Getting pulled over by a police officer is a pretty common thing, and every driver has experienced it at one point in their lives. There are lots of reasons why a cop may decide to pull you over, and if happens to you, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have done something wrong and that you are going to be charged with an offense of some sort. But, if you do get pulled over, you have to remember that you must do what the officer asks you to do, be as polite as you can, stay calm, and a couple other things, so that you establish a good rapport with them, instead of provoking them, which can turn out to be pretty inconvenient for you. So, a few tips on how to behave when you get pulled over, might come in handy.
The first thing you should do after a cop pulls you over is to be silent and wait for them to start the conversation. You may be angry after just getting pulled over and want to question the cop as to why you have been stopped. That’s the wrong thing to do. They are first going to ask for your license and registration, and you should perform this task as slowly and as carefully as you can, without any sudden movements. After you give your license and registration to the officer, put your hands on the wheel and keep them there while you are talking to the cop, unless you are told otherwise.
When the officer starts asking you questions, try and give them short, concise answers. If they are yes or no questions, don’t answer them by saying anything other than that: “yes” or “no”. Giving long, extensive answers to these sort of questions can be annoying, and by keeping them short, you’ll avoid saying something that can incriminate you and admit your guilt.
It’s also important to remember that you should stay inside the car during the whole thing, unless the officer tells you to get out. Just stay put, with your hands on the wheel and be calm. Even the slightest sudden, unnecessary movement you do, might make the officer want to search your car, thinking that you might have a concealed weapon, drugs, alcohol or anything else you wouldn’t want the police to find.
Perhaps the most important thing to have in mind is that you must do whatever the officer tells you to. It doesn’t matter if you feel like you haven’t done any violation and you think that you are pulled over for no reason, the officer has the right to do that and you are obliged by law to comply with their orders. If you start arguing with the officer, or refuse to give them your license or registration, you can get a tougher punishment than you were supposed to get originally.
So, drivers have to be aware that they must respect the police officers and be as cooperative as possible if they ever get pulled over, which is ultimately for their own good and can help them get a milder punishment than they would if they acted arrogantly and didn’t comply with officer’s requests.