DEALING WITH TRAFFIC STOPS INTELLIGENTLY AND SAFELY
There are few things more stressful than seeing the flashing lights of a police car in your rear-view mirror. It doesn't always have to be a harrowing experience, even if you know that you were driving well over the speed limit, that your registration expired, or you've had too many drinks and are behind the wheel anyway. Follow these few simple rules to make sure the experience isn't any more unpleasant than it already is. Stop in a Safe Location
First, the most important rule to follow is to pull over in a safe area as soon as it is reasonable and safe to do so. Don't pull over in a place that is going to put you or the officer in danger -- like a narrow left-hand-lane shoulder on a highway. If you do that, the officer is not going to get out and risk being hit -- he's going to get on the loudspeaker and tell you to move over to the right shoulder, and then you have to negotiate traffic to try to cross the highway. That can be aggravating, and you don't want to lock yourself into a ticket by making the officer mad. Stop Promptly
Secondly, don't coast for several blocks before pulling over. If you just keep coasting, the cop is going to think, 'What is this guy doing?' He may think you're stalling because you're trying to stash something. If you pass a few safe places to pull over, the officer is definitely going to think you're up to something, and that raises suspicion. Stop and Keep Your Hands Visible
Keep your hands on the wheel as the trooper or officer approaches your vehicle. That's how people kill you -- with their hands. They can reach for a weapon or the gear shift, which can turn the car into a weapon. Police always focus on the driver's hands, and if they're not on the wheel, they're immediately more apprehensive, and that doesn't help your situation if you're the driver.
Stop But Do Not Exit the Car
You should always stay in the car. If you get out of the car, police think they have something to be afraid of, like you're wanted or intoxicated, and in either case, that's a safety issue for the officer. If police can keep you inside the car, that's the best way to avoid risk and violence. Stop and Bite Your Tongue
Being polite to the officer isn't required -- but do not be disrespectful. If you want to be rude, yell, complain, or say you're going to file a complaint, just don't get physical. And don't use curse words in an aggressive way, since that may get you arrested for disorderly conduct. Once, a woman was stopped on the highway for violating the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) law. In Virginia, during morning and evening rush hours, vehicles traveling in the left-hand of some highways near Washington, D.C. are required to have more than one occupant. The ordinance is aimed at cutting down congestion by encouraging more drivers to car pool. She got out of the car ... immediately extremely irritated en route to a job interview. She was is in the officer's face immediately cussing and complaining, actually making the process longer because she wouldn't let the officer write the ticket. She was asked to get back in her car, and she did, but in 15 seconds, she came roaring out again. This happened several times, and her anger kept escalating, and she kept yelling and cussing. So finally, the officer had to roll his window up while she was yelling, just to finish writing the ticket. She yanked his door open and said, 'Don't you ignore me, you .....!' She crossed the line and got cuffed and arrested her for disorderly conduct. The original HOV violation was just a $50 fine, but the disorderly conduct conviction was a possible criminal matter and she had a job with the federal government, so a criminal conviction would have meant losing her security clearance, and therefore her job. So during negotiations between her attorney and the commonwealth prosecutor, she eventually paid a $2,500 fine in exchange for lowering the charge to a careless driving violation. So that turned out to be a pretty expensive outburst on her part.
In summary: a) Always stay in your car. b) Pull over as soon as it is safe to do so. c) Pull over in a safe area. d) Keep your hands on the wheel as the officer approaches you. e) It is okay to complain but don't use profanity to avoid any allegation of disorderly conduct
| 
