This has been a week! Whew! I wanted to make this a separate post because it is so funny. Two times in an 8 day period, I was pulled over by law enforcement. You cannot make this stuff up.
While I was in Arizona, I had a rental car and had to meet the team in Nogales, Arizona on Tuesday morning, the 21st of October. Nogales is at the border of Arizona and Mexico. I was less than a block away from the border. We did our work for the day and headed up to Tombstone, Arizona. On the way to my hotel from Tombstone, I was on the phone (hands-free) with Marty.
I had already told him there were border patrol all over the southern border. I was seeing them everywhere. As I came to yet another one, I said to him, “Marty, there is ANOTHER border patrol!.” The officer got in behind me. I was going 35 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone. After about 2 miles, I said to Marty, “WOW! There is another border patrol truck!”
Just as I passed this second officer, she pulled in behind the first. Blue lights flashed. I said to Marty, “I am getting pulled over by border patrol. I’ll call you later.
The male officer came to the driver’s side window, while the female officer went to the passenger side window. I put my window down and told the officer, “I am here in Arizona for work.” I handed him my passport and my drivers license. I had my passport for two reasons — because I was close to the Mexican border and because I refuse to get a federal ID to fly.
He explained that he was pulling me over because I had a PERM tag on the plate.
He asked me what I did for work and I explained. He asked me where I was coming from and going. I explained that I had been with a crew from work in Nogales, Arizona and that we went sightseeing in Tombstone after work. I told him that we watched the reenactment of the shootout at the OK Corral.
I was in a rental car that was not registered to me, coming from the border with a funky tag. He asked if I had someone in my trunk. I laughed and said, “No.” He asked if I could open the trunk. I accidentally pulled the hood release. So I said, “This is a rental I got for work and I don’t know where the button for the trunk is. Here is the key, you can open it.” He said, “I don’t think you have anyone in your trunk.
I had a few friends ask me why I would let him look without a warrant. There is an exception upheld by SCOTUS relating to automobiles. That and here I was in a rental car, not registered to me with a funky tag on the plate. He had probable cause. Things would have been completely different if this had ben a checkpoint of some sort OR if I was in my personal vehicle without a reason to be pulled.
When it was over, I leaned out the window and asked, “Hey, do you mind if I get a photo with you two? No one will ever believe that I was pulled over by border patrol.” He said sure. As I approached the front of the vehicle, the woman officer said, “Hey, do you want to turn around to get the lights behind us?” To which I replied, “Yes!”
They looked surprised when I reached to shake their hands after it was all over. I thanked them for their service and for putting their lives on the line each and every day. I told them my dad had been a US Marshal. I respect law enforcement. After the stop, I started looking at Arizona plates and almost all of them had date stickers on them and NOT “perm”.
This past week, I had to go to Ohio for management meetings. It’s a 6 hour drive to the main office. I drove up on Monday in my company car, spent 3 days in meetings and was returning home late this past Thursday evening. Around 9:36 pm, a North Carolina State Trooper pulled me over. Again, I was on the phone with Marty. For several hours, I kept telling myself I could make it home– the meetings ended just before 3pm and I was exhausted. About 45 minutes from our house, I called him.
About 40 minutes from home, I got over to the left lane as a state trooper was getting onto the highway. I was going 65 miles per hour in a 65 mile and hour zone. Our vehicles have cameras inside that monitor our driving speed and a plethora of other information. As I passed the trooper at the speed limit, I got back over to the right lane. A few minutes later, the blue lights came on.
I pulled over and he came to the window. I had my hands on the steering wheel. In North Carolina, you have the duty to inform law enforcement that you are a concealed carry permit holder. I informed him and he asked for my info. I gave him my license, proof of insurance dated 3-1-25 through 3-1-26 and the valid registration. The officer told me that my insurance was expired. I had handed him both the previous year and the current year. He looked at them both and still said it had expired. I did not have my reading glasses with me, so took his word for it as I thought, “I KNOW I put the new insurance card in the car when Joann sent it!” This is important for later.
He handed me the wad of papers and my license back. At this point he had not mentioned anything other than the tag being revoked. I explained that this was a company car and called our fleet admin on her cell. She explained that NC had been informed of the car insurance when they transferred the car from Pennsylvania to North Carolina for me back in Jan/February. The officer said, “I am going to write you a ticket and you can either pay the fine or appear in court proving it has been fixed.” We both told him that we would figure this out and get it fixed first thing in the morning. The registration clearly shows this to be a company car. The insurance card is COMMERCIAL insurance.
He made it clear that he was supposed to pull my plate. Apparently there was an insurance stop. I was completely unaware, as any letters from the state got to our fleet management — not even to the admin at our office.
As he said, “I am going to write you a ticket,” prior to going BACK to his car AND he never handed me the ticket saying, “Here is your ticket and here is your court date, I sat waiting. I sat waiting on the highway. A highway that has had numerous deaths due to drivers ramming into the back end of cars along the side of the road. I realized the lights were gone.
I tried to look out my window, but it was dark and I could not tell if the officer was behind me or not. As I had told him that I have my concealed carry permit, there was no way I was going to get out of my car and head toward where his car was parked to find out. I called Marty. I called the admin. She said, “I heard him say he was going to write you a ticket! He didn’t?” I said, “Not that I know of.”
I waited a few more minutes and decided to head back out on the highway. US Highway 52 is not a safe place for a woman to be stopped on the side of the road. As it is, I had driven a short distance to get near an exit where the shoulder was larger. This highway has a narrow shoulder.
I wondered, “Did he get another call? Why didn’t he give me a ticket? He never handed me a ticket or told me my court date.” The last ticket I received was about 17 years ago- 45 in a 35. The officer showed me the ticket and pointed to the court date.
Once I got home, I brought all of the papers he handed me into the house. That is when I noticed he had given me a ticket- an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper. Mixed in with the two insurance cards, registration, and company information. When I looked at the insurance cards, I also realized that he was given one that showed valid insurance from 3-1-25 ro 3-1-26.
I was stressed beyond measure. I had explained, as had the admin, that the car was legal. She insisted that the state of North Carolina had been informed of insurance during the registration process when we transferred the car from PA to NC. The ticket, however, would go on MY record, not the company! I am a law abiding citizen. I respect law enforcement. This trooper, in my opinion, did not use common sense. If tis had been my personal vehicle, I could see the ticket. The fact that my registration and insurance were both in date screams that there was a clerical error somewhere. Writing the ticket to someone in a company car, he knows this would hit my personal MVR.
Friday morning, I called his troop and spoke to a woman who put in a call to his sergeant. I spoke to his sergeant and explained that while the officer was not mean, he should have better communication skills. I told him what happened and let him know that I was NOT happy that I was left on the side of a dangerous highway in the dark. I explained that he should have been clear and shown me the ticket and let me know I was free to go. I explained that I did not even realize I had been handed a ticket.
The sergeant could only say, “He did you a favor by not pulling the plate.” I get that would have been a major inconvenience, but the sergeant missed the point. The safety risk on this highway was real. The second point he missed was that this was a company car– the penalties and towing to be paid by the fleet management company.
I also let him know that my company admin found out that the state of NC was notified on 1-24-25 about the car’s insurance and was, in fact, legal. There is some sort of clerical error.
Next, I reached out to the Country District Attorney’s office. I spoke to a very helpful woman who told me that I need not come in. She gave me her email and asked for me to email the documentation to her. Here is what I wrote:
“XXX,
I appreciate you giving me your email address so that I do not have to come into the DA’s office today. I hope that this situation can be resolved via email.
As I told you over the phone, I was pulled over in a company vehicle last night and cited for a revoked plate. I presented the attached insurance card to Trooper Young and he told me it was expired. As you can see, it is valid through 3/1/2026. I have also attached the valid car registration and the citation, as you requested.
XXX, our company fleet manager, reached out to enterprise this morning. They provided proof of correspondence with the State of North Carolina where the state acknowledges they received insurance notification on 1/24/2025. I have attached this receipt of completion, as well.
In light of the fact the correspondence with the state of North Carolina was completed on January 24, 2025, I hope that this ticket for revoked tag will be dismissed posthaste.
Kind regards,
Pattie Biggs”
Much to my shock, within 2 hours, I received an email from the DA’s office stating that the ticket will be dismissed and to give it 72 hrs to show up in Raleigh. What a miracle!!!! An absolute miracle!
I also reached back out to the contact at the troop– I sent the correspondence with the DA and the insurance notification completed on 1/24/25. I let them know that we were also getting the insurance company to reach BACK out to the state of NC. I wanted them to know that this was just a clerical error and that we were on it. Maybe in the future the two officers will think about this outcome if they stop another commercial vehicle that has all of their documentation with a revoked tag order. I cannot be the only one that this has ever happened to!
I get it. Troopers cannot trust everyone they stop. However, when he ran my license, he knew with 100% certainty that I was a CC holder AND that I have a clean record. Given that I was in a company car with all documentation in order and in date, he could have deduced that there was some sort of clerical error. Especially when the lady at my company told him that everything was done back in January and February when we were transferring the care to NC from PA.
Since it was October 30th, he probably had a monthly quota of tickets to meet. I will be following up to make sure sure that this has been dismissed. I don’t want to find out that there was a mistake and miss my court date. Currently, my company car is sitting in my driveway until we get notification from the DMV that the revoked tag has been cleared from the system. XXX thought we might at least get a letter on Friday, but I think it will be a week. I will have to drive my personal vehicle for work until it is resolved. Here’s hoping it’s fast.
At the end of the day, all the officers were doing their job. I get it. I still stick with my original opinion, though—- I think given the registration and insurance were both up to date– AND the officer saw the COMMERCIAL insurance from 3/1/24-3/1/25 AND 3/1/25-3/1/26 — I think a warning should have been issued. I complied with the law and informed him about my CC and I called our company rep. She had the same story that I did– that we transferred the car from PA to NC earlier this year…….
If there are no clerical errors in dismissing the ticket, I’ll be able to laugh about the second encounter. <smile> Prayers and fingers crossed it goes through. Last, hopefully we get the clerical error fixed with the state, too.
My Little Red Bike 