@swalve: Why did the police name their television show "COPS" if they didn't want us to use it? Or is it like the name of god and only they're allowed to say it?

@Japheaux:

Now THAT's pretty damn cool!

This is seriously the scariest thing I've read or heard in a long while (assuming it is true).

I think rewarding good behavior is a good idea, if there is the proper advertisement of the program so nobody gets all freaked out.

As for everybody believing the cops are all up to something and just want to catch you with your drugs...well, I suppose it could happen. I just don't believe it.

Though I do agree the better option would be writing down the license number and mailing the card instead. Then less people would be so damn cranky about the idea.

Additionally, as someone who has been pulled over a few times for "responsible" speeding, no matter what the circumstance it's always a little embarrassing to be seen on the side of the road parked in front of anything with flashing lights.

And what about the danger of merging back into the traffic flow, etc?

By the way, I think some of you need to get pulled over a few more times, for you know, practice. It's really not that bad if you keep your hands on the wheel and greet the officer politely. Police are people too and I've never encountered a rude one - despite my penchant for occasionally exceeding the suggested speed limits.

The supreme court has ruled on this several times, and you can't pull over/stop someone without cause.

I'd be polite because I understand the officer is trying to be nice, but come on, I'm sure even most of the officers being told to do this, I kind of annoyed that they are bugging drivers.

Ten years ago I lived (and I use that term loosely) in North Dakota. A friend of mine was pulled over for speeding. The officer gave him a warning, and after seeing him, and his four family members wearing their seatbelts, gave my friend for coupons for $5 each for McDonalds as a reward for caring about their lives.

But one has to wonder, what's more dangerous, not wearing your seatbelt or eating at McDonalds?

It's a rare about-face for our "finest," who are usually more interested in sticking it to you to make their ticket quotas than helping fight serious crime.

Still, nice thought, Officer Diogenes.

The best gift to me and society would be if another car plowed into the officer as he approached my car.

And OMG I just realized! They're giving out starbucks gift cards so that the drivers can get caffeinated... and then their deluded sense of time and hyperactive awakened state will cause them to speed... and allow officers to give them tickets, making back the money spent on the cards about twenty-four-fold!

It's bulletproof!

And no, I guess I rarely believe in true human kindness without ulterior motives... as much as I'd like to...

Y

I'm no grinch, but if I got pulled over for this nonsense, I would advise the offier to shove the starschmucks giftcard up his arse, and contact the offending PD to tell them to stay the F*** away from me if I haven't broken any laws.

@spinachdip:
Thanks for that comment, you had me laughing so hard I almost spit out my coffee (made at home BTW, not Starbucks)
As for the article, I too, would be upset for getting pulled over only to be told I was driving good and given $5 gift card for a store I would never shop at. Even if the whole stop only took 10 minutes, 10 minutes of my free time is worth much more than $5.

This is going to be used as a wide cast net. I wonder how many cases will be dropped when the constitutional lawyers get involved.

Like others have said they could easily mail the reward to you.

@Bruce Bayliss:
Arrrggg, forget racial profiling, let's just deal with profiling. Just like everybody else cops learn to look for common elements. So profiling does happen and it can be a good thing. Profiling is only bad when you fit the common elements and you have done nothing wrong.

Stay out of government all you mega-corporations. Ugh.

In other words, we as a collective society need to loosen the hell up.

This is pretty much the equivalent of running at your dog, yelling at him while raising a hand to hit him..... then handing him a dog treat.

Plus, there is always the danger of being hit by a wayward vehicle.

I predict the proportion of these cards presented to Hispanic and black people will be far greater than the proportion of the driving population those demographics represent. In other words, cops will target those particular races. I suspect this is just another violation of our civil rights dressed up to look nice. (I'm Caucasian, for purposes of disclosure.)

But aside from that, I would be furious (well, annoyed) if a cop pulled me over to give me a gift card to any store, let alone a coffee place I would never buy anything from.

/Oh yes, there will be more.

I would thank the officer, after asking if I had done anything wrong, for looking out for all drivers on the road. There are too many impaired or just plain bad drivers out there, like Chris from Canada's Worst Driver 1, Michael and Henrietta from CWD2, and Shelby from CWD3. Jason, from CWD3, has reportedly hung up his license for good.
[www.discovery.ca]

Pulling me over to give me a Phuking discount ticket for a sucky cup of coffee should be grounds for using my Mac-10 on a bullet proof vest .... if you get my drift.

This whole scheme goes beyond commom sense. I see flashing lights on my arse I know one of two things is about to happen:

1) Some entry level cop is going to have to defend his poor job performance to my family member whom is his supervisor

2) I was doing 93 in a 35 and actually deserve the ticket.

Anything else is dangerous and utterly stupid.

@Buran:

I wouldnt bitch if I got $5 in the mail saying it was a reward for driving well.

But anymore these days.... when cops stop you .... people dont look at it as a good experience. Whether you did something wrong or did something right. Cops have basically become something to fear. Long gone are the days of officer friendly.

Ask yourself something... how easily are you apt to walk up to a cop (you dont know) to shoot the shit, kindly say hello, or just ask a simple question about the neighborhood? Heck even when I had a real need to talk to a cop, I have been treated with suspicion, annoyance & had my plate run.

I also think this isn't a great idea, although probably for the reverse reason of most commenters. I'm not worried about me as much as the cop. Everytime a cop makes a "routine" traffic stop he has to wonder - is this guy going to run? Is he going to pull out a gun and shoot at me when I get to the window?

Everytime a cop pulls someone over he puts his own life in jeopardy. I would hate to hear a story about a cop that got shot b/c he went to give someone a Starbuck's coupon and it turns out that someone is on the lam, wanted for murder and thinks he's just been spotted.

Someone does something bad, people bitch.

Someone writes in a complaint, people bitch and blame the victim.

Someone tries to say "thanks for doing a great job", people bitch.

People ... just bitch.

Pathetic.

WHether if this stunt is grounds for an illegal stop.... it doesnt matter. A savvy cop knows that he can literally FIND a reason to pull someone over. Especially if they follow you for a while.

I grew up in a small town with a bunch of bored redneck cops. SO naturally anytime I see a cop car behind me... I always expect to be pulled over & am suprised when it doesnt happen.

If you REALLY want to reward drivers.... have the cop note the plate #, put it on file so that the next time they pull you over for a REAL reason (incorrect lane change, rolling stop, failure to yield, speeding... etc. etc.) .... let them off & let them know that is why.
A kind of "get out of a ticket card". I WOULD appreciate THAT kind of reward!

p.s. anyone notice the missing o? N doubt...

what a waste of gas and resources.

I'd like to hear a write up of the cost and traffic congestion these random acts of kindness produce.

To move from frankly gas friendly highway or driving speeds to stop, then idle, than rejoin traffic, ect, ect. Sounds like a little at first but add it up and we're taking loads of un-needed waste.

What they should do is gather funds for something like this and then mail a donation in your name to a local charity. The only acknowledgement of your good driving would be a letter thanking you for your donation via the local police or highway patrol for being a good citizen.

But then they wouldn't have a loophole way to pull people over for no good reason.

I hate my local cops, they are all twofaced hypocrites. If they were to pull any kind of shinagins like this, my blood pressure would shoot through the roof, which in turn would cause me to seriously consider suing them... My time, stress and mental being are worth more that a crappy 5 dollar gift card.

I would accept the card, because I am grateful person.

I would not change my mind about the police/authority and their past errors and mishandleing of my persona.

I would quietly complain for it here :P

There's gotta be a negative angle somewhere. If nothing else they're wasting your precious time. Like you were doing anything important with it anyway. Probably just sitting in your steaming pile of a car at a red light being pissed off it for it not turning fast enough for you (that and those fucking retarded old people from the nursing home taking their GOTTDAMN time crossing the Jesus Christing stupid effing street. Sheesh!).

C'mon. Take the stupid Starbucks card, be grateful, or give it to someone who will be, then breathe a sigh of relief that you weren't actually doing something wrong and maybe chuckle about it. Failing that, stay the hell out of my beloved Rancho Cordova with that bad attitude of yours.

Happy Holidays, haters.

Necessary disclaimer aside (pesky legal ethics that apply to law students! :P), I don't see how it can possibly be constitutional to pull people over for driving well! That sort of detention is a seizure that requires, at the very minimum, reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing, if not probable cause. You can't pull someone over for driving well!

My reward for being a good driver should be NOT getting pulled over, at all, ever.

And the time they spend patting me on the back is time they could be spending looking for people who actually ARE a problem.

Also, consumerist comments often leave me with headaches.

And caffeine is something I don't want when my heart is beating out of my chest from getting pulled over.

Also, police officers don't like being called "cops" or "pigs". Please show appropriate respect for people you don't know and haven't met.

@Akamaru: Interesting, I'd like to see the demographic information of those motorists who get pulled over for the "free Starbucks".

The police need to worry about actually doing their job instead of adding additional tasks to their plate.

I'm tired of being cut off by cops in their cars with no siren. Or being in front of a moron on the road causing an unsafe situation as a cop turns a blind eye to the situation and speeds right by.

I'm waiting for them to start calling the rampant use of tazers the Christmas Light Special, to get everyone in the holiday mood.

"I noticed you were a little nervous there, citizen. Are you trafficking in any drugs or illegal items?

Let me just get my narc dog who's trained to alert on command."

If it was implimented as a full time thing (compared to the holiday) it could create less problems on the road. If someone sees a cop car now, they slow down, but the moment the car is out of sight they speed up again (we all do this). We have been trained to fear police officers, if they brought good things to us more often a lot of our fears would subside. Though they should give city wide gift cards for at least $50, opposed to business specific ones.

@Shadowfire: Did he raise money to cover the cost to the drivers for lost time? What about all the tax dollars going to cover the officer time involved?

Put me in the "bad idea" brigade...

Any time the police pull over a car, they run the license plate, ask for ID (and in most states, proof of insurance) and run the ID through the system. They also look inside the car and visually inspect the driver.

The law says that a police officer needs probable cause to do these things. Good driving != probable cause.

Any time you pull over enough cars, you'll find unrelated violations. (expired tags, no insurance, outstanding warrants) Police love reasons to pull over more vehicles, because it has the aggregate effect of improving their "stats".

Don't get on my case for being grinchy. I understand it is nice to get a carrot from time to time instead of the stick every time.

Between buffoons wielding tasers and buffoons pulling over law-abiding citizens, I have now concluded that our nation's law enforcement is made up of toddlers.

Also, this thread is full of grinches.

A few years ago I read that they did this in Texas - Stopped 'good' motorists and gave them Rangers tickets. I thought it was stupid then and still do. Some bosses won't give a hoot why you're late, just that you're late. might be on my way to visit my dying grandfather who only has 5 minutes left to live, and I might be driving safely anyway despite my desperation to get there, and "Oh well! At least I got a gift certificate for Starbucks!"

I'm in my car. I'm obeying the law. I'm driving safely. Leave me alone!

Maybe they should send out stickers to people in the mail like junk mail. If you're cool with getting stopped, put one in your back window. Everyone else, leave them alone.

Is starbucks going to start providing the pigs with FREE Donuts or something...

Pulling someone over for obeying the law? What's next? Taking me down to the police station in the back of a cruiser to give me a "Walking in the Crosswalk" certificate? Look, I get that we want to reinforce good behavior, but there is a limit to what's appropriate in congratulating people for obeying the law. You can't set the bar for success too low, or the laws will seem meaningless. Focus on the people breaking the law. Not the people doing what that are supposed to do.

I rather they give back $5 to all good taxpayers.

$5 doesn't get you much at the Starbucks I stop at from time to time.

If it was like...$20...I might be okay with it. Otherwise it does just seem like a way around probable cause.

I'll buy my own coffee.

And I feel like there's enough real crime out there that it's a waste of police resources to spend time pulling over people who aren't doing anything wrong. Not to mention that police stops can be deadly - how many world's wildest police chase videos are there of someone plowing into someone stopped on the shoulder?

Also, it sounds like a sneaky way of getting past reasonable cause.

REALLY stupid (and most likely, illegal) idea. My time while driving is worth much more than a $5 gift card, even if I do like Starbucks from time to time.

I saw this on some tv show once except the fuzz would give flowers and other crap to the drivers. Kinda creepy if you ask me... some burly dude with a thick moustache and aviator glasses pulling me over for doing the right thing. Ehh I'll pass.

Great idea, poor execution...