When you're caught...

[JDS]

Don't let him find something like an empty beer can someone left in there when they borrowed your car, an old roach clip, maybe loose ammo. You'd be amazed by the stuff I've found months or years later in old cars I've bought. Lord knows I probably have old bullet casings in some crevice in all my cars.

Bought the car new, I don't let people borrow it, I don't let people drink or smoke (ANYTHING) in it, I don't keep or transport firearms in it, it's my baby! I guess the point is, I know what's in my car.

I mean yeah. I understand I don't have much to gain. On the other hand, I'm quite sure I don't have anything to lose, either.

As far as planting drugs...I dunno, if I ever voluntarily consented to a search, I'd make it conditional upon having permission to witness the search, and I can't imagine that a cop would plant something with me watching. Would he? I mean...I guess even if he did it with me watching, he technically could just say I was lying and he really did find it in the car, should it go to court, but the scenario seems to far-fetched and tinfoil hattish that I have trouble imagining it would come to that.

I guess the question is...knowing that I can safely let him do it, will I make the cop happier and more inclined to cut me a break if I voluntarily let him search my car, or will I just make him more irritated when he realizes he was wasting his time?

[Rick Lee]

My mom used to work for our county prosecutor and there were always a bunch of detectives haning out there who would give her a lot of what-if scenarios. Being as law-abiding as the day is long, my mom always assumed the cops were on her side and would never ever think of being uncooperative. Every time the detectives told her she should never ever consent to a search, answer any questions or be chatty. Cops are trained to elicit information out of you which they can use against you. The vast majority of instances, the perp hangs themselves with their big mouth. How many times have you watched "Cops" when stupid criminals consented to searches and went to jail, when the cop otherwise would not have been able to get a warrant? Not that I mind stupid people going to jail. But don't give them the rope to hang you with. Flex your rights!

[CJR238]

I was pulled over doing 60 in a 30 (didn’t have a RD back then) and he asked to search my car. My 1st time ever being asked to search I didn’t know better so I said ok. He tore the whole thing apart but found nothing of real importance, he even searched me.
After he was done he let me go with out even giving me a ticket. I think he felt bad for torturing me and tearing apart my car.

From that day forward I always refuse them from searching my car.

[bart99gt]

I dunno, if you KNOW that you don't have anything illegal in your car (I for one have never put anything illegal in my car, ever), and you don't desperately need to be anywhere, might you not gain some points with the LEO by consenting to a search? I figure they might be willing to let you off with a warning or a reduced ticket if you show them that you're willing to help them.

No. Get into the mindset of why they're asking to search in the first place. They're just hoping they'll get lucky. They know statistically it'll come up empty, but there's always that chance they'll come across a bag of weed, coke, illegal weapons, etc...

To reinforce what Rick brought up about finding stuff in used cars, when I used to work as a car salesman, we would find loose bullets or spent shell casings in trade-ins ALL the time. I heard stories that were far worse from other salesmen, who had stories of finding drug paraphernalia and/or small amounts of drugs stuffed in between seats, under consoles, etc. Obviously that didn't happen as much, but its not something you want to take a chance with, particularly if the cop has the drug dog out.

[FlyinZX-10R]

With so many things being against the law these days, the average citizen sometimes doesnt know what could be illegal to have in your car. IE: Maybe its illegal to have a tire iron in reach of the driver. Or maybe it would appear to him that its there as a weapon. If he is asking to search, he doesnt have probable cause to search. If he could seach without your permission, he wouldnt ask you. If you live in one of the commie states, just about everything seems to be against the law. Why chance it.

[JDS]

I was pulled over doing 60 in a 30 (didn’t have a RD back then) and he asked to search my car. My 1st time ever being asked to search I didn’t know better so I said ok. He tore the whole thing apart but found nothing of real importance, he even searched me.
After he was done he let me go with out even giving me a ticket. I think he felt bad for torturing me and tearing apart my car.

See, that's the scenario I'm wondering about. Getting the cop to let you out of the ticket is WAY better than fighting it in court.

[phantoms]

I guess the question is...knowing that I can safely let him do it, will I make the cop happier and more inclined to cut me a break if I voluntarily let him search my car, or will I just make him more irritated when he realizes he was wasting his time?

I don't know. If he felt he had a reason to search it in the first place and then didn't find anything, he might be less likely to cut you a break thinking you got whatever he was looking for by him.

[CJR238]

I was pulled over doing 60 in a 30 (didn’t have a RD back then) and he asked to search my car. My 1st time ever being asked to search I didn’t know better so I said ok. He tore the whole thing apart but found nothing of real importance, he even searched me.
After he was done he let me go with out even giving me a ticket. I think he felt bad for torturing me and tearing apart my car.

See, that's the scenario I'm wondering about. Getting the cop to let you out of the ticket is WAY better than fighting it in court.

Ok I will be honest, he did let me go but he allso found a 7" sheath knife and the sawed off butt of a rifle (I don't remember what I sed about that but he laughed). We had some banter back and forth, I even told him I was an Eagle Scout (he found that funny, he sed he never herd that one before). so I think it was the light heartiness of the search that also helped. Its not easy to keep things funny under such pressure.

[CJR238]

Beginning Sunday, Virginia is adding new civil charges to traffic fines. They range from $750 to $3,000 and will be added to existing fines and court costs. The civil penalty for going 20 mph over the speed limit will be $1,050, plus $61 in court costs and a fine that is typically about $200.

Now I really need to hide my RD when going through Virginia because now its worth the ticket for having a RD rather than a $1-3000 fine.

[Rick Lee]

Don't worry. The new VA fines only apply to VA residents. Out of state drivers have nothing to worry about. If I weren't moving to AZ soon, I'd seriously consider registering everything in PA.