A police officer cannot just randomly stop your vehicle and ask you to answer questions, take a field sobriety test or things of this nature. For instance, an officer can’t just wait outside of a local bar and pull over every driver who leaves the bar, looking for people who are under the influence. These types of random stops would be a violation of the motorist’s rights, as they could be subjected to an unreasonable search or seizure.
Instead, the officer typically needs to have reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed or probable cause to pull over the vehicle. For instance, they may see driving mistakes, such as rolling through a stop sign or drifting over the centerline. That gives them probable cause to stop the driver. They may see the driver drifting back and forth in their lane and decide that they are operating their vehicle as if they’re under the influence. That doesn’t prove that the driver is actually impaired, but it is enough for the officer to initiate a traffic stop.
There are many reasons for a potential stop
The reality is that the police can often find a reason for a stop. Maybe they say something on your windshield was obstructing your vision. Perhaps they noticed an equipment violation, such as a broken tail light.
In some cases, the traffic stop can escalate from that point. For instance, maybe the officer pulls you over for a broken tail light, but then smells alcohol on your breath while talking to you and determines that you’ve been drinking. They then ask you to take a breath test. This would be legal because they had an appropriate reason to stop the car and followed the proper steps.
Conversely, though, if an officer pulls you over without reason, it could mean that you’re being subjected to an illegal stop and that any evidence from that traffic stop can’t be used against you if you face criminal charges. At a time like that, it’s very important to know what legal steps to take.