On our way to the lake today we passed a police officer conducting a traffic stop. It reminded me of a thought I’d been meaning to blog about. When police pull people over, they fire up every light they have. Blue lights and high-beam flashers are going crazy. While the blue lights do convey authority and make the traffic stop visible to other motorists, I think the rapidly flashing high-beams are counterproductive. Such a fast-paced flashing can’t help but make the motorist nervous.
Does an officer really want to raise a motorist’s anxiety level during a traffic stop? I think not. An officer can conduct a safe traffic stop without jeaprodizing the motorist or himself without the disco lights in the car. Point a spotlight in the car if you must but don’t raise the stakes any further with seizure-inducing flashing. There’s no reason to make getting pulled over any harder than it is.
The flashing lights are specifically for the safety of both the officer and the public. Flashing his lights to pull someone over also serves the purpose of notifying all drivers in the area that the officer and possibly another vehicle are about to do something unexpected. Once both vehicles have come to a stop on the side of the road they are both significantly exposed to on comming traffic. A traffic stop is one of the most dangerous things a police officer does, so they don’t take any chances that they (or you) may get hit because someone didn’t see them on the side of the road.
All good points. I’m referring specifically to the high beam flashers, however. All the other lights can serve to light the stopped motorist and all other drivers, but the high beams typically just shine into the stopped car and raise the driver’s blood pressure.
I think that’s counterproductive to a traffic stop. An officer doesn’t need any tension added into an already tense and dangerous situation. The high beam flashers don’t add much but extra tension.
Thanks for stopping by! Glad to hear your point of view.