A driver who sees flashing lights in the mirror wants the next few minutes to go smoothly. So while the officer is still walking up, the driver leans across to the glove box for the registration and digs the wallet out of a back pocket. It is meant as a courtesy. It is the wrong move.
Guidance from the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators tells drivers to wait for the officer's instructions before reaching for a license or vehicle documents. If the paperwork is out of reach, say where it is and wait for the officer to acknowledge that before going after it. The page also carries the approval of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives.
In the minute before anyone reaches the window: pull as far right as is safe, park, shut off the engine and the radio, and after dark turn on the dome light. Lower the window, put both hands on the wheel and stay in the car unless you are told to get out. A phone works against you for a plain reason: a hand holding a phone is a hand nobody can see.
Watch both windows, too. Officers often come up on the passenger side now, for a reason that has nothing to do with the driver. According to the Minnesota State Patrol's Ask a Trooper column, that side keeps an officer out of passing traffic on a freeway. The trooper writing it had been clipped by a passing mirror at a driver's door on Interstate 35.
And if the stop ends with a citation, signing it is not agreeing with it. The guidance says a signature is an acknowledgment, not an admission of guilt. In many states the signature is also a promise to appear in court, and a driver who won't give it can be taken into custody instead of being sent on his way.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
