Canadian woman arrested in Georgia for legally driving with Canadian license

[Downtown Hound]

She was pulled over, had all the legal documents she needed, but was arrested anyways. She was taken to jail, given a mug shot and put into an orange jumpsuit. She was denied her legal right to contact the Canadian consulate, and told if she didn't make bail she would remain jailed for three months. After more than a thousand dollars in bail, fees, and impound costs, she was released. She has since gotten her money back but that's it.

Fucking stupid, fascist, Nazi, porkchopping PIGS!

[MyOwnPeace]

1. OK, this is..........

a movie, right?
It didn't really happen here in the US, did it?

O-M-G!!!!!!!!!!!

What have we become?

Seriously, is it time to consider moving to another country - give it all up to the "deplorables?"

Our HOPE has to be in MAGA (Mueller Ain't Going Away).

I know, that's only a start, but, a walk of a thousand miles begins with the first step!

[kentuck]

2. I was arrested in Georgia once for driving with a Kentucky driver's license...

....and Florida tags on a yellow Camaro.

[onethatcares]

13. Bert Reynolds........

is that you????

[dchill]

37. That was a black Firebird, and it's Burt!

But he got arrested, too!

[onethatcares]

54. I thought it was Burts cousin

Bert.

Was just messin round.

[helmedon1974]

78. 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Special Edition

[MineralMan]

3. Welcome To Georgia! Where Y'all From?

Canadia? Where the heck is that? You some kind of illegal immigrant? Y'all are under arrest, girly.

[Eliot Rosewater]

51. I am against Calexit, maybe not Georgiaexit though

[Grins]

60. Another DU wrote something similar...

Stopped by a cop/sheriff in Orange County, CA. Cop had him arrested him because he thought his driver's license was a fake.

Fake? Yelled at the driver because "There is no state of WEST Virginia!!" A real Colombo, that one.

Worse - a soon-arriving Sgt. was just as ignorant. The second Sgt. to come on the scene looked at the other two in disbelief.

[robbob]

64. Should have started singing Country Roads take me home...

To the place
I was born
WEST VIRGINIA (You dumb ass motherf***er)!
Mountain momma
Take me home, country road...

[dsc]

76. except that song is about western Virginia not West Virginia

[IronLionZion]

79. That's proof enough for me that there's no West Virginia

can't argue with John Denver

[robbob]

84. There's a difference?

🤔

[dsc]

88. yes western Virginia is between WV and NC

the part that 77 runs through and which has Roanoke.

[robbob]

89. Well, John should have been more clear!

...just kidding! My remark was semi-facetious. But, as a Canadian who rarely wanders south of Boston, thank you for the geography lesson!

[rsdsharp]

85. Not a cop story, but in the 1980s

I managed a jewelry store in Cedar Falls Iowa, which was owned by Gordon's Jewelry out of Houston, Texas, then the second largest jewelry company in the country -- behind Zales. One day I sold an engagement ring, but we only had it in stock in yellow gold, and the bride-to-be wanted white. I called the home office in Houston to order the new ring, and everything went well until she asked where to send it.

I told her, "Store 50538 in Cedar Falls, Iowa."

She said, "We ain't got no store in Ohio."

"No," I said. "Iowa."

"We ain't got no store in Idaho, neither."

"Iowa. I-O-W-A. Iowa. Store 50538. Look it up."

She stood her ground: "There ain't no such state as Iowa."

A long, gobsmacked pause ensued on my part, followed by a demand that she get "Mr. Danny," head of the division, on the line. What followed was an ass chewing for the ages (hers, not mine).

In fairness, she might have come by her ignorance honestly. I know a guy who was hired to teach world history at a high school in Texas. He classroom had one map.

Of Texas.

[DURHAM D]

4. She probably thought she was in Tbiliisi. nt

[MontanaMama]

5. Wow.

Just wow. When I clicked on this I thought for sure I'd be reading about a Canadian person of color arrested for driving while black. Thankfully that was not the case. But now you can't even drive as a Canadian citizen in this country? What is happening? this young woman seems remarkably calm and self possessed in this video. I'm not sure I would be so charitable.

[DFW]

8. No you CAN drive legally in the USA while Canadian

But only in those states where the cops have heard of Canada.

As a contrast, about 30 years ago, my brother-in-law, in international demand as an electro-technician, was called to Texas for some emergency repair job. His plane was late, and he rented a car and drove through the night to be at his appointment in the morning. Being German, he forgot about speed limits on the empty highway, and was soon pulled over by a Texas cop, who asked for his driver's license. My brother-in-law handed him his German driver's license, and the Texas cop reacted as if he had seen a unicorn. Full of excitement and wonder, he radioed in, "It's a German!"

After giving up on trying to decipher the German driver's license, he admonished my brother-in-law by saying "This is not the Autobahn!" and let him go with a warning.

What a difference 30 years and a Trump can make, right?

[iluvtennis]

20. ...But the cops have to have heard of Canada... Spot on with the moronic parts of law enforecment

[DFW]

33. My wife went through something similar

She was visiting a girlfriend in northern Vermont, who had a place across the border in Québec that she wanted to go to for lunch. So, they drove the 15 minutes to the restaurant and had lunch.

On the way back, the US CBP officer looked at her passport, and was too stupid to find the most recent entry stamp. This was in August, and my wife had entered the USA with me in July, so well under the 90 day limit. But she had come often to the USA, and the careless US authorities just stamp her entries over other entries. The idiot CPB guy asked her when she was flying back to Germany, and she truthfully said August 13th. She had also entered the USA for 6 days for our nephew's college graduation on May 12th. The CPB guy said she was overstaying her limit by a day. Far more able to think on her feet than the CBP uniform, my wife told him, "of course, you're right. When I fly home, I land on the 13th from an overnight flight, but the flight always leaves the USA the day before, so you are quite right, I will be leaving on the 12th." The jerk said, ah, that's better, and let her go back to Vermont. When she got back, she looked through her passport, and sure enough, the July entry stamp was there plain and legible. The CPB idiot was just too lazy to look for it, and he could just as easily have arrested her for immigration violation. I would have sued for false arrest and probably won, as the claim that she had no July entry stamp in her passport was false, but it would have been a Pyrrhic victory. If she had been arrested or something THAT stupid, she would never have set foot in the USA again. Thank goodness Obama was still president. Had it happened today, she might still be rotting in some jail in Vermont somewhere. Once again, this summer, she will come with me to Cape Cod, but will not set foot outside Massachusetts, and will fly home from there.

[Grins]

62. Before the madness that was the Bush admin...

I remember being in extreme northern VT, in a VERY SMALL town where there was a small ferry to Canada for those who worked in Canada or just wanted to visit and vice-versa. Saw the Customs sign and asked what it was for.

Station clerk told me the crossing was too small to have a permanent Customs/Border patrol officer or office, so it was the obligation of those on the ferry when they arrived in the U.S. to pick up the phone on arrival and announce their arrival. Same when they went to Canada. So many times the same people calling every day it was, "Hi (name). It's (name). I will be leaving on the 4:00PM ferry. Go Habs!"

Done. No muss, no fuss. And it worked.

[Wednesdays]

90. They probably heard of Canada, but

they assumed a Canadian driver's license was not valid in the U.S. Probably thinking it's the same as Canadian money being invalid in the U.S.

[MontanaMama]

26. Holy buckets.

I guess you're right. We've headed back 30 years at least. Scary times.

[aggiesal]

38. What is happening? ...

Idiocracy!!!

[oberliner]

73. "Thankfully that was not the case."

Why "thankfully" ?

[MontanaMama]

86. Because it would be just another

example of a POC being harassed by the police for just being and it seems that those events are escalating in both number and severity. That said, this arrest is also terrible but for different reasons. So I am thankful that this event was not the former and I’m thankful nobody died because that is often the result.

[oberliner]

87. OK - gotcha

It seems like this story is pretty terrible regardless (as you point out).

[d_r]

6. I am willing to bet

This was probably that stretch between tifton and valdosta it is speed trap alley.

Edit she is going to get another slap in the face when they mail her another ticket for being a super speeder 10 miles over, $200 more to the state of georgia.

[iscooterliberally]

24. I got one of those tickets outside of Macon a few years back.

The super-speeder law is like double-jeopardy. I hired a local lawyer to represent me on that ticket. I got it beat back down and had to pay a fine, but they buried the whole thing so I wouldn't get any points. The entire state of GA is a speed trap. Beware!

[woodsprite]

30. I hate driving through there. Everybody in our family knows about it.

When it's their turn to drive, everyone sets the cruise control about 2-3mph below the actual speed limit.

[snowybirdie]

52. Thanks for the info

Driving I75 on Saturday!

[iscooterliberally]

53. The GA State Police have black Dodge Chargers.

They're completely unmarked. If you take the by-pass around Macon, that's where I got my ticket. I also got one on I-95 just north of the FL-GA state line, but that one was 20 years ago. Stay safe!

[d_r]

71. really anywhere in Georgia

[jambo101]

7. outragious

And its stories like this that keep me from traveling in America anymore.

[sl8]

9. More:

From http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-woman-arrested-jailed-in-u-s-for-driving-with-a-canadian-licence-1.4648561

Ontario woman arrested, jailed in U.S. for driving with a Canadian licence
'It was the most horrendous incident of my life,' says 27-year-old grad student

Makda Ghebreslassie · CBC News · Posted: May 07, 2018 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Emily Nield says a Georgia police officer arrested her for driving with an Ontario licence in the U.S. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)

An Ontario woman is looking for an apology from the Georgia police officer who arrested, handcuffed and charged her because she was driving with a Canadian licence.

"It was the most horrendous incident of my life," said Emily Nield. "It was mortifying. I was terrified the entire time."

About a month ago, the 27-year-old was driving through Georgia to Tennessee, where she had just completed a master's degree in geology. Nield's route took her along the I-75, which is often used by Canadians making the trek to and from Florida.

...

More at link.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. Ah. Her crime: being more educated than the police officer. . . . nt

[ProfessorGAC]

74. Reminds Me Of The Old Judy Tenuda Joke

She was arrested in Tennessee for smuggling books, but they couldn't prove it.

[DFW]

10. I'll bet the Toronto Star had a field day with this one.

Poor Raymond Chrétien. But: even poorer us.

[Hortensis]

11. Canadian snowbirds flow through Georgia twice a year like the Chattahoochee.

Numbers down since we elected Trump, of course.

Georgia's not the only state dangerous to drive, though. Many governing bodies all over the nation are preying on their own residents, as well as passers-through, to get money to meet their bills. "Cutting the fat" has been going on 45 years now, causing serious problems. One of the most insidious for sure is that it is causing authorities to come to view citizens as potential "criminals with checkbooks," so that anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time can become a victim of armed robbery by government.

Creeping fascism, anyone?

[procon]

12. Great message to send to prospective tourists, business people, out of state visitors,

and sports fans. Idiots.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Tourism to U.S. under Trump is down, costing $4.6B and 40,000 jobs

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/tourism-u-s-down-trump-took-office-costing-4-6-n840326

Tourism to U.S. under Trump is down, costing $4.6B and 40,000 jobs
by Ben Popken / Jan.23.2018

Travel to the U.S. has been on the decline ever since President Donald Trump took office, and new data from the Commerce Department shows the slump translates to a cost of $4.6 billion in lost spending and 40,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the U.S. Travel Association.

The latest data shows a 3.3 percent drop in travel spending and a 4 percent decline in inbound travel.

The downturn has also caused America to lose its spot as the world's second-most popular destination for foreign travel, ceding to Spain. (France is in first place).

International tourism to the U.S. began to wane after Trump took office, leading to a so-called "Trump slump."

[PatrickforO]

45. Yeah, no doubt. If I were Canadian, I would not come here as a tourist at all.

And if I did, I certainly would stay away from the rural deep South, which is the butthole of this country, pretty much.

[Cryptoad]

14. They dont call it "Dumbfuckistan" for nuttin!

[Glorfindel]

15. Georgia, where I live, has 159 counties. Yes, 159.

Each of those counties has a sheriff and several deputies. Also, each county has at least one, and much more often, six or eight incorporated "cities," each with its own police force. And then there's the Georgia State Patrol. You could easily be stopped ten times on a 100-mile trip. Since moving back to Georgia from Mississippi, I have given up driving except for the back roads of my extended family's properties. It's just not worth the hassle.

[geardaddy]

17. Canadian police should start arresting drivers with Georgia DLs

just to send a message.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

22. Nah. Give Georgia drivers a hot coffee and a doughnut to illustrate the difference. . . nt

[geardaddy]

27. You're right.

That is better.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

28. Treat them to some good old fashioned Canadian road rage?

[robbob]

65. I love being a Canadian

And my heartfelt condolences for all the dumb racist ignorant idiots you folks have to put up with.

(P.s. we have plenty of those here in Canada, too)

[helmedon1974]

80. Yeah, especially in Montreal if you don't speak French.

[DBoon]

36. from Tim Horton's!

let them know what real coffee and donuts taste like

[NutmegYankee]

34. Nah. File charges agaiunst the Officer and then request extradition.

Put out Interpol warrants at the same time. Make that Nazi fuck a prisoner in his own state.

[geardaddy]

35. Oooh! I like it!

[treestar]

77. that would be great but how many Georgians

find their way to Canada? It would probably be the good ones.

[geardaddy]

83. That's true.

[onethatcares]

18. for fucks sake, when I was growing up

and going to school, I was told that one of the things that separated Americans from thos dastardly commies was the ability to travel between states without having to show our papers.

Apparently we've gone over to the dark side.

[TheFrenchRazor]

41. this. everything good that america once allegedly stood for is long gone. nt

[cojoel]

42. That's what Collusion with Russia will do

Soon we will all have to speak Russian.

[erronis]

46. I hope we all get to experience the "dark sides". Whether an out-of-stater, or a person of color, or

someone from another country that doesn't understand what a horrible place this one is.

For someone who has lived a lot of my life around Wash DC I know there are "jurisdictions" where certain people don't feel comfortable.

I'm white and didn't feel comfortable in parts of DC and surroundings for a while, but now I trust these areas more than I trust the Fairfax/McLean/PrinceWilliam police.

Georgia and most of the deep south have their inbred hostility to "others". Places that are in transition have another set of problems such as gentrification and displacement.

[George II]

19. Makes me worry a little when I drive up to Ontario next month for my annual family visit.

[trixie2]

50. Detroit here

I drive in Ontario all the time. Never had a problem. In the greater Detroit area you see Ontario plates all time. In Ontario you see US plates all the time. Ontario is just right across the Detroit River and we come and go to each other's events.

Who hasn't cut through our neighbors yard to get to the east coast quicker?

This story is crazy.

[George II]

57. I'll also be visiting my brother, who lives in the western Detroit suburbs (doing a big circle)....

In past years I've driven across NYS into Ontario, across Southern Ontario into Michigan, stay a few days and then head back up to Toronto for a few days.

The last couple of years, though, I thought it might look "suspicious" leaving the US twice, so I've driven around Lake Erie. Even so I'm sure it raises eyebrows entering Canada at Port Huron / Sarnia and then a few days later crossing at Niagara Falls.

[trixie2]

68. I wouldn't worry about the frequency of crossing

We have gone to Windsor many times in the same week. Many people work in one country and live in the other and have a special bridge/tunnel pass. Many Americans have cottages in Canada. I notice the traffic is heavier when one country dollar is weaker. Right now going to Windsor is money saving for us in Michigan. There have been times when the opposite was true. Both Detroit and Windsor have casinos and both have a high level of boat owners too.

Canada is like your best neighbor where you can borrow a cup of sugar. I have been to Manitoulin Island year after year growing up. We stayed in Little Current with car loads of neighbors and relatives. I love Stratford, Toronto, and skiing at Blue Mountain. Just popping over to Windsor for an evening of food and sitting on the river with a different view is lovely.

[LanternWaste]

32. More likely, an under-educated law officer at work.

More likely, an under-educated law officer at work.

But I empathize with your desire to conflate the two... it's much more convenient to both the brain and the bias that way.

[aikoaiko]

25. That's not just Georgia, but South Georgia.

And yes, there is a difference.

It's really assinine. I-75 is a main corridor for Canadian snowbirds.

I wish the news agency outed the officer/sheriff who arrested her.

[Glorfindel]

31. BIG difference. It's farther from Cook County, GA, to Gilmer County, GA

where I live, than from Nashville, TN, to Indianapolis, IN. But there are no Interstate Highways here, so we don't get the Canadian snowbirds. Besides, it gets really cold here in the southern Appalachians.

[RKP5637]

29. There are many places far better to visit than the US and not as many asshole cops.

I hate driving through Georgia.

[pazzyanne]

39. Welcome to tRump's 'Merrica!

Sad and terrifying at the same time, to think this is happening in the United States.

[TheFrenchRazor]

40. f-ing pigs are brain-dead, nazi cult members; they have no internal sense of right/wrong. nt

[Fritz Walter]

43. What prompted the LEO to pull her over in the first place?

Using turn signals prior to changing lanes?
Yielding right-of-way to traffic trying to merge from an on-ramp? (That's considered treason in some parts of the Peach State: giving aid and comfort to an enemy).
Maintaining a safety cushion between you and the driver in front of your car? (see above)
Driving without a gun-rack in the rear window?

I just spent a good part of this past weekend on I-95 between Savannah and the Florida State Line, and I'd swear that Georgia -- or as I refer to them, "JarJar" -- drivers got their licenses with a McDonald's Happy Meal. Apparently, the LEO in this instance got his badge from Chik-Fil-A.

/

"License, registration and proof of insurance, y'all!"

[cvoogt]

48. Speeding.

Says so in the video

[Fritz Walter]

70. Seriously?!?

Saturday, on I-95, I tried to maintain a slightly-higher-than-legal speed (~77 in a 70 MPH zone), and I lost count of the number of cars and trucks that blew past me like I was standing still. Easily 90 MPH, probably much higher. And Johnny Law was out there, hiding in the median. Did not see ONE SINGLE car/truck pulled over.

[cvoogt]

75. It's GA

They like to pull over any out-of-state plates. It's happened to me too, on a 4th of July.

[Chakaconcarne]

44. I've heard you pretty much get pulled over for blinking in some of these red states.

[IronLionZion]

81. It's how many rural areas get revenue

they target anyone who is different, yes even whites who have out of state plates. They're hoping that one of the many people they pull over might have some illegal drugs or something, otherwise they'll still get money for the fine or tickets hoping that people will not know any better to challenge it in court.

[Stonepounder]

47. Canada needs to file a formal complaint against the US.

International law says any alien is guaranteed the right to contact their consulate.

[Major Nikon]

72. There's also a treaty for international use of drivers licenses

[DoctorJoJo]

49. Let's Face It:

The deep South is just one ginormous goober cesspool: natural selection versus rampant inbreeding!

[Crunchy Frog]

55. Why would anyone from Canada hang out in Georgia

If they didn't absolutely have to?

I wouldn't even go there (even though there's a place in Atlanta I'd actually like to visit).

[Snake Plissken]

56. Isn't Canadiana one of them there Marxist Muslim Taliban Communist Mexican countries?

That's taking our jobs?

[DAMANgoldberg]

58. Public Service Message to Canadians flying the coup.

If you are coming from Canada and going to Florida, believe it or not, you can avoid most of Georgia (you have to go way out of the way to totally avoid it).

I-75 South to I-24 West to I-59 South (you will hit about 15 miles of GA, Dade County)
Once you get to Birmingham take I-459 South (loop freeway) to I-65 South
Once you get to Montgomery you can either take North Blvd or South Blvd to US 231 South
Stay on US 231 South (4-lane divided highway) bypassing Dothan, then enter Florida
I-10 East past Tallahassee, then connect with I-75 or I-95 South to get to the rest of Florida.

One known speed trap, between Montgomery and Troy, otherwise few problems. And this is Alabama your talking about.

[NanceGreggs]

59. I lived in Nashville for a year in 1973.

A friend of ours drove down from Toronto to attend a music industry event.

He pulled into a gas station in Tennessee, and on hearing his accent, the attendant asked where he was from.

Our friend said, “Well, I’m from a country that borders the US.” So the attendant looked at his license plate and said, “Ont-a-REE-o? Funny, that doesn’t sound Mexican to me.”

[Downtown Hound]

63. Ont-a-REE-0? LOL!

[IronLionZion]

82. Interesting fact: Johnson City, TN is closer to Ontario Canada than to Memphis, TN

Since it is a very long state east to west

[Mr. Ected]

61. I live in this god-forsaken state, and stories like this do not surprise me one whit

The caricatures of law enforcement officers portrayed in the movies are closer to reality than you could believe.

[rockfordfile]

66. Those cops should be fired. Wow un-American low-life

[struggle4progress]

67. Information for Non-US Citizens

Non-US citizens holding a valid foreign driver’s license are allowed to drive in the state of Georgia for tourism or business purposes. In the case of a driver license issued by the driver's licensing authority of a foreign country, a law officer may consult such person's passport or visa to verify the validity of such license, if available ...

https://dds.georgia.gov/information-non-us-citizens

[DFW]

91. A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..........

To be specific, 1981 in upstate New York, a Dutch friend of mine was with an international group of people who were traveling cross-country and back. He knew how to drive, but had failed his driver's test twice (too lazy to learn the theroretical part, we surmised).

Benig basically (and foolishly) fearless, he approached a cop in a rest stop on the interstate somewhere near the New York/Pennsylvania border, and asked him if it was OK if he drove in the USA without an American driver's license. The cop said sure, your Dutch driver's license is honored here for the length of your visit. He thanked the cop, and continued, oh, by the way, what if I don't have a Dutch driver's license, either? The cop then told him, "in that case, stick to the interstates, and don't speed." He thought this was great advice, and that America was a wonderful country because he said that in Holland he would probably have been arrested for just asking. Indeed, of the 6000 mile trip, he probably drove over a third of it.

How times have changed. Depending on which state he found himself in, these days he might have gotten himself fatally shot merely for asking.

[Mendocino]

69. Maybe she lifted

a can of tuna from the Sac-O-Suds.

[ProfessorGAC]

92. Call Vinny!

He'll get her off the hook!

[ecstatic]

93. Side tip: never slam on brakes when you see police

Everything that needed to be said about the ignorant cop
has already been said, so my 2 cents is:

If you're speeding with the pack, just keep moving at the same pace. Slowing down is an admission of guilt and an invitation to "come get me."

Buy silver toned cars, preferably sedan or suv.