Look Your Best
Even the fanciest radar detector can't beat the ultimate tool for Making Time: an observant pair of eyes. "You'd be amazed how often I can follow a driver, and he won't even know I'm there," says Gennuso. He proves his point by pulling up behind a clueless, cell-phone-jabbering Sentra driver, easing into his blind spot, and pacing him at 75 mph for a good two miles (Gennuso lets him off with a warning for speeding but tickets him for not wearing a seatbelt).
Pay attention to the road around you. Turn the law of the jungle to your advantage by looking for sudden movements in your rearview mirror (it just might be a cruiser closing up through traffic). Be suspicious of clumps of cars up ahead--a pack of slow-moving vehicles is often headed by a patrol car. Be vigilant around freeway onramps, where cops like to lie in ambush (Gennuso doesn't use this technique, though he frequently exits the freeway and immediately reenters it--nabbing inattentive drivers who think the coast is clear). Most important, don't pass any vehicle until you've verified its cop potential. Black-and-whites are obvious, but law-enforcement agencies also routinely use motorcycles and unmarked cars--Crown Victorias, Mustangs, Camaros, and others. Look for identifying badges or other telltales (multiple radio antennas, pillar-mounted stoplights, uniformed driver and it's not Halloween). If there's a head-bobbin' Elvis on the dash, you're probably good to go.
Warning Shot
Sooner or later, even the best at Making Time will get pulled over. Unless you've just been verifying the top speed of your Corvette, though, proper behavior can greatly increase your chances of getting away with just a warning. "My ideal stop? For starters, the driver would put on his turn signal to acknowledge he sees me," Gennuso says. "Then he'd carefully slow down, head for the right shoulder, pull well off the road, and turn on his flashers."
More practicum: Be a model citizen. Roll down your windows. Remove your sunglasses. If it's nighttime, turn on your dome light. Don't reach for the glovebox or try to hide that radar detector (it's too late--and from the cruiser it looks like you're reaching for a gun). Keep both hands on the wheel, face forward, and sit calmly. Put the cop at ease.
Officer Gennuso approaches each stop with the same professionalism and courtesy--it's defiant drivers who often escalate the conflict (after Gennuso stops a speeding Honda Passport, the driver turns to her passenger and barks, "See! I told you we should've run!"). Gennuso takes copious notes after every stop, so anything a driver says in anger is likely to get read back in court. Forget your lame excuses--the cops know them all ("I just lost my job" is a favorite). "What I appreciate is honesty," Gennuso says. "After all, we both know why I stopped you."
Later, Gennuso stops a Suzuki sport bike. Removing his helmet, the Suzuki rider is polite and calm. "I was just going with the flow of traffic, Officer, but traffic was speeding so I guess I deserve a ticket."
He returns to his cruiser to let the rider cool his heels for a while. "I'm not giving him a ticket," Gennuso smiles. "He's right: He was just going with the flow. And he wasn't weaving through lanes or doing anything dangerous. We don't need to be giving tickets to people like that."
Or to people like you if you work to be a smart and responsible practitioner of Making Time.