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In Michigan, we experience a lot of pretextual stops from law enforcement on the highways. I have been stopped for everything from driving 4 mph over to having a four-prong pigtail on my trailer hitch. I don’t know what motivates these frivolous traffic stops. Perhaps it’s the increase in drug use for small towns and rural areas, stronger enforcement of drunk driving laws, local officials being ‘tough on crime,’ or boredom and quotas among police officers. Regardless, it’s dubious that these stops solve any of these problems.
The reason these pretextual stops are worth it to police is their ability to ask us questions on the roadside. When police officers ask us questions, they are building a case against us, often fishing for any case they can make up. But we have the constitutional right to remain silent and not answer these questions beyond providing license, registration, and insurance. Interestingly, some law enforcement will cajole drivers into answering questions and ticket them for trivial offenses if they don’t. Yet it’s doubtful that a serious criminal is going to fall for these tactics and a drunk driver is best identified by dangerous driving not by his refusal to answer questions about a cracked taillight. Instead, law abiding citizens suffer the consequences for asserting their basic rights.
Technically, pretextual stops have been ruled constitutional, assuming the supposed infraction actually occurred. But elected representatives are still accountable to the people. Instead of fluffing off intrusions on our privacy, we can complain to elected officials and vote accordingly. We deserve to leave our homes without being harassed with pretextual stops and for trivial offenses. If nothing else, we have a constitutional right to remain silent when subject to these activities.
Dan Shaffer
Oscoda County
