People may judge you or you may make judgments on others based on bumper stickers.
You make make some assumptions on a person if their car decals say Sun Devils or Wildcats.
A sticker reading, "My student is on the honor roll at Washington Elementary," may give you a specific impression of the driver.
On Friday police in Florida towed away a van covered in stickers supporting President Trump and stickers criticizing media outlets. It even has pictures of crosshairs on Democrats, as if aiming to shoot them.
It's believed the van belongs to the man accused of mailing pipe bombs to Democrats and prominent critics of President Trump.
If a bumper sticker raised your eyebrows, law enforcement probably took notice too. Former police officer Isabella Maldonado says police not only look at bumper stickers, they are trained to interpret them.
"Just as you would choose to put a tattoo or body art on your person you would also do the same thing with your car," Maldonado says. "You would put things on your car that are meaningful to you that are significant to you."
Marijuana symbols may make law enforcement check for the smell of weed.
Anarchist symbols may put officer on higher alert.
But Maldonado says just having bumper stickers is never enough reason to pull someone over. You're not going to get on an officer's radar for your Trump or Bernie sticker.
So we can verify yes -- not only can you tell things about a person based on their bumper stickers -- but so can the cops.
