Question for LEOs, Traffic Stop

[Rule3]

On traffic stops (movies TV) and probably in real life, the driver is asked for license and registration , maybe insurance.
If you are driving your own vehicle with current tags and yearly sticker, why do you need a paper copy of registration? The plate is registered to you and vehicle and your DL IDs you

Am I missing something??

 

[SMSgt]

Force of habit.

 

[LVSteve]

On traffic stops (movies TV) and probably in real life, the driver is asked for license and registration , maybe insurance.
If you are driving your own vehicle with current tags and yearly sticker, why do you need a paper copy of registration? The plate is registered to you and vehicle and your DL IDs you

Am I missing something??

Force of habit. If the LE HQ computer system or comms are iffy, it gives the officer a cross-check right there.

 

[mckenney99]

When I started my LE career, we had a limited amount of radio "air space" available with 6 different post's Troopers (maybe 12 - 15 active Troopers making traffic stops at a time) all working on the same radio frequency. As a result, we had to limit the amount of information, air time, being tied up/transmitted on each stop. Also at that time we routinely made drivers side approaches to the vehicle and with the vehicle registration in hand, we could look down and immediately confirm that the registration displayed on the vehicle matched the vehicle's VIN we had stopped.
After OH went to drivers having to carry proof of insurance, those proof documents carried the same VIN and policy holders information so I just quit asking for the registration. If you encountered someone who had trouble locating the items requested it "could" indicate a driver's impairment or maybe the driver didn't "belong" to that vehicle. Clues.
Before I retired we went to having Mobile Data Terminals / computer terminals in the car but you still did not want to sit in the patrol car with your head buried and your focus being on the computer instead of watching and paying attention to what is going on around you or in the car you have stopped.
I am horrified today when I see my new Troopers sitting in patrol cars, totally focused on the d@&% computer screen instead of what is happening around them. That lack of awareness can get you killed.

 

[326MOD10]

Where I worked stolen tags and/or stolen year stickers were common practice.

On stolen cars some would steal tags off similar cars and switch them out. So good guy driver A could be driving a car that comes back stolen while bad guy has the tag from good guys car on a stolen car.

I just liked to have all the paperwork I need to see what is what up front.

Plus it gives me a chance to peak in the glove box, for my safety, as you open it to retrieve.

 

[Rustyt1953]

If a badge walks up to my vehicle and says "show me your papers" I'm gonna show them my papers.

 

[Alk8944]

Simplest answer, those items are required by law to be in possession of the driver when operating a motor vehicle on public roadways. This is the way to verify those documents are in the drivers possession and current. The auto may be stolen, new purchase and un-registered, DL expired or suspended, no insurance, etc, etc, etc.

 

[45Smashemflat]

Sorry, Georgia here. By “registration,” do you mean “tag receipt?”

I should probably check, but I’m pretty sure they dropped the requirement to have it in the car.

So, if I’m driving out of state, should I grab it ahead of time?

 

[TX-Dennis]

I've never been asked for registration. License, yes; insurance, yes; registration, never.

Perhaps Texas is different. Been a long time since I was stopped in another state, so I can't be certain about Colorado.

 

[Doug M.]

Technically, what applies for valid plates and the like is your home state law. If you have paperwork in your state that is different from what the cop in East Pitchatent is used to seeing, the resulting logistical difficulties can be annoying. Example: Some states require two plates, and a single plate state will result in odd looks and a possible stop in other states.

When I started, we were taught to run the plate and get all the info off it before initiating the stop. Getting a "hit" on the plate or driver (some states cross reference the owner's DL with the registration) without knowing how close backup units are is a poor choice. Get the radio traffic, or now, MDT/MDC stuff done before hitting the lights so you have as much info as possible, and nothing extraneous in your hands. Deviating from that should generally be a discipline issue for violating safety training.

I would be done with the radio (we had to call out stops to make it easier for dispatchers and other officers to know where you were) and hang up the mike, then turn on the rear arrow and lights to let the folks behind know I was about to become a traffic hazard while confirming I picked a good spot for a stop (maybe 3-5 seconds before hitting the front lights. I used as much light as possible, partly because I hated working days and needed the lights, and partly because the lights should be designed to make it harder for a driver to see the officer. Depending on where one works, many stops will mean interacting with a criminal, and practices that are consistent with that and used consistently make a difference. Remember that the OKC Bomber, Tim McVay, was stopped by an Oklahoma trooper who was paying attention and saw indicia of criminality before the stop.

 

[LoboGunLeather]

During my puppy policeman days we had to call the motor vehicle clerk's office for registration checks, and sometimes there was no one there so we had to send someone over with a key to access the (paper) files.

Things have become more automated and easier to access since then, but there are still times when computer systems are down or radio contact cannot be made. I remember lots of times when I could go for an hour or more between places where contact with a dispatcher was possible (pre-cellular, pre-digital, rather pre-historic I suppose).

I'm sure the day is coming when all a cop has to do is scan your implant, then scan the transponder on your car, have all your information in a flash. Then the robots can hold your hearing while you wait and take your fine out of your bank account on the spot. No need to engage in conversation with another human being.

 

[Doug M.]

Some number of DLs have technology that allows an officer to scan the DL and it will populate the data in a ticket program. This was just coming in as I retied so I never used it. I know that WSP has software in phones or tablets that can receive data from electronic logs (commercial vehicles) and check the figures for hours of service compliance.

 

[oink]

On my 1st cop job, to run anyhing I had to call county dispatch on the radio and request my check. The dispatcher then had to sign off, change channels and then call a neighboring county that was big enough to have computer access to run stuff. Then after getting that back from the other county she would change back to our channel, sign back on and then give me my requested information. I obviously didn't run much stuff.

 

[Faulkner]

Plus it gives me a chance to peak in the glove box, for my safety, as you open it to retrieve.

These days I pretty much have their registration info and insurance status from my laptop before I ever approach the car, but if I see, smell, or hear something out of place after I ask for their drivers license I may go ahead and ask for their registration and proof of insurance to buy me a little more observation time and just see how the driver responds, especially if there seems to be reasonable suspicion that the driver is impaired. It can be quite enlightening to watch a drunk dig around in a console or glove box looking for proof of insurance.

 

[SMSgt]

If a badge walks up to my vehicle and says "show me your papers" I'm gonna show them my papers.

Don't think the LEO cares about your pedigree.

 

[LVSteve]

Simplest answer, those items are required by law to be in possession of the driver when operating a motor vehicle on public roadways. This is the way to verify those documents are in the drivers possession and current. The auto may be stolen, new purchase and un-registered, DL expired or suspended, no insurance, etc, etc, etc.

Which irritates me no end, because now there is stuff with my name, my wife's name, and our address that has to be in something as insecure as a car. That is a bad plan when it comes to reducing the risk of ID theft and our PERSEC in general.

 

[sophie]

I've never been asked for registration. License, yes; insurance, yes; registration, never.

Perhaps Texas is different. Been a long time since I was stopped in another state, so I can't be certain about Colorado.

^^^^^What TX-Dennis says^^^^

 

[swsig]

I've never been asked for registration. License, yes; insurance, yes; registration, never.

Perhaps Texas is different. Been a long time since I was stopped in another state, so I can't be certain about Colorado.

Years ago, I remember reading a Texas Department of Public Safety statement that advised against carrying your registration document in your car. The reason given was that if the car was stolen, possession of the registration document would make it easier for the thief to get a new fake title. Therefore, Texas does not require you to carry registration papers in your car.

 

[Tom S.]

In Michigan, state law requires drivers to have the registration with them, whether it is their vehicle or not, as well as proof of insurance and a valid driver's license. My own personal belief is the officer asks for all three not only to verify you have them, but also, depending on your demeanor, to give the officer another avenue of handling why you were pulled over. For instance, you are pulled over for speeding. You are courteous and promptly comply with the officer's instructions but don't have your current registration. The officer runs your plate, finds out not only is the vehicle registered to you but also that you haven't had a moving violation in more than 30 years. Instead of giving you a ticket that will put points on your record, which may also impact your insurance rates, the officer gives you a citation for not having a registration. Chances are, not only is the fine lower than the speeding ticket would have been, but so are the residual effects ie., the points and the possible insurance rate increase.

I am aware of several instances where this has happened.

Besides the license, registration and insurance proof, in Michigan you are also required to inform the officer if you hold a concealed pistol license and if you are currently carrying. That law is relatively new (at least from an old guy's prospective) and I was charged with it shortly after it took effect. Unlike most under Michigan's older and acquainted law, few people could get a carry permit for anything other than hunting and target shooting. I was one of the exceptions and had been licensed to carry for several decades when the laws were relaxed and the requirement to notify officers came into effect. I was pulled over for 5 over on my way to work one morning and after giving the officer my license, registration and insurance card, he returned to my truck asking if I was carrying a concealed weapon. Remembering the new law, I apologized to the officer and confirmed I had a firearm in my briefcase. I explained my circumstances, that I had been licensed to carry for so long the gun was as much a part of my briefcase as the pens and papers it contained, and he gave me a ticket for the speeding and let the other matter drop. Had he written me up, it would have been a fine and a trip before the CPL board to explain myself. So if you are traveling in Michigan with a concealed firearm, do not forget to inform the officer should you get pulled over.

 

[CajunBass]

I've only been stopped a very few times in my life (3), but I have never been asked for my registration or proof of insurance. I got no idea what's required or expected in Virginia. I have all three of course. I've never been asked for my license really, since I always have it out before the officer has gotten to the car. Not even at an accident (all minor).