I was taught the same when I started driving by my (white) Dad. He also told me to have my license and registration on the dashboard if I was pulled over, before the cop approached, so I wouldn't be reaching into a pocket or the glove box.

Each time I've been pulled over, I've done that.
The second time I was ever pulled over (I was an suburban kid visiting Los Angeles at rush hour).
I made an illegal left turn (no left turn between these hours), and a motorcycle cop came behind me.
I was nervous as hell. I put my hands on the steering wheel, and told my friend to put his hands on the dashboard. He looked at me and said, "What? Why?" I said, "Never mind."

I felt so stupid.

I was taught the same thing years ago. Onlyy been stopped a few times, but that's how I still do it.

They have guns. It doesn't matter how right I think i am I never give them an excuse. I tell my kids the same.

Take it to court. Arguing with cops at best gets you more charges at worst it gets you killed.

I've yet to meet anyone who got out of a stop by being a jerk, angry, or confrontational. Like you said, deal with in court.

a charm.

Here is what to do-

Pull over in a safe manner that gets you and the officer out of and major traffic. If it does not look you can until a bit down the road, slow down and put your blinker on to acknowledge you are going to pull over. I always waited until we were approaching a safe place to conduct the stop before turning the blue lights on because it's stupid to turn the lights on 1/2 mile from the nearest safe place to pull over.

If it's night, turn the dome light on.

Lower both the drivers and passengers window at least halfway. Lots of departments have passenger side approach as the preferred method now so be ready for either.

Turn the car off- that is a big one.

Have your hand visible when the officer approaches. As I approach your car I am looking for signs you are moving either trying to hide something or more importantly trying to manipulate a weapon. You will see the officer touch the rear corner of the car, that is for two reasons. To leave a fingerprint in case something happens on that stop and later they need to identify if that's the car that sped away and if the car has a trunk to make sure nobody is in it with the trunk unlatched latched who may come out.

If your wallet and registration is not visible when the officer asks tell him/her where it is located and that you are going to reach for it. Have the registration easily accessible so you don't have to dig for it in a console or glove box- especially if you have something there you don't want to cop to know about. They will be watching your hands. I keep my registration on my visor to this day.

Don't argue or act belligerent. It won't help. Trust me, nobody ever argued or screamed their way out of a ticket, but plants of people have assholed up and talked themselves into one. You won't beat it on the side of the street if you are getting a ticket except by being polite and courteous and honest. I rarely wrote a ticket, 95% of my stops were warnings. You got a ticket either because you did something outrageous or you were doing something I never gave warnings for- my two non warning things were DUI or children not I'm car seats, those I was throwing the book at you because it endangered others. But your seatbelt warning can quickly turn into a seatbelt ticket if you start cussing and using racial slurs (and not even the right ones for my ethnic background) when I approach the vehicle... And that's a true story.

If you have a firearm, as soon as the officer approaches say something like "Officer for your safety and mine I am letting you know I have a concealed carry permit and am carrying, my gun in on my right hip" or whatever version of that works for your situation. Don't reach for it or near if until the officer gives instructions. Don't say "hey I have a gun" while simultaneously reaching your hands down somewhere, that gives a totally different message and vibe.

Remember that officer is also nervous and is taking a risk. Do what you can to put them as ease, follow all instructions as given, and it will probably go as well as can be for all involved.

It's a definite good one. One thing I always was trained to look for is if the car is in gear- if the person still has the car in gear it's a sign they could be planning or considering fleeing. It also could be just nervousness so it's not a sure sign, but a cat shut off is a good sign the person has no plans to flee.

And why is it on me to think of a million things to do to avoid getting killed over a minor traffic infraction?

This is completely unacceptable.

It appears that cops no longer carry risk. It is more risky to be a civilian who is stopped by a cop than it is to be a cop.

It's time to separate ticket/revenue collectors from the over militarized police force. There's no reason why an armed and nervous person should be pulling me over unless I'm actively involved in a crime.