bought it in 2005 and I am not taking it off.  Sure I could drive with my windows open, but I feel that I shouldn't have to.  Plus I don't like having them open.  So how is enforcement in New England?  

I am paranoid because of an incident in Dubuque, IA last year.  I was harrassed by a cop for my windows and no front plate.  He did the false alert trick on me, searched my car and dispite the fact that he found nothing illegal in my car (there never was and never will be) he accused me of transporting drugs.  WTF?  I have NEVER done drugs in my life.  I have a clean driving record and a clean background.  Yet I was being treated like a common criminal.  In the end he gave me a fix it ticket and told me that the reason why he was not going to arrest me was because he didn't want to ruin my trip.  

I don't understand why I was treated like that.  And I don't want to go through that again.

Kentucky requires a sticker certifying the level of aftermarket tint (has since the late '80s). If your state also requires stickers, and they are properly affixed, that should be sufficient. Your car is legal in the state of registration and you are just passing through.

Same for the front license plate issue. Kentucky doesn't require them, and my pickup truck has a stylized "3" (Dale Earnhardt) plate on the front of it. I've never had any problems in states that require a front plate and I've driven through a bunch of them in that truck.

Aren't there reciprocity statutes that govern this type of thing? The same type of laws that permit you to drive in state A with a valid license from state B? And, are there any western states that still allow you to get a license at age 14? In my lifetime 16 has always been the required age in Kentucky but I remember that ages varied years ago. Is that still the case, or is the driver's license age pretty much standardized like the drinking age?

Not just "reciprocity statutes":  the Full Faith and Credit Clause (and right to travel) of the Constitution ought to permit me to drive anywhere in the U.S. without a front license plate; it's never occurred to me it would be an issue.  And I'd think anything...what's the word? - permanent, inherent, built-in...about your car that's legal in your home state would be legal (for you) in any state.  What are you supposed to do:  stop at the state line and replace your windows?

That doesn't mean that our police departments - with all due respect - don't include their share of idiots like any other segment of the population, but I can't imagine a "ban" - a ban in some cop's mind, let's be clear - on driving without a front license plate making it through the courts.

[froggie]

License plate shouldn't be an issue.  Window tint might, though.

[vdeane]

There usually are, but not always.  After I got my license at 16, I remember reading New York wouldn't let anyone under 18 drive even if they have a valid license from another state.  This may still be true today.  I'm sure one of our NY residents could confirm or deny this.

You might be thinking of permits and limited licences; reciprocity statues don't always cover them (US/Ontario doesn't, for example) and the age for a full DL in NY is 18 if you don't have driver's ed through a public or private high school.

NYC is very restrictive as well.

[oscar]

License plate shouldn't be an issue.  Window tint might, though.

Even the money-grubbing D.C. cops seem to agree, at least on plates.  They won't ticket you for no front plate if your home state doesn't require one.  But if the home state requires a front plate that you don't have, expect a ticket.

[agentsteel53]

Even the money-grubbing D.C. cops seem to agree, at least on plates.  They won't ticket you for no front plate if your home state doesn't require one.  But if the home state requires a front plate that you don't have, expect a ticket.

do cops really memorize which states need front plates?

[1995hoo]

Even the money-grubbing D.C. cops seem to agree, at least on plates.  They won't ticket you for no front plate if your home state doesn't require one.  But if the home state requires a front plate that you don't have, expect a ticket.

do cops really memorize which states need front plates?

They're given a list.

[AZDude]

It's all about the $$$ it seems.

[newyorker478]

Even the money-grubbing D.C. cops seem to agree, at least on plates.  They won't ticket you for no front plate if your home state doesn't require one.  But if the home state requires a front plate that you don't have, expect a ticket.

do cops really memorize which states need front plates?

They're given a list.

Not that hard, basically [of course with exceptions] most Eastern states have front and most Western do not.

quote fixe

[hbelkins]

Even the money-grubbing D.C. cops seem to agree, at least on plates.  They won't ticket you for no front plate if your home state doesn't require one.  But if the home state requires a front plate that you don't have, expect a ticket.

do cops really memorize which states need front plates?

I'd guess the majority of out-of-state drivers in DC are from either Maryland or Virginia, so if they see a Virginia car they would know that VA requires front plates. I can't remember if Maryland does or not.

[froggie]

Not that hard, basically [of course with exceptions] most Eastern states have front and most Western do not.

Not quite the case.  According to this website, verified by another, only 19 states do not require a front plate, and over half of them are in the Southeast.  Virginia, Maryland, and DC are the only jurisdictions south of the Mason-Dixon Line that do.

I can't remember if Maryland does or not.

Maryland does.

[Brandon]

So, another thing came accross my mind.  In Arizona we only require a rear license plate, also the tint on my windows are at 35% which is Arizona legal.  I understand that I will be driving through 13 states where my tint is considered illegal.  The tint came with my car when I bought it in 2005 and I am not taking it off.  Sure I could drive with my windows open, but I feel that I shouldn't have to.  Plus I don't like having them open.  So how is enforcement in New England? 

I am paranoid because of an incident in Dubuque, IA last year.  I was harrassed by a cop for my windows and no front plate.  He did the false alert trick on me, searched my car and dispite the fact that he found nothing illegal in my car (there never was and never will be) he accused me of transporting drugs.  WTF?  I have NEVER done drugs in my life.  I have a clean driving record and a clean background.  Yet I was being treated like a common criminal.  In the end he gave me a fix it ticket and told me that the reason why he was not going to arrest me was because he didn't want to ruin my trip. 

I don't understand why I was treated like that.  And I don't want to go through that again.

Ask to see the asshole's supervisor and refuse to do anything until he/she gets there.  The moron in the car may not know the laws (how many cops actually do? - it's not more than an associates degree, if that!), but his/her supervisor sure as hell will do things right.

One thing I do see them doing in Illinois is standing half out of their cars for speed patrol.  Very dangerous, IMHO.  All it takes is one errant car to cut them in half.