View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2008 > February > 12
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Questions of the week
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lt. Steve:
I was driving up 400 and a cop stopped me for speeding. There was traffic to my right so I pulled over to the left against the median wall. The officer was agitated with me and I didn’t like his attitude. I couldn’t pull over to the right because of the traffic. What should I have done? Was I dumb to do that?
Dear Dummy:
Having been there myself, I’m guessing the officer was a bit on the agitated side knowing that he was about to be run over. The only thing that would fit in that lane is a clown car so I’m sure half of yours and the cop’s car, which of course is behind yours and will be the first one hit, was sticking out there to be hit by one of our fine drivers who just may be on his or her cell phone, texting something insignificant that could have waited.
Here is what you do, stick you hand out of your driver’s window and wave to acknowledge that you see the blue lights. Make sure you wave with all of your fingers. Turn on your right turn signal and then cautiously ease over to the right, lane to lane, taking as much time and distance as you need to do it safely. As long as you’re not changing lanes at 80 MPH the officer won’t be alarmed.
Lt. Steve:
What kind of drunk-tests do they give when you get pulled over?
Dear Overimbiber:
Field sobriety tests, commonly referred to by officers as “FSTs”, are simply a series of exercises designed in theory to test balance, coordination and divided attention (the ability to do two things at once). There are over a dozen such tests which have been used to varying degrees, the more common among them being one-leg-stand, walk-and-turn, nystagmus (following an object like a pen or finger from side-to-side with your eyes), the Rhomberg test (also called “modified position of attention”), hand-pat, finger-to-nose, fingers-to-thumb and alphabet recitation.
If the driver has a mullet, additional tests may include reciting the words to “Free Bird.” Also taken into consideration is the physical appearance of the driver. For instance, if the driver is lying face down on the horn, or urinating out the driver’s window, this too would indicate he may be a “less-safe” driver.
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