The first time I was pulled over as Debbie, I gave the officer my driver's license, and he spent almost 45 minutes checking every agency he could to see if I had any history of criminal activity. At some point he hit an agency that knew who I was, and came back with an apology. He gave me a ticket for a broken tail light. I had checked them recently and asked if I could check the trunk to see what had happened. It turned out that my suitcase (guess what that was for? :-) had knocked the wire lose. I fixed it and he told me he would sign the "fixed" notation right there, but I still had to send in the ticket because he needed probable cause for the background check.
Later, I was pulled over for other things, like parking in a lot to get my bearings, or driving too slowly, and after being checked, found the police officer extraordinarily polite when he returned. When stopped, I would turn on the dome light, get my driver's license, registration insurance, and registration, then put both hands on the top of the steering wheel before rolling down the window. When he asked for the documents, I would hand them over and put both hands back on the wheel (car turned off as well).
I'm still not sure which agency makes the police so nice, but I am very grateful that they do.
It may help that I only get pulled over about ever 4-5 years.
