Night Time Traffic Stops in Virginia Beach
The following is information you should know regarding how to react at a traffic stop and how stops at night differ from those in the day. To learn more of discuss your ticket, consult with a Virginia Beach speeding ticket lawyer today.
How to React If Pulled Over At Night
You should pull over at the first safe place that there is to pull over, which is generally the shoulder of the road. If there’s no shoulder, then you should pull over into an exit or wait for there to be a shoulder that you can pull over in. Since you don’t want the officer to think that you’re just ignoring him and trying to leave, you should turn on your hazard lights so that he knows that you’re looking for a safe place to pull over.
If it’s night time the only thing that changes is what is considered a safe location. It’s okay for you to want to pull over somewhere that’s a little more populated and well-lit, however, you should do the same thing and put on your hazard lights until you can find a safe, more populated area to pull over, such as a gas station or another public area.
What To Do Once Pulled Over
Once you have pulled over during a day time stop, you should roll down your window at least enough to be able to communicate well with the officer and to be able to pass documents. You don’t have to roll your window all the way down but it’s generally better to do so because it shows the officer that you’re trying to cooperate and not trying to be difficult for no reason.
You should avoid doing anything that would arouse suspicion in the officer. You have to remember that the officer has no idea who you are aside from the fact that you’ve just committed some kind of traffic infraction that led to you being pulled over. He’s going to be concerned about his own safety and about getting through the traffic stop. So it’s best to just let him run the show and cooperate fully without doing anything that might alarm him.
It’s good keeping your hands on the steering wheel, rather than reaching all around in places that he doesn’t know what you’re reaching for. For all he knows, you’re reaching for a weapon and the situation could escalate into something a lot more serious. If you are going to grab your registration from the glove box, you should let the officer know that that’s what you’re going to do, or only do so after he asks you for the registration. Again, you don’t want to do anything that’s going to alarm the officer in any way. You should not turn your vehicle off because the officers worry about the possibility of a vehicle not being able to start up again and then they have to wait there for a tow truck to come.
Differences Between a Night and Day Traffic Stop
The process of what you should do if you’re pulled over for a night time stop is almost identical to a day time stop. Again, you should roll down your window just enough to be able to pass documents at a minimum and to communicate adequately with the officer. In addition you should turn the car light on on the inside so that the officer can see that you’re not trying to hide anything, and you’re not trying to do anything suspicious.
You should avoid making any kind of sudden movement or doing anything that’s going to create suspicion of your activities. When you grab your registration from the glove box, you should let the officer know that you’re going for it and do so slowly. You should not turn your car off because you don’t want your car to not start again, and then you’re stuck on the road waiting for a tow truck with the officer.