US: in car, hands on the wheel, don’t so much as breathe hard or open the window until the police officer says so.
Spain: in car, lower window, look for ID and car papers (if the cop doesn’t want to see them he’ll say so). Having your hands out of sight while you calm the kid/riffle through your handbag is ok; they should be in sight otherwise. There’s been cases of terrorists trying to escape a police checkpoint, but they tried to ram through - not shoot the cop with a gun hidden in one of those women’s handbags that contain a whole pocket universe inside.
If they’re easily accessible, sure. You don’t really want to be rummaging around in a glove compartment, under your seat or in the compartment in the armrest between the seats (if you have one) as an officer is walking up to your window…
I think the thing here is, it’s just a kind courtesy the the officer to remain still with your hands on the wheel untill he/she arrives to the car.
Most officers aren’t going to freak out and go apeshit on you. You might make their blood presure go up a couple of points if you choose to do a lot of rumaging as he/she is walking up to the car. That’s why it’s just a nice thing to do, as the driver, to wait untill he/she gets there.
You don’t do anything that you haven’t been instructed to do by the cop. You even wait to retrieve your license and registration until after he’s asked for it.
I’m glad somebody had cleared up the CCW misconceptions before I got here, saved me some typing.
I was taught to just set still with you hands on the wheel. After the LEO has approached your car and asks for license, registration, insurance… whatever, then get it out. If you keep any of it in the glove compartment or console, tell him you are going to go into those places. I made the mistake once of unfastening my seatbelt to get my wallet before the officer got to the car and had to talk my way out of a seatbelt ticket.
The last time I got pulled over it was late and I was asked to perform field sobriety tests. I passed those, I wasn’t impaired. The officers asked to search my car, I told them to go ahead. I don’t know what they were looking for. Drugs, empties, weapons, something, they never said. Whatever it was, I knew I didn’t have it so I let them. I got a warning for speeding (5 mph over the posted limit) and was on my way. If I had of refused the search, I’d have been there all night.
Legally, I could have declined the field sobriety tests and the search. Practically, it saved me several hours, a towing charge (middle of nowhere) and a lot of hassle. Sometimes you have to pick your fights.
I think it’s mostly because it is your right to refuse the search and if you don’t exercise your rights what good are they? Let’s look at this both ways:
You have nothing to hide. If you let them search your car for no reason it’s just fishing and you’re the bait. Maybe there’s something there you didn’t know about, maybe there’s something there you didn’t think was a problem. Maybe there’s something there that is perfectly innocent but makes a cop suspicious. You have little to gain and much to lose by allowing a search.
You have something to hide. Well obviously you’re not doing yourself any favors by letting the officers search your vehicle. If they get a warrant you’re screwed anyway, but if they don’t you’ve got another chance and maybe you can stop doing whatever illegal activity before you get pulled over again.
Anyway, as far as the thread topic, I’d say hands on the wheel is probably the best way to handle things. Don’t get out, don’t rummage around. Leave your seatbelt on.
You’ve also got the remote but entirely possible concern that the person pulling you over is impersonating a police officer. To quote one police department site: “Signal the ‘officer’ to follow you and then pull over at a well-lit business with other people around, like a gas station or convenience store.” YMMV with this advice of course, depends on the cop and the location as to how well this will work. But it’s something to think about. If you have time you can always call 911 and try to see if the officer pulling you over is legit.
Depends on the neighborhood, I guess. Downtown Munich for instance is swarming with police. Late at night, especially on weekends, virtually any kind of less-than-perfect driving (no/late turn signal, going too slow/too fast, hesitating at stoplights) will get you pulled over almost instantly.
“This American Life” on NPR ran a story about a guy who was painting little outlines around town on the sidewalks, because he thought it was guerilla-artsy. Cops rolled up on him doing this. They said they thought he was a prowler that had been reported. He could have just taken his ticket for vandalism, given them as little information as possible, and made them prove that he was the prowler in court (which they almost certainly couldn’t have). Instead, he led them to his car. Who cares, right?
WELL… It turns out that he does relief work in Afghanistan and Iraq, and visible in his car were pictures of friends of his in “freedom fighter” getups, which they had dressed up for like people in America dress up like Bat Masterson to get their pictures taken. Blah, blah, huge FBI investigation, it finally came out that the reporting party was Don Rumsfeld’s daughter. His painting weird things on the ground and having a passport with those stamps in it matched their profile of “gonna kill Rumsfeld’s daughter”, and it was I think a couple months before he had them completely convinced that he was clean. This was after they took his computer, etc.
I had a friend who was a reserve cop, and he said they pulled over a girl on a “matches vehicle description of recent crime” suspicion. They put the spotlights on the rear window to blind anyone trying to sight in on them, and told her to sit still and put her hands in view. She was a bubblehead who could not understand the idea of sitting still, and kept bouncing around and turning to look at them. They actually drew their guns on her, which is quite a step, really.
A classmate in high school made the big mistake of putting his school book under his seat as the cops walked up after pulling him over. He got a gun in the face, which seems an overreaction to me, but it really was a bad on his part, too.
Once the cop gets to the window and sees that I’m white and a respectable member of society I don’t worry about saying “I’m reaching into my pocket.” Really, the white thing is why I’m never worried about being pulled over (really, really, really sad but true).
My license, registration, and proof of insurance are all easily available. Since most cops seem to take the time to check your plates (or something) before they get out of their car, I always get that stuff out and have it sitting on the dashboard. I figure if they can see it, there is no chance of a “misunderstanding” as I reach to get it out. (I haven’t been stopped often, but white, middle-aged guys in family-type cars are not generally considered a big threat and I’ve never had an officer hassle me because I saved him the time of waiting to dig out my paperwork.)
OH YAH. Tried to exit my car once to continue a discussion of why the officer was full of shit and had the door forceable closed on me (yes I was polite the whole time).
We had some kids in my area get pulled over and one of the little rocket scientists in the back seat used the word gun and/or bomb in a sentence. They tried to cry racism after their faces were imprinted on the hood of their car. Didn’t fly.
I’ve followed the German rules posted above to the letter with the exception of my attempted exit. Sitting in the car quietly is the way to go.
Cardinal, I heard that “This American Life” story, too. Couldn’t believe how dumb that guy was (including visiting the home of Rumsfeld’s daughter!)… and later, how lucky he was to have been dealing with an FBI special agent who actually seemed to understand him.
I often have people appear in my court who say they take off their seatbelts so as to gain better access to their glove compartments and get out their registration, insurance, etc. Bad idea. Wait for the officer to ask for your papers, and keep your seatbelt on. Hands on the steering wheel and a pleasant attitude go a long way, too.
There is a third option - there is something that arouses their suspicion, but is actually innocent. 30 years ago, while driving in Virginia to Boston, I got pulled over because my car matched the description of a hit and run car. I did have a dent in the front. I had very long hair at the time. The Virginia state trooper noticed I had one carton of cigarettes I was bringing back for a friend. He asked to search the trunk, and I said okay. I had a duffel bag, which he patted down - enough to find cigarettes, not enough to find anything else. ( I was clean.) He found nothing, and I was on my way. He was extremely polite, as was I.
I can just imagine what I would have gone through if I exercised my rights and refused the search. No thanks. Sometimes the cops are not out to get you.
How about the cop asking you to come with them to their car? A couple years ago I was riding along with an ex boyfriend and we were pulled over by a hi-po. The officer came to the driver’s-side window and asked for license and registration.
It was starting to snow out and he asked my ex to come with him to his car for a moment, and also suggested that he roll the window up so I didn’t get cold.
After the ex returned to the car I asked what he told him. Basically the officer talked to him about his car and told him to slow down for the snow storm ahead.
How common is it for an officer to invite you to their car?
I’d refuse! I be afraid of a fake-cop trying to kidnap me or something creepy.
I’ve always been of the camp that rolls the window down, turns off the car, and place the keys on the dashboard/roof of the car. All of this is in an effort to show the cop that I have absolutely no intention of running. Aside from that, I sit there quietly, waiting. All the required paperwork is easily available without any effort.
I shared this story in the “what did you get away with” thread. But it was a personal experience that is applicable here. I’ll edit it down.
Doing a favor for my dad (picking up a rental car), I took off a Friday to take him to the rental agency. I had no idea where I was and was looking for the rental car place, and forgot that it was a Friday morning (and a school day). So, I’m zipping down a divided highway going 53 and completely missed the school zone 15 mph flashing signs.
I see the rental place and pull in. I never see the cop behind me, because I wasn’t looking for him. So we stop, and my dad and I get out of my car. The officer FREAKS out and starts screaming to not move, stay near the car, hands where he can see them. My dad and I look at each other like “is he talking to us?” Honestly, I had no idea I was even being pulled over.
The cop was purple with rage that we both got out of the car (apparently, this is a very confrontational move. I didn’t know I was being confrontational until he told me while he was spitting on me. Think the Animal House scene, “and without that pledge pin!”) I explained to him as calmly as I could that I didn’t even know he was pulling me over and I would have never exited my car if I did. I was completely focused on finding that rental agency and never saw his lights in my rearview mirror.
So, after about 15 minutes of the riot act, he takes my information and goes back to his car.
The cop finally comes back, and had calmed down. He found that I had a clean driving record and probably realized that I wasn’t the danger to him or society that he might have thought.
The moral of the story… stay in the car. He was nervous because we popped out of the car with no hesitation. His reaction was quite scary. Perhaps it can be argued that it was a bit extreme; but from his POV I can understand where he was coming from. He saw two guys getting out of a car and felt he could be in danger.