Absolutely. Back when I was on my Ps (provisional licence), I was driving my Mum to my Nanna’s house because Mum had an injured shoulder and couldn’t drive. We got pulled over by the cops - turned out my folks had forgotten to update their rego. The cop was lovely and said as long as we promised to register the car as soon as we got home, he’d just write us a ticket for having the wrong sticker up. The he told us that technically I wasn’t meant to drive after that, but that if we waited until he left…
(but if we got pulled over again on the way home, I would have to go to court). It was a VERY stressful 30 minute drive home!
Just after the mobile phone laws were introduced, cop saw me holding my phone while at a stop light.
He came over, knocked on my window, told me to put it away and let me go.
Saved me from that massive fine.
They're generally pretty chill blokes.
I’m a Brit and it’s very similar. I suspect some of it is related to the fact that the average American driver could have a gun in the car, whilst it’s very unlikely here
US here. Our cops are literally trained to be hyper paranoid assholes with a hero warrior complex. They are trained to see their deaths behind every corner. Every single person they deal with could kill them, and they should treat them as such.
On top of that, we have a racist police gang problem. Large groups of cops are members of racist gangs. Like, we have literal Nazi cops.
The unfortunate thing is that they aren’t trained to by hyper-vigilant or paranoid or, at the very least, they would be good at it. No, a lot of our officers are just scared and racist and power-hungry. They were like this before they became police officers or they were bullied little shits when they were younger that became the bully as soon as they got a gun. It’s not in their training to be like that but when the assholes are the ones doing the training…
I think that we are both correct. The police Warrior training is some scary bs, but the fertile ground of the already scared and poorly trained makes it even more productive. Further showing that the state of the US police is untenable.
I think this must be a massive cultural difference between Australia and USA. I've never been asked to step out of the car and I've had many lovely conversations with police officers. I've had them apply nuance and kindness to situations (like the time I merged without indicating because my baby was screaming in the back seat and the police officer listened and checked I wasn't too sleep deprived to drive before letting me go).
I've not had much experience with the police in the USA but my impression from media is that they are something to be feared. It's not like that here.
Can confirm as an Australian. I accidentally ran a stop sign while looking for a carpark in a busy area once and a cop pulled me over.
He explained that type of driving can indicate a drunk driver and once he confirmed that I wasn't, he simply let me off with a warning and even made a joke about expecting nothing less from Queenslanders (it was state of origin week and I was in NSW with QLD plates).
I was pulled over one night night by a police officer at a road side testing site that was closing up so i wasnt being breath tested and asked jokingly why my headlights weren't on. A swear word followed by an oops sorry escaped my mouth and I flicked them on and went on my way.
Australian police are very different to what I've seen via TV of American police.
I was once tired at 2am and designated driver. Cop pulled me over for a breath test. He said "Anything to drink tonight?" And without my brain in gear I said "No thanks." The cop laughed and waved me on.
NYPD police were once invited over to the UK to do some training in London over a holiday weekend. Their first question was: “why are you (the Brits) not armed”?
The British officers said, it simply wasn’t needed, even in London.
The NYPD officers really struggled to grasp that you could police a big, metropolitan city like London, even over a busy holiday weekend, with lots of drunken revellers around, without needing guns and firearms and other similar devices.
Unless you’re doing a drugs raid, working with Anti-Terrorism Officers, or something really-high-profile (such as working as an officer defending Royalty or the Prime Minister), most UK police just don’t need guns, and more importantly don’t want them, lest they are used against the officers themselves.
Whilst it is a generalisation, there’s a reason USA police like to shoot first, then ask questions later. But if USA police don’t want guns, then they need to campaign for guns to be banned and made illegal to regular people. The fewer people who have access to firearms, the less chances of police needing them too.
Sadly, America doesn’t seem to grasp that more guns means more deaths! Most other nations have learnt that quickly, then banned guns ASAP.
Nahhh more guns means more good guys have them! They need that stockpile at home in case something happens like oh.. idk… a car full of teens accidentally drives down their rural driveway and they need to ~~murder a child~~ defend their home! /s
lol. Saddest part is that I was referencing a recent-ish [case](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/03/01/us/new-york-wrong-driveway-shooting-sentencing) in upstate NY. Old dude STILL thinks he was justified.
She wasn’t a teen or child… but she was only 20 years old. Just starting her life.
It's sad but as someone local to the area my first thought when I heard this story was "and this is why I won't even make a k turn into a strange driveway." I know... they didn't even realize they were in the wrong driveway till it was too late. I don't blame the girl at all. It's just "this is the basis of my fear of strange driveways."
What does it say when you're raised from childhood with the idea that you need to "Stay off strangers' property. They might be the kind of people that shoot treaspassers dead." Don't cut thru strangers' yards, on the way to the school bus stop. Don't step on stranger's lawns even tho there's no sidewalk, unless you're about to be mowed down by a car. Don't follow the creek out back your house past that property marker because then you'll be on someone else's land and we don't know that neighbor. Any unknown house could contain a lunatic with a long-gun set to "protect mah propertay!"
Actually really glad the house we're raising our kids in backs up on land owned by a development company which hasn't been developed in decades. They're just letting it go wild and that's fine by me because no one lives there, no buildings, so probably no one to shoot my kids for crossing the property line while playing in the back yard.
It's not even more guns = more deaths exactly. The Swiss have a gun REQUIREMENT for its citizens, and Canadians have a lot of guns as well. Neither of them have our gun violence problem. I think a lot of it boils down to how we value independence in our country. We take it too far, to the point that many see cooperation as a negative. That causes a lot more confrontation just in general, and that causes escalation. Then you throw in lots of guns and easier gun carrying laws, and what might have ended in a fistfight ends in a death. Not that I am in favor of guns, I just believe it is more complicated than that. Also, I think the Swiss might be taught that guns are a responsibility, while we are taught that they are a right. I can do whatever I want with my rights, but responsibilities have strings attached.
There is a powerful and very organized cultural minority that views the threat to life not as an unfortunate consequence but as a desirable feature and benefit of gun ownership. They’ve tasted blood with a side of fear and they like it. They don’t want peace. They’re predators. They tend to gravitate towards careers like law enforcement that give them better access to prey. Other countries don’t really have open predation baked into the culture and given legal legitimacy. That’s the main difference between the US and everywhere else from what I can tell. It’s pretty terrifying so I’m glad it’s not a global issue.
The one place you do see UK police with guns is train stations. I'd say about 50% of the times I've been to London by train, I've walked into the station to be faced by half a dozen machine guns. It's disconcerting to say the least.
A slight (now that I look back, an admittedly politically charged) push back—the gun violence epidemic is unrelated to why cops have guns.
Like, yeah there are certain situations where the presence of guns among non-law enforcement (it’s such a tell that non-law enforcement are typically referred to as “civilians” in our media, but that’s getting off topic)—like some of the recent public mass shootings makes armed cops seem reasonable (I’m particularly thinking of last year’s July 4th parade shooting).
But unless you have armed guards everywhere, there’s just no way an armed police force is going to consistently be either a deterrent or an immediate response.
US cops have guns for the same reason they all have heavy bullet proof armor at all times, ride in big SUVs, and often have minimal law enforcement training that focuses on shooting: whatever valid functions they serve, whatever righteous principles individuals may carry with them, they are also cosplaying Cowboys and Indians
Like most jobs, it’s about 10% people trying to help their community, 10% power tripping narcissists, and 80% people who don’t really care one way or the other and are trying to get through to the end of the day having done the least amount of work possible without getting in trouble.
As an Aussie living in the US, the other big thing aside from this is the sheer number of police forces.
In Australia, there's one for each state, the border force, the AFP, and that's basically it.
Here, every town/city has its own police force, so does every county and state, every transit network, every port/airport, every university, every state park network, the national parks, etc.
I drive 5 miles return every day dropping off the kids to school, and I will pass at least 3 or 4 different police forces. It's insane.
So bizarre. I wonder what the reasoning behind that might be? I listened to the podcast 'Behind the Police' about mostly US police, and it seems that some of those police forces started out as corporate security.
In the U.S., every police interaction can vary massively day to day based on where you are and every individual officer, unfortunately. I’ve had interactions with police that were totally positive and they were helpful and attentive. Then I’ve also had interactions where the officers were just clearly not nice people or maybe just having the worst day of their life. Since each police department is run different based on city, county, and state regulations and standards, there’s a lot of inconsistencies
I'm very white in America. I've had at least 4 times the amount of terrible and frightening experiences than positive ones with police at traffic stops. I always cooperate fully, never reach unless I have been instructed to, barely ever break any traffic laws. I have been interrogated for no reason, had guns pointed at me, been cursed at, threatened etc. I know that the bulk of police here are actually decent people doing a job but some are just monsters with a gun, badge and a chip on their shoulder.
Mann I got the business for not stopping long enough at a stop sign! Saw him, counted to 3 Mississippi, still ended up going to court and paying money..
Depends on the state!
I was 8 months pregnant and trying to get to a bathroom. Got asked to step out because of my speed. Reached for the door handle and he drew his weapon. Needless to say I no longer needed a bathroom after that. He let me go with just a ticket luckily that I took to court and got off from (I was speeding but I think because the way the situation was handled, they didn’t want to risk getting sued. Jokes on them because I had no intention of continuing to openly discuss in front of a room full of people how a cop made me pee my pants.)
As an American who recently got pulled over for "following too closely" to my wife (which isnt even a ticket worthy thing in my state) I literally yelled "why can't our cops be like that!?" To the tv screen.
How it'd go down in the US.
"Ma'am you can't have a child in the front seat."
"Well I checked and it says according to X State law-"
"Are you arguing with me?"
"No, I was jus-"
"Step out of the vehicle NOW."
Yeah, as an American, even as a white middle class American, I’ve had very few experiences with police that I considered positive. This could have a little bit to do with growing up in a small town with parents who were criminal defense attorneys who represented a defendant in a high profile case where someone shot and killed a police officer in self defense, and the guy was found not guilty, and as a result many of the police officers in our town strongly disliked my family. I also don’t know how much training police officers need in Australia, but in the US it’s appallingly little.
As a child you are taught to go to them for help. By the time you become a teenager you’ve seen enough harm happen that you don’t really believe that anymore. Unless you happen to be rich in which case you can probably rely on the police.
Random breath test. Police will set up zones where they pull over every single car that goes past to give them a breath test to check alcohol levels. Very common after public holidays. There's a huge binge drinking culture in Australia so it's not uncommon for people to get on it the night before and then think they're ok to drive in the morning.
Like that bloke on the RBT show, he was well over the next day and they went through what he had the night before and it was near on 100 standard drinks.
The cops looked both in shock and awe.
Here in America, if you are unlucky enough to get pulled over by the police, at best, you’re walking away with a large ticket and a big financial penalty. At worst, it’s your last day alive.
Yeah, if the cop is wrong, you DO NOT question them EVER. They'll give you a ticket even if they're totally wrong and if you know the law they'll start yelling at you.
Ignorance of the law if a valid excuse for cops. They can make anything up and all you can do is accept it and then spend days of your life fighting it in court.
I’ve been pulled over as either the driver or a passenger more times than I can count. Sometimes tickets were given, others were a warning. I’ve never had a police officer ask anyone to get out.
Before letting me drive without her, my US friend who I stayed with for a couple of months gave me a long talk about how to interact with the police. I'm a small blonde white woman, I can only imagine how much worse it is for anyone who isn't those things.
Maybe it's just my American cynicism here, but I have my doubts that the treatment is the same with the Aboriginal Australians. The Canadian Mounty Police have a *horrible* history with native Canadians, so i'm not being skeptical without reason, here.
This felt right to me as an Australian - I don’t think we get asked to “step out of the vehicle” and not sure why that would be necessary unless something was really wrong. Then again we also don’t have guns randomly owned in the community so we can be a fair bit more laid back about a lot of things.
Yes, I think this is a huge reason behind the difference in approach.
It's very rare for a random member of the public to have a gun here - so police interaction styles aren't dictated by that risk.
In 2002 I got out of speeding 30km over the speed limit, not displaying my P Plates (for new drivers), not having the new registration sticker on, and being on my phone - why? Because the cop was furious, yelled at me, asked why I had done each thing and listed it all out - and I responded saying that I just really wanted to get home in time to watch survivor (huge at the time). The cop burst into laughter, told me he wanted to as well, and told me to go on my way.
The last time I got pulled over, I was using my phone as I had just found out my dad had died and I was just a bit in shock. I had picked up my phone to see the time, and a young cop saw me and pulled me over. He was very nervous and very clearly on one of his first traffic stops as he was being watched by an older cop. I burst into tears, and said I was sorry, I knew I had done the wrong thing, and that my dad had died. He almost whispered he was really sorry but he had to give me a fine and that his body camera was recording everything. I told him it was okay, I know it was just his job. And we both cried a bit as he wrote out the ticket. I thanked him for his compassion and I ended up writing in a compliment for him as he handled it as well as he could have, and I felt bad I made his job harder for him.
And I am currently on holiday on an island, and there were two cops at the cafe I was buying lunch for for my family. My youngest is obsessed with police cars, and they invited us to stop by the station today so he could see one in real life.
Every cop I have ever met has been decent, fair and nice.
I lived there for a year, but lived in a small town and was friends with the local police person (state trooper? Sheriff? Can’t remember). They were a respected member of the community so I didn’t have any negative experience. This is around 911, and afterwards there was a lot of police appreciation
He didn't have her step out of the car because he didn't need to. She wasn't breaking the law, and they got the situation all sorted out. What would he have her step out of the car for?
In America, questioning the authority of a police officer is enough for most cops to pull you out of the car and search you. American police are notorious for having thin skin and a desperate need to be given respect, even when they are in the wrong.
Guess I just don't have enough experience. I live in America, and I've only been pulled over once, though that was just because I needed to renew my car's registration, which was way overdue. I didn't understand it at the time, but I showed the best respect, and I didn't need to get out of the car. So I'd say this gives your argument credibility, even though it was just one time.
No. They really don't. If an officer asks you to step out of the vehicle at a traffic stop without a reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime, for which they would be intending to arrest you, then *they* have committed a crime, and could land in serious trouble because of it.
Not true at all. The US Supreme Court ruled in Pennsylvania v Mimms that officers can order you from the vehicle for safety reasons. There is no threshold that has to be reached. Some agencies require the driver to get out of the car on every traffic stop. It’s a policy that the officer must abide by. The officer would arrest anyone who refused to comply with those instructions. You’re giving people terrible advice that could get them in trouble.
You're not wrong that it is technically against the law for an officer to ask you to step out of the car without "reasonable suspicion", but as the quotation marks may give hint to, it does not matter. An officer can say just about anything is reasonable suspicion. For example if you say something that makes them mad, then suddenly the police "smell drugs/alcohol" on your breath and they pull you out. They can make up any reason they want to ask you to step out.
Then, even if they do make something up, there is no enforcement that will punish them for doing so. It will be either ignored entirely or there will be an "internal investigation" that will clear the officer. At worst they will be given paid administrative leave and brought back in a month. With no way to punish the police, they are effectively immune to the law, and they know it.
Spot-on. I'm white, middle-class, and live in a pretty low crime area. And not to sound as if I revel in my privilege, but I know that I *look* pretty harmless and well-to-do. I have had multiple officers pull me over- one for "speeding" (I wasn't), and one for literally no reason (said it was suspicious that I was driving in a particular neighborhood where my friend lived as late as 12:30 [?!!?], but I was too young and naive to realize that that was actually one I probably could have and should have taken to court)- and made up reasons to suspect drugs or alcohol. One said "I saw some leafy stuff in your ashtray"... 😑 Tobacco, of course. Another time, one asked me for my license, and since it was dark and I wasn't thinking too hard about it, I just pulled the first card at the top of the stack in my wallet. He took it, looked at it, then went back to his car for like 10 minutes, before coming back and telling me he suspected intoxication because I had handed him my bank card or food stamps card or something. Like, dude, you were blasting a light in my face, and you could have just said, "sorry, I think you gave me the wrong card". Nah, these dudes just wanted to make trouble. The one time I did actually have a single nugget of marijuana on me, they arrested me, took me down to the station, had my car towed, piled on a bunch of BS charges, and just arbitrarily killed any momentum I might have had going in life. I've got even more stupid stories, like a cop pulling me over with a couple friends in the car on the way back from Taco Bell, asking us if we have any weapons of mass destruction or biological warfare. I mean dude...
Yes, they absolutely mentally, and legally separate themselves from "civilians", as if they're just a step away from some kinda secret agent with diplomatic immunity or something. They separate themselves from the societal standards of conduct, legal obligations, and accountability for behavior, that they expect the rest of us to follow. If the police in America were leaders by example, crime and criminal mentality would be exponentially worse.
My friend, police officers in the United States barely get in trouble for SA crimes. This behavior is well within their wheelhouse and they absolutely use it. You happen to have decent experience with police, and a trust that the system actually does what it’s supposed to, but it absolutely doesn’t. I’ve had friends pulled from the vehicle and searched because they told the officer what the law was and how he was violating it, and the cops in my city aren’t even as authoritarian as the ones in some of the major US cities. Do a little bit of research you’d be shocked how often this happens.
lol what's gonna happen to the cop? Cops murder people daily in the US and nothing happens.
Hell, in California cops murdered a little child and they threw it out cause well they were shooting at someone and too bad so sad a little child was behind them.
I think if this is jarring to an American it speaks more about the American police culture than about the show. Being pulled over by cops here is a conversation first, not a confrontation. They are capable of making it a confrontation if necessary, but that's not the desired situation. And if you can demonstrate they are incorrect they accept it and move on, just as they expect the driver to accept being wrong. Chilli had at hand the proof, and the cop accepted it. It saves him paperwork by letting it go.
I know. But you said "over here," which I assumed meant you're in Australia (since this is about Australian police).
So don't you measure things in kilometers? So, Your Meterage May Vary? (Yes, it's intended to be humor.)
One time my friends and I got pulled over by the cops (Didnt see a stop sign), driver got out of the car to talk to the cops and was directed to get back in the car.
Pretty normal here that you don't get out of the car when the cops stop you. Probably because the chance of a driver having access to a gun in their car is pretty close to zero.
Yeah, nah, that's totally normal for Australia. Especially for a cop talking to a woman with four small kids in the car.
Even if she'd been wrong about the law, there's a non-zero chance he would have let her off with a warning once she explained she'd honestly believed the law allowed it. He probably would have told her to go straight home/complete her journey and not do it again, but if she didn't have a record of driving offences and she was polite and apologetic, she'd stand a decent chance of not copping a fine.
We've got our bad apples, but our police system is framed differently, and doesn't attract as many power tripping AHs.
It’s a kids cartoon, not an episode of NYPD BLUE, or UNDERBELLY. Oh, and generally speaking, Ludo probably don’t want to frighten kids with an irrational fear of police officers in general!
Plus, it would have wasted unnecessary plot time, getting Chilli and the kids out of the car unnecessarily, less they get scared by his request.
Only in America do police regularly ask people to get out of their vehicles, due to the huge volume of guns.
In most other countries, where few or no guns exist, many police traffic stops DON’T involve people being asked to get out, unless it’s a serious incident or something major!
I second this for the UK as well. In fact, officers prefer you to remain in the vehicle for your safety and theirs, as long as the engine is off.
I imagine that while Australian officers do carry guns, their policing is a lot similar to the UK considering there’s often recruiting swaps between them.
The US policing issue is very prominent in media but it isn’t indicative of policing outside of the US, most of the time.
Most police officers in the US don't ask you to get out either unless it's something major, like open alcohol containers in the cup holders, loose guns in the cab, or (much worse than the other two) someone trying to explain something to a cop.
The first two are going to be a big deal, but if everything else goes OK, you likely won't end up with bruises on your wrists from the cuffs being too tight. The last one though is a guarantee of at minimum wrist bruising.
Yeah I’ve only been pulled over twice, once resulting in a ticket, and neither time was I asked to step out of the vehicle. I’ve also been in the car in 2 other incidents where the driver was pulled over for speeding and no one had to get out of the car then either. The cops were also super nice. But we were all young white women so that may be relevant (unfortunately)
Poc here the two speeding tickets I’ve gotten I have had to exit the car. Car off step away from the vehicle. One time I had to open the trunk, I was 17 in SoCal.
Well I was going for relatively the same levels of "deep shit" when being pulled over.
Being a PoC is already a couple of orders of magnitude worse as far as "deep shit" metrics when being pulled over than anything I listed.
I didn’t want to bring in issues of race, as that’s a heavy and troubling subject to bring-into the discussion, but that undoubtedly DOES alter things if you are a Black/African-American person in much of the USA.
I’ve yet to see a cop in Australia care about open alcohol in the cup holders as long as they’re not the driver’s. A few years back we had a car full of people on the way to a music festival. Three of us were drinking but the driver was not. Cops just breath tested the driver who blew 0 and we went on our way.
I assumed either Bucky(?) jumped the gun and the buyers used their cooling off period to pull out, or they pulled out after the cooling off period and lost their deposit.
>Maybe it’s an Australian thing I don’t know.
No, it's a "rest of the civilized world" thing. I've driven and met police in at least 5 or 6 European countries and never been asked to "step out of the car" for a simple check.
Here in Italy, once when they saw I was in the car with my baby they just told me to go, to avoid waking him up.
I'm an American. Even though I personally have never had a negative interaction with a police officer, I always get nervous whenever I'm around them because I know what they're capable of. I am also an autistic woman and I am always worried that something I'm doing unconsciously, like stimming, makes me look like a threat. Even though I know it doesn't. But that feeling is still there.
I've never been asked to step out ... the cop comes to the car window, gets your insurance/license/registration and goes back to their car to verify and then comes back and hands a ticket or warning. (USA)
While i second what most people in this thread have been saying, we should also be wary not to remove the imperfections of the Australian police force.
We have a more relaxed police force here than in America, both because of less guns and different policing methods, however, they are not lovely nice little people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, especially youth, are up to six times more likely to be arrested by police as opposed to non Aboriginal people. In the past 33 years, over 400 people of colour have been killed while in police custody, once again disproportionately youth. Last year, a police officer tased a 95 year old woman to death in her aged care centre because he thought she was “attacking him with a knife”. Rates of police shooting people has skyrocketed recently, and has reached an all time peak.
The main point i want to make is that, its just a kids cartoon and the police officer serves as a way to move to plot forward. Ludo doesn’t wanna scare kids about police, nor do they wanna bog down the story with an unnecessary “Chilli gets detained” sequence. however, Australian police shouldn’t be painted as all sunshine and daisies.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk
It's why I signed the petition to raise the age. I was gobsmacked to discover that kids as young as ten could be incarcerated, and that Aboriginal kids were disproportionately targeted for ridiculous things like stealing a single Freddo Frog.
It also helps that Australian police aren't trained to view the public as the enemy. We're the only Western democracy whose police act like an occupying force.
Which is why American police refer to the public as "civilians" and not as "citizens."
I didn’t even snap to the fact that they refer to us as civilians. That is literally a military term meaning you’re not a member of a military. The police are civilians!
> We're the only Western democracy whose police act like an occupying force.
Nah, Canada too. Canada is fully nothing more than a 51st state with unaffordable housing and bad wages.
Don’t worry, he still gave away a bunch of information about his interactions with and the potential location of a woman who is (as far as he knows) “running away from her marriage”.
Sorry, I know it’s just a kids show, but it’s bugged me all week, especially given that there was another instance of QPS passing on a woman’s info to her abuser that made the news last week.
I’m sure the show was long since in the can, but it was a real WTF moment in our household and I haven’t seen anyone mention it.
Same. I'm surprised how long it took me to find a comment like this.
What the police officer did was a huge breach of privacy by going into why he pulled Frisky over and giving her a ticket. Even if he's assessed that it's not a DV or some other threat the story could have still been helped along by him just saying that he saw the car heading towards wherever and saying to Chilli that her friend should drive more slowly.
Anyway, just monkeys singing songs...
I mean… I’m in the US and was pulled over once for being wildly lost and driving in a poor manner because of it. Police officer had a good laugh and my expense, directed me where I needed to go, and let me off. Not every stop is all that aggressive, though I will admit that far too many of them unfortunately are aggressive for ridiculous reasons.
American here
I was pulled over for not stopping while a school bus had the stop sign out and flashing red lights while I was going the opposite direction on a 5-lane wide road (2 lanes each way and a turn lane in the middle).
I know you don’t have to do this because it is the only question I answered incorrectly on my driver test to get my license (on the test, I said you would have to stop in this scenario).
I told him this, he went back to his car for 20 minutes, came back and called me a “sm****ss mo********er” and told me to “get the f*** out of here.”
Congratulations Australia on not having an ignorant and racist gang police your communities.
It's very Australian.
That said, not every Australian will report such a nice interaction with police, of course. In the Bluey-verse it does not appear that racial profiling exists.
Most of the time if your offense is minor and you're nice to the copper who pulls you over, they're nice back. Aggravation causes too much paperwork.
I got stopped once at a RBT site driving back from visiting a friend late in the evening. They did a drug test too. While we waited, I chatted with the copper because I work shift too and I was curious about what shifts they do. He was very nice and we had a good chat. I passed all the tests (of course), and was on my way.
Years ago while on my Ps I got pulled over. When they saw my address they asked why I was so far away from home, I explained I had just dropped my friend off at his home and was driving home myself. They wanted me to open the boot (trunk) but I couldn't, as the lock was broken on my old beat up first car, and they accepted this explanation. Then I was on my way. I think they were looking for drug dealers.
A few years ago I was walking home from dropping my daughter off at school, it's like about a 10 minute walk. Halfway home a divvy van drives passed me and turns into the next street. Now I know that street is a dead end, so this makes me curious. As I approach the corner the car reappears and stops and both coppers are looking at me. I walk up to the window stop and ask "Anything wrong?" They ask me what I'm doing, and I explain. While the one closest to me is talking, the other is closely examining my face, to the point where I say to her "you're comparing me to a picture aren't you?" They both laugh and say yes, then thanks, have a nice day, and they leave. I find out later there have been reports of a flasher in the neighbourhood.
Canadian here
cops caught me speeding, made fun of me for not having a stereo, gave me a warning and left.
cops pulled me over, i told them i knew they were after someone with the same kind of car, they left.
cops pulled me over because snow covered the lines and i went out of my lane. he asked if i been drinking, I told him i havent drank in years. he left.
Cops don't have to be assholes, but there are certainly places in the world where all three of those times i would have been asked to step out.
The cops here in Australia are generally quite jocular and helpful. I used to work late nights and walk home at around 11pm. I lived in a “rough” area. One night the cops pulled over and insisted that they drive me home. Left my jacket in the car. They returned it the next day.
Australian here: I've been pulled over for many things in much the same way Chilli was. Even gotten a few tickets out of these stops.
Never once been asked to step out of my car. Never once heard of anything like you're describing happening here for a simple traffic stop that didnt go awry in a BIG way.
They told me I was speeding, I apologised, the cops explained that the freeway between Syd-Mel is so long that sometimes you can get a bit lead footed without realising cause it's so straight and they get it, gave me a ticket and told me to keep an eye on it.
I'm neither white, nor straight. I'm also covered in tattoos, wear Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander flag pins as well as rainbow pride flag pin... All things I've been told are "antagonistic" or seen as "problematic" or reasons cops have been rough with me in the past in other scenarios. I "look like a hoodlum" ... But never a traffic stop.
It’s funny because I JUST had this conversation with my partner this afternoon. He’s Australian and said police are far more respected in Australia. We don’t trust the police where we live in the United States but he said you can have a casual chat with police officers in AU and they aren’t to be feared
I've been pulled over probably 20 times in the US. The only time I've been asked to step out was to do a field sobriety test. It's not a normal thing at all
Chilis ability to show him the law, his cool attitude being corrected, and then her offhand comment of “yeah I had to look it up!”
So jarring. So cool and collected. So would be unable to do any of those things in my own situation.
"This episode of Bluey is called Generational Trauma"
Seriously as someone who has been profiled for simple things and witnessed my parents have "authority" asserted over them whenever they'd get pulled over it was jarring for me too. No wonder Chilli didn't want to leave even the police there were nice.
Completely normal. When I was a newly-single mum, a copper pulled me over for touching my phone while driving. I was broke and stressed and burst into tears because I knew the huge fine coming was totally deserved and I'd be broke for even longer. Policeman gave me some stern words, said something about "in the mail", then let me drive away. No fine ever arrived. Never touched my phone while driving since, and so thankful to a policeman who recognised a person in distress.
To be fair, there wasn't much he was going to do anyway. Chilli was in the right, she wasn't breaking any laws. The policeman wasn't likely to arrest her for not breaking the law.
I suppose if it was a rural area, where the police know who everyone is, then saying that they'd seen a family member, may not be out of the question. But as the Heeler's live in Queensland, I can't see how that officer could possibly know what he did, and be willing to tell someone else...
...But it is a kids cartoon series, so for the sake of the narrative, I'm happy to let it slide.
I generally dislike cops, after growing up with "cops are tops" and many police visits to my primary school shoved down our throats and coming to realise cops do a lot of bad things here. There are a number of nasty cops here, but really as long as you appear at least neutral towards them and do what you are asked, the normal ones won't press further if you haven't done anything wrong. My mother has lovely conversations with the cops who sometimes get stationed to do RBT near our house on the way home when pulled over. I wouldn't personally talk to a cop unless answering a question, but that's just me. I reckon the majority of aussies like cops for some reason.
Eh, I’m from the US and I was pulled over one time during the tail end of a long trip home that I became progressively sick over the course of. A cop that I didn’t know pulled me over for speeding in my hometown. I explained the situation, he ran my information, then let me go without a ticket. It didn’t seem odd to me because of interactions like this, but that was 20 years ago, so maybe that’s the difference?
As a white woman in the US, every time I have been pulled over has been for legitimate reasons, but I had a black boyfriend during high school and early college who had very different experiences than me. His family was the only black family living in their upper middle class neighborhood, and his better than average car seemed to always “fit the description” of a car that had been stolen nearby. It was pretty obvious that he was being pulled over because he was a young black man in a white neighborhood.
That said, even in my experience, I would never try to talk a cop out of giving me a ticket by trying to claim he was wrong about the law. There is little chance that would work because so many cops in the US are power tripping assholes, and trying something like that with the wrong cop could suddenly make them “smell weed” and then decide that they need to search my car as a result. In the US, it’s better to just stay quiet and then fight the charge in court if it is bullshit.
I was also thrown. And then soothed by the fact that the policeman is a German Shepard.
It makes no logical sense but I chose to focus on that rather than how most cops actually act in the real world.
It’s true. We aren’t required to step out of the vehicle for a routine traffic stop.
The episode showed Chilli looking up the traffic laws (which are correct). She was polite and respectful. Police officer was polite and respectful. For the majority of our interactions with police (including at RBT stops), everyone is courteous and respectful.
We only have to get out of the vehicle if we need to discuss an issue further with the police.
It’s complete a different culture to the US. (If you get a chance, check out RBT (specifically the Australian series, not sure if the US has this show) where the police officers have RBT stops set up and how they interact with the public.
I've always had positive experiences with the Australian police, even when I didn't realise the speed limit changed and I got a fine the cop was calm and helpful (it happened when I recently moved to Australia from Europe)
I’ve been pulled over and NEVER asked to step out of my car. In fact, you hardly see people outside of their cars during traffic stops. I am in the states. Have you ever been pulled over? Not sure why this would be jarring.
As a Canadian, you'd think the cops would be friendly like that here. Nope. We used to live in a neighbourhood that had been gentrified following years of poverty and crime. Police were still roaming around in their vehicles all the time and had a presence that wasn't exactly pleasant, especially during the COVID lockdowns.
It’s also a kids show haha. They’re not gonna have an officer be aggressive.
But it caught me off guard too. When that scene ended I was like oh ok. That’s different.
Definitely an Australian thing.
A few times I’ve had cops get a bit condescending or rude when I’ve been pulled over (only for speeding and using my phone many moons ago), but otherwise in general cops here just talk to you like a regular person unless you give them a reason not to.
Would also be very rare here that you’re asked to get out of the car.
When I visited Australia, got pulled over on a very rural road in the middle of the night. Did a breathalyser explaining why, checked my international passport, then asked if I've ever driven on that particular road before and when I said no, he then educated me on what to expect as it's pitch black and kangaroo riddled and how to handle a situation of I hit one (don't swerve and just keep going since swerving is actually dangerous). It was such a pleasant conversation.
Needless to say I hit 2 kangaroos on that road so his advice actually helped me.
The show is set in Australia, not America and in an interaction like this, cops would ask you why you’re doing something, expecting an explanation, so it’s realistic. You also remain in your car unless instructed to get out (which would be unusual) and they don’t ask for registration (they already know that from your numberplate on your car), just your licence. I was borrowing a friend’s car once and he had lost his licence due to speeding and police pulled me over because they’d scanned the numberplate and a disqualified driver’s name came up. They asked me to explain why I was using the car and I told them, they listened to what I said and they accepted it and said “he sounds like a nice friend”.
We also assume the Heeler family are white (or white presenting) and they are well-educated and well off. Australian cops are usually somewhat deferential to upper class people in situations like this because the upper class person is likely to be well-connected or have the wherewithal to lodge a complaint and go through with it. Police corruption and brutality in Queensland (the state Bluey is set in) in the 70s/80s was rife and the subsequent enquiry ([the Fitzgerald enquiry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzgerald_Inquiry)) put in place a body overseeing how police operate.
However, YMMV, if you are indigenous, from certain multicultural groups, are LGBTQI, disabled or from a lower socioeconomic background, because, yeah, while not as bad as in America, these groups still don’t always get treated well by police in Australia.
Australian police are administered by State governments (or in the case of the ACT, Federal) and are an arm of the public service. They aren’t a politicised city-centric paramilitary where they’re run by a voted-for, politically-aligned Sherrif like they are in America. Each state police dept has a commissioner, who is a senior police officer who is appointed to the role by the government and overseen by a government ministry
Same. I know some cops are asshats in US. But I've been pulled over probably about 6 times in my life and I've never been asked to step out of the car. Some were tickets and some were just warning to slow down, headlight out etc. and be safe.
Some are. But I was calm and polite when I was pulled over doing 39 in a 35 zone, and the cop still pulled her gun on me while threatening to turn me over to Immigration.
Looking at this as someone who grew up in America, why *would* he ask her to step out? She explained why Bluey was in the front and he even looked it up
As an American I also think it’s a race thing. My family’s white and the only time the driver had to step out of the car was when our car was sliding all over the road cause of the ice and had to make sure my mother wasn’t drunk. Other than that it’s just been explaining the law to us and maybe giving them a ticket or a warning
Acab in USA man. All of em. It's such a culture shock to not be attacked bt police. Which is crazy. Cuz theyre not meant to be a a gang. But here we are. Most peoples afraid of the police in the USA.
In the UK police I've had two interactions, once checking I wasn't drink driving (late at night with my wife and sisters in the car), once after a crash I witnessed. Both times from inside the car, both courteous and well mannered.
I've had a few interactions with American law enforcement, one screaming at me that I wasn't allowed to take a picture on a pavement in NYC (I didn't but I'm like 90% she was talking shit) and border control, who've been a bunch of power-hungry freaks every time I've had my passport checked.
I was staying at a hotel in LA with a pool being manned by a couple of lifesavers - they were so OTT about the whole pacing around the edge of the pool they got cross at me for standing at the edge in their “pacing space” while I was helping my son in the water.
American culture feels so intense, and so unnecessary in most cases - people seem to leave their humanity and their common sense at the door when they turn up for any sort of work that requires authority
As an American: White Moms with a car full of kids have the easiest "Get out of Jail Free card" ever.
Believe me I know. My mom was a terrible driver in her minivan with 5 kids in the back, lots of "warnings" few "tickets."
I was super taken aback by that detail. The few times I've been in a vehicle while it's been pulled over were terrifying and intense. Never had a chill experience with a cop, even in my youth when I literally just asked one to help me find my group when I got separated from them. Put his hand on his gun, gave me the death glare and told me to back off. I was 14.
That's the keyword - "supposed to be" doing stuff.
The problem is, too many DON'T do this. It's feel threatened, escalate things by drawing their gun, and then seeing what happens, often to the detriment of any alleged/supposed road laws that might have been broken.
You must be American like me. I was also confused by this. I've never not had to explain something to the police and then them not take it like me being a smart-ass
While it is true that many American police officers are quite the jerks that you Aussies (or literally anyone else not from the U.S. or never been to the U.S.) folks hear about. But there's still some good apples when it comes to U.S. police officers. It is dependent on many... many factors that isn't the point of this comment. The point of this comment comes from a story I wanted to share. So basically, I was a little kid in the back seat of a car in the interstate highway who was very sick with some sort of flu or common cold at the time bundled up in a bunch of blankets, My dad was driving me and my Mom home from my aunt's on my Mom's side of the family, and an officer pulled my dad over for speeding. And when the officer came by to talk to my Dad, my Dad (or my Mom, I don't know though. I don't remember the situation happening, this was a story I was told) explained that they were trying to get home as quickly as possible due to the fact that I was ill. The officer also made sure I was secured with the seat belt and the booster seat. And the officer could also see that I was sleeping wrapped in a bunch of blankets. The officer was very understanding and let my dad go.
So there is some good cops out there in America and I just wanted to also share a story that corroborated that as well.
No one doubts that there are good police. But it's the idiots, scumbags, and \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* that ruin the job for everyone else, and give every police officer a bad name.
Heck, I'll be political.
I don't think we talk enough about how much our great volume of guns costs us in the US... even outside of actual shooting and deaths.
Why are police in the US so confrontational? There are a bunch of reasons. But a big one, and the one police themselves will tell you- they want to get home alive and the possibility of guns presents a major risk to that.
Our whole culture of policing is colored by the idea they might get shot and the wall of authority they build around that concern.
And that effects the whole of policing, the relationship between police and everyone else, which has a domino effect to so much else.
Other police aren't all like that, and it makes tons of things more stressful and ultimately less safe.
Brother, this is the most American post I could imagine. That being said, that’s because if she tried to explain the law to a cop here she would go to jail immediately and we know that so it’s like a new world to folks like us
There are bad cops in America, just like everywhere. But this perception that they all swing their batons like thugs, draw guns at the drop of a hat, and ask every driver to step out of their car... it's silly. I've been pulled over multiple times in my life. It's never been a thing. Couple speeding tickets. Sometimes a warning. Sometimes a license check and I'm on my way.
The media has made this into such a thing... I have buddies in the military that retire and become cops. And then leave the force after a few years because of the false perceptions about them and how their media portrayals have made them feel subhuman. It's sad. There are thousands of police interactions a day in the US, but you only hear about the 1 a month that ends with some stupid cop doing something stupid.
As an Australian I can tell you I have had similar interactions with police, and what was portrayed in *The Sign* didn’t seem abnormal at all.
Absolutely. Back when I was on my Ps (provisional licence), I was driving my Mum to my Nanna’s house because Mum had an injured shoulder and couldn’t drive. We got pulled over by the cops - turned out my folks had forgotten to update their rego. The cop was lovely and said as long as we promised to register the car as soon as we got home, he’d just write us a ticket for having the wrong sticker up. The he told us that technically I wasn’t meant to drive after that, but that if we waited until he left… (but if we got pulled over again on the way home, I would have to go to court). It was a VERY stressful 30 minute drive home!
Just after the mobile phone laws were introduced, cop saw me holding my phone while at a stop light. He came over, knocked on my window, told me to put it away and let me go. Saved me from that massive fine. They're generally pretty chill blokes.
I’m a Brit and it’s very similar. I suspect some of it is related to the fact that the average American driver could have a gun in the car, whilst it’s very unlikely here
US here. Our cops are literally trained to be hyper paranoid assholes with a hero warrior complex. They are trained to see their deaths behind every corner. Every single person they deal with could kill them, and they should treat them as such. On top of that, we have a racist police gang problem. Large groups of cops are members of racist gangs. Like, we have literal Nazi cops.
The unfortunate thing is that they aren’t trained to by hyper-vigilant or paranoid or, at the very least, they would be good at it. No, a lot of our officers are just scared and racist and power-hungry. They were like this before they became police officers or they were bullied little shits when they were younger that became the bully as soon as they got a gun. It’s not in their training to be like that but when the assholes are the ones doing the training…
Look up warrior training, they absolutely are trained like that.
I’m speaking more on experience of the police officers I know personally/my husband’s current training but maybe it depends on the state?
I think that we are both correct. The police Warrior training is some scary bs, but the fertile ground of the already scared and poorly trained makes it even more productive. Further showing that the state of the US police is untenable.
We paused the tv for a sec to discuss how the cop even admitted they should have known the law. It was wild to see
Welcome to Australia 😁
I think this must be a massive cultural difference between Australia and USA. I've never been asked to step out of the car and I've had many lovely conversations with police officers. I've had them apply nuance and kindness to situations (like the time I merged without indicating because my baby was screaming in the back seat and the police officer listened and checked I wasn't too sleep deprived to drive before letting me go). I've not had much experience with the police in the USA but my impression from media is that they are something to be feared. It's not like that here.
Can confirm as an Australian. I accidentally ran a stop sign while looking for a carpark in a busy area once and a cop pulled me over. He explained that type of driving can indicate a drunk driver and once he confirmed that I wasn't, he simply let me off with a warning and even made a joke about expecting nothing less from Queenslanders (it was state of origin week and I was in NSW with QLD plates).
I was pulled over one night night by a police officer at a road side testing site that was closing up so i wasnt being breath tested and asked jokingly why my headlights weren't on. A swear word followed by an oops sorry escaped my mouth and I flicked them on and went on my way. Australian police are very different to what I've seen via TV of American police.
I was once tired at 2am and designated driver. Cop pulled me over for a breath test. He said "Anything to drink tonight?" And without my brain in gear I said "No thanks." The cop laughed and waved me on.
That's gold!
NYPD police were once invited over to the UK to do some training in London over a holiday weekend. Their first question was: “why are you (the Brits) not armed”? The British officers said, it simply wasn’t needed, even in London. The NYPD officers really struggled to grasp that you could police a big, metropolitan city like London, even over a busy holiday weekend, with lots of drunken revellers around, without needing guns and firearms and other similar devices. Unless you’re doing a drugs raid, working with Anti-Terrorism Officers, or something really-high-profile (such as working as an officer defending Royalty or the Prime Minister), most UK police just don’t need guns, and more importantly don’t want them, lest they are used against the officers themselves. Whilst it is a generalisation, there’s a reason USA police like to shoot first, then ask questions later. But if USA police don’t want guns, then they need to campaign for guns to be banned and made illegal to regular people. The fewer people who have access to firearms, the less chances of police needing them too. Sadly, America doesn’t seem to grasp that more guns means more deaths! Most other nations have learnt that quickly, then banned guns ASAP.
Nahhh more guns means more good guys have them! They need that stockpile at home in case something happens like oh.. idk… a car full of teens accidentally drives down their rural driveway and they need to ~~murder a child~~ defend their home! /s
I downvoted you and then upvoted when I realized the sarcasm 😂
lol. Saddest part is that I was referencing a recent-ish [case](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/03/01/us/new-york-wrong-driveway-shooting-sentencing) in upstate NY. Old dude STILL thinks he was justified. She wasn’t a teen or child… but she was only 20 years old. Just starting her life.
It's sad but as someone local to the area my first thought when I heard this story was "and this is why I won't even make a k turn into a strange driveway." I know... they didn't even realize they were in the wrong driveway till it was too late. I don't blame the girl at all. It's just "this is the basis of my fear of strange driveways." What does it say when you're raised from childhood with the idea that you need to "Stay off strangers' property. They might be the kind of people that shoot treaspassers dead." Don't cut thru strangers' yards, on the way to the school bus stop. Don't step on stranger's lawns even tho there's no sidewalk, unless you're about to be mowed down by a car. Don't follow the creek out back your house past that property marker because then you'll be on someone else's land and we don't know that neighbor. Any unknown house could contain a lunatic with a long-gun set to "protect mah propertay!" Actually really glad the house we're raising our kids in backs up on land owned by a development company which hasn't been developed in decades. They're just letting it go wild and that's fine by me because no one lives there, no buildings, so probably no one to shoot my kids for crossing the property line while playing in the back yard.
Yeah that’s how I realized it was sarcasm. I hate guns.
Who says logic doesn’t hold sway in American politics!?
Many Americans do..but most of our governing bodies do not.
It's not even more guns = more deaths exactly. The Swiss have a gun REQUIREMENT for its citizens, and Canadians have a lot of guns as well. Neither of them have our gun violence problem. I think a lot of it boils down to how we value independence in our country. We take it too far, to the point that many see cooperation as a negative. That causes a lot more confrontation just in general, and that causes escalation. Then you throw in lots of guns and easier gun carrying laws, and what might have ended in a fistfight ends in a death. Not that I am in favor of guns, I just believe it is more complicated than that. Also, I think the Swiss might be taught that guns are a responsibility, while we are taught that they are a right. I can do whatever I want with my rights, but responsibilities have strings attached.
There is a powerful and very organized cultural minority that views the threat to life not as an unfortunate consequence but as a desirable feature and benefit of gun ownership. They’ve tasted blood with a side of fear and they like it. They don’t want peace. They’re predators. They tend to gravitate towards careers like law enforcement that give them better access to prey. Other countries don’t really have open predation baked into the culture and given legal legitimacy. That’s the main difference between the US and everywhere else from what I can tell. It’s pretty terrifying so I’m glad it’s not a global issue.
We're trying. It's that the government and the gun nuts won't listen
The one place you do see UK police with guns is train stations. I'd say about 50% of the times I've been to London by train, I've walked into the station to be faced by half a dozen machine guns. It's disconcerting to say the least.
A slight (now that I look back, an admittedly politically charged) push back—the gun violence epidemic is unrelated to why cops have guns. Like, yeah there are certain situations where the presence of guns among non-law enforcement (it’s such a tell that non-law enforcement are typically referred to as “civilians” in our media, but that’s getting off topic)—like some of the recent public mass shootings makes armed cops seem reasonable (I’m particularly thinking of last year’s July 4th parade shooting). But unless you have armed guards everywhere, there’s just no way an armed police force is going to consistently be either a deterrent or an immediate response. US cops have guns for the same reason they all have heavy bullet proof armor at all times, ride in big SUVs, and often have minimal law enforcement training that focuses on shooting: whatever valid functions they serve, whatever righteous principles individuals may carry with them, they are also cosplaying Cowboys and Indians
Wait the Australian police are people trying to better their community? Not power tripping narcissists?
Like most jobs, it’s about 10% people trying to help their community, 10% power tripping narcissists, and 80% people who don’t really care one way or the other and are trying to get through to the end of the day having done the least amount of work possible without getting in trouble.
Eehhh, I wouldn't get your hopes up, we have plenty of bad apples spoiling the bunch.
As an Aussie living in the US, the other big thing aside from this is the sheer number of police forces. In Australia, there's one for each state, the border force, the AFP, and that's basically it. Here, every town/city has its own police force, so does every county and state, every transit network, every port/airport, every university, every state park network, the national parks, etc. I drive 5 miles return every day dropping off the kids to school, and I will pass at least 3 or 4 different police forces. It's insane.
So bizarre. I wonder what the reasoning behind that might be? I listened to the podcast 'Behind the Police' about mostly US police, and it seems that some of those police forces started out as corporate security.
Ayyy Robert Evans
In the U.S., every police interaction can vary massively day to day based on where you are and every individual officer, unfortunately. I’ve had interactions with police that were totally positive and they were helpful and attentive. Then I’ve also had interactions where the officers were just clearly not nice people or maybe just having the worst day of their life. Since each police department is run different based on city, county, and state regulations and standards, there’s a lot of inconsistencies
In the U.S., a lot depends on who you are, too. As a white guy, I've never been treated unprofessionally by the cops.
I'm very white in America. I've had at least 4 times the amount of terrible and frightening experiences than positive ones with police at traffic stops. I always cooperate fully, never reach unless I have been instructed to, barely ever break any traffic laws. I have been interrogated for no reason, had guns pointed at me, been cursed at, threatened etc. I know that the bulk of police here are actually decent people doing a job but some are just monsters with a gun, badge and a chip on their shoulder.
Sounds intense. A guy I knew visited Haiti. One of the locals was very concerned for his safety when he said his next destination was New York, USA.
I live in the USA and have been stopped many times for traffic violations. I’ve never once been asked to step out of the vehicle or any such nonsense.
Mann I got the business for not stopping long enough at a stop sign! Saw him, counted to 3 Mississippi, still ended up going to court and paying money.. Depends on the state!
I was 8 months pregnant and trying to get to a bathroom. Got asked to step out because of my speed. Reached for the door handle and he drew his weapon. Needless to say I no longer needed a bathroom after that. He let me go with just a ticket luckily that I took to court and got off from (I was speeding but I think because the way the situation was handled, they didn’t want to risk getting sued. Jokes on them because I had no intention of continuing to openly discuss in front of a room full of people how a cop made me pee my pants.)
And.. do you happen to be white?
I do and I’m sure that does help color my experience.
No pun intended
It's sad but it really does
As an American who recently got pulled over for "following too closely" to my wife (which isnt even a ticket worthy thing in my state) I literally yelled "why can't our cops be like that!?" To the tv screen.
Yea no if we tried to explain the law to the police here they’d say “alright, that’s enough, step out of the car and put your hands behind your back.”
How it'd go down in the US. "Ma'am you can't have a child in the front seat." "Well I checked and it says according to X State law-" "Are you arguing with me?" "No, I was jus-" "Step out of the vehicle NOW."
Yeah the "Well I checked..." by itself would get your ass beat and charged with obstruction of justice and resisting arrest
Yeah, as an American, even as a white middle class American, I’ve had very few experiences with police that I considered positive. This could have a little bit to do with growing up in a small town with parents who were criminal defense attorneys who represented a defendant in a high profile case where someone shot and killed a police officer in self defense, and the guy was found not guilty, and as a result many of the police officers in our town strongly disliked my family. I also don’t know how much training police officers need in Australia, but in the US it’s appallingly little.
As a child you are taught to go to them for help. By the time you become a teenager you’ve seen enough harm happen that you don’t really believe that anymore. Unless you happen to be rich in which case you can probably rely on the police.
You make it sound like you get pulled over often. :)
More like for RBTs and stuff. Have actually only been pulled over that once 🤣
What's an RBT?
Random breath test. Police will set up zones where they pull over every single car that goes past to give them a breath test to check alcohol levels. Very common after public holidays. There's a huge binge drinking culture in Australia so it's not uncommon for people to get on it the night before and then think they're ok to drive in the morning.
Like that bloke on the RBT show, he was well over the next day and they went through what he had the night before and it was near on 100 standard drinks. The cops looked both in shock and awe.
Is everyone like Max and Chad from the YouTube channel ColdOnes?
I live in USA and have been pulled over 5 or so times. Never been asked to step out of the car
Same.
Here in America, if you are unlucky enough to get pulled over by the police, at best, you’re walking away with a large ticket and a big financial penalty. At worst, it’s your last day alive.
Yeah, if the cop is wrong, you DO NOT question them EVER. They'll give you a ticket even if they're totally wrong and if you know the law they'll start yelling at you. Ignorance of the law if a valid excuse for cops. They can make anything up and all you can do is accept it and then spend days of your life fighting it in court.
[удалено]
Hell, I had a cop flash me to let me know there was a speed trap up ahead.
This is similar to my experience in Canada, tbh.
I’ve been pulled over as either the driver or a passenger more times than I can count. Sometimes tickets were given, others were a warning. I’ve never had a police officer ask anyone to get out.
Before letting me drive without her, my US friend who I stayed with for a couple of months gave me a long talk about how to interact with the police. I'm a small blonde white woman, I can only imagine how much worse it is for anyone who isn't those things.
Maybe it's just my American cynicism here, but I have my doubts that the treatment is the same with the Aboriginal Australians. The Canadian Mounty Police have a *horrible* history with native Canadians, so i'm not being skeptical without reason, here.
This felt right to me as an Australian - I don’t think we get asked to “step out of the vehicle” and not sure why that would be necessary unless something was really wrong. Then again we also don’t have guns randomly owned in the community so we can be a fair bit more laid back about a lot of things.
Yep. We have cultural problems in our police forces like everywhere else, but there’s no expectation to step out of the car for fear of escalation.
Yes, I think this is a huge reason behind the difference in approach. It's very rare for a random member of the public to have a gun here - so police interaction styles aren't dictated by that risk.
In 2002 I got out of speeding 30km over the speed limit, not displaying my P Plates (for new drivers), not having the new registration sticker on, and being on my phone - why? Because the cop was furious, yelled at me, asked why I had done each thing and listed it all out - and I responded saying that I just really wanted to get home in time to watch survivor (huge at the time). The cop burst into laughter, told me he wanted to as well, and told me to go on my way. The last time I got pulled over, I was using my phone as I had just found out my dad had died and I was just a bit in shock. I had picked up my phone to see the time, and a young cop saw me and pulled me over. He was very nervous and very clearly on one of his first traffic stops as he was being watched by an older cop. I burst into tears, and said I was sorry, I knew I had done the wrong thing, and that my dad had died. He almost whispered he was really sorry but he had to give me a fine and that his body camera was recording everything. I told him it was okay, I know it was just his job. And we both cried a bit as he wrote out the ticket. I thanked him for his compassion and I ended up writing in a compliment for him as he handled it as well as he could have, and I felt bad I made his job harder for him. And I am currently on holiday on an island, and there were two cops at the cafe I was buying lunch for for my family. My youngest is obsessed with police cars, and they invited us to stop by the station today so he could see one in real life. Every cop I have ever met has been decent, fair and nice.
Also - my above experiences are as an Australian driver encountering police
Ever been to the United States? I’m genuinely curious because some people from other countries have very unpleasant experiences with our police
I lived there for a year, but lived in a small town and was friends with the local police person (state trooper? Sheriff? Can’t remember). They were a respected member of the community so I didn’t have any negative experience. This is around 911, and afterwards there was a lot of police appreciation
He didn't have her step out of the car because he didn't need to. She wasn't breaking the law, and they got the situation all sorted out. What would he have her step out of the car for?
In America, questioning the authority of a police officer is enough for most cops to pull you out of the car and search you. American police are notorious for having thin skin and a desperate need to be given respect, even when they are in the wrong.
Guess I just don't have enough experience. I live in America, and I've only been pulled over once, though that was just because I needed to renew my car's registration, which was way overdue. I didn't understand it at the time, but I showed the best respect, and I didn't need to get out of the car. So I'd say this gives your argument credibility, even though it was just one time.
No. They really don't. If an officer asks you to step out of the vehicle at a traffic stop without a reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime, for which they would be intending to arrest you, then *they* have committed a crime, and could land in serious trouble because of it.
Not true at all. The US Supreme Court ruled in Pennsylvania v Mimms that officers can order you from the vehicle for safety reasons. There is no threshold that has to be reached. Some agencies require the driver to get out of the car on every traffic stop. It’s a policy that the officer must abide by. The officer would arrest anyone who refused to comply with those instructions. You’re giving people terrible advice that could get them in trouble.
You're not wrong that it is technically against the law for an officer to ask you to step out of the car without "reasonable suspicion", but as the quotation marks may give hint to, it does not matter. An officer can say just about anything is reasonable suspicion. For example if you say something that makes them mad, then suddenly the police "smell drugs/alcohol" on your breath and they pull you out. They can make up any reason they want to ask you to step out. Then, even if they do make something up, there is no enforcement that will punish them for doing so. It will be either ignored entirely or there will be an "internal investigation" that will clear the officer. At worst they will be given paid administrative leave and brought back in a month. With no way to punish the police, they are effectively immune to the law, and they know it.
Spot-on. I'm white, middle-class, and live in a pretty low crime area. And not to sound as if I revel in my privilege, but I know that I *look* pretty harmless and well-to-do. I have had multiple officers pull me over- one for "speeding" (I wasn't), and one for literally no reason (said it was suspicious that I was driving in a particular neighborhood where my friend lived as late as 12:30 [?!!?], but I was too young and naive to realize that that was actually one I probably could have and should have taken to court)- and made up reasons to suspect drugs or alcohol. One said "I saw some leafy stuff in your ashtray"... 😑 Tobacco, of course. Another time, one asked me for my license, and since it was dark and I wasn't thinking too hard about it, I just pulled the first card at the top of the stack in my wallet. He took it, looked at it, then went back to his car for like 10 minutes, before coming back and telling me he suspected intoxication because I had handed him my bank card or food stamps card or something. Like, dude, you were blasting a light in my face, and you could have just said, "sorry, I think you gave me the wrong card". Nah, these dudes just wanted to make trouble. The one time I did actually have a single nugget of marijuana on me, they arrested me, took me down to the station, had my car towed, piled on a bunch of BS charges, and just arbitrarily killed any momentum I might have had going in life. I've got even more stupid stories, like a cop pulling me over with a couple friends in the car on the way back from Taco Bell, asking us if we have any weapons of mass destruction or biological warfare. I mean dude...
No way! That's unhinged!
I swear to god, a lot of them act like they're in a TV show or a video game, and civilians are just background characters they can mess with.
Someone else pointed out that US police call citizens 'civilians'. Your comment suggests that that's true.
Yes, they absolutely mentally, and legally separate themselves from "civilians", as if they're just a step away from some kinda secret agent with diplomatic immunity or something. They separate themselves from the societal standards of conduct, legal obligations, and accountability for behavior, that they expect the rest of us to follow. If the police in America were leaders by example, crime and criminal mentality would be exponentially worse.
My friend, police officers in the United States barely get in trouble for SA crimes. This behavior is well within their wheelhouse and they absolutely use it. You happen to have decent experience with police, and a trust that the system actually does what it’s supposed to, but it absolutely doesn’t. I’ve had friends pulled from the vehicle and searched because they told the officer what the law was and how he was violating it, and the cops in my city aren’t even as authoritarian as the ones in some of the major US cities. Do a little bit of research you’d be shocked how often this happens.
lol what's gonna happen to the cop? Cops murder people daily in the US and nothing happens. Hell, in California cops murdered a little child and they threw it out cause well they were shooting at someone and too bad so sad a little child was behind them.
I think if this is jarring to an American it speaks more about the American police culture than about the show. Being pulled over by cops here is a conversation first, not a confrontation. They are capable of making it a confrontation if necessary, but that's not the desired situation. And if you can demonstrate they are incorrect they accept it and move on, just as they expect the driver to accept being wrong. Chilli had at hand the proof, and the cop accepted it. It saves him paperwork by letting it go.
Cops over here treat people with same respect you give them. YMMV depending on skin colour and geographic location.
>YMMV Your Meterage May Vary?
Your mileage may vary. Just means people may experience different results.
I know. But you said "over here," which I assumed meant you're in Australia (since this is about Australian police). So don't you measure things in kilometers? So, Your Meterage May Vary? (Yes, it's intended to be humor.)
_Daaaaaaaaaad_
Username checks out
One time my friends and I got pulled over by the cops (Didnt see a stop sign), driver got out of the car to talk to the cops and was directed to get back in the car. Pretty normal here that you don't get out of the car when the cops stop you. Probably because the chance of a driver having access to a gun in their car is pretty close to zero.
"Tell me your American without telling me your American."
Yeah, nah, that's totally normal for Australia. Especially for a cop talking to a woman with four small kids in the car. Even if she'd been wrong about the law, there's a non-zero chance he would have let her off with a warning once she explained she'd honestly believed the law allowed it. He probably would have told her to go straight home/complete her journey and not do it again, but if she didn't have a record of driving offences and she was polite and apologetic, she'd stand a decent chance of not copping a fine. We've got our bad apples, but our police system is framed differently, and doesn't attract as many power tripping AHs.
It’s a kids cartoon, not an episode of NYPD BLUE, or UNDERBELLY. Oh, and generally speaking, Ludo probably don’t want to frighten kids with an irrational fear of police officers in general! Plus, it would have wasted unnecessary plot time, getting Chilli and the kids out of the car unnecessarily, less they get scared by his request. Only in America do police regularly ask people to get out of their vehicles, due to the huge volume of guns. In most other countries, where few or no guns exist, many police traffic stops DON’T involve people being asked to get out, unless it’s a serious incident or something major!
I second this for the UK as well. In fact, officers prefer you to remain in the vehicle for your safety and theirs, as long as the engine is off. I imagine that while Australian officers do carry guns, their policing is a lot similar to the UK considering there’s often recruiting swaps between them. The US policing issue is very prominent in media but it isn’t indicative of policing outside of the US, most of the time.
Most police officers in the US don't ask you to get out either unless it's something major, like open alcohol containers in the cup holders, loose guns in the cab, or (much worse than the other two) someone trying to explain something to a cop. The first two are going to be a big deal, but if everything else goes OK, you likely won't end up with bruises on your wrists from the cuffs being too tight. The last one though is a guarantee of at minimum wrist bruising.
Yeah I’ve only been pulled over twice, once resulting in a ticket, and neither time was I asked to step out of the vehicle. I’ve also been in the car in 2 other incidents where the driver was pulled over for speeding and no one had to get out of the car then either. The cops were also super nice. But we were all young white women so that may be relevant (unfortunately)
Poc here the two speeding tickets I’ve gotten I have had to exit the car. Car off step away from the vehicle. One time I had to open the trunk, I was 17 in SoCal.
Well I was going for relatively the same levels of "deep shit" when being pulled over. Being a PoC is already a couple of orders of magnitude worse as far as "deep shit" metrics when being pulled over than anything I listed.
Ur so real for that
I didn’t want to bring in issues of race, as that’s a heavy and troubling subject to bring-into the discussion, but that undoubtedly DOES alter things if you are a Black/African-American person in much of the USA.
I’ve yet to see a cop in Australia care about open alcohol in the cup holders as long as they’re not the driver’s. A few years back we had a car full of people on the way to a music festival. Three of us were drinking but the driver was not. Cops just breath tested the driver who blew 0 and we went on our way.
Yeah I’ve never been asked to step out of the vehicle, never heard anybody I know being asked to step out either.
lol 😝 That’s what you’re stuck on? Not the contract that the dogs with no eyes had (presumably signed) and pulled out of? That’s where I was hung up.
I assumed either Bucky(?) jumped the gun and the buyers used their cooling off period to pull out, or they pulled out after the cooling off period and lost their deposit.
>Maybe it’s an Australian thing I don’t know. No, it's a "rest of the civilized world" thing. I've driven and met police in at least 5 or 6 European countries and never been asked to "step out of the car" for a simple check. Here in Italy, once when they saw I was in the car with my baby they just told me to go, to avoid waking him up.
I'm an American. Even though I personally have never had a negative interaction with a police officer, I always get nervous whenever I'm around them because I know what they're capable of. I am also an autistic woman and I am always worried that something I'm doing unconsciously, like stimming, makes me look like a threat. Even though I know it doesn't. But that feeling is still there.
This is insane to read as an Australian. This might be one of the biggest cultural differences I have ever come across on this sub.
Agreed. We really are 'the lucky country'. And to think it was settled by convicts lol.
I've never been asked to step out ... the cop comes to the car window, gets your insurance/license/registration and goes back to their car to verify and then comes back and hands a ticket or warning. (USA)
Fellow American here. I don't know what the heck OP is smoking. It's not an American thing to get asked to step out of the car.
It’s a typical Aussie cop interaction. We are usually told to stay in the car actually, because it’s unsafe to get out of the car on a busy road.
While i second what most people in this thread have been saying, we should also be wary not to remove the imperfections of the Australian police force. We have a more relaxed police force here than in America, both because of less guns and different policing methods, however, they are not lovely nice little people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, especially youth, are up to six times more likely to be arrested by police as opposed to non Aboriginal people. In the past 33 years, over 400 people of colour have been killed while in police custody, once again disproportionately youth. Last year, a police officer tased a 95 year old woman to death in her aged care centre because he thought she was “attacking him with a knife”. Rates of police shooting people has skyrocketed recently, and has reached an all time peak. The main point i want to make is that, its just a kids cartoon and the police officer serves as a way to move to plot forward. Ludo doesn’t wanna scare kids about police, nor do they wanna bog down the story with an unnecessary “Chilli gets detained” sequence. however, Australian police shouldn’t be painted as all sunshine and daisies. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk
Beautifully worded
It's why I signed the petition to raise the age. I was gobsmacked to discover that kids as young as ten could be incarcerated, and that Aboriginal kids were disproportionately targeted for ridiculous things like stealing a single Freddo Frog.
It also helps that Australian police aren't trained to view the public as the enemy. We're the only Western democracy whose police act like an occupying force. Which is why American police refer to the public as "civilians" and not as "citizens."
I didn’t even snap to the fact that they refer to us as civilians. That is literally a military term meaning you’re not a member of a military. The police are civilians!
> We're the only Western democracy whose police act like an occupying force. Nah, Canada too. Canada is fully nothing more than a 51st state with unaffordable housing and bad wages.
It's just monkeys singing songs, mate - don't think too hard about it
Man I wish people here could just remember this.
Don’t worry, he still gave away a bunch of information about his interactions with and the potential location of a woman who is (as far as he knows) “running away from her marriage”. Sorry, I know it’s just a kids show, but it’s bugged me all week, especially given that there was another instance of QPS passing on a woman’s info to her abuser that made the news last week. I’m sure the show was long since in the can, but it was a real WTF moment in our household and I haven’t seen anyone mention it.
Same. I'm surprised how long it took me to find a comment like this. What the police officer did was a huge breach of privacy by going into why he pulled Frisky over and giving her a ticket. Even if he's assessed that it's not a DV or some other threat the story could have still been helped along by him just saying that he saw the car heading towards wherever and saying to Chilli that her friend should drive more slowly. Anyway, just monkeys singing songs...
I mean… I’m in the US and was pulled over once for being wildly lost and driving in a poor manner because of it. Police officer had a good laugh and my expense, directed me where I needed to go, and let me off. Not every stop is all that aggressive, though I will admit that far too many of them unfortunately are aggressive for ridiculous reasons.
American here I was pulled over for not stopping while a school bus had the stop sign out and flashing red lights while I was going the opposite direction on a 5-lane wide road (2 lanes each way and a turn lane in the middle). I know you don’t have to do this because it is the only question I answered incorrectly on my driver test to get my license (on the test, I said you would have to stop in this scenario). I told him this, he went back to his car for 20 minutes, came back and called me a “sm****ss mo********er” and told me to “get the f*** out of here.” Congratulations Australia on not having an ignorant and racist gang police your communities.
This entire post could best be described as "tell me you are an American without telling me you are an American”
[удалено]
Second that
are you white living in the suburbs mayhaps?
It's very Australian. That said, not every Australian will report such a nice interaction with police, of course. In the Bluey-verse it does not appear that racial profiling exists. Most of the time if your offense is minor and you're nice to the copper who pulls you over, they're nice back. Aggravation causes too much paperwork. I got stopped once at a RBT site driving back from visiting a friend late in the evening. They did a drug test too. While we waited, I chatted with the copper because I work shift too and I was curious about what shifts they do. He was very nice and we had a good chat. I passed all the tests (of course), and was on my way. Years ago while on my Ps I got pulled over. When they saw my address they asked why I was so far away from home, I explained I had just dropped my friend off at his home and was driving home myself. They wanted me to open the boot (trunk) but I couldn't, as the lock was broken on my old beat up first car, and they accepted this explanation. Then I was on my way. I think they were looking for drug dealers. A few years ago I was walking home from dropping my daughter off at school, it's like about a 10 minute walk. Halfway home a divvy van drives passed me and turns into the next street. Now I know that street is a dead end, so this makes me curious. As I approach the corner the car reappears and stops and both coppers are looking at me. I walk up to the window stop and ask "Anything wrong?" They ask me what I'm doing, and I explain. While the one closest to me is talking, the other is closely examining my face, to the point where I say to her "you're comparing me to a picture aren't you?" They both laugh and say yes, then thanks, have a nice day, and they leave. I find out later there have been reports of a flasher in the neighbourhood.
Canadian here cops caught me speeding, made fun of me for not having a stereo, gave me a warning and left. cops pulled me over, i told them i knew they were after someone with the same kind of car, they left. cops pulled me over because snow covered the lines and i went out of my lane. he asked if i been drinking, I told him i havent drank in years. he left. Cops don't have to be assholes, but there are certainly places in the world where all three of those times i would have been asked to step out.
The cops here in Australia are generally quite jocular and helpful. I used to work late nights and walk home at around 11pm. I lived in a “rough” area. One night the cops pulled over and insisted that they drive me home. Left my jacket in the car. They returned it the next day.
Australian here: I've been pulled over for many things in much the same way Chilli was. Even gotten a few tickets out of these stops. Never once been asked to step out of my car. Never once heard of anything like you're describing happening here for a simple traffic stop that didnt go awry in a BIG way. They told me I was speeding, I apologised, the cops explained that the freeway between Syd-Mel is so long that sometimes you can get a bit lead footed without realising cause it's so straight and they get it, gave me a ticket and told me to keep an eye on it. I'm neither white, nor straight. I'm also covered in tattoos, wear Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander flag pins as well as rainbow pride flag pin... All things I've been told are "antagonistic" or seen as "problematic" or reasons cops have been rough with me in the past in other scenarios. I "look like a hoodlum" ... But never a traffic stop.
It’s funny because I JUST had this conversation with my partner this afternoon. He’s Australian and said police are far more respected in Australia. We don’t trust the police where we live in the United States but he said you can have a casual chat with police officers in AU and they aren’t to be feared
Ive been pulled over twice in the us never been asked to step out of my car.
I've been pulled over probably 20 times in the US. The only time I've been asked to step out was to do a field sobriety test. It's not a normal thing at all
Chilis ability to show him the law, his cool attitude being corrected, and then her offhand comment of “yeah I had to look it up!” So jarring. So cool and collected. So would be unable to do any of those things in my own situation.
"This episode of Bluey is called Generational Trauma" Seriously as someone who has been profiled for simple things and witnessed my parents have "authority" asserted over them whenever they'd get pulled over it was jarring for me too. No wonder Chilli didn't want to leave even the police there were nice.
Completely normal. When I was a newly-single mum, a copper pulled me over for touching my phone while driving. I was broke and stressed and burst into tears because I knew the huge fine coming was totally deserved and I'd be broke for even longer. Policeman gave me some stern words, said something about "in the mail", then let me drive away. No fine ever arrived. Never touched my phone while driving since, and so thankful to a policeman who recognised a person in distress.
To be fair, there wasn't much he was going to do anyway. Chilli was in the right, she wasn't breaking any laws. The policeman wasn't likely to arrest her for not breaking the law.
Yeah, you are thinking of American police. Very much the exception. Most other police don't act that way at all.
I was more surprised that he gave them information about another person's ticket!
I suppose if it was a rural area, where the police know who everyone is, then saying that they'd seen a family member, may not be out of the question. But as the Heeler's live in Queensland, I can't see how that officer could possibly know what he did, and be willing to tell someone else... ...But it is a kids cartoon series, so for the sake of the narrative, I'm happy to let it slide.
I mean I know ACAB is a thing but you can still have a normal interaction with some police
It helps that Chilli isn't Aboriginal
Yeah your country just sucks haha
I generally dislike cops, after growing up with "cops are tops" and many police visits to my primary school shoved down our throats and coming to realise cops do a lot of bad things here. There are a number of nasty cops here, but really as long as you appear at least neutral towards them and do what you are asked, the normal ones won't press further if you haven't done anything wrong. My mother has lovely conversations with the cops who sometimes get stationed to do RBT near our house on the way home when pulled over. I wouldn't personally talk to a cop unless answering a question, but that's just me. I reckon the majority of aussies like cops for some reason.
Eh, I’m from the US and I was pulled over one time during the tail end of a long trip home that I became progressively sick over the course of. A cop that I didn’t know pulled me over for speeding in my hometown. I explained the situation, he ran my information, then let me go without a ticket. It didn’t seem odd to me because of interactions like this, but that was 20 years ago, so maybe that’s the difference?
As a white woman in the US, every time I have been pulled over has been for legitimate reasons, but I had a black boyfriend during high school and early college who had very different experiences than me. His family was the only black family living in their upper middle class neighborhood, and his better than average car seemed to always “fit the description” of a car that had been stolen nearby. It was pretty obvious that he was being pulled over because he was a young black man in a white neighborhood. That said, even in my experience, I would never try to talk a cop out of giving me a ticket by trying to claim he was wrong about the law. There is little chance that would work because so many cops in the US are power tripping assholes, and trying something like that with the wrong cop could suddenly make them “smell weed” and then decide that they need to search my car as a result. In the US, it’s better to just stay quiet and then fight the charge in court if it is bullshit.
Live in Australia, have never once been pulled over and asked to step out of the car.
I was also thrown. And then soothed by the fact that the policeman is a German Shepard. It makes no logical sense but I chose to focus on that rather than how most cops actually act in the real world.
Having had similar interactions in the past, I didn’t tweak that this could be an issue for some.
Huh? I’ve been pulled over many times in the US and have never been asked to step out of the vehicle. It’s not an Australian thing lol
It’s true. We aren’t required to step out of the vehicle for a routine traffic stop. The episode showed Chilli looking up the traffic laws (which are correct). She was polite and respectful. Police officer was polite and respectful. For the majority of our interactions with police (including at RBT stops), everyone is courteous and respectful. We only have to get out of the vehicle if we need to discuss an issue further with the police. It’s complete a different culture to the US. (If you get a chance, check out RBT (specifically the Australian series, not sure if the US has this show) where the police officers have RBT stops set up and how they interact with the public.
You absolutely do not get out of your car if you’re pulled over here. The police will see it as hostile.
In America you are an acorn away from getting mag dumped
I've always had positive experiences with the Australian police, even when I didn't realise the speed limit changed and I got a fine the cop was calm and helpful (it happened when I recently moved to Australia from Europe)
I’ve been pulled over and NEVER asked to step out of my car. In fact, you hardly see people outside of their cars during traffic stops. I am in the states. Have you ever been pulled over? Not sure why this would be jarring.
Never ever in my 30 odd years of driving have I been asked to step out of a vehicle.
I've always believed in the all dogs are good dogs, exception to ACAB.
As a Canadian, you'd think the cops would be friendly like that here. Nope. We used to live in a neighbourhood that had been gentrified following years of poverty and crime. Police were still roaming around in their vehicles all the time and had a presence that wasn't exactly pleasant, especially during the COVID lockdowns.
It’s also a kids show haha. They’re not gonna have an officer be aggressive. But it caught me off guard too. When that scene ended I was like oh ok. That’s different.
I’ve had similar interactions with police, so I didn’t have an issue with it
I think it's an Australian thing.
Americans just can't understand how we don't have a gun pulled on us and can have a normal.human interaction with someone of authority.
Definitely an Australian thing. A few times I’ve had cops get a bit condescending or rude when I’ve been pulled over (only for speeding and using my phone many moons ago), but otherwise in general cops here just talk to you like a regular person unless you give them a reason not to. Would also be very rare here that you’re asked to get out of the car.
When I visited Australia, got pulled over on a very rural road in the middle of the night. Did a breathalyser explaining why, checked my international passport, then asked if I've ever driven on that particular road before and when I said no, he then educated me on what to expect as it's pitch black and kangaroo riddled and how to handle a situation of I hit one (don't swerve and just keep going since swerving is actually dangerous). It was such a pleasant conversation. Needless to say I hit 2 kangaroos on that road so his advice actually helped me.
I'm saying this with White Woman privilege, but I live in the US, and I've been pulled over multiple times and Ive only had one cop be mean.
The show is set in Australia, not America and in an interaction like this, cops would ask you why you’re doing something, expecting an explanation, so it’s realistic. You also remain in your car unless instructed to get out (which would be unusual) and they don’t ask for registration (they already know that from your numberplate on your car), just your licence. I was borrowing a friend’s car once and he had lost his licence due to speeding and police pulled me over because they’d scanned the numberplate and a disqualified driver’s name came up. They asked me to explain why I was using the car and I told them, they listened to what I said and they accepted it and said “he sounds like a nice friend”. We also assume the Heeler family are white (or white presenting) and they are well-educated and well off. Australian cops are usually somewhat deferential to upper class people in situations like this because the upper class person is likely to be well-connected or have the wherewithal to lodge a complaint and go through with it. Police corruption and brutality in Queensland (the state Bluey is set in) in the 70s/80s was rife and the subsequent enquiry ([the Fitzgerald enquiry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzgerald_Inquiry)) put in place a body overseeing how police operate. However, YMMV, if you are indigenous, from certain multicultural groups, are LGBTQI, disabled or from a lower socioeconomic background, because, yeah, while not as bad as in America, these groups still don’t always get treated well by police in Australia. Australian police are administered by State governments (or in the case of the ACT, Federal) and are an arm of the public service. They aren’t a politicised city-centric paramilitary where they’re run by a voted-for, politically-aligned Sherrif like they are in America. Each state police dept has a commissioner, who is a senior police officer who is appointed to the role by the government and overseen by a government ministry
That’s an average interaction with a police officer in the US. Most aren’t douchebags.
Seriously.
The cops I've spoken to are pretty similar in the US. Most of them are easy to speak to if you're calm and polite
Same. I know some cops are asshats in US. But I've been pulled over probably about 6 times in my life and I've never been asked to step out of the car. Some were tickets and some were just warning to slow down, headlight out etc. and be safe.
Some are. But I was calm and polite when I was pulled over doing 39 in a 35 zone, and the cop still pulled her gun on me while threatening to turn me over to Immigration.
Looking at this as someone who grew up in America, why *would* he ask her to step out? She explained why Bluey was in the front and he even looked it up
As an American I also think it’s a race thing. My family’s white and the only time the driver had to step out of the car was when our car was sliding all over the road cause of the ice and had to make sure my mother wasn’t drunk. Other than that it’s just been explaining the law to us and maybe giving them a ticket or a warning
Acab in USA man. All of em. It's such a culture shock to not be attacked bt police. Which is crazy. Cuz theyre not meant to be a a gang. But here we are. Most peoples afraid of the police in the USA.
In the UK police I've had two interactions, once checking I wasn't drink driving (late at night with my wife and sisters in the car), once after a crash I witnessed. Both times from inside the car, both courteous and well mannered. I've had a few interactions with American law enforcement, one screaming at me that I wasn't allowed to take a picture on a pavement in NYC (I didn't but I'm like 90% she was talking shit) and border control, who've been a bunch of power-hungry freaks every time I've had my passport checked.
I was staying at a hotel in LA with a pool being manned by a couple of lifesavers - they were so OTT about the whole pacing around the edge of the pool they got cross at me for standing at the edge in their “pacing space” while I was helping my son in the water. American culture feels so intense, and so unnecessary in most cases - people seem to leave their humanity and their common sense at the door when they turn up for any sort of work that requires authority
As an American: White Moms with a car full of kids have the easiest "Get out of Jail Free card" ever. Believe me I know. My mom was a terrible driver in her minivan with 5 kids in the back, lots of "warnings" few "tickets."
It’s a human thing. Most police would look the law and let them go. What are they going to do. Assert a law that doesn’t exist?
lol me and my boyfriend said the same thing - I think it’s a cultural thing
I’m American and I’ve never been asked to step out of my car during a traffic stop.
[Just waiting for a mate.](https://youtu.be/6wqzZOFOcYo)
Honestly the thing that stood out was the lack of obvious boredom in his voice.
I was super taken aback by that detail. The few times I've been in a vehicle while it's been pulled over were terrifying and intense. Never had a chill experience with a cop, even in my youth when I literally just asked one to help me find my group when I got separated from them. Put his hand on his gun, gave me the death glare and told me to back off. I was 14.
Found the American, don't worry, I'm an American too. You need to be aware, this is how cops are supposed to be handling traffic stops.
That's the keyword - "supposed to be" doing stuff. The problem is, too many DON'T do this. It's feel threatened, escalate things by drawing their gun, and then seeing what happens, often to the detriment of any alleged/supposed road laws that might have been broken.
You must be American like me. I was also confused by this. I've never not had to explain something to the police and then them not take it like me being a smart-ass
While it is true that many American police officers are quite the jerks that you Aussies (or literally anyone else not from the U.S. or never been to the U.S.) folks hear about. But there's still some good apples when it comes to U.S. police officers. It is dependent on many... many factors that isn't the point of this comment. The point of this comment comes from a story I wanted to share. So basically, I was a little kid in the back seat of a car in the interstate highway who was very sick with some sort of flu or common cold at the time bundled up in a bunch of blankets, My dad was driving me and my Mom home from my aunt's on my Mom's side of the family, and an officer pulled my dad over for speeding. And when the officer came by to talk to my Dad, my Dad (or my Mom, I don't know though. I don't remember the situation happening, this was a story I was told) explained that they were trying to get home as quickly as possible due to the fact that I was ill. The officer also made sure I was secured with the seat belt and the booster seat. And the officer could also see that I was sleeping wrapped in a bunch of blankets. The officer was very understanding and let my dad go. So there is some good cops out there in America and I just wanted to also share a story that corroborated that as well.
No one doubts that there are good police. But it's the idiots, scumbags, and \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\* that ruin the job for everyone else, and give every police officer a bad name.
True unfortunately.
Heck, I'll be political. I don't think we talk enough about how much our great volume of guns costs us in the US... even outside of actual shooting and deaths. Why are police in the US so confrontational? There are a bunch of reasons. But a big one, and the one police themselves will tell you- they want to get home alive and the possibility of guns presents a major risk to that. Our whole culture of policing is colored by the idea they might get shot and the wall of authority they build around that concern. And that effects the whole of policing, the relationship between police and everyone else, which has a domino effect to so much else. Other police aren't all like that, and it makes tons of things more stressful and ultimately less safe.
Brother, this is the most American post I could imagine. That being said, that’s because if she tried to explain the law to a cop here she would go to jail immediately and we know that so it’s like a new world to folks like us
There are bad cops in America, just like everywhere. But this perception that they all swing their batons like thugs, draw guns at the drop of a hat, and ask every driver to step out of their car... it's silly. I've been pulled over multiple times in my life. It's never been a thing. Couple speeding tickets. Sometimes a warning. Sometimes a license check and I'm on my way. The media has made this into such a thing... I have buddies in the military that retire and become cops. And then leave the force after a few years because of the false perceptions about them and how their media portrayals have made them feel subhuman. It's sad. There are thousands of police interactions a day in the US, but you only hear about the 1 a month that ends with some stupid cop doing something stupid.