Ya know it’s time for a rant. This is a direct result of a personal experience. I have video and other documentation to accompany my story. Let me start by saying – with all the bad publicity police get these days, I am ashamed to have to jump on that soapbox and add to it.
DISCLAIMER: This is NOT meant in ANY WAY to portray ALL law enforcement as “bad guys”. As with ANY profession, it takes only one bad apple. I believe that there ARE good ones out there but unfortunately, the good guys finish last. I apologize to any of my friends who are in law enforcement or related to anyone who is in law enforcement. You KNOW it’s NOT personal on my part.
I didn’t do any fancy live broadcasting, I wasn’t speeding, I was not being sought after for a broken tail light nor did I have any warrant for my arrest. I was simply driving home around 8:50pm, minding my own business after a dinner with my husband. You will see in the video, I’m not even hugging the left lane. The roads were wet in some places, but conditions were fair. At the beginning, about 50 seconds in, you can see my lights get a little brighter. As I approached another intersection, I turned them off and back on. I had turned on my auxiliary lights because my car, even though it’s a 2016, is not equipped with any fancy HID or LED headlights, the “yellow” lighting is really not all that great. The whiter light helps me see the roadway in the dark and others see me.
Around the 2:30 mark, you will see a dark car approach swiftly on my left, getting very close to a silver Prius who is hugging the left lane. What you couldn’t see was, that dark car about took my back drivers side off just before coming into camera view. That dark car then quickly switches into my lane, thankful for that signal, very close to the Prius. The idiot was going pretty fast!
We continue our drive, incident free. Around the 4:30 mark (time stamp 20:46.04), a sudden bright light flashes repeatedly my direction from the northbound side. Immediately after that, another car is coming northbound and lights are rather bright in my direction. Of course, I hit my brakes, look around trying to figure out what that was. My husband noted it was a police officer…must have been looking for something. He seemed to be going pretty fast. We dismissed it and continued talking. Around the 5:35 mark (time stamp 20:47.09), @1 minute later, I happen to notice a fast approaching car behind me that suddenly took a bit of a nose dive slowing down behind me. The Prius, as you see in the left lane, had sped up and got over around that same time. I could not tell if it was a police car or not. I was not speeding so it didn’t matter. I noticed police lights ahead of me off on a side road. I signaled to get over and looked back to see that car did also. Then as I approached my turn, I signaled and got over. Behind me, as we approached a better lit area, that car got over and I noticed it was a cop. Not sure why he was on my ass, but I moved on. At approximately the 7:02 mark (time stamp 20:48.44), about 2 minutes after the initial spotlight encounter, I am hit with blue/red lights from behind. I approach the next intersection and turn right and stop. NO IDEA what I may have done wrong, but I roll down my windows and immediately, a very blinding spot light is shining in my mirror back at me. I CANNOT SEE ANYTHING. I had no idea who or what was approaching my car. Had my husband not been with me, I really do think I would have been scared. At that time, how do I know it’s a LEGIT police officer? How do I know I’m not getting ambushed? Yes, these things went through my mind AFTERWARDS….like I said, I felt safe ONLY because my husband was beside me.
SIDE NOTE: I can see now how these sorts of actions by the police may put some on edge. For us ladies, it can be rather unsettling, being unable to see who or what is approaching you from behind. I realize that maybe the police are doing this for THEIR safety, but I sincerely believe it can/could/will create a more dangerous situation, if this is a regular practice. Blinding drivers by shining that LED spotlight directly onto the mirror is simply rude and could put drivers in a defensive mindset.
Finally, a voice quickly states his name. He spoke so fast, I didn’t understand him. I never saw a badge or name tag either. He stops just behind my drivers door. I have to practically lean out to see him. The light is blinding so I see more spots more than face. He proceeds to tell me that he “pulled me over because my lights were blinding drivers on US27”. He then said, “you didn’t see me flash my spot light on you?” I said “yes” and I stated that “my lights can’t be blinding anyone, they are aimed in a downward direction, but that spotlight was quiet blinding”. He said, “they are off road lights and they are not to be used on the highway”. To which I asked, “How do you know that?” He said, “Ma’am, they are LEDs and all LEDs are off road” and he walked away with my license and insurance in hand. As you will see in the video, the front of my vehicle is STILL lit the way it was when he “spotlighted” me.
A few minutes later, he returns, advises me to “lower the lights” and lets me know that he “isn’t going to be an “asshole” and give me a ticket”. Whew….thanks… because I am not sure what the ticket would be for anyway. I did ask him “is this going to be a regular thing, because if it is, there’s a lot of others around here with much brighter lights”. He said, “they turn theirs off when I spotlight them”.
PAUSE! Wait…. um…so he don’t pull them over? WHY DID I GET FOLLOWED AND PULLED OVER THEN!?!? OH, yeah, mine are still on…but wait a minute. He never got in front of me again. How did he know they were still on before he hit the blue lights?
SERIOUSLY!!!!!??!!? I am just beside myself. Frustrated more than angry. Of ALL the things out there going on…he gets away with “spotlighting” me INTENTIONALLY across a 4 lane highway and I AM THE ONE BLINDING PEOPLE!??!? Did he NOT see the headlights BEHIND HIM??!? They were pretty darn bright and I bet they were LEDs!!
—————————
Of course…I begin thinking about this whole thing as we get back on our journey home. Yeah, okay…they are bright, but as I told him, at least if these idiots want to pull out in front of me they won’t be able to say they didn’t see me. Seriously!! Have you not driven lately and gone ONE DAY without SOMEONE pulling out in front of you just because?!?! Daylight or not. Rain or shine. SOMEONE pulls out in front of me at least once a day. So, maybe seeing me is not the problem…but I feel like it’s my defensive choice to make sure I’m seen…and I can see.
Ironically, about a year ago, I happened to look up the KRS (Kentucky Revised Statutes) on vehicle lighting. So I looked at it again when I got home tonight. I don’t see how my auxiliary lighting violates ANY of these statutes? They say NOTHING about type of lighting. YES…I know “off road lights are for off road use only”…but his statement that “all LEDs are off road” is not true. For him to “ASSUME” that my lights were “off road” lights without looking at them is wrong, he never ONCE came to the front of my car (see video) to properly “inspect” the lights.
In all honesty….does it matter? Was anyone hurt? Were my lights REALLY going to hurt anyone? The answer is “NO”. Stopping me in the fashion he did was uncalled for and an example of WHY police are getting a bad rap. If they REALLY want to “protect and serve” I can give them a list of things that would serve our community better than “spotlighting” drivers for LEDs.
CLIMB ABOARD MY SOAPBOX 