101 Things
An Author Needs to Know
About the Police and the Law
If the cops are behind me with their lights on,
do I have to pull over?
If the cops are behind me with their lights on,
do I have to pull over?
That would be a yes.
Failure to stop is a huge mistake. At the very least you could be charged with the misdemeanor of resisting arrest without violence. At the worst, aggravated fleeing.
Once the officer turns on his siren and overhead wigwags and you do not stop, it becomes a felony. If the cop has to follow you at a high rate of speed it then becomes aggravated fleeing, which usually comes with minimum mandatory jail time. Most times when you see the lights in your rearview mirror and you begin to pull over, the cop rushes past you to get to his real target. He just wanted you out of the way.
Don't play games with this. Just pull over. If you're afraid to pull over, say you're in a bad neighborhood or on a lonely stretch of road or on an off ramp on the highway, put your flashers on and signal to the officer to follow you. Pull over at the next safe place. A gas station would be nice if there is one. Somewhere where there are lights and other people. Do this as quickly as possible. If you have a cell phone, call 911 and tell the operator you're being asked to pull over by the police and you fully intend to, once you're in a safe place. Ask her/him to relay this to the cruiser who is behind you.
5 comments:
@ Anonymous. Thanks for stopping by. Other than the little pic on the side, I have never considered adding clips. It could be sort of an homage to "Cops" I suppose.
I sure hope there ISN'T any 'pop' pics and clips on your blog. I'm almost afraid to look.
I found this one particularly interesting, Jody. I knew nothing about the charges that could stem from these situations.
@Tamara. With knowledge comes power. :)
So you're allowed to use your phone while driving in the US, Jody? Here, if you started using a mobile (cell) phone while driving, even to dial 999 (911), you'd just be adding to the list of reasons for the policeman to book you.
@ Chris. Just about every state over here has a no texting while driving law. Some states allow you to use cell phones in the car and some don't. Most don't. Some only allow a cell phone with an ear piece or some kind of speaker in the car. All states will allow a 911 call.
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