Best Practices When Getting Pulled Over

When getting pulled over by law enforcement officials, should you do so immediately or wait until the nearest turn off where you can get out of the right of way? At least in Sheridan, the latter would be the preferred option according to Sheridan Police Chief Rich Adriaens. 

The detour to safety should be done as promptly as possible and the location that the driver pulls into should not take the scene unnecessarily out of the public’s view, for instance behind a building. Chief Adriaens said that if the person being stopped is more comfortable with just pulling over on the side of the road, that is acceptable. If that scenario does arise, those driving in that thoroughfare need to remember the “move over law”. This law requires those that are in a roadway that has multiple lanes traveling in each direction, or other applicable situations, to move into the adjacent lane and reduce their speed by 10mph to ensure the law enforcement officer’s safety during the traffic stop.

The move over law only applies to emergency and public service vehicles. That legislation was originally put into place in the early 2000’s and then amended to include the public service vehicles in 2018.