Is your state an absolute speed state? That means 56 in a 55 or 54 in a 55 is a probable cause.So the wife and I are cruising on home after a night of dinner, drinking, and dancing at our local roadhouse. Mrs lead-foot is at the wheel of her little Mitsubishi Eclipse five speed V6, but after her last ticket (#5) she finally took a lesson from me and was using cruise control, a safe 60 in a 55. We live just five minutes out of our little mountain town, and about half way home I spot a deer on the side of the road, very common in these parts, and where there is one there is usually more so I call out DEER and the lady punches the brakes. About the same time I catch a glimpse of a sheriff's car, lights out on the side of the road, but pay it no mind as we were not really speeding. A couple of minutes later we notice the car behind us has his high beams on, and again pay it no mind, until he lights us up with his blue & reds.
The deputy comes to the passenger side and I lower my window. Young guy with a 4" red beard (hey, this is Appalachia), and he couldn't be more polite. Wife passed her creds, minus her concealed carry permit as we weren't carrying since we were drinking. He says the reason he pulled us over was because he saw on his radar that we slowed by 10 mph when we approached him, and that usually means the driver has something to hide. Really? We of course said, in unison, that we saw a deer, which he understood. After chatting for a couple of minutes he was satisfied that we were not under the influence and wished us well.
Doesn't seem to me like a good reason to pull over a citizen when we were not really speeding or weaving. Is this a common practice for the law?
Many folks also do not realize that in order to detain someone, whether on foot or in a vehicle, probable cause is not needed. Only reasonable, articulable suspicion to believe that criminal activity is afoot.
Many would rather the officer be looking for drunks than simply handing out speeding tickets all day