what to say to a cop if you get pulled over as a wheelchair user

I finally got my first speeding ticket after years of speeding. In a residential area I was doing 46 mph in a 30 mph zone. I had no excuses for my heavy foot.

Getting pulled over by a policeman can be nerve-wracking and it gets even worse when you are in a wheelchair. The cops are often surprised when they see the speedster is in a wheelchair, but they try hard not to show their shock.

When the cop pulled me over and came up to my window and noticed my wheelchair, he said “great set up you have here” and then came the dreaded question, “do you know why I pulled you over?” I could have easily used the excuse that I had a problem with my hand controls but I took full responsibility.

If you want to go down the road of using your disability as an excuse for your bad driving, you are setting yourself up for getting your license taken away. I did not want to lose my license after working so hard to get it at age 25. Instead I apologized profusely and said there was no excuse for my fast driving and that was the truth.

When you get pulled over and you can’t use your fingers too well, getting your license and registration is difficult, especially if it is in the glove box and you can’t reach it on your own. I needed the officer’s assistance and I felt this will put him in an awkward position because he doesn’t know what I have in my glove box.

The cops I’ve encountered so far have been very cooperative and helpful, but this ticket was the first one I ever got. Before I always escaped with a warning and I have no doubt that me being in a wheelchair had something to do with it. There is no doubt this is one of the benefits for driving in a wheelchair.

I remembered one time I got pulled over for expired tabs, the cop didn’t give me a citation. He then followed me to the DMV and helped me put them on my vehicle. Another time I escaped after I got pulled over for not having my seatbelt on, but when he noticed I was wearing a special seat belt, he said sorry and let me drive off.

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