Via iStockphoto / @sprinkleloverxx TikTok
A woman warned drivers not to wave at police after claiming the gesture somehow ended with a traffic ticket.
Many drivers feel anxious when a police car approaches theirs, even if they’re not doing anything wrong. A mix of general knowledge about what could go wrong in that situation and lived experiences of actually interacting with police can cause those feelings.
For one woman, however, it was the opposite. She says that when she spotted a police officer, her first instinct was to wave, so that’s what she did.
What allegedly happened next, though, might deter her from doing the same in the future.
What Went Wrong During This Police Interaction?
In a TikTok post with over 334,800 views, creator Coco (@sprinkleloverxx) says she got a ticket for a highly unusual reason.
“[Daily] reminder not to wave at a cop when driving!” she wrote in the photo’s text overlay.
In the picture, Coco poses while holding what appears to be a traffic ticket.
She confirms as much in the caption.
“Storytime?” she wrote. “Btw this is a ticket.”
Not So Sure
Viewers were skeptical of Coco’s account.
“I feeeeel like we did more than wave,” one commenter wrote.
Another pointed out that they’ve done something considerably less friendly without receiving a ticket.
“I’ve flipped the sherriff off but no ticket so,” they wrote.
Others wanted to know what law Coco had allegedly broken.
“What did they even cite you for?” one viewer asked.
Coco hasn’t responded to questions about the citation or posted the promised “storytime” explaining what happened.
One commenter, however, shared their own experience of drawing an officer’s attention through a seemingly harmless interaction.
“I smiled at one.. he pulled me over cuz he thought I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt.. he apologized and I went on my way but I was like damn..,” they wrote.
Can You Get In Trouble For Waving At A Police Officer While Driving?
Generally, no. Neither waving while driving nor waving at a police officer is, by itself, illegal in the U.S.”
In fact, courts have protected far more hostile hand gestures toward police. In a 2019 court of appeals case, for example, a driver allegedly gave an officer the middle finger after a traffic stop. The officer stopped her again and increased her citation.
However, the federal appeals court ruled that the gesture was a protected First Amendment expression and that the officer lacked lawful justification for a second stop.
That being said, it does matter how a driver is behaving on the road while interacting with police. If Coco looked away, swerved, failed to maintain her lane, or actually violated any traffic laws, the ticket could be justifiable.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that taking your hands off the wheel classifies as distracted driving, along with taking your eyes off the road or your mind off the task of driving.
Without the context of what exactly led to that ticket, it’s hard to say. BroBible has reached out to Coco via TikTok messages for comment and additional information.
What Are Some Unusual Reasons Netizens Say Caused A Traffic Ticket?
Coco isn’t the only person online with a strange traffic-ticket story.
In one r/AskReddit thread, a user asked, “What’s the dumbest/most ridiculous traffic ticket you’ve received?”
One commenter claimed they were cited for running a stop sign on a street where there were no stop signs at all.
“Running a stop sign. ON A STREET WITH NO STOP SIGNS,” they wrote, explaining that construction had temporarily changed the intersections and removed the signs.
Elsewhere, in an r/policebrutality post, a video shows two officers citing a driver over an air freshener hanging from his rearview mirror, saying it obstructed his view.
And in a particularly bizarre Florida case that was recently dismissed, a woman born without a right hand was pulled over and cited by a deputy who accused her of holding a phone in that hand.