Tonight about 9:15p wife and I were driving on a very dark two lane road approaching an intersection with a traffic light when we saw two sets of flashing lights ahead. I slowed down and saw two police cruisers on the far side of the intersection. Both vehicles are pointed in the same direction of traffic. They are beyond the intersection on our side of the road. One is pulled off the road by a good four to five fee and has the flashers in the rear window. The second cruiser is on the road close to the edge of the road. It has red and blue lights on the roof bar that are flashing. There is oncoming traffic. The headlights make it hard to see and it is a very dark stretch of road. There are no police officers in sight. Just the two cars on the side of the road. Wife and I cannot make sense of what we are seeing
I stopped in the intersection. Our light is green. No on coming traffic so I pass the the cruiser giving it a wide berth going into the the empty opposing traffic left turn lane. After I pass the cruisers I hear a muffled "Hey!" Look over my shoulder, look in the mirrors see nothing but the headlights and flashers of the two sitting cruisers so keep going. I pass by some opposing traffic then see in the distance a large truck probably a fire truck in my lane facing me. I stop and determine the truck is not moving. Nothing coming up behind me in the mirrors. More traffic in the opposing lane I wait for it to pass. Just past the fire truck I see two more cruisers with lights flashing parked nose to tail on the other side of the road. No officers in sight. As I pass the back end of the fire truck I see one fireman come into the lane from around the back side of the fire truck. Beyond the fire truck off the road and down the ditch is a rolled over SUV. About a half mile or more past the accident scene I see flashing lights coming up behind me and pull off the side of the road. The cruiser pulls in behind behind and I wait almost two minutes before he shows up at the window. Several cars passed by from behind while we waited. I rolled down the window, turned on the inside light and got my driver's license out, and kept my hands on the wheel.
When he does show up he is talking condescendingly and asks why I ran a police road block. The lane was closed he said. I told him politely I did not recognize it as a road block. It looked like one unit pulled up next to another off to the side, and no one was in sight. He says he could give me a ticket because I was over the double line, and that I had an attitude towards him.
I told him where I came from, the police used flares to block the entire lane, had their cruisers parked across the lane at an angle and were out in plain sight directing traffic. He then admitted he was talking with the other officer between the two vehicles by the front wheels, and said if I wanted to keep giving him attitude then he would issue a ticket and let the judge sort it out. I almost said do it, but instead said I did not want a ticket, but it did not look like a road block. He and Wife have a nice conversation about how Michigan State Troopers direct traffic. He backed off and said have a good night and that was it. He never asked for ID or registration.
I am tempted to call the Sheriff's office to complain about the stop, and to make the observation the way the road was allegedly blocked was confusing and made the accident scene unsafe for those working the accident. If the road was being controlled then why didn't the officer immediately follow me? He could have stopped me long before I got to the accident scene. He could have radioed to one of the officers closer to the fire truck to stop me. Instead I got stopped a good ways past the accident by the guy who was out of position.
Maybe I should just let it slide and be grateful he did not issue a ticket.
I stopped in the intersection. Our light is green. No on coming traffic so I pass the the cruiser giving it a wide berth going into the the empty opposing traffic left turn lane. After I pass the cruisers I hear a muffled "Hey!" Look over my shoulder, look in the mirrors see nothing but the headlights and flashers of the two sitting cruisers so keep going. I pass by some opposing traffic then see in the distance a large truck probably a fire truck in my lane facing me. I stop and determine the truck is not moving. Nothing coming up behind me in the mirrors. More traffic in the opposing lane I wait for it to pass. Just past the fire truck I see two more cruisers with lights flashing parked nose to tail on the other side of the road. No officers in sight. As I pass the back end of the fire truck I see one fireman come into the lane from around the back side of the fire truck. Beyond the fire truck off the road and down the ditch is a rolled over SUV. About a half mile or more past the accident scene I see flashing lights coming up behind me and pull off the side of the road. The cruiser pulls in behind behind and I wait almost two minutes before he shows up at the window. Several cars passed by from behind while we waited. I rolled down the window, turned on the inside light and got my driver's license out, and kept my hands on the wheel.
When he does show up he is talking condescendingly and asks why I ran a police road block. The lane was closed he said. I told him politely I did not recognize it as a road block. It looked like one unit pulled up next to another off to the side, and no one was in sight. He says he could give me a ticket because I was over the double line, and that I had an attitude towards him.
I told him where I came from, the police used flares to block the entire lane, had their cruisers parked across the lane at an angle and were out in plain sight directing traffic. He then admitted he was talking with the other officer between the two vehicles by the front wheels, and said if I wanted to keep giving him attitude then he would issue a ticket and let the judge sort it out. I almost said do it, but instead said I did not want a ticket, but it did not look like a road block. He and Wife have a nice conversation about how Michigan State Troopers direct traffic. He backed off and said have a good night and that was it. He never asked for ID or registration.
I am tempted to call the Sheriff's office to complain about the stop, and to make the observation the way the road was allegedly blocked was confusing and made the accident scene unsafe for those working the accident. If the road was being controlled then why didn't the officer immediately follow me? He could have stopped me long before I got to the accident scene. He could have radioed to one of the officers closer to the fire truck to stop me. Instead I got stopped a good ways past the accident by the guy who was out of position.
Maybe I should just let it slide and be grateful he did not issue a ticket.