Curious, to see if you and/or others do what I've been doing any time I'm pulled over, and if it's helped or done nothing and still resulted in a ticket -- did you have your license, reg, and insurance ready in hand with both hands up high on the steering wheel, pretty much handing them to him thru the open window before he even asked? I'd heard good things about doing that and have done that the few times I've gotten pulled over in recent memory, and it *seems* to have helped since I've not gotten a ticket in 15 years for speeding or accidentally blowing a stop sign, even getting thanked for doing that at least once. I understand that type of willingness/approach would not be everyone's cup of tea.
Picture this. You are slowly driving onto the shoulder with the cop behind you or you just parked on it with the lights behind you. You lean sideways towards the glove box on the pass side to get your registration or you fumble in your pockets for the wallet and license, and you get shot by a paranoid cop who later tells a judge or jury that you looked like you were reaching for your gun. I would not reach for anything until the cop is at my window.
