posted 06-18-2004 09:12 PM                    

quote: Tim Reed

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Rachel, girls receive different treatment than boys with insurance companies. Really.

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Yeah, I know! That's cause we drive better.

posted 06-18-2004 11:04 PM                 

quote: Mike Blakesley

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Bill - not to worry, Joe found a thread of Phil's to lock, so you're probably safe until he gets bored again.

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OK Mike! You're really pushing it! If you keep this up, I will cross you off my Christmas card list!

(Dear Diary: Where was that "Joe is a Jerk" thread?)

>>> Phil

posted 06-20-2004 12:01 AM                      

quote: Rachel Gilardi

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Yeah, I know! That's cause we drive better.

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No comment.

posted 06-21-2004 02:59 AM                       

quote: Tim Reed was the last to post

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That's cause we drive better.

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posted 03-22-2005 05:26 PM                       

quote: Rachel Gilardi

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That's cause we drive better.

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In the '70s I had a girlfriend who was caught driving 90mph on the freeway WHILE READING A BOOK (she was studying for a college exam) and she didn't get a ticket. She was (and is) beautiful ... can't say I blamed the cop.

posted 03-24-2005 07:07 PM                      

quote:

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I was the only person present at the courtroom who had photographs, maps, and other documentation (including the state RADAR training manual and various calibration certificates for the RADAR device....the police department does not have a valid FCC license to operate the RADAR gun lawfully

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ROFL!! That's too good, Scott! Good man! Great. You tell 'im, pal!

I had an incident a couple weeks ago with a NY State cop. I stopped my rig on the shoulder just past a toll booth, to quick change my shoe. I'd had surgery on my foot a week earlier, and I needed to get into a sandal before the night wore on too long. Not much traffic, I was safely on the shoulder out of the toll booth. The shoulder is posted "Emergency Stopping Only"... I had my clearance lights on and 4-ways flashing. Well, this cop rolls up and shines a light in my cab. I'm sitting on the bunk, peeling away a Band-Aid. Then, he knocks. I step into my sandal, stand up, walk to the driver's seat and roll the window down.

I could immediately smell attitude. I don't say a word. I always let cops lead, to hear what their gripe is, what they expect, and to give them as little verbal ammunition as possible to use against me.

He's looking down the road, at the ground, puts his hands on his hips and says, "What's going on?" "Oh, not much", says I, in my usual friendly manner. I wait to hear what else he's got to say, and don't bite on the pregnant pause. Cop looks at the ground and then back down the road, oh...he was a cocky little . "How long you been here?" "About 2 minutes." Then, he lights up, "You've been here for at least 25 minutes! I saw you from the other side of the road more than 20 minutes ago!" A false accusation, okay... Then, voice rising to set him straight, "Sir, we have 6,000 trucks, and we run this corridor all the time. That was another US Xpress truck you saw! I just now stopped." I explained my surgery, and he retorted in that condescending way he'd obviously picked up from the COPS TV show, when they talk to someone who they think is lying.

After a few minutes of trying to corner me with something, his voice stressing greater with each exchange, he pointed back towards the tolls and snapped, "Do you have a receipt from that toll booth back there?" I shot back, "No, but I have EZ-PASS, and you can check it against the computer. I just rolled through, not 2 minutes ago. Check it."

Since I wasn't the ignorant truck driver he probably figured I was, I had him six ways to Sunday. He kept looking back down the road with these long pauses. I know he was trying to think of a smart ass remark, or a way to get out the situation without looking foolish, but while showing me he was still "in charge".

Cop: "This is for emergency stopping only."
Me: "It WAS an emergency."
Cop: (snidely) "Oh, it's an emergency, huh?"
(long pause, looks down road)
"Well, when are you leaving?"
Me: "Right now."
Cop: (fires back) "I don't see it movin'!"

I couldn't help but think, "Well, that's because you keep standing here engaging me." Of course, that was his way to convince his ego that he was in control. I almost told him to relax, he was still in charge. Or, mention that if he'd not stopped in the first place, I'd have been gone already! But, the night was young, and I wanted to get to Boston before sunrise.

I sit down in the seat, put my seatbelt on and start rolling the window up. He's flapping his arms, hollering, "If I come back here in a few minutes, and you're still here, I'm gonna start writing tickets."

I silently cast a glance his way and go about putting the truck in motion.

As I start to pull away, suddenly, the cop SCREAMS:
"I WANT THIS TRUCK OUTTA HERE NOWWW!!!" The man was out of control.

The more I think about it, the more I wish I'd gotten his number, or called 911 an had a supervisor meet us there. Guys like this are accidents waiting to happen. They let drunks, whores, and criminals talk like crap to them, and then take it out on innocent citizens. He had no reason to treat me the way he did. None. I wasn't breaking any law, and I was properly standing on the shoulder in an emergency attitude.

When he discovered he was mistaken, he should've just said, "Well, move it along," and I would've left there respecting him. The NY State Police lost my respect that night with that guy. I'm not going to use my truck to block traffic for them anymore, change lanes when they're on the shoulder, report drunks... nothing! Piss on 'em, if that's the way they treat the general public.