Road Rage and Police Officers

Generally, I am a really cautious driver.  I hug the speed limit.  I use my turn signals.  So if I see a police car flashing its lights I pull over quickly, to let it pass, never thinking it's there for me. 

It was not always this way.  When I was first driving, I must have driven very badly because I got pulled over all the time, but that was 30+ years ago.

About five years ago I was driving on a large, fast, six-lane, inter-city highway.  My daughter and I were in the left hand lane when I saw flashing lights in my rear view.  The unmarked SUV was right on my tail.  I pulled into the left turn lane and stopped.  The SUV pulled next to me.  I put down the passenger window, where my 12-year old daughter sat.  "What's the matter?"  I asked.

"You cut me off."  An angry police officer shouted.

“I didn't realize that,” I told the officer, "I am so sorry." 

The officer looked like she was going to explode and grunted a primal cry of frustration before speeding away.

"What happened?"  My daughter asked.

"The officer didn't like my driving.  I recently changed lanes to make a left hand turn.  I probably changed lanes too close to her.  She was in a new unmarked car.  If she rear-ended me she would have gotten in a lot of trouble."

"Aren't you scared?"  Lily asked, telling me her heart was racing.

"No."

"She was trying to pick a fight with you." Lily said.

"But there was no fight.” I told Lily.  Then I asked Lily to think of some of our friends and what they would have said if that police officer tried to pick a fight with them."

Lily could said she could easily do that.  We named one friend who we knew would tell the officer, "I did not cut you off.”  Followed by, “How many times do you turn your lights on so you can run a red light?"

Then I asked Lily how that could have ended, if someone took the bait and jumped into that fight?

Police officers have stress filled jobs.  I am sorry if I cut her off.  It provided an excellent learning opportunity for us.