This Video Is Why You Stay In Your Car During A Traffic Stop

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Here's what you don't do: You don't get out of your car on a busy highway during a traffic stop and you don't try to say all Detroit and/or Michigan cops are terrible people because they yell at you because you did so.

Redditor ilovejeremyclarkson (heh) recorded audio after he was pulled over by a Michigan State Police highway patrol officer on I-696, one of Metro Detroit's busiest highways where anything can happen.

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Our redditor was driving a recently purchased Chrysler Crossfire with tinted windows. In Michigan, tinted windows are illegal, hence why he was stopped. And apparently he was speeding, since a "speed citation" is mentioned by the officer. But it wasn't clear to the driver why he was stopped, so he got out of the car to question the cop. Wrong!

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It should be common knowledge that unless an officer instructs you to do so, you never get from behind the wheel. But let's re-iterate: Unless an officer instructs you to do so, you never get from behind the wheel. The officer threatened to tase the driver. I'm guessing because if you watch the text on the video, the driver left the car, went back for his phone (which, to a cop, might be anything) and approached the officer.

Ilovejeremyclarkson then uploaded the video and posted to reddit, insinuating that this is the way it goes in Detroit. Well, no — since I-696 runs through the Detroit suburbs. Detroit cops have a bad rep as it is, no need to pile on with false accusations.

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I've fortunately had no run-ins with Michigan state cops, but though their all-blue cruisers may be intimidating, I've never heard of a case where they were unusually aggressive unless they had to be. Instead of taking this as a warning, take it as a lesson.