I have a question. (sorry for the long post)

[Nikk]

He could have been angry about something, and he could have been looking directly at you (as he is being attentive)... that does not mean that those two things are connected, however.

I remember thinking my partner was very angry once... he was walking towards me, started to say something and began spitin' and sputterin' and making weird grunting noises and his face was all screwed up and red... I said "What'd I do?" He said "I don't know what you did, but I just swallowed a fly!" lol

[2wheeldep]

Sir, please consider this. As a traffic enforcement officer I don not really look at anything other than "the violation" With that being said, I do look at particular vehicles on the road, the ones I like.

A few weeks back I see a new truck I like rolling down the road, low and behold the driver has a cell phone pressed against her head (Which is a violation in Ca). I tell myself, if this driver is cool with me, has a good attitude and lets me get a closer look at her new truck I'll just give her a warning. Well We never got that far, she was an instant beach. She got her ticket and I got another stat for my boss.

Point being; just because we are looking at you does not mean we are looking at you.

Happy motoring.

P.S. all cops are stand offish to civilians that approach them, until they decipher the motive behind the contact.

[wolfman01]

Thanks everyone. I'll just write this up to me reading more into the observation than I should have. I appreciate everyone taking their time to put their point of view on what I thought I observed on that afternoon.

Everyone please be careful, and thanks again for doing the jobs that you do.

[School Cop]

Wolfman,

That was ME you were driving past. I have to confess, that WAS a look of pure hate I gave you. However, it had nothing to do with your driving. It has to do with you boffing my wife. I KNOW you are boffing my wife; why else would you have looked over at me with that self-satisfied little grin on you face? Because you drive the speed limit? Please... you're only driving the speed limit to rub it in my face and you know it.

[SCSO612]

It has to do with you boffing my wife.

Wait, what? Did you say "boffing"?

[RoadKingTrooper]

Wait, what? Did you say "boffing"?

Yup, I heard it plain as day!

Really dates himself doesn't he

Hear he likes cripples too!

[CruiserClass]

People always think I'm mad. Prominent neanderthal brow shadowing my eyes, serioius overbite leaving my neutral expression a frown, peircing Clint Eastwood-esque eyes from peering into the sun over a white hood for too many hours.

If I really really wanted to be writing tickets in the situation you described, I'd put the radar down and just write all those cars smooshed in behind you for following too close. There's more than one ticket in the books, and absolutely no reason to be angry if you can't write a specific one. You can just sit and watch traffic at an intersection and observe enough infractions of following too closely, improper turns, failure to signal, disregard signs and signals, equipment violations, and improper lane usage to keep your little pen a scratching without once touching your radar if you so desire.

[wolfman01]

Wolfman,

That was ME you were driving past. I have to confess, that WAS a look of pure hate I gave you. However, it had nothing to do with your driving. It has to do with you boffing my wife. I KNOW you are boffing my wife; why else would you have looked over at me with that self-satisfied little grin on you face? Because you drive the speed limit? Please... you're only driving the speed limit to rub it in my face and you know it.

My sense of humor has a bad tenancy to backfire, so I'll just say that I got a chuckle out of this.

I just bought a 99 Pontiac Firebird Tran Am WS6 the other day, so if I didn't have a radar target painted on me before, I will now.

[wolfman01]

Yup, I heard it plain as day!

Really dates himself doesn't he

Hear he likes cripples too!

Aren't cripples easier to chase?

[wolfman01]

People always think I'm mad. Prominent neanderthal brow shadowing my eyes, serioius overbite leaving my neutral expression a frown, peircing Clint Eastwood-esque eyes from peering into the sun over a white hood for too many hours.

If I really really wanted to be writing tickets in the situation you described, I'd put the radar down and just write all those cars smooshed in behind you for following too close. There's more than one ticket in the books, and absolutely no reason to be angry if you can't write a specific one. You can just sit and watch traffic at an intersection and observe enough infractions of following too closely, improper turns, failure to signal, disregard signs and signals, equipment violations, and improper lane usage to keep your little pen a scratching without once touching your radar if you so desire.

I was originally going to let the tread die, but you just brought up another one. This is another experience from several years ago, that I had brushed off until now. The scenario goes as follows:

I'm headed northbound on I-25 near Pueblo, CO. I see a state trooper on the side of the road performing a traffic stop. I look left, signal, and move to the left lane to give the officer a safe zone to work. While I am in the left lane, another vehicle ran up on me at a very high rate of speed, and maintained a distance so close that I could not see the hood of their vehicle in my rear view mirror. As soon as I was past the officer, I quickly got back in the right lane to get out of this idiots way. As expected, as soon as I did, the speeder took off once again at a very high rate of speed.

The next thing I know is that I have the very same officer pulling ME over. Surely he must have seen the guy trying to rub my bumper while passing, yet he wanted to give me the riot act for not using a signal for returning to the right lane. Yes, I did not use my signal, so it was his call. I was not cited for the infraction, but still did let it be known that I was not happy that I was stopped over the dangerous driving by the individual behind me. Why don't tailgaters get stopped more often, when most of the chain reaction wrecks you guys get to contend with are due in part to this very manner of driving?

[Smurfette_76]

Sir.

What you see and what I see are going to be two different things. You and I can be sitting at an intersection and SEE two different things. While you're looking at the person that just pushed the red light, I'm checking out the thug that is walking around.

My point. YOU don't know what he did or didn't see. My advice to you based on this post and your original is: It's not all about you. No one is staring at you because they're mad. It doesn't matter if you think so and so's infraction was worse than yours, you are the one that was stopped.

[RoadKingTrooper]

Yeah dude! you keep stepping on your Richard!

[PhilipCal]

I was originally going to let the tread die, but you just brought up another one. This is another experience from several years ago, that I had brushed off until now. The scenario goes as follows:

I'm headed northbound on I-25 near Pueblo, CO. I see a state trooper on the side of the road performing a traffic stop. I look left, signal, and move to the left lane to give the officer a safe zone to work. While I am in the left lane, another vehicle ran up on me at a very high rate of speed, and maintained a distance so close that I could not see the hood of their vehicle in my rear view mirror. As soon as I was past the officer, I quickly got back in the right lane to get out of this idiots way. As expected, as soon as I did, the speeder took off once again at a very high rate of speed.

The next thing I know is that I have the very same officer pulling ME over. Surely he must have seen the guy trying to rub my bumper while passing, yet he wanted to give me the riot act for not using a signal for returning to the right lane. Yes, I did not use my signal, so it was his call. I was not cited for the infraction, but still did let it be known that I was not happy that I was stopped over the dangerous driving by the individual behind me. Why don't tailgaters get stopped more often, when most of the chain reaction wrecks you guys get to contend with are due in part to this very manner of driving?

Okay, here's your answer. Ready? You're a Cop magnet. There aren't a whole lot of them, but you're definitely one of them. Two characteristics generally pertain to Cop magnets. One is the ability to discern anger from a Cop while passing him at 45 MPH. The second is the ability to get a Trooper who was previously conducting a totally different stop, come from out of nowhere, and light YOU up. BTW, the Trooper cut you a break by not citing you. Yet, you let it be known you were unhappy being stopped. I wish we had more traffic safety experts with your knowledge and experience. Our job would be so much simpler. Thanks for posting though, you're assuring me once more, that we'll always have job security, do in large part, to guys like you.

[mikeymedic]

i look mad all the time - it keeps people from asking me stupid questions or engaging me in inane conversations (people don't generally approach you if they think you'll punch them in the throat)

A coworker had a citizen complain on him for "looking too angry, shouldn't be on patrol" --- the Sgt. asked the citizen what the call was where he interacted with this officer... citizen said "oh no, I didn't even speak to him - he was in the car next to me at a red light and i looked at his face, he really shouldn't be out here in public"

haha, nice...moron... he's another LEO that would scare the crap out of you if you didn't know him (big, bald, and angry looking) but he actually never gets angry and would bend over any which way to help a non-criminal out.

in short, your post is stupid no matter how "nicely" you wrote it - you didn't meet, talk with, or have any meaningful interaction - but you assume he gave you an angry look. How 'bout this - maybe he was angry you weren't watching where you were going as you were entering a town where increased pedestrian and cross traffic is likely.

eyes front, don't worry about the officers disposition, drive safe

I have gotten numerous complaints that I never smile and that i look ****ed all day....and I'm rarely that mad.

[SCSO612]

I think you should park your car under your bridge for the night..........Troll. Otherwise some cop that is mad at you might cite you for unlawfully buttering your toast in the morning.