Being a member of the Police Benevolent Association is a great way to show your support for law enforcement and the difficult job they perform on a daily basis.  However, in the State of Vermont, having a PBA card is not a free pass to getting out of a speeding ticket.  In fact, it is a fast track to offending an officer on the roadside and decreasing your likelihood that the officer will be willing to give you a break.

Traveling throughout the state  handing traffic tickets it impossible to count the number of times I have spoken to a police officer who has mentioned that the driver they pulled over pulled out a PBA card in an attempt to get them to let them off on the roadside without a ticket.  In several cases the officer was so offended that what was originally going to be a warning turned into nasty pink ticket because of the driver’s mindset that they should not be issued a ticket because of their connections in another state.  “It offends my professionalism” I can recall one officer stating to me while discussing a potential resolution of a speeding ticket in Windham County.

Because you have friends or family  who are law enforcement officer or you are a law enforcement officer yourself, does allow you to drive with relative impunity in the State of Vermont.  So next time you are pulled over, it is better to be polite to the officer and keep that PBA card deep inside your pocket.  This, in the long run, will be the best move you make if you want a favorable outcome for your Vermont traffic ticket.