Officer: "Do you know why I pulled you over?" Should the answer always be "no?"

In My Humble Opinion
1

So I’ve been pondering this lately and lo and behold, I got to try it out tonight (but I came out on the wrong end of things).

I foolishly made an illegal U turn on a street that previously allowed it. It’s 100% my fault–we were in a hurry to get home, we came out on a goofy side-street that spit us out the wrong way from where we were trying to go, so I went to turn into a hotel parking lot to turn around when I realized there was no oncoming traffic and no possibility of danger. I also noticed the hotel parking lot didn’t have an easy out so I’d have to go around to exit, so in the split second I just decided “eh screw it.” There were distant headlights, what are the odds it’s a cop?

100%, apparently. He hauled ass to come nail me.

As I was waiting for him to approach, I asked “do I feign ignorance or fall on the sword and hope for mercy?”

Then he asked: “Do you know why I pulled you over?”
I said: “Probably for the U-turn.”
‘yep.’
I said “ok but we were coming up the artery street points and we are trying to get on the highway over here points–it spits you out going the total opposite direction–what’s the correct way to navigate all this?”

He kind of breathed in like he was thinking it over then said (with a sympathetic tone): “well…the *CORRECT *way…? Hmm. I guess you’d have to travel a mile down to the next light, turn left, and go all the way around the entire city block until you came back to the right street.”

“Oh, really…” I muttered.

“Yeah, I guess they finally put that ‘no U-Turn’ sign up after a few accidents” (acknowledging it’s new).

After checking my info and going back to his car, he came back with a citation.

This is the thing that makes me curious:

He said “So since you admitted to the moving violation when I asked you, I wrote you a ticket.”

I have a squeaky clean record (to my recollection this is my first moving violation in at least 20 years) and I thought my honesty would be valued. But, nope! If anything, I admitted guilt to make his job easier.

So when they ask if you know why they pulled you over, do you just play dumb? Is the answer always “no?”

2

The point of talking to you is to determine if you are acting suspiciously and warrant further investigation. Included in that is having you speak to decide if you have slurred speech or have alcohol on your breath, which would justify a DUI investigation (I.e. ask you to step out of the car and do a field sobriety test).

So it doesn’t really matter what you say, although being polite and respectful is always a good idea, as is not admitting to any infraction. My advice, when asked if you know why you are pulled over: “No, sir/ma’am.”

3

There’s nothing wrong with (politely) saying that no, you don’t know why you were pulled over. The thing is, for some cops that may very well just be the way they start the conversation. It’s just a little bit of small talk. However, it’s also a good way for you to hand them info they didn’t have. If got pulled over for having a headlight out and the cop asks you that question and you respond with ‘probably because I rolled through that stop sign’. Well, you’re gonna get a ticket for that. He’s not going to admit that he didn’t see you.

I remember back in my teen days, I got pulled over, the cop asks me if I know why he pulled me over and I still remember thinking ‘I ran that red light, but that was like two miles ago, there’s no way he saw that’, so I said I had no idea why. Turns out someone stole a lawnmower in a vehicle with the same description as mine. He shined his flashlight in the back and sent me on my way.

Don’t get me wrong, if you totally clam up it’s going to look bad. Bad just respond to the question with ‘no, I don’t’ and let him tell you why he pulled you over. It’s not your job to start admitting to things. Remember, you DON’T know why he pulled you over. Granted, if you were going 90 in a 50, that’s probably why, but if you were going 40 in a 30, it’s entirely possible he wasn’t clocking you, he just wanted to let you know about an equipment malfunction or that he noticed you didn’t have on your seatbelt.

4

The correct answer is always, “racism.”

5

“Do you know why I pulled you over”?

You could say, To give me an award for safe driving?

This is an option also.

Hopefully the LEO has a sense of humor.

6

[Moderating]
Since this is asking for opinions and advice, let’s move it to IMHO.

7

I’ve attended my fair share of traffic schools back in the day. Some instructors were former LEOs and they said they ask this to see how aware the driver is, e.g. whether s/he knew they were speeding or if the driver was totally clueless. I never admit to breaking the law so I say something like, “Does it have something to do with my speed?” or “Was it my U-Turn back there?” Something like that.

I do think it’s better to appear aware to the LEO, better than clueless.

8

I had an odd situation like this many years ago. I had just completed a partial restoration of my 1971 BMW Bavaria including new factory silver paint, alloy wheels and tires. This was in the late 1980s. The officer asked me if I knew why he pulled me over and I genuinely had no idea. He said, “These plates are registered to a 1971 BMW and this car is new. Are you re-using the plates from another car”?

This actually took some time to sort out even though the registration showed a 1971 vehicle. He just didn’t believe it. He finally did a complete walk around and wrote me a warning for a missing license plate light. I looked and one of the two bulbs was out. Geez.

Dennis

9

2nd story. A guy I worked with had broken up with his girlfriend and she trashed his older car. Smashed all the lights, windshield, doors, mirrors hanging down, everything. He was giving a friend a ride somewhere and came across a roadblock where the state highway patrol was pulling over cars for a safety check and sending them into a parking lot.

My buddy looked around the car and saw several 45 ACP cartridges and a couple of burnt up joints in the ashtray. He asked the guy if they were going to be trouble. He replied, “No, but this might” and pulled a Colt 1911 pistol from under the seat in a plastic bag with an “Evidence” tag on it.

But the statey stared in disbelief at the battered car and just waved it past. The pistol was legal, by the way, it had been returned to him by the police. Keeping under the seat wasn’t.

Dennis

10

I’ve been stopped twice for speeding. In each instance, I missed seeing a reduced speed sign. The first time I asked the officer exactly where the sign was so I wouldn’t miss it again (I’d recently moved to the are.). The second time–different town–I said, “Dang, I was just asking myself, 'Did I already pass the reduced speed sign?” I wasn’t trying to get off in either case because I really should have been more observant.

I got warnings–no citations–both times.

11

The last time I got pulled over was 4:30 am on the way to the airport. I was way speeding on an almost empty Dumbarton bridge. When I got pulled over I rapidly admitted that I had been going way too fast. No smart aleckness. Just an apology.

I did not get a ticket. I had a suitcase in the back seat, so that supported my story. I was clearly not drunk, I was 66. And I haven’t gotten any moving violations in the 23 years I’ve lived in California. (The cops can hardly believe that, but they seem impressed.) So fessing up worked for me.

12

I always go for honesty.

Once I blew a red light right in front of a cop. I actually pulled myself over about the same time the cop started his lights. I 'fessed up and asked what the penalty would be because, yeah, obvious so why deny it? The cop looked at me, then said “What is a white lady doing in this neighborhood at this time of night?” Yeah, he had a point. I explained a co-worker’s car had broken down and I gave him a ride home. I was tired and let my attention lapse but I was wide awake now. He let me go, no official warning, just cautioned me to be careful.

The next time I was on a detour due to road construction and missed a stop sign (which, by the way, was partially obscured by an overgrown willow tree). The cop pulled me over and asked if I knew why he had stopped me. I said no, but if I had done something wrong please tell me so I wouldn’t do it again. Asked me if I knew there was a stop sign “back there”. Said no, I’d never been down this road before, but I’d be sure to pay attention to it next time. Official warning that time, but no further penalty.

13

“It’s the dead hooker in the trunk, right?”

14

I’ve never been asked “do you know why I pulled you over?”. The first thing they ask me is “is there an emergency”.

15

“It could be any of a number of things” is probably not the best response.

Replying “no, sir” is the smart way to go, and is technically not a lie.

16

No, it’s the huge bag of crack underneath her.

17

Regardless of your response, it should never be an admission. Whether it’s some kind of joke like harmonicamoon’s response, a simple “no, ma’am” or a question like, “I wasn’t speeding, was I?” Often the officer will make little notes on the back of their copy of the ticket so that they can recall the details if it ever goes to court. One of those notes will be, “Driver admitted to speeding because he was late for his son’s recital” or whatever. Be polite, but don’t admit anything.

18

The honest answer is always the best one.

The only time I was asked, my answer was “no,” because I was honestly baffled. Turned out I had gone the wrong way down a one-way seat (a minivan had blocked the signs, and they had also change the street direction since I last was at that spot). I didn’t argue when he told me and he could tell from my genuine reaction that I hadn’t known. He let me off with a warning and I thanked him profusely.

OTOH, I’m a older white man. It might have gone differently if I had been someone else.

19

don’t admit to anything, play dub

20

don’t admit to anything; play dumb