Traffic Stop... and Go

December 4, 2004 11:09 PM

I was recently driving and motioned by a police officer to pull over, and then told through my window to pull to the side, get out my license and registration. The officer was pulling over multiple cars, one after the other, for the same offense. I just drove off as the officer was motioning yet another car behind me. Am I in deep trouble, or is this not so bad? Should I avoid driving in the area for a few days, or is it all over?
posted by anonymous to Law & Government (10 answers total)

My guess would be that it's probably all over.
posted by ikkyu2 at 11:17 PM on December 4, 2004

Depends on whether the officer caught your license plate on his video camera (and then decides to follow up).
posted by hindmost at 11:37 PM on December 4, 2004

Couldn't it just be a drunk check? They do those now and then in my hometime, especially around Christmas and graduation.
posted by stray at 11:48 PM on December 4, 2004

Are you sure the officer wasn't motioning you to leave? A motion to leave would include extending and waving an arm forward towards you ("get out of here.")
posted by quam at 7:02 AM on December 5, 2004

What "same offense" might that be?

I've heard of blocks of speeding cars being pulled over, but this sounds odd.
posted by frykitty at 7:21 AM on December 5, 2004

The amount of trouble you're in depends on what you were ticketed for. Speeding? Pay the ticket and it's all over. Broken tail light? It's probably a fix-it ticket and there could be a follow-up.

Unfortunately, you didn't include this critical information in your question.
posted by majick at 7:49 AM on December 5, 2004

This could be construed as eluding, a misdemeanor in most locals. However, confusion over the officer's instructions might make a good defense. The fact that you admit here that you understood him to be pulling you over and asking for license and registration could turn such a defense into perjury, typically a felony.
posted by caddis at 8:29 AM on December 5, 2004

I once drove off just like this, but with one critical difference: I forgot that I had given the officer my driver's license. Whoops. A few days later I got my license back with a ticket via the USPS, and that was (basically) it.
posted by norm at 8:29 AM on December 5, 2004

I like the way you think, caddis.
posted by gokart4xmas at 9:17 AM on December 5, 2004

"Am I in deep trouble, or is this not so bad?"
I seriously doubt that you are in deep trouble and, in the grand scheme of things, your actions probably aren't so bad either. However, the next time you do the same thing, i.e. drive off after being signalled to pull over, you might find yourself in the not-so-enjoyable circumstance of being on the receiving end of a "felony stop." Ordered out of the car and down on the ground, hands on head, guns pointed at you, yadda yadda yadda. Probably should have just stayed pulled over and found out what the deal was in the first place.
posted by FredFeral at 5:34 PM on December 5, 2004