Driving While Black: How To Get Away With It

Taking code-switch to the road to avoid hefty tickets and police brutality.

My big head attempting to be inquisitive on my old Honda Nighthawk.

I parked on the corner, hands a bit sweaty, and the cop was obviously pulling my plate. What did I do this time? I was just turning around, is my blinker broken?

On a 95' Accord, things tend to fall apart. Or maybe I just forgot to pay for my insurance. Scenarios begin to race in my head; anxiety causes me to cramp, clammy hands, and irritation peaking as the police officer slowly walks towards the window. His hand rests on the pistol grip as he taps the window.

It’s hard to believe he’d be ready to pull on Karen, the soccer mom. From his perspective, a young black man in a hooptie is a potential culprit. All of this sets me up for failure, the sweaty hands, and frequent stutter, I already look guilty but do you know what made me guilty well before I pulled over my car? The car itself and my visibly untinted windows. Dead giveaway officer, he was definitely driving while black.

An essential skill many POC gain (typically after doing a few job interviews and talking to authority figures) is we learn the code-switch that allows us to gain a more equal footing in society. It puts the person we’re dealing with at ease. I like to imagine they’re thinking “Oh, this guy is safe, he sounds like one of us”. One of my favorite scenes recently is from Sorry To Bother You, when Danny Glover activates his societal cheat code to make a sale.

The ethics of removing your skin tone just to avoid conflict may be murky but nevertheless we do it every day in ways we probably don’t notice. This piece is one way I found to code-switch on the boys in blue to avoid any hassle.

“You took a turn but you didn’t initiate your blinker before 100 ft of the turn.”

Illegal, in most states, basic traffic violation that wouldn’t put you in jail but can cost a grip. More importantly, a great excuse to pull someone over.

Let me give you the low-down on how this typically progresses.

He’s going to want your ID.

An excruciating few minutes later, he’ll return after seeing if you have a criminal record or warrant. If you’ve passed the first test, next, he’ll ask you:

“Whats the rush? Where are you going today? Did you realize you broke the law earlier”

At this point, you can take two paths:

A: Uhh.. Does it matter where I am going? Isn’t that my business, do you need anything else officer? If not I’ll take my ticket and be on my way.

B: I was just going home from work officer, I didn’t realize I turned my blinkers on at the last minute. I am a bit exhausted. Sorry.

In reality, the police officer already has his intent, whatever you say can only amplify his desire to achieve his goal. That is to give you a ticket, maybe a few extra tickets if you piss him off.

So, next, he will ask to search your car.

Why? Well, no cop really cares to report over a man who didn’t use his blinker, but the sergeant will salivate over a pullover that leads to an arrest of a person with a dime bag of weed or a gram of coke. It’s a cop’s wet dream. All in all, the police need to justify pulling you over in the first place, so any additional dirt will help.

Many of us experience it and the ones who don’t maybe have friends who do, perhaps you’ve even been in the car when they’ve done it. To witness police internal bias towards pulling over “suspicious” people of color really hits you hard.

Recognizing the issue, you may want to protest! Sure go ahead, maybe over time, it may make a difference. In the meantime, you, the black guy in the old honda should probably look for coping methods for your peculiar condition.

So are you supposed to get a Karen haircut and tint your windows black? Well, no, and the latter will just get you pulled over more. (For some reason cops hate heavy tints).

Instead, you should follow Brice’s Bonafide 3 Tips To Avoid The PoPo!

“But officer, I’m a Veteran!”

So a cop pulled you over because you looked suspicious. Now he’s just asked for your ID. Pro-tip, are you currently in the military? Show your military ID with your license.

Veteran? Get the Veteran’s designation on a state-issued driver’s license for free. The second a cop sees you’re a veteran, the bias switches off, many if not most will police have a total bromance for veterans. Sometimes it’s the shared struggle, or maybe the cop himself was also in the military in some capacity. Sometimes you’ll even get the “Yeah I wanted to join, but I hurt my knee in high school,” just nod your head and talk about sports.

This is probably the most powerful get out of jail free card you can have in your deck. Cops aren’t just more sympathetic; they are likely to ignore you altogether if you have a silly “I served” bumper sticker.

A cop can’t see your chocolate complexion if you’re wearing a mask.

Okay, don’t actually wear a mask while driving a car. We’re trying to AVOID attention, remember? But if you’re a motorcyclist, congratulations, you can hide your face and skin tone! But you have to be careful, depending on the type of motorcycle you have, you may just invite more trouble.

Picture this, you’re riding down the pacific coast highway, rather thirsty, and you wanna swing by a bar to catch the sunset. You turn up The Eagles as you’re about to pull into a dingy motorcycle bar, lined with Harleys like Christmas lights. As you walk into the smokey bar, you see nothing but 50-year-old chubby bearded white men. These men are the cliche biker, and this is who you want to be.

On the contrary, a few miles down the road is another bar in Inglewood, littered around the parking lot are Hayabusas and Honda Supersports. Sexy bikes, also complete police magnets. Cops love to pull over sportbikes, and they completely ignore the choppers.

When I was deciding on my next vehicle after totaling my car, I ended up getting a high CC upright, Honda. Nothing spectacular about it, and I immediately noticed cops could care less about me. In fact, they would frequently wave at me! What sight for sore eyes, I found the golden key to avoiding harassment!

During the three year period, I purchased my first and second motorcycle (a cruiser). I was never pulled over by the police. I was definitely more reckless on my bike than in my cars as well. I recall going at least 150mph down the 75 to Vegas, passing a cop who didn’t even budge.

Don’t want a bike and not a veteran? Well, become a fan.

Not everyone can use a motorcycle as a daily commuter, and not everyone wants to go to war. Don’t worry, their’s hope for the average joe. Just buy some stickers.

“I support our troops” “I stand for the boys in blue”

You’ve seen the stickers before. Now I don’t know your opinion on the US Military or how you feel about the police in your neighborhood. But if it isn’t much of a sacrifice of your position, it may be the simplest way to avoid any heat from the cops.

Personally, I am a Veteran, and I have plenty of friends who are feds, but I am critical of both the military and the police. My critical views won’t stop a sticker. So I wouldn’t see much of a loss of conscience to throw on a tacky sticker to my car, but I don’t live in America anymore, so I don’t have to worry about this peculiar condition anymore.

So are any of these options seriously a solution to thwart police violence? Yes.

Between intentional or unintentional bias, or our system of using police stops driven by the capitalist hunger to absorb taxes from innocent civilians. We have plenty of reasons to be pulled over. In the end, we need to stand up and recognize these issues, then implement training and shift the culture away from such a toxic mindset and system that adds a burden to so many people’s lives.

Many of the thoughts and fears that race through a person’s head during a traffic stop range from:

— Police may shoot me, it’s talked about in the news often.

— Police hassle me even if I am not doing anything.

— Getting caught breaking the law and getting a heavier ticket.

Activists and political allies tend to push for radical change. While they advocate for big changes in government, we still have to deal with the reality of our condition. That’s why we have to adapt.

Unfortunately, from my experience, as ridiculous as these tips are, if applied, will place you back to center. Finally, you’ll reach a base level of cop anxiety, less concern for a cop pulling you over for being black and more concern for him pulling you over for taking selfies on the highway.

Do you have any techniques you follow that help you avoid police attention? Do you have any cop stories you want to share? I would definitely love to hear!

@MansaBrice is part expat, part fitness buff, part vagabond, and part writer. With a combined experience of everything from Cultural Anthropology, Sociology, and of course the Black Experience. He’s on Instagram and Twitter.

P.S. Put your phone down.