07/20/2018
Happy Friday, everyone! It's about the time where everyone is getting excited to leave work and get home to their family and friends to begin their weekend activities. Sometimes, this excitement can lead to folks not paying attention to how fast they may or may not be driving...which can of course lead to being pulled over by a police officer for speeding. What a way to start the weekend, right?
Important note (seems obvious): If you don't go over the marked speed limit, you probably will not get pulled over for speeding.
HOWEVER: Humans make mistakes and sometimes being pulled over by a police officer is just an unfortunate part of life. While being pulled over by the police is never going to be a pleasant or enjoyable experience, there are steps any reasonable individual can take to ensure that it is as painless as possible and does not escalate to anything worse.
1. When you are pulled over, pull over to as SAFE a location as possible. Try to avoid pulling over in a location that could pose a risk of injury to you or the police officer. Parking lots or smaller residential streets are much safer pull over locations than the side of a busy road or highway.
2. BE POLITE. It goes a long way. Respond to questions with "Yes/no, sir/ma'am/officer." The better your attitude to the situation, the better chance it will go how you would prefer.
3. Turn your vehicle's engine completely off and keep your hands on the steering wheel until instructed to do otherwise. Roll you window all the way down. This is not only to keep you safe but also to keep the police officer safe as well. The less on edge a police officer feels about a situation, and the less they feel like you will give them a hard time, the more likely that they might cut you a break.
4. COMPLY with instructions to a reasonable extent. If a police officer tells you to do a hand stand and sing Madonna's, "Like a Virgin" backwards, that is clearly an unreasonable order and you do not have to comply. Traffic stops are tricky situations when it comes to what a police officer can and cannot force you to do. Something a police officer may instruct you to do during a traffic stop may feel like a breach of your constitutional rights. Again, this is somewhat of a judgement call, but more than likely it is best to just do what a police officer instructs, and if you feel as though your rights were violated, pursue legal action with an aggressive, experienced attorney like Ms. Brito after the fact. That last bit of advice could be the difference between life and death. Do not take it lightly.
5. REMEMBER that you have the right to remain silent! That doesn't mean you should be rude, however, you can choose not to answer any questions you don't want to. (HINT: In most cases, you should NEVER answer a police officer's questions without your attorney present. Provide any information they request to verify your identity. Beyond that however, you are not obliged to say anything.
Follow these steps, and your traffic stop should more than likely go relatively without incident. However, should you find yourself in a situation where you need an attorney, give Brynn L. Brito P.A. a call at (321) 725-1542 ext. 3 or send her an e-mail at [email protected].