Be Prepared

side profile of a woman driving with a man sitting next to her

Sadly, this aphorism is misunderstood by young African-American men and women in our society. An example of this observation is evidenced the following scenario. When you drive your car, you should be prepared for a police stop in America. Why so-you ask, think about terrorism. Crime occurs everywhere in America. If you are driving through a crime ridden area, you may be perceived as a potential perpetrator of a crime where you are driving. Policing, by its very nature, is prevention of crime in the community. Thus an ounce of prevention may avert an sad encounter with the police.

Before you get into your automobile, be sure your taillights are working, and not broken. Cops perceive broken taillights are possible danger to safety of other drivers on the highway. Broken taillight might be a result of a criminal event, if you fail to fix the taillight, you are opening yourself to a police confrontation which may result in a ticket. If you stopped, have a current driver’s license. The failure to have a driver license can result in an arrest, fine or other legal sanctions.

Once again, be prepared for police questions. If stopped be courteous if you can, but above an else, control your temper and be cool. This action can possibly lead to the avoidance of a physical confrontation with a cop. What is Black Life? – Your life worth if you loose it and end up in jail and/or injured. Your recourse is to submit your compliant to the judge. Sometimes, the judge will discord ticket violation and agree that the cop did not have legal grounds for issuing you a ticket.

Be prepared for a stop & frisk

This means once you step out of the car, please do not run away from the cop. In the eyes of the cops and judges running away from the cops means you have something to hide. In the Black Community, running away from anyone doesn’t mean you are a criminal. But the issue here is that running away from the cops can lead to physical injury, jail or death.

Be sure you also have current automobile insurance. If you do not have current automobile insurance, you are violating the law. If you are caught, you are looking at a fine and/or jail depending upon your jurisdiction laws and regulations on this matter.

Being prepared means you understand the world is not an ideal place where everyone is treated with respect. Being prepared may mean saving yourself from paying a fine, possibly going to jail and/or saving your life.  Please ponder these thoughts before stepping into your car and riding down the road.

The Crawford Chronicles