Practice Areas

Blog

Legal News

Library

Understanding Virginia Police Procedures: Traffic Violations: Part 3

Imagine this situation:

You are driving home after work. It is Monday afternoon. You are a conscientious person and you had a special project to complete so you spent 10 hours on Sunday at work, and went in before 6:00 a.m. on Monday morning to make sure everything was in place. You are tired, mentally taxed, and feel guilty because you’ve snapped at your wife and kids a couple of times the past couple of days because of the recent pressure you feel from work. You are anxious to get home, but are not speeding – you always are aware of speed since 3 years ago you got your last one, the 3rd speeding ticket within a 25-month span due to your job travel across the state, and you cannot afford to get another one.

You don’t realize it, but one lane over from you, and two car lengths behind, is a State Trooper. He’s having a stellar week, too. During roll-call the day before yesterday, his sergeant told the troops (while looking in his direction) that “# 77 complaints” of speeding, unsignaled lane changes, and cars weaving in and out of lanes in a dangerous manner, on this stretch of the interstate had been up, while traffic citations were down. To boot, there had been more accidents along this area in the past 7 weeks than the monthly average there over the past year. The shift sergeant’s speech concluded with the admonition that they troops needed to be more aware of these types of situations, and others, but his message was, “I need to see more tickets written here! You guys aren’t being aggressive enough!” Moreover, his wife was giving him grief because he was volunteering for too much overtime and wasn’t home enough for them to have a decent marriage, though overlooking the reason he was working extra hours was to pay for the week’s rental of a house at Nag’s Head she wanted this summer with her family.

A glance in your rearview mirror to make sure you can move over before changing lanes to your right for your exit, you notice the “blue and gray” behind you. You check the speedometer to make sure you are not over the limit, and automatically signal your lane change and move over to get in position to get off the highway at your exit. Safely making the move you begin thinking of a home-cooked meal and a cocktail, spending some time with the wife and kids, then early to bed to catch up on your missed sleep.

Here comes the monkey-wrench in those plans. The flashing blue lights are hard to miss, but the siren clinches it – you’re being pulled. But for what? You weren’t speeding. You signaled your lane change. “Maybe he’s not after me,” you think. “No, he’s after me because he’s flashing his headlights, motioning me to stop, and slowing down now.” You utter, “[expletive deleted],” and pull over and stop.

The Trooper sees the lane change, but no signal indicating it. He also sees the car ahead of him tap his brakes hard as the car to its left looks as though it is going to come into his lane. Almost a fender-bender. On come the lights, then the siren. Then the wave of the hand to let the guy know “I mean you.” Before coming to a stop the Trooper has entered the car’s license plate into his on-board computer, and is waiting for the preliminary response. He’s also watching the driver to see if he’s trying to hide anything, and scanning the interior for any other people. Satisfied that there are no “wants” on the car or the registered owner, and the driver is alone, the Trooper exits the blue and gray and approaches the car from the driver’s side. He sees the driver raise his hands and put them down, and in response, unsnaps the strap on his holster so he can draw his weapon quickly if necessary – no use taking chances. While approaching the car from the rear the Trooper’s eyes roam the car for any potential equipment or registration violations, and inside for any contraband or suspicious objects inside. How will you react to the following developments?

The officer asks for your license and vehicle registration. He has the right to request this, and you must produce it. However, before reaching for them, tell the officer where they are; i.e., “My license is in my rear trouser pocket, and the registration is in the glove box.” By telling the officer that, he will be expecting your movements and not be alarmed that you may be going for a weapon.

What is missing here? You have the right to know why you were stopped immediately. If the officer has not told you why he stopped you, ask him.

The officer tells you the reason he pulled you over is that you did not signal your lane change, and this almost caused an accident. You vehemently deny that, stating that you did signal. Is this the right thing to do? Well, sure you’ve had a tough week, and were tired. And yes, you did activate your turn signal before so you are more than a little ticked off at the officer for pulling you over, and think he is just making this up. Now, your response and your attitude is not appreciated by the officer; he’s had a bad day, too, and is not willing to get into an argument with someone he’s convinced violated a law he’d been reminded to look for immediately prior to coming on duty. So neither one of you is thinking clearly and bad vibes are making this a stressful situation. How to handle it?

Calmly tell the officer you did activate the turn signal, and ask if the two of you together can look to see if it is working properly – maybe the bulb is out or malfunctioning. It would take no more than 3 minutes to start the car, turn on the turn signal, and walk to the rear of the car to see if it’s flashing. This is not an unusual request, and a simple solution. If it is not working, then you may just get a warning, or a citation for defective equipment, instead of something more serious such as a reckless driving charge.

The officer has decided not to give you a ticket and let you off with a warning. Unknown to you, he noticed something in the back seat that aroused his suspicion, but he has given your license and registration back to you. He keeps talking to you so he can get a better look at what he has seen. You do not imagine there is something that has caught the officer’s attention. Because he has been nice in just giving you a warning, you do not want to be rude, but you really want to get home.

Although you haven’t smoked pot since the birth of your first child – that’s kid stuff, and you gave it up upon the birth of that little girl because you and your wife became responsible for the well-being of someone other than yourselves – within 20 minutes after you were free to leave, you find yourself under arrest for possession of marijuana and a Schedule II drug!! Here you are, 40 years old with three teenage kids, a respectable member of your church and the community, facing two charges that carry a penalty of up to a year in jail or more, and you didn’t do anything wrong! You’re panicking! “What about my promotion – will I lose my job??” “How did this happen to me?”

In the previouos segment, we were at the stage where the blue-and-gray had stopped you, but your polite, cool and rational response to the Trooper’s reason for stopping you (“Can we both check to see if the turn signal is working? I know I signaled before changing lanes.”), paid a dividend, and you were only warned about defective equipment (faulty turn signal device) instead of getting a citation for reckless driving once the Trooper was satisfied you may have, in fact, activated your turn signal. However, still doing his duty, the Trooper is using this opportunity to make sure that there is no other criminal activity going on – his suspicions have been aroused and his “there’s- something-fishy-here” antennae are twitching due to something he noticed earlier, but he can’t put his finger on it right now. He needs more time to satisfy himself that all is not well.

In Part 1 of this series, we learned that in every police-citizen encounter, the odds favor the officer. That is because he has received weeks of training in conducting these situations, and you spent your college years knocking back beers five nights a week at the frat house or in the dorm, and studying for the exam you had upcoming only three hours prior to class. Plus, you slept through your high school civics class because it was BOOR-ING. So, the Trooper, having gained a degree of your confidence and appreciation by “letting you off” with a lesser offense, is going to use that to his advantage to delay your trip home until he’s satisfied there’s nothing afoul going on with you or the car. How does he do that: “small talk!”

The Trooper knows that the traffic stop ended when he has given you the ticket and returned your license and registration. He learned that at the police training academy and refresher seminars since then. You are now free to leave, but he is still talking to you about everyday things – just as a neighbor would – to continue his investigation. That’s what he is trained to do. At this point, the Fourth Amendment seizure has ended, and by remaining there talking to him, you have engaged him in a “consensual encounter.” You have little basis to protest in court against anything he sees in your car or in what you say to him at this point, because you were free to leave – AND DIDN’T. To your chagrin!

So, while talking to you about the Redskins, or the World Series, or any other topical subject, the Trooper is discreetly reconnoitering the interior of the car for contraband or evidence of a crime. Gazing to his right, he notices a cigar butt in the opened ashtray of the rear passenger door on the driver’s side. It looks like a cigar, but he also knows – from his training and experience – that marijuana users routinely hide joints in cheap cigars to conceal what they are really smoking. Bingo! “This is a lead,” the Trooper thinks. Within three minutes the Trooper has you admitting that you have smoked marijuana in the past, “wonders” aloud whether the odd smell in the car might be marijuana, and gets your consent to search the car (“Just a quick look,” he said) – after all, you have nothing to hide, why not let him search? He’s been a nice guy, right!

After you have talked to your lawyer, you realize you’ve been had. But it’s your own fault because you failed to educate yourself on your rights in this situation. While in your job you always are prepared for the next meeting with the boss, here you were unprepared for the encounter with the Trooper due to your ignorance of the procedure. Like others in your position now, you placed your reliance on the officer or Trooper to protect your interests and to do the right thing. Well, this Trooper is doing the right thing – his job. Well, life’s lessons are sometimes hard ones, and these concepts are what you should take away from this fiasco:

Inspect Your Car on A Regular Basis: This entire situation would have been avoided had you not given the Trooper a reason to pull you over. That faulty turn signal light did you in this time because it called attention to your car, and you. Realize it or not, such defects can and do sometimes result in traffic accidents; therefore, driving a car with faulty equipment puts you, your family and others at risk. Taking a few minutes extra to check your lights (headlights, taillights, brake lights and rear license plate light) while re-fueling, might have disclosed the problem and permitted you to have it repaired beforehand.

Don’t Hang Around: A traffic stop should take only long enough for the officer to do his paperwork. This is usually no more than 15 to 20 minutes. It’s over once the officer has returned your license and registration, and given you the citation. He doesn’t have to tell you to go along on your way, the court presumes you know this! If you are not sure that you’re free to leave, ask the officer.

Don’t Agree to a Search of Your Car: When a policeman searches a car, it is thoroughly searched --- under the seats, between the seats, the consoles, the glovebox, the ashtrays, under the floor mats, over the visors, and anywhere else something illegal may be hidden, no matter how big or how small.

The Fourth Amendment protects you from unreasonable warrantless searches. Never consent to a search of your car! While you may not have “anything to hide,” you also do not know whether last week (or last year) a passenger, the guy who washes your car, your mechanic or anyone else with access to it may have accidentally left behind something illegal. If that is the case, then you will likely be placed under arrest and have to do the explaining to the judge.

Same goes for your person. An officer may search you without a search warrant after you have been placed under arrest, or if you give consent to the search. An officer can pat down your outer clothing for weapons if he reasonably fears for his safety, but cannot reach into pockets or clothing unless he feels a weapon.

Free Reports

Free Case Evaluation

FAQs