Editing Traffic stop (section)

==United States==
[[File:LAPD Hollywood Traffic Stop.jpg|thumb|A [[Los Angeles Police Department]] [[Police motorcycle|motor officer]] writing a [[traffic ticket]] for a motorist]]
A traffic stop is usually considered to be a [[Terry stop|''Terry'' stop]] and, as such, is a seizure by police; the standard set by the [[United States Supreme Court]] in ''[[Terry v. Ohio]]'' regarding temporary detentions requires only [[Reasonable suspicion|reasonable articulable suspicion]] that a [[crime]] has occurred or is about to occur.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=LaFave |first1=Wayne |date=August 2004 |title=The 'routine traffic stop' from start to finish: too much 'routine,' not enough Fourth Amendment |url=http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-3571012/The-routine-traffic-stop-from.html |journal=[[Michigan Law Review]] |volume=102 |issue=8 |pages=1843–1906 |doi=10.2307/4141969 |jstor=4141969 |authorlink1=Wayne LaFave|url-access=subscription }} Professor LaFave points out that most courts have treated traffic stops like ''Terry'' stops, but the U.S. Supreme Court itself has never squarely decided the issue of whether traffic stops require [[probable cause]] or the lesser reasonable suspicion standard of ''Terry''.</ref> Traffic stops can be initiated at any time during the detention and arrest process, ranging from stops prior to [[arrest]] or issuance of a ticket for violation based on [[probable cause]].

Traffic stops date to the 1920s.<ref name="livingston">{{Cite news |last=Livingston |first=Julie, and Andrew Ross |date=2023-02-03 |title=How US police got the deadly power to stop drivers at will |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/feb/03/us-police-traffic-stops-tyre-nichols |access-date=2023-05-02 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="mcentire"/>

=== Before probable cause ===
Traffic stops may be executed upon [[Reasonable suspicion|reasonable articulable suspicion]] that a crime has occurred, for example, an observation of a possible equipment violation or a suspicion of [[Driving under the influence|driving under the influence (DUI)]] based on driving behavior.  In some jurisdictions, [[Random checkpoint|general roadblock checkpoints]] are applied for random checks of driver.  A primary purpose of the traffic stop at this point is frequently to determine if the police have [[probable cause|probable cause for arrest]].  At this stage, the police are not required to issue a [[Miranda warning|''Miranda'' warning]], because a traffic stop prior to formal [[arrest]] is not considered to be [[Miranda warning#Circumstances triggering the Miranda requisites|custodial under ''Miranda'']], and will often ask questions intended to elicit the suspect to provide answers that may be used as evidence in the event of an arrest.

[[Implied consent#Non-evidential testing|Non-evidentiary testing]] falls under this stage because implied consent laws in the US generally do not apply to [[Breathalyzer#Law enforcement|Preliminary Breath Test (PBT)]] testing (small handheld devices, as opposed to evidential breath test devices).  (For some violations, such as refusals by [[Commercial driver's license|commercial drivers]] or by drivers under 21 years of age, some US jurisdictions may impose implied consent consequences for a PBT refusal,{{citation needed | date=June 2018}} but these are generally not considered to be a refusals under the general "''implied consent''" laws.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/813.136|title=ORS 813.136 (2015) – Consequence of refusal or failure to submit to field sobriety tests|first=Oregon Legislative Counsel|last=Committee}}</ref> Participation in [[Drunk driving in the United States#Standardized Field Sobriety Tests|"field sobriety tests" (FSTs or SFSTs)]] is voluntary in the U.S..<ref name="nolo_ref-long">[https://dui.drivinglaws.org/resources/dui-refusal-blood-breath-urine-test.htm DUI: Refusal to Take a Field Test, or Blood, Breath or Urine Test], NOLO Press ("As a general rule (and unlike chemical testing), there is no legal penalty for refusing to take these tests although the arresting officer can typically testify as to your refusal in court.")</ref><ref>[https://dui.findlaw.com/dui-arrests/can-i-refuse-to-take-field-sobriety-tests.html Findlaw ''Can I Refuse to Take Field Sobriety Tests?'']</ref>

=== Probable cause ===
{{Main|Probable cause}}
Probable cause is the arrest stage in which sufficient evidence is available to sustain a warrant for arrest.  Probable cause is a stronger standard of evidence than a reasonable suspicion, but weaker than what is required to secure a criminal conviction.  In some cases, notably [[Driving under the influence|DUI]] stops, the "sufficient evidence" is used for requiring an evidentiary chemical test (e.g., [[Breathalyzer|evidential breathalyzer test]]) by invoking an [[implied consent]] request.  While state terminology regarding whether evidentiary testing is an "arrest", such testing is constitutionally a "search incident to arrest".<ref name="aba_birchfield">[http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme_court_says_warrantless_blood_tests_incident_to_drunken_driving_arre/" Supreme Court says warrantless blood draws in DUI arrests are unconstitutional], ABA Journal</ref>

===Procedure===
[[File:El Centro Police Department Chevrolet Caprice PPV on traffic stop, c. August 2021.jpg|thumb|An [[El Centro, California|El Centro Police Department]] officer conducting a traffic stop]]
A stop is usually accomplished through a process known as "pulling over" the suspect's vehicle. [[Police car|Police vehicles]] (except those used by undercover personnel) traditionally have sirens, loudspeakers, and [[Light bar|lightbars]] that rotate or flash.  These devices are used by the officer to get the attention of the suspect and to signal that they are expected to move over to the [[Shoulder (road)|shoulder]] and stop. Failure to comply could result in citation of failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and possibly raise suspicion that the driver is attempting to flee.

Similar alerting devices are also typically equipped on other emergency vehicles such as fire trucks and ambulances, although police departments often use blue lights to signal drivers to pull over. In all cases, such signals and the laws requiring that other vehicles pull to the shoulder allow the emergency vehicles to pass other traffic safely and efficiently when responding to emergency situations. In the case of a traffic stop, the officer pulls the patrol vehicle behind the subject vehicle as it stops instead of proceeding past as they would during other emergency responses.

Depending upon the severity of the offense which the officer believes to have occurred, the officer may either arrest the suspect, by taking them to jail, or check for any outstanding [[Warrant (law)|warrants]] before issuing a citation also called a notice to appear or summons in some jurisdictions, which is essentially a [[traffic ticket]]. In some cases, officers may choose to simply issue a [[Warning (traffic stop)|verbal or written warning]].

If the driver is not the owner of the car, they are only penalized for the ticket. However, in most cases, the owner of the car that was stopped has increased insurances rates. This is due to a rule put in place to protect insurance companies from fraudulent procedures.

Many states have enacted laws requiring freeway traffic approaching the police vehicle to merge over to the left, leaving an entire lane as a buffer zone for the officer.
{{anchor|Felony traffic stop}}[[File:Los Angeles Police Department Ford CVPIs on scene of felony traffic stop.jpg|thumb|Los Angeles Police Department officers conducting a felony traffic stop]]
A "felony" or "high-risk" traffic stop occurs when police stop a vehicle which they have strong reason to believe contains a driver or passenger suspected of having committed a serious crime, especially of a nature that would lead the police to believe the suspects may be armed (such as an armed robbery, assault with a weapon, or an outstanding felony warrant for the registered owner). In a high risk stop, officers attempt to provide their own safety by issuing instructions to maintain absolute control over every step of the proceedings.

They will have additional officers on scene for back-up, often waiting for additional officers to join up before initiating the stop. They will typically have their weapons drawn, and stay back from the suspect's vehicle, using their patrol cars for cover. If there is no choice but to make the stop on a busy street, then they will often stop traffic. They will address the driver and any passengers over the PA speaker of the patrol car, typically instructing the driver to turn the engine off, remove the keys from the ignition, and sometimes toss them out the window. They will instruct the occupants, one at a time, to exit the vehicle with empty hands showing, place their hands on top of or behind their heads, walk backwards some distance, and then lie flat on the ground, where they will remain until all occupants have done likewise, at which point officers will move up, apply handcuffs, do a body search and then secure the suspects in the patrol cars. The vehicle is then typically searched for weapons and other evidence in accordance with the arresting department's [[standard operating procedures]] ("S.O.P.'s").

The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] has held that an officer who stops a vehicle as part of a routine traffic stop has the authority to order the driver to exit the vehicle,<ref>{{cite web | author=per curiam opinion | author-link=Per curiam | url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct-cgi/get-us-cite?434+106 | title= Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106 (1977) | work=[[Cornell Law]] | access-date=February 9, 2012}}</ref> as well as to order any passengers to exit the vehicle.<ref>{{cite web | author=Chief Justice [[William Rehnquist]] | url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/95-1268.ZO.html | title=Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408 (1997) | work=[[Cornell Law]] | access-date=February 9, 2012}}</ref>

=== Federal government ===
[[File:On Patrol in Puerto Rico.jpg|thumb|A [[Puerto Rico National Guard]] soldier assisting the [[Puerto Rico Police]] with a traffic stop, 2010. The National Guard was deployed to assist police while new [[Police cadet|police recruits]] were being trained.]]
The United States federal government has long used local traffic enforcement as a tool to further its goals through providing funding and training. Historically, this goal has been [[War on drugs|drug interdiction]], but this has been expanded to include the [[War on Terror]].<ref>{{cite web |title=NCJRS Abstract - National Criminal Justice Reference Service |url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=268894 |access-date=2019-07-06 |publisher=Ncjrs.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Rusillo |first=Tracy |title=HIGHWAY SECURITY: FILLING THE VOID |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a552296.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501232159/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a552296.pdf |archive-date=May 1, 2017 |access-date=2019-07-06 |website=www.dtic.mil}}</ref> Currently, the [[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration]] (NHTSA) in cooperation with two agencies in the [[United States Department of Justice]] (the [[Bureau of Justice Assistance]] and the [[National Institute of Justice]]) actively promote a program called Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) which provides training to local police forces to combine traffic enforcement with fighting crime.<ref>{{cite web |title=Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) &#124; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) |url=https://one.nhtsa.gov/Driving-Safety/Enforcement-&-Justice-Services/Data%E2%80%93Driven-Approaches-to-Crime-and-Traffic-Safety-(DDACTS) |access-date=2019-07-06 |publisher=One.nhtsa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Data-Driven Approaches to Crime and Traffic Safety (DDACTS) &#124; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) |url=https://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/operations/traffic/pages/ddacts.aspx |access-date=2019-07-06 |publisher=Nij.gov}}</ref> In the past, such approaches have been accused of promoting racial profiling.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kocieniewski |first=David |date=2000-11-29 |title=New Jersey Argues That the U.S. Wrote the Book on Race Profiling |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/29/nyregion/new-jersey-argues-that-the-us-wrote-the-book-on-race-profiling.html |access-date=30 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2010-02-02 |title=Driving While Black: Racial Profiling On Our Nation's Highways &#124; American Civil Liberties Union |url=https://www.aclu.org/report/driving-while-black-racial-profiling-our-nations-highways |access-date=2019-07-06 |publisher=Aclu.org}}</ref>

Federal grants to states often use the number of traffic tickets as a performance measure.<ref name="mcentire">{{Cite news |last1=McIntire |first1=Mike |last2=Keller |first2=Michael H. |date=2021-10-31 |title=The Demand for Money Behind Many Police Traffic Stops |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/31/us/police-ticket-quotas-money-funding.html |access-date=2023-05-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>