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Two years ago I was driving on vacation in the US with my family (we are French). I was in Paso Robles and wanted to turn left, where my GPS told me to. I took

Two years ago I was driving on vacation in the US with my family (we are French). I was in Paso Robles and wanted to turn left, where my GPS told me to. I took one turn-leftèonly lane too early (the next left was 50 m further down the road). I had a look around, no cars at all, so I proceeded straight on to the next lane (the French way). I turned in the correct left and I suddenly heard "wow wow wow" and saw flashing blue lights. Shit. A young policeman approached, had a look inside and started to talk to me rather fast and with a complicated accent. I asked him to please slow down. He then realized that we are tourists, with a GPS, with two kids in the back - and he said "you are free to go, just be careful" and walked away. So speaking to the police sometimes makes sense. --- Another case was in France when, on a Sunday afternoon im my small city, on a deserted road, I stopped because an older person decided to cross the street when it was red for them. He .... was .... veeeeee...eeery ... slooooow sowhenhewasdoneIimmediatelystarted. "wow wow wow", a police car was behind me. They asked me if I knew why they stopped me. To what I said that I do not know, but for sure this is not for speeding or for driving over that guy who crossed the street on his red. They said that they were behind me, saw me stop on my green light, wait for the light to change to red and then start. They wanted to make sure I was not high or something. Everyone was smiling, we had a chat and they we all left. Speaking to the police again makes sense. --- Ah, one more. I am driving to the Charles De Gaulle Paris airport, i got completely lost, it wasbefore a phone was everything but a phone. It was the middle of the night, I saw a police car stopped next to a roundabout, so I walked to them and knocked on the window. It is a good thing they had a roof because they jumped so high that they could have left the car otherwise. They actually drove me to the airport. The power of speech :)

mumblemumble 6y ago
Your experience as an international tourist in a part of the US where the economy depends on tourism, and your experience in France, may differ from the kind of experience that that lawyer was advising people not to get themselves into. US citizens (especially non-white ones) often have nasty experiences with the police. For example, the police in my own city are infamous for electrocuting people in order to extract false confessions.
RankingMember 6y ago
I'm happy for you that your interactions with police seem to have been positive. I can only speak with regard to police in the U.S., but I suspect that if your skin was a different color you may have a had a different experience during your U.S. traffic stop.
robaato 6y ago
I used to be blase about the idea of talking to the police, but have had some experiences which make me more wary. That said, as a foreigner, especially things like traffic encounters, it usually pays to exaggerate your foreign-ness - they usually can't be bothered with extra paper work.

mumblemumble 6y ago

Your experience as an international tourist in a part of the US where the economy depends on tourism, and your experience in France, may differ from the kind of experience that that lawyer was advising people not to get themselves into. US citizens (especially non-white ones) often have nasty experiences with the police. For example, the police in my own city are infamous for electrocuting people in order to extract false confessions.

RankingMember 6y ago

I'm happy for you that your interactions with police seem to have been positive. I can only speak with regard to police in the U.S., but I suspect that if your skin was a different color you may have a had a different experience during your U.S. traffic stop.

robaato 6y ago

I used to be blase about the idea of talking to the police, but have had some experiences which make me more wary. That said, as a foreigner, especially things like traffic encounters, it usually pays to exaggerate your foreign-ness - they usually can't be bothered with extra paper work.