Using Good Sense
Remember - regardless of the law in your state, when a LEO makes a traffic stop, Officer Safety is the Number One Concern of the officer making the stop. Everything else is second, including the reason for the stop. If you follow the ideas stated below, safety for BOTH you and the officer is more likely.
Here's what I do.
1. When in the vehicle, I put my driver's license, registration, insurance papers, Military ID, and CCW permit in the visor pocket above me. That way if stopped, I never have to 'reach' in the area of my back pocket or sidearm in order to retrieve them.
2. Lower all the windows in the vehicle so the officer has an unrestricted view of any potential threats.
3. Keep your hands ON the steering wheel at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. I tell the officer that my license, registration, insurance and CCW permit are above my head in the sun visor and that my sidearm (I never refer to it as a 'gun') is on my right hip. I ask the officer how they want to handle it.
Because I give the officer a friendly, cooperative attitude, as well as clear responses and refer to my sidearm in the same way the language police do (rather than calling it a 'weapon' or even a 'g..g...g...g...GUN'), the officer's concern about their own safety is reduced.
Moreover, respectful phrases like "Yes Sir" or "Yes Ma'am" taught to me when I was growing up by my parents & aunts & uncles seem to be appropriate - and once again, it helps the officer feel professional, and 'in charge' of the stop and creates a mutually respectful atmosphere - thus reducing their concern about their own safety.
Even in those states where notification of your permit holder status is NOT required, it just makes Good Sense to do so. In my three experiences in the most recent ten years of driving, once the officer knew that I was a CCW permit holder they visibly relaxed. They did not ask for my sidearm but merely asked me to keep my hands where they could seem them. In fact knowing that I was a 'certified good guy' my virtue of the required background check, our discussion eventually turned away from speeding to other topics like IDPA, USPSA, comparison of various sidearms etc. In all three cases, I got a cautionary warning rather than a citation and was treated very professionally and sent on my way.
