Probable cause and suspicion with likely cause?

[tony3]

I haven't heard anything about this and can't get a solid answer out of anyone. Lets say I'm driving after curfew. Doing nothing at all wrong, going the speed limit etc. It is after curfew though which is illegal. A cop pulls up next to me, looks in the window at me. If he thinks I'm too young to be driving after curfew, can he pull me over? I have heard lots of different things about whether he can or can;t.

[splatattack33]

sounds sorta fishy liek one time i was riding with one of my firends idk whencurfew is but it was about 945 we had gone to a basketball game we were doing normal speed and thier was a cop behind us but didnt pull us over or anythingooh and 2 days ago before school cops sit at the bottom of the hill that you need to drive up to get to the school and directs traffic .... and my friend hasa 89 dodge dynasty with the origenal sound system and crap and he gets waved down for it being to loud now the older seniors pull in with theirs wicked loud and never get weaved down but all the underclassmen do does this sound funny or whta?

[taylor492]

sounds sorta fishy liek one time i was riding with one of my firends idk whencurfew is but it was about 945 we had gone to a basketball game we were doing normal speed and thier was a cop behind us but didnt pull us over or anythingooh and 2 days ago before school cops sit at the bottom of the hill that you need to drive up to get to the school and directs traffic .... and my friend hasa 89 dodge dynasty with the origenal sound system and crap and he gets waved down for it being to loud now the older seniors pull in with theirs wicked loud and never get weaved down but all the underclassmen do does this sound funny or whta?

WTF!?


I dont know what you are trying to say here, but my answer to Tony would be yes. Anytime a police officer has probable cause to suspect that a law is being broken, he can take action.

[Muzikman]

Well, in PA a cop can pull you over for any reason they like. I found this out after I got pulled over about 10 years ago, they asked me to step out of the car, looked at my info, looked at the car. Handed me everything and sent me on the way. As they were having me my stuff, I asked why they pulled me over. They said it was just a routine check. After going down to the police department the next day, I found out this is perfectly legal for them to do.

[i_baked_cookies]

ugh i hate rules like curfew and such.

[tony3]

Well, in PA a cop can pull you over for any reason they like. I found this out after I got pulled over about 10 years ago, they asked me to step out of the car, looked at my info, looked at the car. Handed me everything and sent me on the way. As they were having me my stuff, I asked why they pulled me over. They said it was just a routine check. After going down to the police department the next day, I found out this is perfectly legal for them to do.

In illinois I know to do a routine check, they need to set up and confirm their pattern for checking. They need to sit at a certain rode and pull over every 15th car that comes by, something like that. Just can't do random routine checks.

[TDonovan]

If you're trying to look unassuming, don't drive UNDER the speed limit. Just drive like you normally would (unless that's way too fast).

You'll probably be fine. I used to drive after curfew all the time before I was 17 and they never gave me any problems.

The only problem I'd see is if it's REAL late and you had a ton of noisy kids in the car. They might be able to pull you over to check if you're of legal age to transport that many people (isn't there some new driver = 1 passenger rule for a few months)

[soccer4minimags]

They don't need PC to stop you, just reasonable suspicion is required for stops.

[BlackVCG]

sounds sorta fishy liek one time i was riding with one of my firends idk whencurfew is but it was about 945 we had gone to a basketball game we were doing normal speed and thier was a cop behind us but didnt pull us over or anythingooh and 2 days ago before school cops sit at the bottom of the hill that you need to drive up to get to the school and directs traffic .... and my friend hasa 89 dodge dynasty with the origenal sound system and crap and he gets waved down for it being to loud now the older seniors pull in with theirs wicked loud and never get weaved down but all the underclassmen do does this sound funny or whta?

Without a doubt, the longest illegible sentence ever produced.

[GT]

In texas an officer is allowed to pull your car over and conduct a state insepction of your vehical at anytime. You can be pulled over for anything, obey the law and you have no need to fear it.

[Steelrat]

Essentially, they can stop you for any reason. They just need to be able to articulate a reasonable suspicion. A police officer also has the right to detain you and question you without putting you under arrest.

Like GT said, obey the law. Its there for your protection.

[BeaverEater]

Well im not sure if they can pull you over for curfew, but they will definately find something to pull you over for if they want to.

[PyRo]

They cannot pull you over for any reason they feel like, they need probable cause. This is a right that you have and a state cannot take it away, it would have to be fedral law. What they do usually is follow you and pull you over for somthing stupid 1mph, dirty headlight, not signaling 100ft before the turn, touching a line, etc. I got pulled over the other night for touching the yellow line he just walked around my car and saw what he could see inside with the flashlight (they can look by cannot make you move anything even if you do somthing like throw a sheet over somthing as they are comming up), he just asked if I had been drinking, checked for warrents, and let me go.

[shortfri]

re

it differs from state to state. but like pyro says if they want you pulled over, you will be pulled over.

[Steelrat]

They cannot pull you over for any reason they feel like, they need probable cause. This is a right that you have and a state cannot take it away, it would have to be fedral law. What they do usually is follow you and pull you over for somthing stupid 1mph, dirty headlight, not signaling 100ft before the turn, touching a line, etc. I got pulled over the other night for touching the yellow line he just walked around my car and saw what he could see inside with the flashlight (they can look by cannot make you move anything even if you do somthing like throw a sheet over somthing as they are comming up), he just asked if I had been drinking, checked for warrents, and let me go.

You don't need probable cause, you only need a reasonable suspicion. Probable cause is the standard for arresting someone. Do a search for "Terry stop" and you will see what I mean.

Oh, and I don't recommend moving around a lot while officers are approaching your car. Thats a good way to get yourself shot, or at the very least proned out on the ground.