Mecklenburg Traffic Stops
By driving, people incur the risk of occasionally being stopped. Mecklenburg traffic stops are not completely uncommon, and with the counsel of an adept traffic attorney, do not have to result in any other charges. The difficulty comes when people attempt to elude law enforcement or when the conversation between the driver and the officer becomes confrontational. Refusal to stop and negative interactions with law enforcement can escalate the situation. With this in mind, the following is what to generally expect at a traffic stop and the steps you can take to keep the situation from getting any worse.
Initial Stop
Whenever someone notices police lights or hears a siren they should slow down, see if the law enforcement vehicle needs to get around them, and if the vehicle pulls up directly behind them, they should look for a safe place to pull over and continue going slow to make an appearance that they are not attempting to get away if they do need to travel some distance to find an appropriate spot to stop.
A person should expect that when the officer pulls them over they will tell them why they were stopped, and ask them for their license and registration. Generally, the officers in Mecklenburg are polite and respectful during Mecklenburg traffic stops. If the individual stopped is issued a summons, they should expect that their summons to include the statute, the numerical statute, and a written title of what they are actually being charged with, the individual will then be asked to sign the summons at which point they will be released. However, if they don’t sign the summons which is not an admission of guilt if they still refuse to sign the summons on the side of the road, that would be taken in front of a magistrate to ensure their appearance in court to address the actions alleged.
Night Time Stops
There are some enhanced worries for a lot of people at night, particularly if they are unfamiliar with the area, if a person sees that the officer is close, then they should always want to slow down to allow the law enforcement to see that they are not speeding up, they are not trying to get away. Generally, they will get the point that the person is looking for somewhere to pull over and they want to look at that point for well-lit areas so that everyone is more comfortable. If they are on the interstate, an arrestor is nearby and that is ideal.
Mistakes to Avoid Making When Stopped
The biggest mistake is being rude and uncooperative, behaving in a way that makes the officer feel unsafe, and it is going to exacerbate the situation. It is going to make the officer more nervous about why the person they pulled over is so agitated. If it is a simple traffic stop and someone is highly agitated, that can often be misinterpreted. It can make the driver look like they have something serious to hide, or like they have issues with law enforcement. A person just wants to remain calm and be polite and cooperative during any routing Mecklenburg traffic stops.
What to Look for When Reading a Traffic Ticket
They want to look at the section where it says what a person is charged with. It is going to have a code section and the code section isn’t going to tell an average person anything it is going to be. Generally, it is either a 46.2 or an 18.2, either a criminal code section or a traffic offense code section, but a person is going to be looking for the language to explain that a driver is suspended, or if there is reckless driving, simple speeding, or child endangerment. A person wants to make sure that he or she knows what he or she is being charged with. The officers are supposed to write out the nature and title of the charge, essentially, but they don’t always, and that is something the driver could look for and ask about.