2010年ESL之旅行交通购物 11 Handling a Traffic Stop

 

11 Handling a Traffic Stop

GLOSSARY

siren – the part of a police car, ambulance, or fire truck that makes a very loudnoise to let drivers know that they should move aside and allow it to go through

* When I hear a siren, I know I should slow down or stop my car until the policecar has passed me.

to flash – for a light to turn on and off, on and off

* Do you think the Christmas tree lights would look better if they were always on,or if they were flashing?

to pull off the road – to drive one’s car to the side of the road and stop, usuallybecause one is having mechanical problems or at a police officer’s request

* When we saw smoke coming out of the car, we pulled off the road and openedthe hood of the car.

driver’s license – a small, flat, rectangular piece of paper or plastic that showsone has permission to drive a vehicle

* In most states, you can get your driver’s license when you are 16 years old.

proof of insurance – a document showing that one has purchased automobileinsurance as required by law

* Our proof of insurance expires at the end of the month, but the insurancecompany will send us a new one as soon as we make another payment.

car registration – a document showing that one has registered one’s car withthe state’s department of motor vehicles

* How much do we have to pay for car registration each time we buy a new car?

glove compartment – the box that opens in the front of the car, next to thepassenger’s knees, where one can keep important documents, maps, and more

* Lauren keeps paper towels in the glove compartment, just in case somethingspills in the car.

stop sign – a red, octagonal (eight-sided), metal sign placed on the right-handside of the road at intersections, letting drivers know they should stop their car

* If two cars stop at a stop sign at the same time, the car on the right goes first.

to sit tight – to wait somewhere, usually seated, for a period of time withoutmoving or going anywhere else

* Students, I have to make some extra copies of the test. Please sit tight andwait quietly until I come back.

license plate number – the large letters and numbers on a rectangular piece ofmetal at the front and back of a car, used to identify a car in the state’sregistration system

* Justine bought a customized license plate number: “1DERFUL,” meaning“wonderful.”

outstanding warrant – a document that allows police to arrest someone, butthat hasn’t yet been used, probably because the person has not been found bythe police

* There’s an outstanding warrant for Eve’s arrest. Apparently, she has more than50 unpaid parking tickets!

to run (a stoplight or stop sign) – to not stop one’s car when one is legallyrequired to do so

* Yoshio wasn’t paying attention and ran a stoplight, almost hitting a car that wascoming the other way.

citation – a ticket; a piece of paper from the police, showing that one has brokenthe law and should pay a fine (money) and/or go to court

* Elizabeth got a citation for driving without wearing her seatbelt.

to let (someone) off – to forgive someone, not giving him or her the punishmentthat he or she should have received

* When Karen came home really late last weekend, her parents let her off, but if ithappens again they’re going to take away her car.

warning – a written or verbal statement that something bad or dangerous mayhappen, intended to prevent that thing from happening in the future

* At the beach, you can see many signs with warnings about dangerously high waves.

to toss – to throw something, especially to throw something away

* Marlys tossed the peanut shells as she walked and ate, leaving a trail of shells behind her.

incriminating evidence – proof that one has done something wrong or illegal

* The lawyer held up a bloody knife as incriminating evidence against themurderer.

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COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Which of these would you be able to hear?

a) A loud siren.

b) Lights flashing.

c) A stop sign.

2. What does the officer mean when he says, “I’m going to have to give you a citation”?

a) He’s going to take away Lindsay’s driver’s license.

b) He’s going to give her a ticket.

c) He’s going to write down her license plate numbers.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to flash

The verb “to flash,” in this podcast, means for a light to turn on and off, on andoff: “The dance club is filled with many brightly colored, flashing lights.” The verb“to flash” also means for a bright light to shine for a short period of time: “Did yousee the lightening flash in the sky a minute ago?” When a thought or idea“flashes,” it comes into one’s mind very suddenly and unexpectedly: “Childhoodmemories often flash through her mind, surprising her with their clarity.” “To flash(something)” means to show something to someone very quickly: “Charlesflashed his bus pass at the driver as he boarded the bus.” Finally, the phrase “toflash forward” means for a movie or book to show quickly what will happen in thefuture: “The movie was confusing because it had too many flash forwards.”

to run

In this podcast, the phrase “to run (a stoplight or stop sign)” means to not stopone’s car when one is legally required to do so: “That driver ran a stop sign andalmost hit the pedestrian who was crossing the road!” In politics, the verb “torun” means to try to be elected for a particular job: “Have you ever consideredrunning for mayor?” The phrase “to run a bath” means to fill a bathtub withwater: “Ingrid likes to relax by running a hot bath.” The phrase “to run (one’s)course” means for something to continue as expected until it has ended, usuallywithout interference: “David hates taking medicine. He prefers to let a cold runits course.” Finally, the phrase “to run for cover” means to run to a safe place,especially if one is being shot at: “When the city was bombed, everyone ran forcover.” Or, “It started to rain and we ran for cover.”

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CULTURE NOTE

The easiest way to “avoid” (not let something happen) getting a “traffic” (relatedto driving) ticket for “speeding” (going faster than the allowed “speed limit”

(maximum speed)) is to not speed. However, many drivers want to drive fasterthan the speed limit, and there are certain things they can do to make a trafficticket less likely.

First, drivers can try to stay within 5-10 “mph” (miles per hour) of other cars onthe same road. Even if all the cars are speeding, the “cops” (police officers)probably won’t “issue” (give out) speeding tickets until they find a car that ismoving much more quickly than the other cars. It’s also a good idea to stay “inthe midst of” (surrounded by) those other cars, not “leading” (being in front of) the“pack” (group of cars), since a police officer might be more likely to pull over thefirst car in a group of speeding cars.

Fast drivers can also reduce the “chance” (likelihood; probability) of receiving aspeeding ticket by driving in the middle or right-hand lanes, and not the left-handlane, which is for the fastest cars. Certain types of cars are also more likely toget tickets. For example, bright red or yellow “sports cars” (small cars designedto go very fast) are more likely to get tickets than “ordinary” (normal; regular)family cars, since they “attract” (get) the police officers’ attention.

Some drivers buy a “radar detector,” or a special piece of electronic equipmentplaced inside a car that can “alert” (send a message to) the driver when a policecar is nearby and is using radar to detect drivers’ speed. Radar detectors aren’tlegal in all states, but where they are legal, drivers often speed and then slowdown when their radar detector alerts them of the police’s “presence” (being in anarea).

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Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – b

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 591: Handling aTraffic Stop.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 591. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Our website is eslpod.com. Consider becoming a member of ESL Podcast tohelp support us, or you can make a donation by going to our website. Thisepisode is called “Handling (or taking care of) a Traffic Stop,” when the policestop you in your car because you’ve done something wrong. Let’s get started.

[start of story]

I was having a great day until I saw the police car behind me with its loud sirenand lights flashing. I pulled off the road and waited for the officer to approach my

Officer: May I see your driver’s license, proof of insurance, and car registration,please?

Lindsay: Let me get them out of my glove compartment. Here they are. Whatdid I do wrong, officer?

Officer: Didn’t you see that stop sign back there?

Lindsay: Stop sign? What stop sign? I didn’t see any stop sign.

Officer: Sit tight and I’ll be right back.

…

I guess he was running my driver’s license and license plate numbers to makesure there are no outstanding warrants for me or for my car. He came back aftera few minutes.

…

Officer: You ran a stop sign back there and I’m going to have to give you acitation.

Lindsay: Is that really necessary, officer? I’m really sorry I ran the stop sign andI’ll be more careful next time.

Officer: I suppose I could let you off with a warning, just this once.

Lindsay: Oh, thank you so much!

Officer: Drive more carefully in the future.

Lindsay: I will. I definitely will.

…

Phew! That was close. Good thing I tossed the incriminating evidence out thewindow before I pulled off the road!

[end of story]

Our story begins with Lindsay saying, “I was having a great day until I saw thepolice car behind me with its loud siren and lights flashing.” A “siren” (siren) isthat part of the police car or ambulance or fire truck that makes a very loud noiseso that other drivers will move their cars out of the way so they can go faster. Asiren would typically go in the U.S. something like “woo-woo-woo-woo-woo.”

That’s terrible, I know! I’ll give you a better siren [sound of a siren]. Phew, Ithought they were going to stop me! Back to our story: Poor Lindsay heard theloud siren, and then she saw the lights flashing on the police car. “To flash” heremeans for a light to go on and off, on and off, on and off. “Flash” has manymeanings, however, in English, and those can be found in that good old LearningGuide.

So Lindsay saw the police car, and obviously the police car wanted her to stop.

She pulled off the road and waited for the officer to approach her car. This is, infact, what you are supposed to do. If you are driving in the U.S. and let’s sayyou’re going too fast or you didn’t stop at the stop sign and there is a policeofficer who “pulls you over,” meaning who makes you take your car and park it onthe side of the road, you should wait in your car, don’t get out of your car to gotalk to the police officer. They don’t like that!

Lindsay pulled off the road – she drove her car to the side and stopped. Theofficer came up to her window and said, as they probably will typically, “May I seeyour driver’s license, proof of insurance, and car registration, please?” These arethree things that everyone is required to have in most states: a driver’s license,you have to have permission to drive in the U.S., or an international license;proof of insurance, you have to prove that the automobile has car insurance.

Now if you rent an automobile, typically that proof will be found in the small box inthe front right of the car called the “glove compartment.” Your car registration isinformation that verifies your car was officially registered and you paid the tax forit with the state government where you are. So, driver’s license; proof ofinsurance, which is usually a little card from the insurance company with yourname and the insurance policy – the agreement you have with the insurancecompany, that number; and your car registration, which is also a small little card.

Lindsay says, “Let me get them out of my glove compartment.” We justexplained what that was. Why is called a glove compartment? Well, presumablythat’s where people used to put their gloves when they used gloves to drive. ButI don’t think anyone uses them for gloves anymore, unless you live in a very coldpart of the country – which happily I don’t! So Lindsay says, “Here they are.”

This is an expression we would use if you are going to give a set of something toanother person – “here they are.” If it’s just one thing, you would say, “here it is,”

but she has three things so she says, “Here they are.” Then she asks, “What didI do wrong, officer?”

The officer said, “Didn’t you see that stop sign back there?” A “stop sign” in theU.S. is a red, eight-sided, or octagonal, sign that says “stop,” and it means youhave to stop your car completely before going forward. Well, unfortunatelyLindsay didn’t see the stop sign; she says, “Stop sign? What stop sign? I didn’tsee any stop sign.” The officer says, “Sit tight and I’ll be right back.” If someonetells you to “sit tight” (tight) they mean wait, usually sitting down somewhere, for aperiod of time and don’t go anywhere. “Sit tight” means to wait and not leave.

Well, the officer is telling Lindsay to sit tight, to stay in her car, and not leave.

Again, this is very typical.

What the police officer will do now is explained by Lindsay. She says, “I guesshe was running my driver’s license and license plate numbers to make sure thereare no outstanding warrants for me or for my car.” “To run” here means to check;he’s probably going to his computer in his car, or perhaps some other means ofcommunicating with the headquarters (the main office of the police) so he cancheck to see that the driver’s license is valid – it’s a good driver’s license. He’salso checking the license plate numbers. Those are the large letters andnumbers on a rectangular piece of metal either in the front of the car, in the backthe car, or both in the front and the back. They are used to identify the car in thestate’s registration system. So, they want to make sure the car is not stolen, sothey make sure it hasn’t been reported stolen by running the license platenumbers. She says that the police want to make sure there are no outstandingwarrants. A “warrant” is usually a document that allows the police to arrestsomeone but it hasn’t yet been used, probably because the person cannot befound. “Outstanding” here means something that hasn’t been done yet. In thiscase, an “outstanding warrant” would be something that the police have not yetused because they couldn’t find the person. The police catch lots of people whoare doing something wrong with their car who have outstanding warrants,meaning they are criminals; they’ve done something wrong somewhere else.

The officer comes back and says, “You ran a stop sign back there and I’m goingto have to give you a citation.” “To run a stop sign (or a stop light)” means not tostop your car when you are legally required to do so. So if the light is red andyou just keep driving through the intersection – through the place where the twostreets cross, you could get a citation. Another word for a citation is a ticket.

“Citation” is the more legal name. It’s a piece of paper from the police saying thatyou have broken the law and you have to pay a certain amount of money, whatwe would call a “fine,” or you have to go to the judge – to the court.

Lindsay says, “Is that really necessary, officer? I’m really sorry I ran the stopsign and I’ll be more careful next time.” The police can not give you a ticket. Ihave never heard it happening, but it’s possible, at least it never happens here inLos Angeles. The officer says, “I suppose (I guess) I could let you off with awarning, just this once.” “To let (someone) off” is a phrasal verb meaning toforgive someone, to not give someone the punishment they deserve. A“warning” is a written or a spoken statement that says that what you did waswrong and you should not do it again. That’s really all a warning is. The officersays that he could let her off with a warning, meaning he could not give her aticket and just tell her to be more careful next time. He says he’ll do it “just thisonce,” meaning this time only; this is an exception to the rule, we don’t normallydo this – unless the woman is very attractive, right? And the police officer istypically a man. I’m not saying that happens frequently.

The officer says, “Drive more carefully in the future.” Lindsay says, “I will. Idefinitely will.” “Phew!” she says. “Phew” is a way of saying I’m relieved, I’mhappy; something bad was going to happen to me but it didn’t. She says, “Thatwas close (meaning I almost got a ticket). Good thing I tossed the incriminatingevidence out the window before I pulled off the road!” “To toss” (toss) means tothrow something, especially to throw something away, to get rid of it. “Evidence”

is proof of something. “Incriminating evidence” is proof that you were doingsomething illegal. What Lindsay is saying is that she had something illegal in hercar. Maybe it was a beer bottle that was open, which is illegal in most states ifyou are driving. Or maybe she had something else that she threw out thewindow and the police officer didn’t see it, and so she didn’t get in trouble for thatprobably more serious crime.

I’ve been pulled over for speeding once; it was about three or four years ago.

And what happened was I went to a restaurant and I remembered that I had leftthe stove in the kitchen on – the fire was burning on the top of the stove. So Idrove very fast back home from the restaurant where I was, and of course I wasdriving too fast, and the police officers saw me and pulled me over. I, of course,explained the reason but he didn’t care; he still gave me the ticket – the fine,which was something around 250 dollars, something like that. It was a lot ofmoney. Sometimes it doesn’t matter if you have a good reason for driving fast,you’re still going to get a citation!

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of story]

I was having a great day until I saw the police car behind me with its loud sirenand lights flashing. I pulled off the road and waited for the officer to approach my

Officer: May I see your driver’s license, proof of insurance, and car registration,please?

Lindsay: Let me get them out of my glove compartment. Here they are. Whatdid I do wrong, officer?

Officer: Didn’t you see that stop sign back there?

Lindsay: Stop sign? What stop sign? I didn’t see any stop sign.

Officer: Sit tight and I’ll be right back.

…

I guess he was running my driver’s license and license plate numbers to makesure there are no outstanding warrants for me or for my car. He came back aftera few minutes.

…

Officer: You ran a stop sign back there and I’m going to have to give you acitation.

Lindsay: Is that really necessary, officer? I’m really sorry I ran the stop sign andI’ll be more careful next time.

Officer: I suppose I could let you off with a warning, just this once.

Lindsay: Oh, thank you so much!

Officer: Drive more carefully in the future.

Lindsay: I will. I definitely will.

…

Phew! That was close. Good thing I tossed the incriminating evidence out thewindow before I pulled off the road!

[end of story]

The scriptwriter for this episode would never run a stop sign. That’s because it’sDr. Lucy Tse!

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2010 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.