Empowering Drivers: Tech Tools for Safer Traffic Stops
In no more than a minute, we can teach you how to act if the police pull you over. It’s time for telecoms and auto companies to make that technology available to everyone, especially people of color, for whom getting stopped can become life-threatening.
Let me introduce myself. I’m an aging white male, who for almost three decades served as a judge on the Los Angeles Superior Court and before that, a Municipal Court judge, where I heard dozens of traffic violations. If anyone knows what can happen during a traffic stop, I do.
That said, I can’t forget the night, six years ago, when two police cars — sirens on, lights flashing — pulled me over. One officer had a hand on his holstered gun as he approached my car. I had no idea what I’d done until he yelled at me, “Did you know you turned right back there?” A sign barred right turns on a red light.
To say I was nervous is an understatement. Bathed in the glare of patrol cruiser lights, with two uniformed cops looming over me, I froze. I didn’t know what to say. I think I blurted something out like, “I didn’t see it,” a classic admission a prosecutor could use against me in court. After handing me a ticket, one of the police officers barked, “If you’re going to drive in Los Angeles, you better learn the rules.”
I had enough self-control not to sass him, not to say I’d grown up in the Southland, not to do anything more than sign the ticket — my “promise to appear.”
The event made me consider the reaction of motorists who have no legal training, specifically young persons, especially people of color. According to one NPR broadcast, “Routine stops can be downright life-threatening for Black and brown people in America.” Like any of us, they may get angry, they may wave their hands, rev their engine, jump out of the car. Any of those moves could get them killed.
Civilians are not the only ones at risk. Police officers also die during traffic stops. According to a New York Times study, of the roughly 280 officers killed on duty since late 2016, about 60 died — mostly by gunfire — at the hands of motorists who had been pulled over. So, when the police stop you, their adrenaline is pumping too. They don’t know what to expect. An African American criminologist at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland, who also worked as a Georgia Police officer, has said, “Police think vehicle stops are dangerous.” They react accordingly.
You may have aced driver education but chances are that if stopped, you won’t recall everything you learned. People of color may not remember everything they heard during “the talk” with their parents. Stressful situations can slow down memory, or drain it out completely.
Turns out we already have apps to remind everyone what to do and remind them fast, between the time police officers pull them over and the moment they reach the passenger door. One is Legal Equalizer, another is Turnsignl, and the American Civil Liberties Union has something similar. We just have to get them into cars and onto smartphones.
Advice like, “keep both hands on the wheel,” “let officers know what you are doing,” or “I’m going to reach for my registration now.” Don’t argue. You can stay silent. You don’t have to consent to a search. Ask if you can park your car in a safe place so that if you’re arrested, you can avoid towing or impoundment fees. Don’t create a drama. Be compliant.
The Internet abounds with this information. For example, NPR offers a twenty-three-minute listen called, “If You're Stopped by Police, You Have Rights to Protect You. Here's What to Remember.” But if you’re stopped, a twenty-three-minute review is too long to help you. We need apps on dashboards and cell phones that can be activated with a voice or the push of a finger that can transmit this information fast — a one-page summary on the screen, a forty-five second recording, or both.
Let’s insist that car manufacturers include an audible reminder as a basic feature on their vehicles. Likewise, cell phone manufacturers should include such an app. If they refuse to do so, push for legislation and rulemaking. Also, urge car dealerships, particularly in ethnically diverse communities, to demand them from their manufacturers. Meanwhile, dealerships can look for other ways to cue the nervous driver. Even an old-school flash card in the console is better than nothing.
Some may complain about the cost. Since such apps are already available, we’re only talking about installation. The installation of a navigation app costs at most $450; a breathalyzer, about $100. Numbers like these are not significant for telecoms or the Big Three auto manufacturers. It’s worth it to give people a rapid review of their rights when seconds count. The information could help keep everyone calm — and perhaps save lives.
About the Author:
Anthony J. Mohr is a 2021 fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative and a senior editor of the Harvard ALI Social Impact Review. For almost twenty-seven years, he was a judge on the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County, where he presided over civil and felony trials. He still serves there on a part-time basis. On two occasions, Anthony sat for several months as judge pro tem on the California Court of Appeal. Among his numerous professional affiliations, he served on the Executive Committee of the Los Angeles Superior Court and chaired both the Superior Court’s Ethics Review and Response Committee and the statewide Committee on Judicial Ethics of the California Judges Association. He sits on the Regional Board of Directors for the Anti-Defamation League’s Los Angeles Region and the ADL’s National Commission. With another judge, Anthony has authored two legal textbooks. In 2023, his memoir Every Other Weekend – Coming of Age With Two Different Dads was published. Find him at www.anthonyjmohr.com.