How to be sure unmarked police car is the real deal
Today’s question:
There’s recently been a crackdown on speeding on the valley’s freeways, which I support.
I have seen a variety of police vehicles being used, including those that look like civilian cars and pickup trucks with lights on the grill.
What should a driver do if a car with
flashing lights is trying to pull him or her over and it’s not obvious that it’s a police car?
In the daytime with lots of traffic, I’d pull over but at night or in an isolated area, it may not seem safe.
What do you think?
I think that the best thing for you to do is not speed or otherwise drive like a knucklehead in the first place.
If that doesn’t work out for you and you are stopped by an unmarked vehicle there are steps to take to be sure everything is on the up and up.
You can call 911 and ask them to verify the authenticity of the vehicle that has you stopped.
And whoever is driving that vehicle with the flashing lights should be in uniform and should be able to show you some identification other than a badge. Just keep your hands visible and be polite about all this.
If you are pulled over by an unmarked car in a dark or desolate area, you should gesture — politely — with your hand and proceed carefully to a safe, well-lit area such as a fire house or a hospital parking lot or anywhere where other people can see you. You can ask the 911 dispatcher to guide you to such an area.
The press is sometimes referred to as the Fourth Estate. What are the other three?
In medieval European cultures society was thought to consist of three groups — estates. Those were the clergy, the nobility and the commoners.