One important thing to keep in mind when you’re driving is that, while the police do you need to have a reason to stop your car, it’s usually fairly easy for them to find one. Most officers can discover some reason to legally stop a vehicle if they want to do so.
In order to make the initial traffic stop, the police do have to have a reason to pull a driver over. They cannot simply stop cars and randomly search for drugs or signs of impairment. Here are some common examples of reasons that police officers use to justify a stop.
Equipment issues
There are many minor equipment issues with a vehicle that can warrant a traffic stop. Maybe one of your headlights is out, even though the other one is working perfectly. Maybe there’s a large crack in your windshield. Maybe you simply have a light out over your license plate, making it harder for the officer to see. If a police officer was to go over most vehicles, they can probably find something that is out of place and initiate a traffic stop as a result.
Minor driving mistakes
If you make a minor mistake while driving, such as changing lanes on the interstate without using your blinker, you could be justifiably pulled over. Once again, there are a lot of minor issues that people may not even realize are happening all the time. If you don’t come to a complete stop at a stop sign, you can be pulled over. Technically, you can be stopped if you exceed the speed limit by even a single mile per hour. Police will use these excuses when they are actually looking for drugs or alcohol use while motorists are behind the wheel.
If you do end up getting arrested after being pulled over, it’s important to know about all of your criminal defense options. Simply because an officer may have had a valid reason to engage in a stop doesn’t mean that your fate is sealed.
