If you do enough driving, you’ve likely been pulled over by the police a time or two, and it never gets any easier. When you see those flashing blue lights behind you, it’s only natural to panic momentarily and to wonder if you’re doing what you’re supposed to be doing.
Having a better understanding of what to do if you’re pulled over by the police and of your attendant rights can leave you far better prepared to handle being pulled over in the future. If you’re charged with a crime in the process, you need the professional legal guidance of an experienced Round Rock criminal defense attorney on your side.
Advice from the Texas Department of Public Safety
The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) offers the following advice for anyone who is pulled over by the police:
To begin, slow your vehicle and move smoothly and safely to the right of the road.
Park your vehicle as far to the right of the primary lane of traffic as possible, and if there’s a shoulder, park there. If these options aren’t available to you, use your turn indicator and pull into a parking lot or well-lit side street – away from heavy traffic.
Put your vehicle in park, set the emergency brake if necessary, and activate your hazard warning lights.
If you’re stopped at night, turn on your interior dome light.
Stay in your vehicle, roll down your driver’s side window if doing so feels safe to you, and keep your hands in plain sight on the steering wheel. Keep in mind that the officer may approach from either side of your vehicle and await their instructions.
Before reaching to retrieve your driver’s license, proof of insurance, registration, or whatever documentation the officer asks for, let them know that’s what you’re doing and follow their directions.
If you’re asked to leave your vehicle, check to ensure it’s safe to do so before you get out.
Advise any passengers in your car to remain in it unless the officer tells them otherwise.
Once the traffic stop is complete, use the appropriate signals before safely rejoining traffic.
Your Obligations and Responsibilities as Well as Your Safety
If you are approached by an authorized emergency vehicle, state law requires you to stop immediately – within the bounds of safety. If you pull over at a location that the officer deems unsafe, they will likely instruct you where to go over their vehicle’s loudspeaker, and you should follow their instructions carefully.
If, however, you have concerns about the safety of stopping in a specific area or aren’t convinced that the person who is pulling you over is authorized to do so, you can take the following actions in an effort to limit your vulnerability to harm as well as limit the risk that you will be arrested or will face a charge for not obeying the officer’s lights:
Turn your hazard lights on.
Drive below the posted speed limit and navigate your vehicle carefully.
Call 911 as you drive and remain on the phone while you locate a nearby populated and well-lit spot. Then, pull over to check the officer’s identity.
Keep in mind that law enforcement jurisdictions overlap, which means it could take a bit of time for the call center operator to determine who the officer working in the area at the time of your call is.
Proceeding with Utmost Care
The police officer who pulls you over is in a vulnerable position. Because they shoulder immense responsibility for the safety of everyone involved, it’s extremely important that you respond to the officer with courtesy and respect.
Your goal is to continue on your way with as few consequences – if any – as possible, and the surest means of achieving this is by minding your p’s and q’s with the officer, which include:
Do not exit your vehicle unless you are instructed to do so. Getting out of your car without being asked to can be perceived as aggressive or even threatening, which makes it a bad move.
Neither you nor any passengers in your vehicle should reach for anything, dig for anything, or search for anything before the officer arrives at the side of your vehicle, and at this point, you can reach for whatever documentation you’re asked to produce after letting the officer know that that’s what you’re doing.
If you keep or are carrying a gun in your vehicle, you’re encouraged to keep it safely stored away in a location other than where you keep the documentation that the police need to see.
What You’re Required to Do and What You’re Not
If you are pulled over in a traffic stop, you and the passengers in your car become the subjects of an investigative detention that must be wrapped up within a reasonable amount of time – according to the law. You have the right to ask the officer if you’re free to go, and if you are, you have the right to leave.
Answering Questions
Further, you’re not required to answer questions posed to you by the officer, but you are required to show the officer your driver’s license if you’re requested to do so. If the officer detains you or arrests you, such as for DWI, you’re required to truthfully answer the officer’s questions regarding all the following:
Your name
Your address
Your date of birth
If you provide false information at this juncture, it can lead to your arrest.
Otherwise, you’re not required to answer the officer’s questions, and if you’re facing a charge of any kind or think a charge may be forthcoming, you’re well advised not to.
Searching Your Vehicle
The officer may ask for your permission to search your car, and – again – this is an offer that you’re better off declining. If, however, the officer has probable cause to believe that there is evidence of a crime in your vehicle, they don’t need your permission.
If you are ultimately charged with a crime, the officer may need to defend their claim of probable cause, and if they’re unable to do so, any evidence they gathered against you will likely be thrown out. If, however, you granted them permission to search your vehicle, any evidence they gathered against you will be admitted.
If you believe your car has been searched illegally, it’s important to work closely with a skilled criminal defense attorney when facing charges of any kind.
Patting You Down
If the officer who pulls you over reasonably believes that you have a weapon on you, which could jeopardize their safety, they have the right to pat down your person and the immediate area you’re in, which includes certain areas of your vehicle.
It is against the law to resist a search of this nature, and doing so could leave you injured, in more serious legal trouble, or both. You do, however, have the right to let the officer know that you don’t grant your consent, which helps to eliminate any doubt in the final analysis regarding whether or not you consented.
For an officer to claim probable cause, they need facts and clear evidence rather than educated guesses. For probable cause to apply, the officer must have evidence that would prompt other reasonable people to conclude that a crime had been committed.
While certainty isn’t required, there should be enough information to reasonably infer that a crime had likely been committed – or was about to be committed.
Understanding Probable Cause
You hear a lot about probable cause when it comes to criminal charges and traffic stops, which makes having a clearer understanding of the concept a good idea. To pull you over for a traffic stop, the officer only needs a reasonable suspicion that you may have engaged in an illegal activity, such as driving too fast, driving drunk, or texting behind the wheel.
Legally searching your car or arresting you, on the other hand, requires probable cause, which is a considerably higher standard. In other words, if an officer asks to search your car, it’s unlikely that they have probable cause, and denying the request is almost certainly to your legal advantage.
If they proceed with the search anyway – and the facts don’t support probable cause – you can potentially have any evidence that they find thrown out.
Consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney to ensure your rights are protected.
Remaining in Compliance with the Police
It is always in your best interest to comply with the police and be respectful and polite while doing so. This includes pulling over safely, presenting documentation as instructed, and stepping out of your vehicle if asked to do so.
Your compliance can help de-escalate the situation, which can help ensure that things go better for you. This compliance, however, should not be confused with waiving your rights.
Refusing to answer probing questions or not allowing your vehicle to be searched is not a sign of disrespect but is, instead, a solid means of protecting your rights. There’s no need, however, to be confrontational, rude, or aggressive about your refusal.
A better approach is to be clear and to the point. Once you let the police know that you won’t be answering their questions, you are responsible for quitting.
Striking a Balance
If you’re pulled over by the police, it’s important to strike a balance between compliance and protection of your rights. The better you know your legal rights and your responsibilities in this situation, the better prepared you’ll be to find that balance. A recap of the primary do’s and don’ts when it comes to being pulled over include:
Do help keep the situation as calm as possible.
Do keep your hands on the steering wheel to demonstrate that you’re not a threat.
When asked to hand over documents, do let the officer know where they’re located and do ask permission to grab them.
Do politely inform the officer that you won’t be answering any questions – beyond the information you’re required to provide – and do follow through with this intention.
Do decline the officer’s request to search your car – if they ask – and let them know that they don’t have your permission if they continue with the search anyway.
Don’t make any sudden movements after being pulled over, which can be perceived as a threat.
Don’t get out of your vehicle unless you’re asked to do so.
Don’t argue or disagree with the officer – you aren’t likely to get anywhere by doing so, and you can clear up the matter within the confines of the law at a later time.
Don’t resist arrest if you are charged.
Finally, do seek the skilled legal representation of a formidable criminal defense attorney as soon as you can. Your trusted attorney will ably take on all the following primary tasks in defense of your rights and in pursuit of your case’s optimal outcome:
Carefully gathering all the relevant evidence
Skillfully dissecting the officer’s probable cause in your case
Taking every measure to, ideally, have the charge against you dropped or – barring that – lessened
Forging a defense that the state has difficulty disproving
Helping you navigate the legal system with your rights intact
Nimbly negotiating an advantageous plea deal or being well prepared to take your case to trial if it’s deemed the best path forward
Discuss Your Case with an Experienced Round Rock Criminal Defense Attorney Today
Being pulled over by the police is intimidating, and if it leads to a charge against you, Brett Pritchard at The Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard is a savvy Round Rock criminal defense attorney who has earned a stellar reputation for providing clients like you with the skilled legal counsel they need to prevail in the face of criminal charges.
Learn more by contacting or calling us at 254-781-4222 and scheduling a free consultation today.