What Rights Do I Have During a Traffic Stop in My State?

Most drivers feel stressed when law enforcement pulls them over for a traffic stop. Drivers often appear nervous, even if they don’t know what they did wrong. They may fumble for their driver’s license or proof of insurance. Even answering simple questions can be challenging.

Many drivers forget their basic rights during a traffic stop, including their right to remain silent and the right to refuse a vehicle search. The U.S. Constitution protects your rights during a traffic stop. However, some states have stronger legal protections based on state law. For legal advice about your rights during a traffic stop, talk to a local civil rights lawyer.

Traffic Stop Scenario

Let’s say you’re out for a Sunday drive with your partner. You’re surrounded by four patrol cars with flashing lights, and police officers emerge with guns drawn, issuing a series of commands. You’re told to throw your keys out, keep your hands up, get out of the car, walk backward, and lie on the ground to be handcuffed.

After about 15 minutes, the officers tell you, “Sorry, this was a mistake,” and they uncuff you, pack up, and leave. Later, you find out there was a felony in progress, an armed robbery two blocks away, and the getaway car was similar to yours.

In those circumstances:

• Are the officers allowed to stop and handcuff you? “Yes,” says Grace Jun, a civil rights and civil litigation attorney at The Law Office of Grace Jun in San Diego.
• Do the officers have to explain anything to you or answer questions? “No, absolutely they do not,” Jun says.
• Can you bring a civil rights lawsuit against the city? “Probably not,” Jun says. “Not based on qualified immunity.”

Qualified immunity gives law enforcement officers broad protection when acting in the course of their official duties.

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Identification and the Right To Remain Silent

When you get pulled over, most states require you to show your driver’s license, proof of insurance, and vehicle registration. If you don’t show a valid license, registration, or insurance, you can get a ticket or face possible arrest.

You have the right to remain silent during a traffic stop. In reality, most drivers answer questions and provide their contact information without any trouble. However, you do have the right to stay silent. Saying something gives the police the chance to catch you in a lie or get you to admit to some wrongdoing.

Citizen Rights at Traffic Stops and Unwarranted Searches

Overall, citizens might have fewer rights than they realize when it comes to traffic stops and unwarranted searches.

First, it doesn’t take much for the police to pull over a driver. “Probable cause for a traffic stop is really any traffic violation,” Jun says and then ticks off some examples:

• Expired registration
• Busted tail lights
• Tinted windows
• Changing lanes without signaling
• Air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror

Wait, air freshener? Yes. That one came up in the Daunte Wright case, Jun says, though the officer’s stated reason for the traffic stop was expired tags. “In my cases, what I’ve seen as the basis for a stop are relatively innocuous things like tinted windows and changing lanes,” she says.

Jun adds that such Vehicle Code stops are often “pretextual” — the officer suspects something else is going on and wants to investigate.

Warrantless Vehicle Search by State

What To Do if Police Ask to Search Your Car

Once the police have stopped you, they may ask to search your vehicle, or they may tell you they’re searching your vehicle. If they ask, Jun’s advice is like the ’80s anti-drug slogan: Just say no.

“Do not consent to a search of your phone and do not consent to a search of your car,” she says. “Obviously, you want to stay as calm as possible, you want to be cooperative, you want to be polite. Nowadays, many police agencies have body cam videos and, hopefully, there’s a body cam video that’s been activated by the officer. If it’s San Diego PD, they definitely have body cams, and they will activate. So, you want to make sure that you are presenting properly on the body cam. But you certainly do not need to consent to things.”

What To Do if Police Search Your Car Anyway

But if the officer searches your vehicle anyway? The advice is the same: Remain calm, don’t make any sudden movements, and be cooperative.

“Most likely, they’re going to remove you from your car,” Jun says. “Many officers will handcuff individuals, and they’ll do so for officer-safety reasons. So let’s say they handcuff you and make you sit on the curb. What you should do, at that point, is, again, remain cooperative and polite. Because if you decide to fight or interfere, now you’ve given the officer probable cause to arrest you for interfering with a peace officer. Which is a different criminal charge. You’ve given them more ammunition.”

Such actions may be a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures, but in the moment you don’t know that. “The problem with probable cause” Jun says, “is there is no strict guideline as to what can constitute probable cause. It’s incredibly fact-dependent, and it relates to the totality of the circumstances. So it depends on the basis for the search of the car.”

Avoiding Escalation at a Traffic Stop

A traffic stop is a potentially charged situation, Jun reminds us, that can escalate quickly. “Law enforcement officers will have some legitimate concerns — vehicle stops can be dangerous,” she says. “But there’s this countervailing concern of training officers to perceive civilians to be a threat when they may not be. And in perceiving civilians as a threat, they may interpret relatively innocuous gestures as something that is very dangerous and threatening. And that may set the tone for the rest of the interaction.”

She adds that all traffic stops are not treated equally. “If you’re a Black or Latino male, you’re probably going to be perceived, in some implicit, biased way, as a little bit more dangerous,” she says. “So for my Black or Latino clients, I advise them: Keep your hands on the steering wheel. If they ask you to throw your keys out of the window and keep your hands outside the window, just do it. Because it’s better for you to be cooperative in that moment than to be shot and killed.”

State Requirements for Warrantless Vehicle Searches

The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure. However, there is a vehicle exception to your Fourth Amendment rights. Vehicles are mobile, and there is a chance the driver could leave before the police get a search warrant. Under the vehicle exception, federal law only requires police to have probable cause that a vehicle has contraband or evidence of a crime.

Some states have stronger privacy protections for drivers than the federal “probable cause” standard, also requiring showing exigency. The following is a table showing the requirements for law enforcement to conduct a warrantless vehicle search.

Find Legal Help

If you think the police violated your rights during a traffic stop or conducted an illegal search, reach out to a reputable civil rights attorney.