Various states are considering changing driver’s education courses to teach students how to correctly interact with police officers during traffic stops.
North Carolina legislators plan to introduce a bill. Mississippi, New Jersey and Rhode Island are also looking to address traffic stops, reports the Charlotte Observer.
Illinois has already passed a bill that deals with the issue. Its 2017 guidebook, “Rules of the Road,” offers various tips on how drivers should behave when a police officers stops them.
The guidebook tells drivers to pull over safely to the side of the road and to keep their hands on the steering wheel.
“Don’t debate with the officer about the reason for the stop or a ticket. There will be time in court to defend yourself,” the guidebook says, warning drivers to be cooperative with police officers.
“The goal here is to reduce what could be a tense situation that can be very stressful on both sides,” said Dave Druker, from the Illinois secretary of state’s office.
North Carolina is in the process of considering a bill that has instructors explain “appropriate interactions with law enforcement officers.” The bill would also include input from the sheriff’s association, the state Highway Patrol and other police groups.
So far, the bill has garnered support from both sides of the aisle.
“It’s just a public safety issue,” said Republican state Rep. John Faircloth, a former police chief. “I think all of us want to do anything we can to make the public safer out there, and to not put our officers in a situation where they might make the wrong decision.”
Robert Dawkins, an organizer of a police accountability group in North Carolina, wants legislation that would force police officers to keep their emotions in check during stops.
Dawkins pointed out that even if drivers act respectfully, officers might react negatively if the driver moves his hands from the steering wheel.
“I make a quick movement, that that quick movement can result in me losing my life,” Dawkins said.
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