Podcast Episode 11: Rethinking Traffic Stops

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Should cops pull people over?

One of the dangers that cops face is when they pull people over on the side of the road

It is dangerous for the cop because:

They might be on the edge of a busy highway

They don’t know how dangerous the person in the car is

It is dangerous for the person because there is always a potential for escalation leading to problems for the person or the cop

It also causes increased traffic because people are trying to get out of the way of the pulled over vehicles or slow down as they approach.

Increased traffic leads to dangerous situations

So why do we do it?

To keep dangerous people off the roads.

To get drivers to slow down

To disincentivize drivers from driving recklessly

Is it worth it?

Keeping dangerous people off the road is probably worth it because they might cause an accident and I can’t think of a better way to do it

Getting people to slow down is questionable because speed has been shown to not be all that dangerous on its own. I think a cop could be just as effective pulling up behind someone and writing them a virtual ticket that will be mailed to them along with their picture.

Stopping reckless drivers is potentially worth it because they might cause an accident. But I think you could use the same tactic as the people speeding to get them to stop.

Problems with the idea:

What if someone else is driving your car (maybe they could take your picture so the owner of the car would know who was driving)(maybe facial recognition could be used though I’m not sure if I like that idea.)

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