Help? Overcoming Irrational fear of the police while driving

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Ok so back in September i got a speeding ticket (10 over) which i rightfully deserved. Since then i very rarely drive and if i do its about 2-3 under so i don't get ticketed for impeding traffic or whatever, and every time i see a cop behind me, just minding his or her own business, i flip out and end up going the other way even though i wasn't speeding or doing anything wrong, can someone help me out so i can drive in peace?

10 over posted in clear conditions is considered the proper traffic flow in most places, I've observed and experienced.

Aside from that, you may want to 'see' if your vehicle stands out more -something that might get another cop to target-lock (my preferred mode of transport tends to generate a lot of curiosity but even more so if the machine I'm riding is looking shabby).

I recently had a streak of peace officers' and my own time wasted unnecessarily but as soon as I was able to get the words out "I have AS" (I don't have a card printed up yet) their demeanor and approach softened a bit. I have to say, in a fairly large metro-suburb the "1st responders" are up on their training for the most part - 3 out of the last 4 times I had contact with them they were familiar with it. But still with a steady feedback loop of being pulled over almost every 2 weeks for a while has shaken me almost regressively to the occasions when a local policeman would chronically harass me on my bicycle. Just today I nearly had a panic attack while test riding a client's machine when a sheriff pulled out from a Subway shop.

You have the right idea about not driving too fast or too slow. As long as your plates and insurance are paid up, and there are no bald tires or big Bob Marley stickers on your rear window and you're not generally driving like someone's about to get hurt, there is no other logical reason why any officials should be any further interested in contacting you. Breathe a little deeper and try to stay focused. If anything just know you're not alone in feeling that afterburn

I was pulled over for having a headlight out and sort of went through the same thing for several months. I still feel very anxious when a cop pulls up behind me but now it's not something I actively consider the entire time I'm driving. What worked for me was definitely the equivalent of exposure therapy; the more often a cop does pull up behind you without ticketing you, the more relaxed you'll become. I think going under the speed limit should be avoided unless conditions warrant it and I think you're generally going to be all right up to about five over. I go almost exactly the speed limit to five over and I haven't been pulled over for speeding in the nine years I've been driving.

The same with me. I got fined for doing 10km over the limit a year ago and now I get really anxious when the police are on the road nearby. I usually do my best to keep under the limit when they're behind me. The last time it happened the cop sped past me when the road turned to double lanes

Yeah, I had a real whopper a couple years ago... I'd just renewed the insurance & registration of my vehicle, switching from one to another. My paperwork was in the other car.

The cops sometimes check plates when they're behind you (not speeding at all) and saw Honda vs. Ford and thought something funny was up, pulled me over. Lack of insurance papers meant a $3000 fine and instant towing!

Thank goodness I provided the papers the next day and the ticket was destroyed, but it was a day lost and $150 in impound fees.

Now, whenever the police are right behind me I can't help but worry... it's lessening, knowing all is in order, but... oy! *gulp!*

Give it time, know your papers are good, know you're driving right, you can be calm knowing everything is perfectly fine.


I've heard of the police occasionally pulling over very GOOD drivers in contests, etc. I knew someone who won a new truck!

I know what you mean and thats a tricky one. It should fade with time. But also think about worse case scenerio. They are behind you and you are trying to do everything right. If for some reason you make a mistake because you are so stressed its going to be minor and not speeding most likely. They will not find you inebriated, your car is correctly registered, you are not carrying anything illegal.

I've been pulled over twice in the time I’ve been driving, one failure to stop at a stop sign the other for not having a proper muffler. When I got my first I couldn’t stop saying “thank you” to the cop. I couldn’t say anything else I simply complied with whatever he said. I handed him my license, registration, and insurance. I couldn’t even get out that I have Aspergers. I was terrified of driving for some time after that. I learned to master my fear though; also I drive a lot in my profession. I decided that as long as I obey the law and stop at stop signs, not roll through them I should be OK. For my second I did not get a ticket and promptly replaced my “stinger” with a “bugpack mondo” which was the largest and least restrictive muffler I could find.

It is nervewrackig to have a cop tail you for several blocks for no apparrent reason, especially if you're economically disadvantaged. But as everyone else has said, if your papers are in order and you're otherwise law-abiding, you have nothing to be afraid of.

On a side note, I think there is such a thing as economic profiling. I had bought a not-so-gently used car and was on the way home with all the car papers and etc., when I got pulled over for not having a tag. The officer came right out and told me that he pulled me over not only because of the lack of a tag but because the car was beat-up. DWP--driving while poor.

10 over is the threshold a lot of cops have told me they use for pulling people over.