How to comply when you get pulled over — and what I did wrong
Secretary of State Jesse White’s spokesman Dave Druker says he sees no harm in putting the requirement into law on the off chance that a future secretary of state would want to remove the instructions.
The first time I was pulled over for speeding, about 40 years ago, I was northbound on the Dan Ryan Expressway near Illinois Tech. I pulled over on the shoulder and instinctively got out of the car to stand facing the officer, thinking I was showing him I was unarmed and not intending to speed off.
“Get back in the car!” he barked at me over a speaker. “And put your hands on the wheel where I can see them!”
What did I know? Neither my driver’s education teacher nor my parents had ever told me how to behave during a traffic stop, which was undoubtedly a manifestation of white privilege back before that term was in common use.
Police can see a driver getting out of the car as an aggressive act, a challenge to their authority that puts the driver in a position to attack or run.
The officer informed me of this in somewhat more colorful terms as he prepared to write me a ticket that, reader, I did not deserve. I was moving with the flow of traffic only about 7 miles per hour over the posted limit. Honest.
Would my protestations have spared me a ticket? Doubtful. Would he have let me off with a warning if I hadn’t bounced out of the car like an idiot? Maybe not. But quietly following protocol would have given me the best chance at avoiding a fine and a costly blemish on my driving record.
It wasn’t until years later — 2016 — that Illinois passed a law requiring instruction in driver’s education programs for those under 18 on what to do when the cops pull you over.
A follow-up bill now sailing without opposition through the General Assembly expands that mandate to adult driver’s education courses.
Similar laws have been enacted around the country in recent years in light of growing awareness that traffic stops are inherently tense and potentially dangerous situations. And while there are excellent arguments for reducing the frequency of such stops, every driver should know and follow the guidelines that make them most likely to end peacefully.
The new measure in Springfield, co-sponsored by three African American lawmakers, also requires the Illinois secretary of state’s office to publish instructions in its Rules of the Road manual on “appropriate interactions with law enforcement officers” during traffic stops.
In fact, Rules of the Road has included more than 700 words of just such advice for many years. But Secretary of State Jesse White’s spokesman Dave Druker says he sees no harm in putting the requirement into law on the off chance that a future secretary of state would want to remove the instructions.
A summary:
If you can’t quickly pull over, activate your hazard lights to signal your intent to comply.
After you stop, don’t rummage around for your license, and proof of registration and insurance, all of which the law requires you to provide. And don’t try to make a quick phone call to tell someone you’re going to be late. Those movements can be alarming to an approaching officer, especially given the prevalence of guns in our society. Instead, turn on your dome light if it’s nighttime, put your hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel and wait for instructions.
When the officer asks for your documents, tell him or her where you are reaching and move slowly.
Don’t argue with the officer. That never goes well. If you get a ticket, sign it or risk arrest. Save your arguments for the judge.
Good advice that all drivers should remind themselves of from time to time. But the criticism of the 2016 law, which I would also apply to the current bill, is that also doesn’t mandate reminders to drivers of their rights during traffic stops.
Such as:
The right not to answer questions about where you’re going, where you live or your immigration status, as well as the right not to respond to accusations or insinuations of wrongdoing.
The right to deny consent to a search of your person or of your vehicle (though officers may conduct such a search anyway if they claim probable cause).
The right to learn the officer’s name and badge number.
The right to refuse to take a blood, urine or breath test if you are suspected of impaired driving (though such a refusal is almost certain to result in a one-year license suspension).
Courtesy and respect during traffic stops can be — should be — a two-way street. Lawmakers ought to put that in their guidelines as well.