Let’s face it: most of us who drive will be pulled over by a cop at least once or twice in our lifetimes. If you weren’t too busy looking for your license and registration, you might have observed that the cop sometimes touches your tail lamp before reaching your window. Have you ever thought about why they do what they do? It turns out that there are a few.
Why Do Cops Touch Your Tail Light While Pulling You Over?
You may have observed that an older cop taps your tail light on their way to your window if you’ve been driving for a while or if you’ve been pulled over. Despite the practice is becoming less frequent, the reasons for doing so are as clever as they are practical. This is why they do it, and why it isn’t as frequent as it used to be.
- To Find Out More About The Driver
There is a risk in pulling someone over for a cop. They have no idea who the person is, how they will react, or what they have or have not been doing before to that time. Touching the tail light provides information about the driver’s mental state.
Knowing who is sitting in the driver’s seat and in what condition they are in could save an officer’s life.
- To Leave Traces
When an officer touches your tail light, their fingerprints are left on the automobile. This leaves evidence that they were present, so if something awful happens, investigators will be able to identify them. Because of dash cams, GPS monitoring, and other technologies, this reason is no longer necessary. - Examine The Trunk
If there is someone in the trunk, touching the tail lamp is one way to find out. This is for the officer’s safety, in case someone pops and harms them, as well as the safety of the individual who may be captured in the trunk. If the cops suspect this, one will usually approach the window while the other remains back behind the trunk just in case.
Why is it uncommon?
This practice is becoming increasingly rare. If you see an officer doing this nowadays, it is most likely an older cop who was instructed to do so and does so out of habit. Many police academies no longer teach this strategy.
First and foremost, technology has rendered this approach nearly obsolete. There are traffic cameras set in such a way that almost every angle of the road is visible. Police cars are now outfitted with dash cams, and cops wear body cams in several places.
Police violence is also a risk, as touching the tail light may place them directly behind the vehicle. This puts them in danger if the vehicle decides to reverse before the police arrives at the window. While you’re less likely to encounter this maneuver, if you do, you’ll know why.
