Running From The Cops

Q: Not that I plan on doing it, but what would happen if I tried to outrun the cops on a traffic stop?

A: Let’s work from the assumption that you’re being pulled over for a simple traffic violation and that you’re not a suspect in a heinous crime. Understandably, cops make a greater effort to catch suspects that by their very freedom present a risk to the community than they do for someone who doesn’t use a turn signal.

Outcome number one: If you speed away from the patrol car, there is a real possibility that you might get away. At least it would seem that way at the time. Vehicle pursuits are extremely dangerous for the officer, the fleeing suspect and the general public. For that reason, most law enforcement agencies will quickly end the pursuit of a suspect for a non-violent offense if the fleeing driver gets too crazy. That doesn’t mean the suspect really gets away. I recently rode with an officer during a DUI emphasis patrol, and noticed that prior to turning on the emergency lights he would notify the dispatch center of the license plate of the vehicle he intended to stop. Since they know who you are, that apparent escape might end up with a patrol car in your driveway, waiting for you to get home. See the third outcome for what happens from here.

Outcome number two: In your effort to escape, you may crash. Unless you’re James-Bond-cool, your body will be experiencing the effects of a high-stress situation including loss of fine motor skills, narrowed vision, and possibly loss of bladder control. (Get ready to clean your car seat.) Two of those three are critically important for safe driving. Tragically, we’ve had people in our community lose their lives while fleeing from a traffic stop. In the most recent local incident, the pursuing officer ended the chase because it got too dangerous. The fleeing driver continued at a high speed, and about a mile or so later crashed, killing the passenger in the vehicle.

Outcome number three: You get caught. Maybe you come to your senses and realize that the risk of eluding the police outweighs the consequences of getting caught, or maybe you put your car in the ditch and have no chance to run. Either way, attempting to elude a police vehicle turns a traffic infraction into a class C felony. It is also a surefire method of getting your driver license revoked.

I realize that this is just a hypothetical question (or at least I hope it is). Most drivers are more concerned about making sure they don’t elude the police, so I’ll add one caveat that the law includes as a defense to eluding a police vehicle. If “driving after the signal to stop was reasonable under the circumstances” you are not attempting to elude the police. As an example of where that might apply, let’s imagine that as you’re driving you look in your rear view mirror and see a patrol car with it’s lights on behind you. You signal to pull over, but look ahead and see that a quarter-mile down the road the shoulder widens and if you wait to pull over there you could get all the way off the roadway, making it safer for you and the officer. Not only would that be “reasonable under the circumstances”, the officer would most likely appreciate it as well.