This morning I was sitting at a light and watched a cop hit his lights and pull behind someone. The guy pulled over immediately. But here’s the thing: he pulled to the curb, no breakdown lane or shoulder, on a very busy two-lane-each-way road right in front of a hospital entrance.*
Here’s the other thing: about 100 feet ahead was a McDonalds/gas station/convenience store with a big roomy parking lot.
A couple of minutes later I was able to make my turn, and the cop was doing his thing with the driver, while traffic was stumbling and stuttering to go around them since they were blocking the right lane completely. This was about 9:30 am; a busy time.
In November I was pulled over for speeding (oops) on a similar road although late at night - I obediently slowed down, put on my turn signal and went about a two blocks so I could pull into a grocery store parking lot instead of pulling over immediately and blocking the right lane. Doesn’t this make more sense? And why would the cop not suggest to the errant driver that he pull ahead into the parking lot to finish the procedure, instead of creating a minor clusterfuck on a busy commercial road?
So, what do you do when you see those dreaded flashing lights in your rear-view mirror?
*For anyone in SE Michigan, this was on Holly Rd northbound just past the entrance to Genysis Hospital and before the I-75 onramp. The McDonalds is between those two intersections, which are maybe a block apart.
I slow down, put on my flashers and find the safest for the officer, close, spot to pull over. I am thoroughly convinced is more responsible for me getting a ‘warning’ than the fact that I am a woman. I don’t think that I would go more than a block or two to make this happen, but I guess it would depend on how bad of an area both in terms of traffic and personal safety.
I have thought of this before myself. The only reason I can think of for a police officer not wanting a civilian being pulled over to drive to a ‘reasonable spot’ instead of pulling over immediately is in order to prevent the driver (or someone in the car) from hiding contraband.
I find the nearest safe spot, then pull over. Being female, I favor areas with plenty of visibility, especially at night. I’ve heard it’s a good idea to put on hazard flashers to acknowledge awareness of the officer.
A lighted parking lot would be a prime choice for me if one were in reasonable range. When I worked nights in a 7-11 (very small town), it was far from unusual to have traffic stops pull into my store’s lot.
Granted, a lot of this is theory for me, since I haven’t been pulled over in close to 20 years.
Yah, it’s really not a practice for me to get pulled over. So I am not sure of the protocols. When I got apprehended in November it was late on a weekend night in a dodgy part of town, so as soon as I saw the dreaded lights and pulled over, I turned on the dome light, kept my hands on the wheel and waited for Mr Police Occifer to approach. I actually thought he was kind of an asshole but I WAS speeding (48 in a 35 but to his credit he wrote me for 45 in a 35; lower fine) but still.
I did at the time have my 110 lb Rottweiler with me, which generated a “woah that’s a big dog” and “yes, it’s one reason I have him” exchange. But alas, my dog’s considerable charm didn’t keep me from getting a stupid speeding ticket. My first since "95 or '96.
I slow down, put my turn signal on and find a safe place, well lit place to pull over. I’ve been pulled over a handful of times and never really had to drive very far because they were all in the day time on highways with shoulders.
I once got pulled over on a busy highway with narrow shoulder so I slowed down and drove a short distance to pull off the next exit where I stopped immediately once I was safely off the highway.
The cop approached my car with a gun drawn and pointed at me while he yelled at me to show him my hands. After I received my ticket, and changed my shorts, I realized that the exit I had taken him to was in a pretty desolated residential area with very little light (late at night) and he probably saw me grabbing my registration from the glovebox. Still, to this day I pull over immediately when the flashers go on behind me.
It shouldn’t really be a problem to pull off the highway, as long as you don’t go more than a short distance before stopping. Your primary mistake was failing to keep your hands on the steering wheel from the second the reds and blues started flashing. It’s a good rule of thumb to never reach into your glove box unbidden once a cop has you in his sights. And, when he asks for your registration, you should keep your hands on the wheel and say, “It’s in my glove box. Mind if I reach for it?”
I’ve wondered this too, though the only times I’ve gotten stopped was on the highway. I’ve seen a few people who just stop in the middle of the road, stopping all traffic around them. I’d think the cop would have wanted them to move out of the way too, but I guess not.
If it’s a heavy traffic area with no shoulder, I’ve done the slow-down with blinker so they know I’m complying.
I thought they all had a PA? I wonder why the officer in the OP didn’t use it to tell that driver to pull forward to the McDonald’s lot? Seems like he would have been a lot safer, too, on top of not obstructing traffic like that.
Something it seems people could do these days, is if the area seems especially unsafe to where the person being pulled over feels they need to drive some distance to get to a safer area, could they call 911 to relay a message to the cop car behind them? And of course risk a ticket for using their cell phone while driving!
Someone tried “re-zombie’ing” (sp?) the thread after it laid dormant for a year (so it’s now closed), but there might be some additional input there that you might find as interesting as I did.
Interesting thread. I’ve been pulled over once in nearly 50 years of driving. I recall stopping in a fairly narrow shoulder and suggesting to the cop that we move up to the nearest public drive which was the entrance to the local high school. Somehow the cop got the impression I was a HS teacher and he showed me (unearned) deference and let me off with a warning.
Obviously it never hurts to be polite. A friend of my then 21 year old brother got pulled over and when the cop came to the car stated he wanted two hamburgers and a coke. He not only got a speeding ticket, but also got one for faulty equipment.
WinPlaceShow, funny that in your old thread you mentioned “pulling into a McDonald’s” in your OP. Looks like the consensus there was “it depends on the situation and the officer in question.” Or, if the officer might be concerned you’re delaying in order to hide weapons, drugs or alcohol, as Ambivalid suggested.
When I was pulled over in November, I remembered cautions I’d read, so after I’d pulled over I hit the dome light and kept my hands visible until Officer (not really) Friendly came to my window. It was late at night in a dodgy part of the city so I figure that cops, being a naturally suspicious lot, are quite rightly going to assume that people they’re pulling over may be drunk, high, armed or all three.
On two occasions in my life, I was induced to pull over by a fake cop, someone who turned on a flashing light behind me. (In both cases it was sort of a prank.). So I am going to be quite cautious and find a good spot to stop before doing so, not matter how far I have to go. If it’s a real cop, they may have to wait to get their thrills, or shoot out my tires.
The thing is that when I see the flashing lights, the message to me is “pull over right now” and, in fact, it’s been the case every time that the car with the flashing lights has gone around me and on to pursue somebody else.
So if it’s me he’s after, there I am, stopped on the side. (But it’s really not me he’s after. The only thing I’m doing wrong is not wearing my seatbelt.)
I’ve only been pulled over a few times. Once when pulled over, I turned off of a very busy street into a fairly empty business parking lot. For reasons I don’t understand, this made the officer furious, and he bluntly told me next time to stop immediately when I saw the lights, no matter where.
I actually recall getting pulled over once when I first had my license (minor traffic infraction I didn’t know about involving lane changes) and I WAS actually told by the officer over his loud speaker “Driver, proceed to the parking lot to the right.” Stopping where I did would have partially obstructed traffic.
So I am not sure of the protocols. When I got apprehended in November it was late on a weekend night in a dodgy part of town, so as soon as I saw the dreaded lights and pulled over, I turned on the dome light, kept my hands on the wheel and waited for Mr Police Occifer to approach. I actually thought he was kind of an asshole but I WAS speeding (48 in a 35 but to his credit he wrote me for 45 in a 35; lower fine) but still.