Hacker News Reader

Comment by quesera | Hacker News Reader

Where do you keep your driver's license, then?

I would imagine it's one thing if they ask you to give them your license, and another entirely if you start reaching for something on your own accord. Unfortunately, being stopped by a LEO (law enforcement officer) can be flustering and you might not stop to think about it. I imagine that the LEO basically needs to treat everyone as potentially hostile until proven otherwise, for their own safety.

I've read whole forum threads discussing how to inform a LEO that you have a concealed carry license and a firearm on your person at a traffic stop, without freaking them out. Once I made the stupidly embarrassing mistake of attempting to exit my vehicle during a stop; the LEOs got hostile very quickly and I ended up getting frisked.

> Once I made the stupidly embarrassing mistake of attempting to exit my vehicle during a stop

Yah, don't do that! Best thing is to do after pulling over is turn on the interior lights, roll down the window, turn off the radio, and then wait.

Doing that will calm the cop since he can see you easily, which can only work in your favor.

Some cops will ask you to turn of the engine, or leave the car, but most won't.

Hence the "stupidly embarrassing" bit. All the more mad at myself because I knew better -- the old "hands on the steering wheel" rule (although in that case I wasn't driving). Not sure if preemptively rolling the window down would make them nervous; I'd tend not to do that. I'd think leaving the engine on would make them nervous, too.

There's not a clear line here, no, but you're not going to hold and point your white driver's license at a cop the same way you might a black iPhone running the app.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com