Walk It Through: The Stop on Route One
A stop at night, a license left at home, a registration card in the glove box, and insurance shown on a phone.
Driving home to Dover late at night, a driver drifts over the lane line and a trooper's lights come on behind the car.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A night stop for a lane violation with papers at home. A search of the car, a field sobriety test, an arrest and a driver with no insurance at all are other walkthroughs.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Blue envelopeAn envelope the State Police provide on request to a driver with a disability, holding the license, registration and insurance card, with guidance for the officer and the driver.
- Detention for questioningA stop of a person reasonably suspected of a crime, to ask name, address, business and destination, lasting no more than 2 hours.
- Insurance identification cardA card from the insurer showing a policy meeting the State's minimums, carried in the vehicle and shown on request, on paper or on a phone.