Walk It Through: The Stop on the Highway
Blue lights in the mirror, a license and an insurance card on a phone, and a question about the trunk.
A police car's siren and lights come on behind a pickup on a two lane road.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A stop for a moving violation that ends in a warning. An impaired driving investigation, a firearm in the vehicle, and a search on probable cause are left to other walkthroughs and pages.
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.
- Notice of traffic infractionThe notice a driver receives for a traffic infraction, answered within 21 days of its issue by admitting, denying, or admitting with an explanation.
- Probable causeFacts and circumstances, within an officer's knowledge or from reasonably trustworthy information, enough for a person of reasonable caution to believe a crime has been or is being committed.