Good afternoon sir.
Trooper Bloom, Florida Highway Patrol.
The reason why I'm stopping you is for your speed.
85 in a posted 70.
If I could see a license, registration, and insurance card please.
Hello everyone. A Happy 2019 to you.
Welcome back to Ticket to Florida.
I hope you all had a nice Christmas.
Today I'll discuss police stops.
A few viewers have asked me
to make a video on this topic.
So thank you Sascha, Chrislszo,
Janosch, and Betty for the idea.
Yeah, how do you behave when stopped by the police in the U.S.?
What happens during a police stop?
Where should I stop my car?
How high are the fines?
Do I have to pay the fine immediately?
It's always stressful when in your own country
you see the blue light in your rearview mirror and hear the siren.
To experience this in a foreign country is even more stressful.
In this video, I'll try to remove the fear and anxiety from you.
I'm personally excited.
I coordinated this video with the Florida Highway Patrol.
We will simulate for you a police stop.
Alright, let's go!
Oh geez!
Just great!
Don't panic.
It won't be so bad.
Look for a safe place where you can stop.
Turn your blinker on.
If you're driving on the highway,
you may stop on the right or left hard shoulder.
In this simulation, I turn off from the road.
Roll the windows down.
and turn the motor off.
If you are stopped at night,
turn on the cabin light
so that the police officer can see inside your car.
Don't fumble around for your papers.
The police officer doesn't know what you're doing,
and it could look suspicious.
Do NOT get out of the car.
Are you kidding me?
You have got to be kidding me!
Remain seated with your hands visible,
for example, on the steering wheel.
Here is a trivia question for you.
Do you know why the police officer touches my car?
Write a comment.
If you're right, I'll give you a thumbs up.
OK. Let's continue.
Here's a good tip.
Don't argue with the police officer
unless you absolutely want a ticket
as a souvenir of your Florida vacation.
Good afternoon sir.
Trooper Bloom, Florida Highway Patrol.
Reason why I'm stopping you is for your speed.
85 mph in a posted 70 mph zone.
If I could see a license, registration, and insurance card please.
There is no way I was going that fast.
You have got to be kidding me.
I'm not here to argue on the side of road sir.
I need to see your license, registration, and insurance card please.
I can't believe this. I was just going with the flow.
There were other people going way faster than me.
I'm not going to ask you a third time sir.
I need to see your license, registration, and insurance card right now.
What is this? Are you trying to meet your quota for the month?
Sir, the Highway Patrol doesn't have a quota.
I'm here to enforce the state statutes for speed.
Initially, the police officer might have had the intent
to just give me a warning.
When I act like a jerk towards him,
it will be clear to him that a warning will not suffice
to change my bad driving behavior.
Don't be a jerk.
Let's try this again.
Good afternoon sir.
Trooper Bloom, Florida Highway Patrol.
Reason why I'm stopping you is for your speed.
85 mph in a posted 70 mph zone.
If I could see your license, registration, and insurance card please.
I know. I was completely at fault.
I was not paying attention to what I was doing.
My head was somewhere else. I'm sorry.
I appreciate your honesty. It goes a long way.
Be honest and be respectful.
What's the German proverb?
The way you call into the woods is the way it will resound to you.
My driver's license is in my pocket.
My insurance [card] and registration is in my glove compartment.
Is it OK if I reach for them? That's fine.
It's a good idea to let the police officer know
that you need to reach for your driver's license and rental car agreement.
Thank you sir.
Your insurance card is up to date. You can hold on to that sir.
I'll be right back.
Here's your license and registration.
I'm going to give you a warning today for the violation.
In Hillsborough County, it would have been a $243 ticket,
and three points on your license.
Do me a favor and in the future slow it down.
I will. Thank you. Drive safe sir.
You survived.
Take a deep breath and pull yourself together.
When you're ready,
start the motor and don't forget the blinker.
The fines vary from county to county.
I live in Pinellas County.
Here is the catalog of fines for Pinellas County
regarding speeding.
As you can see,
the fines are very expensive,
the more so when you drive too fast
through a school zone or construction zone.
With me is Sergeant Gaskins from the Florida Highway Patrol.
Sergeant Gaskins,
there are a few additional questions that I know
my viewers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland will have about traffic stops in the U.S.
The first question is:
in the simulation that we did,
we discussed the importance of staying in the vehicle.
However, if the police officer asks me
to get out of the vehicle, am I required to comply?
Normally, we want you to stay in the vehicle
until we give you some kind of direction.
If the officer looks at you and says
Hey, I need you to exit the vehicle.
Come over here to the side.
Step back to my patrol car.
Yes, you are required to follow his commands.
There's various reasons why he may ask you to do that.
Typically it's for safety issues,
to get you and that officer away from passing traffic.
or possibly the trooper may believe
that there's something more to the traffic stop
than meets the initial eye.
The next question is,
can a police officer search me or my car
without a warrant?
If the officer or the trooper develops probable cause.
Probable cause is...he would believe
that you've committed a crime,
or you're in the process of committing a crime.
Then yes. He could search you without a warrant.
If I get a ticket,
do I have to pay the fine on the spot?
What are my options?
No, we do not accept payment
for fines at roadside here in Florida.
In Florida, you make your fine payment
to the Clerk of Court in the county that you were stopped in.
You can do that online now.
You can mail it in.
You do not have to be present.
There are certain statutes that do require your presence in court.
Those are typically criminal citations, criminal acts
like leaving the scene of a crash or a DUI situation.
But a speeding ticket,
not wearing your seat belt, things of that nature,
you can mail it in,
you can pay it online.
You don't have to pay it immediately.
Again, we do not take payment at the side of the road.
If I were a tourist from Germany,
and I get a ticket in Florida,
would this information be reported back to the authorities in Germany?
In other words, does this go on my driving record in Germany?
Florida has reciprocal agreements
with all fifty states in the United States.
We do not have those same agreements with foreign countries.
Where it would be an impact to you, the driver,
if you were a German national,
when you returned to the United States
if you return to the state of Florida,
and you had a ticket previously that you had not paid for,
then your driving privilege would be suspended within the state of Florida.
Final question.
If I am pulled over by a police officer,
am I allowed to film the traffic stop?
For example, with my smart phone.
Yes, you are.
As long as you are compliant with the officer's requests
for documents like your registration,
your insurance, your driver's license,
things of that nature.
Maybe in the case of someone from Germany
or another country, a passport.
As long as you are compliant with the requests made by the officer,
yes, you can film whatver you want to film.
Sergeant Gaskins, thank you so much
for helping me make this video.
I also want to thank Corporal Bloom.
He was the officer in the simulation that we filmed.
We hope this video was helpful and informative for you.
We want you to have a pleasant vacation in Florida,
and part of that is being safe on the roadways.
If you liked this video,
please do me a favor
and give me a thumbs up.
If you're new to my channel,
and you like what you see, please subscribe.
And lastly, I have a question for my viewers
from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
How do police traffic stops in Florida
compare to police traffic stops in your homeland?
Please leave a comment.
Alright. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.
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