Pull Over - Question for Law Enforcement Types

[rtimgray]

Last night, I was going to my Dad's house for his birthday. On the way, on a little rural county road, right after I pulled away from a stop sign, the car (mid-80's large sedan), had a strobe-type light inside the drivers area of the car start going off. I didn't really pay any attention and drove on, but got to thinking about something.

I remember when I was in high school a couple of kids who had just graduated fixed up their car with flashing headlights and sirens, dressed in BDU type clothes and pulled over people - they were doing this as a joke. Of course, once they pulled over an off-duty ATF agent the joke was over and they lost their cool car, etc.

But what exactly should you do if you have an unmarked car pull in behind you and flash lights (and I mean like emergency type lights - whether they be blue, red, yellow, etc.) Around here, blue is the color for LE lights in general, but I don't know if that is universal or not. If it is an unmarked car, do you keep going until you have a "safe" place to pull over - and I mean like a well-lit populated parking lot? I'm also referring to this if you are not aware that you are doing anything wrong. Is there a penalty for not pulling over immediately (again, if the vehicle is unmarked) - don't want to be evading police, after all? If you have a cell phone, do you call 911 while driving to find out if it's legit? What if you don't have a cell phone?

Just wondering from folks who may be more familiar with this than I am. Thanks.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Every state is different in how they handle their unmarked cars. Contact your local police department with your questions.

 

[BB_TX]

This happens periodically around here with someone trying to pull people over with those lights for robbery, assault, or just "fun". The news media usually includes a statement something like "local authorities advise if you feel unsafe stopping, continue to drive to a well lighted place such as a service station or convenience store".
I had a marked cruiser turn on his full compliment of lights behind me a couple years ago. There was no place to pull over on the street I was on, and I did not want to stop in the driving lanes, so I pulled to the right lane with my right turn signal on and drove nearly a half mile before I could pull off the street into a business parking lot. The officer made no comment about it. I suspect he appreciated not having to stop in the driving lanes also.

 

[jdbower]

In NJ I was thought that yellow lights are warning lights for tow trucks and construction equipment and you're not required to yield to them but it's often a good idea to give them a wide berth.

Blue lights are for EMTs, you should (must?) yield to them but you don't need to pull over.

Red lights are for cops, firetrucks and ambulances, you need to yield to them or pull over if requested, but you can go to a "safe" location before doing so (I'd recommend the use of hazards and slowing down so he knows you're not running). Around here unmarked cars also have sirens and a lot of strobes in them (built into the grill and headlights plus I've seen one or two with ultra slimline LED flashers near the roofline), if it was just a red dome light and a horn I'd be concerned. It's probably either not a cop or it's his personal car and he thought it was important enough to tell me something when he was off duty (like my wheel's wobbling and about to fall off, for example). Unfortunately the former means you should drive to a safe area, the latter means it's not safe for you to be driving... "Luckily" in NJ getting to a well-lit populated area is a lot easier than getting away from one.

 

[dmccarty]

We have had a couple guys over the years playing cop and pulling people over. Given how different agencies/states can be there is no hard rule on what lights, sirens, horns would be on a POlice car or how the car looks.

But I would expect a proper color emergency light for your area. Blue in my case. Around here the lights are in the grill and there could be two of them. There might also be some wig wag white lights that flicker across the grill. But how the car is setup is going to be different depending on the state/agency maybe even within the agency.

If you don't pull over and keep driving I would expect that most officers would hit the horn and siren to alert the driver. So if the car has the correct color emergency lights, wig wags, and you hear a siren and horn(it won't be playing Sweet Home Alabama), its likely the Po Po. You could keep driving to a well lit spot but the officer may not be happy and not buy the "I did not think you where the Police." argument.

I would be surprised if any LEO these days would not have some sort of POLICE, SHERIFF, or some such on any non obvious Po Po uniform. If you are still are suspicious ask for the officer's photo id. AND LOOK AT IT. Look a the a badge. It should have the state or local name of the agency. Not just POLICE or some such. There are lots of badges out there that people can buy that look real.

Most unmarked cars in my area are running traffic enforcement and around here those officers are in uniform.

If you are a guy trying the "I did not think you where the police" argument and driving to a well let area is kinda iffy. A women will have a better chance with that argument. If its not safe to pull over put on the hazards and drive to a safe place.

Serial killers/rapists have used the I'm The Police scam to get victims. Ask for photo id and read it.

Of course in all of this be very polite to the officer. Not pulling over is not going to make them happy and they are going to be wondering why YOU are not stopping which ramps up their concern for THEIR safety. There is no such thing as a "routine traffic stop" and not stopping has made it more so.

Later,
Dan

 

[deereguy]

If I rememeber correctly in Ohio, only officers in a marked cruiser will pull you over (ie. light bar on top and logo on side, etc) and the safest way to acknowledge that you are pulling over for an officer (if they are pulling you over) is to slow down, apply your hazard lights, and pull over in a location you feel safe at (well lit or parking lot) if its after dark.

 

[Bird]

Around here, blue is the color for LE lights in general, but I don't know if that is universal or not.

Disclaimer: I'm about 10 days away from being retired 19 years, so I'm a little out of date on some things.

I know blue was the law enforcement color in some other places, but in Texas it was traditionally only red for all emergency vehicles and that was the only color you had to yield to or stop for. But then, in the early '80s, the state laws were changed to add blue, as well as red. When a new police chief, O. W. Wilson, took over in Chicago is, I believe, when they went to blue lights. I don't know it to be a fact, but he was supposedly asked if the blue lights were more visible or why he changed, and he said he just wanted everyone to know a new man was in charge.

There were some studies done on the national level that found, if you want vehicles to move away or use extra caution, yellow or amber is best. And that's why you see the yellow lights on the back side of the most law enforcement light bars. Having red lights flashing to the rear is especially dangerous because drunk drivers will home in on the red light. Dallas had lots of cars rearended with just red lights and the frequency of that dropped dramatically when the amber lights were put on the rear of the light bars. And as to whether drivers will notice, yield, or stop better for red or blue, the conclusion was that neither was better, but to gain the most attention, either red or blue, or both, should alternate with white. So now, most of the marked cars have all three colors to the front; red, white, and blue. They'll have amber to the rear, and possibly some of the other 3 colors.

As to what to do in the circumstances you mentioned, I agree with Wayne County Hose that your best bet is to check with your local law enforcement. Personally, I'd turn on my emergency flashers and slow down to let whoever is trying to stop me know that I'm aware of their presence and intend to stop. And then I'd continue to a safe place to get out of traffic, and if there's any doubt about it actually being an officer vs. a criminal, I'd go on to a well lighted location with other people around.

 

[WVBill]

Here in the Washington DC area, they had a guy recently pulling women over that way and then assaulting them.

They put out on the news that if in doubt, drive slowly to a well-lit, populated area before pulling over and to call 911 on your cell phone if possiblewhile doing it. All of the LE agencies in the area agreed that is the process that should be used, cell phone or not.

The guy's "string" came to an end last weekend when he pulled over an off-duty female Officer.

WVBill

 

[Phils]

If you are still are suspicious ask for the officer's photo id. AND LOOK AT IT. Look a the a badge. It should have the state or local name of the agency. Not just POLICE or some such. There are lots of badges out there that people can buy that look real.

Serial killers/rapists have used the I'm The Police scam to get victims. Ask for photo id and read it.

Later,
Dan

If it indeed was a criminal/killer/etc., wouldn't it probably be too late if they are at your door where you could see the ID?

Phil

 

[Logan]

I have been in law enforcement since 1975 and around S. GA there have been several instances of rape and robberies by people using blue lights over the years. I have driven an unmarked car since 1983 and I do not get excited when someone doesn't immediately pull over, especially in a rural area. Our local agencies advise to proceed to a well lit area, where you feel safe, without speeding up, and then pull over. Most people, almost everyone, pulls over immediately.

In GA you can't be cited for attempting to elude for a traffic violation by anyone in an unmarked car. If it is a legitimate stop and you don't stop, soon a marked car will join the unmarked car and then you must pull over immediately. Most plain clothes officers in unmarked cars do not attempt to enforce traffic violations unless they suspect a DUI or you pass a stopped school bus. They can write tickets for any traffic violations once the vehicle does stop, either voluntarily, or when the marked unit arrives to assist.