“Got Pulled Over For Driving A Rental Car. Legal?”

So I'm extremely ignorant on the issue and couldn't find anything else online about this, so I thought this would be the best place to ask

Sunday evening, I'm driving in Mississauga around the Heartland area with 2 friends of mine in the car, well on par with the speed limit, driving 70 on a 70 road. Was on Britannia near Mavis. Anyways, a cop car besides me, slows down, and then gets behind me, and turns on its lights to pull me over. I stop the car, the officer asks me for my licence and registration which I duly provide to her. She asks me what we're up to tonight, to which I respond, "nothing, just had a meal and we're heading home." She asks if we've had anything to drink, to which I respond "no alcohol." She then asks "so you've had other beverages?" to which I respond " yes ," and she laughs. She then tells me "I noticed you're driving a rental so I wanted to check up on your licence and ownership papers," and then proceeds to take my licence and papers to her car, and gets back after a minute or two and says "all good to go." I then tell ask her if there was a reason I got pulled over, and she said, while stumbling and hesitating, that there's a history of rental cars being driven by unlicensed individuals so she just wanted to check if all was okay. That's all. That was it. My friend who was in the backseat recorded the whole thing on video at my request. Don't feel the need to post or upload that just yet.

So my question is, is this normal? Is the reason that I was given good enough to stop my car? Do cops run plates of all cars around them? I don't know if its a factor, and I feel weird even putting it out there, but I am of an ethnic minority, I'm South Asian... but I don't necessarily think it was a racial thing at all. Let me stress, the officer was polite, courteous and friendly throughout the whole interaction. So no complaints there. Just wanted to know from you guys if this is fairly normal or even legal? I do not own a car, and have been renting cars regularly for the last 3-4 years and this is the first time it's happened. Any input would be appreciated from you guys. Thanks a bunch. And stay safe and warm out there today

In Ontario, Police can pull somebody over just to check their drivers license, insurance and registration whether its a rental car or not. They do not need any other reason.

jsherk wrote:In Ontario, Police can pull somebody over just to check their drivers license, insurance and registration whether its a rental car or not. They do not need any other reason.

Interesting...

And they don't need to provide any reasoning as to why a certain car was chosen above others?

Nope. You choose to drive, you agree to play by the rules.

I'm interested, do you have friends record your interaction with bank tellers ? Waiters in restaurants ? What made you choose to have someone record this interaction with a professional doing their job.

Serious question.

argyll wrote:Nope. You choose to drive, you agree to play by the rules.

I'm interested, do you have friends record your interaction with bank tellers ? Waiters in restaurants ? What made you choose to have someone record this interaction with a professional doing their job.

Serious question.

The chances of something going to court is fairly limited with waiters and perhaps even bank tellers. With a cop though, if it I am being charged with something, the chances of something being taken to court are much higher due to the nature of their job, and the stakes are much higher than me just not getting the salad I actually ordered.

The bigger question is why anyone who had the ability to do so, wouldn't record their interaction with the police!

I highly recommend everybody have a dashcam and record ALL interactions with police because most of the time the courts will always side with an officers testimony over an accused. If they are doing their job correctly, then they have nothing to worry about.

"because most of the time the courts will always side with an officers"

Most of the time...Not all of the time...the courts will ALWAYS side with the officers...

But you are wrong on this...not too familiar with the WD decision are you?

Rentalpullover wrote:

Do cops run plates of all cars around them? I don't know if its a factor, and I feel weird even putting it out there, but I am of an ethnic minority, I'm South Asian... but I don't necessarily think it was a racial thing at all. Let me stress, the officer was polite, courteous and friendly throughout the whole interaction.

I hate to break it to you, but south Asian is not a "minority" in Mississauga or Brampton area, in fact it be considered majority.

In general, when cops see 3-4 young male in a car, they do get their radar up and usually their instincts are right, they see things and deal with stuff much more than us private citizen ever hear about, so you have to give them credit and benefit of the doubt.

As for recording, it is best to you have a dash cam so the officer is aware of it from the moment you are pulled over, furthermore it is there to record everything, not just your interaction with the officer. When you pull out your cell phone to record the officer, it is kind of an insult and you should not expect him/her to take that kindly.

Observer135 wrote:

Rentalpullover wrote:When you pull out your cell phone to record the officer, it is kind of an insult and you should not expect him/her to take that kindly.

Although they might not take it kindly, it is perfectly legal to record a police officer in Canada as long as you are not interfering/obstructing them in doing their duty.

Observer135 wrote:

Rentalpullover wrote:

Do cops run plates of all cars around them? I don't know if its a factor, and I feel weird even putting it out there, but I am of an ethnic minority, I'm South Asian... but I don't necessarily think it was a racial thing at all. Let me stress, the officer was polite, courteous and friendly throughout the whole interaction.

I hate to break it to you, but south Asian is not a "minority" in Mississauga or Brampton area, in fact it be considered majority.

In general, when cops see 3-4 young male in a car, they do get their radar up and usually their instincts are right, they see things and deal with stuff much more than us private citizen ever hear about, so you have to give them credit and benefit of the doubt.

As for recording, it is best to you have a dash cam so the officer is aware of it from the moment you are pulled over, furthermore it is there to record everything, not just your interaction with the officer. When you pull out your cell phone to record the officer, it is kind of an insult and you should not expect him/her to take that kindly.

So they're going to profile someone based on their gender and age ?

That doesn't sound very nice in the slightest bit.

Being of a minority doesn't mean anything. I hate when people bring race into it. "Oh I got a ticket. The cop was a real ass because I was *insert race here*". If you get pulled over, there are two reasons for that. 1 - You are breaking the law, or 2 - They suspect you may be breaking the law. Plain and Simple.

As Observer stated above, recording your interaction with police comes off insulting. No, I am not a cop. I probably have recieved more tickets than any normal person would in there lifetime in 7 years. None the less, I have never recorded a police encounter, nor do I plan to. Unless the officer is senselessly beating someone on the ground, that's a different story. But a routine traffic stop? That's like me videotaping you while you're on the toilet and posting it onto YouTube. Insulting and Pointless.

UnluckyDuck wrote:Being of a minority doesn't mean anything. I hate when people bring race into it. "Oh I got a ticket. The cop was a real ass because I was *insert race here*". If you get pulled over, there are two reasons for that. 1 - You are breaking the law, or 2 - They suspect you may be breaking the law. Plain and Simple.

As Observer stated above, recording your interaction with police comes off insulting. No, I am not a cop. I probably have recieved more tickets than any normal person would in there lifetime in 7 years. None the less, I have never recorded a police encounter, nor do I plan to. Unless the officer is senselessly beating someone on the ground, that's a different story. But a routine traffic stop? That's like me videotaping you while you're on the toilet and posting it onto YouTube. Insulting and Pointless.

What you do on the toilet is unlikely to be taken to court.

What you say to a police officer, or what he or she says to you, may very well be used in court either against you or potentially for you. That's important enough a reason to record the interaction.

You have to be really naive to make that comparison and not be able to see the difference there.

There's a reason why there is such a strong movement for body-cameras on cops lately.

In fact, the recording could benefit myself as well, in case I said something stupid or self-incriminating during my interaction with the officer, so I know what can potentially be used against me if I do end up in court.

Rentalpullover wrote:

What you say to a police officer, or what he or she says to you, may very well be used in court either against you or potentially for you. That's important enough a reason to record the interaction.

You have to be really naive to make that comparison and not be able to see the difference there.

Even if you record the interaction to use in court, were the proper guidelines used? I'm 95% sure that video was taken on a cell phone. The video must be time and date stamped, in RAW format. You must also bring in the device used to capture the video as well as the person who videotaped it. Without following those, it's ultimately up to the JP to decide if they want to accept the evidence or not. Most likely, they will refuse to even look at it. Therefore, plain and simple, Pointless.

Rentalpullover wrote:So I'm extremely ignorant

Looks like you weren't lying.

UnluckyDuck wrote:

Rentalpullover wrote:

What you say to a police officer, or what he or she says to you, may very well be used in court either against you or potentially for you. That's important enough a reason to record the interaction.

You have to be really naive to make that comparison and not be able to see the difference there.

Even if you record the interaction to use in court, were the proper guidelines used? I'm 95% sure that video was taken on a cell phone. The video must be time and date stamped, in RAW format. You must also bring in the device used to capture the video as well as the person who videotaped it. Without following those, it's ultimately up to the JP to decide if they want to accept the evidence or not. Most likely, they will refuse to even look at it. Therefore, plain and simple, Pointless.

Rentalpullover wrote:So I'm extremely ignorant

Looks like you weren't lying.

I guess you completely ignored the part where I said the interaction's recording could be for my own record and to recall what was said by me in case I can't recall.