Few things can ruin a day faster than seeing flashing lights in your rear-view mirror as you get pulled over for a traffic stop, except maybe having it not go well and ending up with a whopping ticket on top of the inconvenience and embarrassment. But according to one retired Virginia State Trooper, there are things you can do to help make sure the whole encounter goes as smoothly as possible.
Pull over in a safe area, not somewhere unsafe like a very narrow shoulder next to high-speed traffic. The officer doesn’t have to stop wherever you do, you might just prompt him to get on his loudspeaker and tell you to move to another area.
Pull over right away (as soon as it’s safe) because if it looks like you’re passing up opportunity after opportunity to safely pull over the officer might get suspicious that you’re stalling for time or trying to stash something.
Keep your engine running unless instructed otherwise by the police officer because you never know when it might decide not to start up again. Cops hate waiting around while the upset person they just ticketed tries to call for a ride or a tow truck.
Keep your hands on the wheel where the officer can see them as he approaches the car. Police officers are trained to watch a person’s hands (in case they’re reaching for a weapon or something) and if they can’t see what yours are doing they’ll immediately become more wary and apprehensive.
Stay in the car. The police officer doesn’t know you, and he doesn’t know what you’re intentions are or if you’re dangerous. So always stay in the car, where you’re more predictable and less of a physical threat, unless instructed to do otherwise.
Be civil. Police officers are just doing their jobs, and most of the time if you’re respectful to them they’ll be respectful to you. But remember that even if you think an officer is being mean or rude, becoming loud and belligerent yourself isn’t going to do anything but make things worse.
(Photo courtesy of bizior on stock.xchng)
You forgot one: it helps to be white!