D.A.R.E. to be Stupid

[barman]

TFAN: Not likely a cop is going to be knocking on your door unless called there.

SH: I agree, though it's certainly possible a neighbor may have called for this or that "suspicious activity". Not your neighbor, and not likely my neighbor, but such neighbors do exist and the Citizen at Large should be prepared.

TF: On a traffic stop, there are no time frames. The police can conduct an investigation as warranted. It takes time to run a person's check sometimes.

Plus, if the person stopped is an a-hole, well then it may just take a bit longer.

Also, no ID when stopped? Well then, you're getting out of the car, patted down, and having a seat in the back of the patrol car. Still running your mouth? Well then, you're going to jail.

SH: Absolutely no disagreement with anything you write above. But in today's world, many people mistakenly perceive "cooperation" as to include "answering questions".

One can politely cooperate with the purpose of the traffic stop while refusing to answer any and all questions.

Produce upon request your license to operate a motor vehicle, registration or proof of your right to operate the vehicle you are in, your proof of financial responsibility (insurance papers) and that is it.

No more information is legally required during a traffic stop.

NOTHING the officer asks you outside of the papers above requires an answer.

No need to be an asshole in order to politely refuse to answer inappropriate questions.

Just (if neccesary) politely ask that the traffic stop be ended ASAP - with either a ticket or permission to proceed.

A cop must have reasonable cause to legally detain you past a reasonable amount of time (30 minutes is likely about the limit in most jurisdictions).

 

[barman]

Popular questions you're likely to encounter during a traffic stop and which do not legally require an honest response.

- Where are you going?

- Where are you coming from?

- Why are you out so late?

- Why are you in this part of town/neighborhood?

- Why were you driving so fast/did you run that red light/are you weaving/driving so slow/parked here in this legal parking area?

(Answers to any of the latter group of questions can result in self-incrimination at a later point).


----
NOTE that the above questions are most often NOT asked. But then again, they often are asked. A prudent motorist will politely and respectfully decline to waste time with any such questioning and will instead seek to end the traffic stop as quickly and safely as possible. That is in the best interest of the motorist and also in the best interest of the police officer, who has far more important work to do than to be quizzing citizens with inappropriate "investigations".

 

[texansfan]

Keeping your mouth closed is easier said than done for some people. I've had people get out of their vehicles before I was even ready to exit my vehicle.

Most traffic stops are done with in less than 10 minutes with no problems though.

 

[barman]

Keeping your mouth closed is easier said than done for some people. I've had people get out of their vehicles before I was even ready to exit my vehicle.

Most traffic stops are done with in less than 10 minutes with no problems though.

I agree with both those points.

I was taught by my father that when stopped by a cop, especially at night, it was good to open your door and step out at normal speed with both hands fully visible on the door frame, then stand facing the officer again with hands fully in view.

But it's been suggested to me in past 10 years or so that most cops prefere you stay in your vehicle - though why, I'm not sure.

 

[DarrylParsons]

Popular questions you're likely to encounter during a traffic stop and which do not legally require an honest response.

- Where are you going?

- Where are you coming from?

- Why are you out so late?

- Why are you in this part of town/neighborhood?

- Why were you driving so fast/did you run that red light/are you weaving/driving so slow/parked here in this legal parking area?

(Answers to any of the latter group of questions can result in self-incrimination at a later point).


----
NOTE that the above questions are most often NOT asked. But then again, they often are asked. A prudent motorist will politely and respectfully decline to waste time with any such questioning and will instead seek to end the traffic stop as quickly and safely as possible. That is in the best interest of the motorist and also in the best interest of the police officer, who has far more important work to do than to be quizzing citizens with inappropriate "investigations".

When I get stopped and the officer asks me such questions, my assumption is that the cop hasn't decided 100% to give me a ticket and wants to see if I have some semi-legitimate reason for doing what I'm doing, maybe get a sense if I'm a nice guy or a jerk, and then make the decision accordingly.

I've gotten away with warnings many times just by respectfully giving as honest an answer as I can, sometimes adding stuff to make him feel a bit sorry for me heh. I figure if I acted like a lawyer who does it by the book, I would've gotten more tickets since he would respond by doing it by the book himself.

 

[texansfan]

Most police are comfortable with you just sitting still with your hands visible.

The problem with getting out is that you have no idea who that person is or their intent. I'm sure when you're father worked people were a lot more respectful and the police didn't worry as much as someone exiting with a gun.

 

[texansfan]

It's funny how most threads involving the police are usually about how they target minorities. When I first started patrolling, I worked in an area called the 3rd Ward. The area was probably 98% black.

I worked nightshift and we always made it a point to stop the vehicles with the white people driving them if we could. There was no reason for them to be there except to buy crack. They didn't live there, there were no bars, hotels, clubs, or anything that would give them a reason to be there except for purchasing narcotics.

Trust me, back in the early 90's, in that neighborhood, it wasn't a place to just drive around and sightsee.

 

[barman]

"I'm lost. Can you please escort me back to WhiteTown?"

Not sure if that one would work, but it's ready if ever needed.

 

[barman]

Have a friend who just a couple years ago was on road trip with his 12 and 10 year old sons, returning east from yellowstone park.

Dude was early 30s, very white and Italian.

Later evening in St Louis and he's trying to find an easy eating spot off highway and ends up in the Wrong Exit, Gets Turned Around zone, meandering through a hood trying to get back on the freeway.

St Louis cop pulls him over and gives him the "What are you doing in this Hood at night" to which he tries to honestly answer.

Cop tells him, "I've been working this zone for ten years and any white man down here is buying drugs. Tell me where the drugs are."

Ended up making him and his kids sit by side of road while he and a backup unit break down the entire vacationing car load for almost 45 minutes.

Dude gets back to Florida and though he's pretty much a raging Republican, tells me, "I want to join the fucking ACLU NOW!"

 

[texansfan]

I never saw a white family man in the area. Like I said, this is an area where you just aren't going to "accidently" get into.