What to do if you get pulled over in Sarasota, Florida
Getting pulled over is never a fun experience. However, you can make the experience easier on yourself by staying calm, being prepared and not giving the police any reason for further suspicion. Staying in control of your 
emotions and the situation will also help you down the line if you choose to fight any ticket you may receive. Here are the top five tips for handling a traffic stop in Sarasota.
- Pull Over: As soon as you see the flashing lights in your rear view mirror (or other indication that you are being pulled over) be sure to do so quickly so the police officer knows you are not trying to escape the stop. Always use necessary signals when getting over and try to position your vehicle in a safe location on the side of the road.
- Calm Down: It is easy to get overly emotional before even speaking to the police officer. Whether the officer is nice or not, you should approach the conversation politely. Other than rolling down your window to speak with the police officer, you should remain relatively still and wait until you are told to show your license and registration. The logic behind this is fairly straightforward—police are trained to look for suspicious activity when approaching a vehicle. If an officer sees lots of frantic movement, they may mistake you grabbing your registration from your glove compartment for grabbing a weapon or attempting to conceal drugs.
- Let The Police Officer Do The Talking: Let the police officer being by telling you why he or she is pulling you over, not the other way around. After all, you do not want to admit to any additional offenses before you hear the actual reason for the traffic stop!
- Follow Instructions: The straightforward tip will hopefully make the traffic stop remain a simple traffic stop. If the police ask you to get out of your car then you should do so but do not prematurely assume that is what the officer wants you to do.
- Drive Away Slowly: You may need some time to calm your nerves after the police encounter so listen to your body. When you are comfortable driving again– proceed with caution, especially if you are merging back on to a fast-moving freeway.
And one parting thought…not every traffic stop in Sarasota ends in a ticket. Maybe you catch a cop on a good day and drive away with a warning or perhaps the officer made a mistake pulling you over. The last thing you want to do is incriminate yourself in these situations by saying too much, overreacting or assuming the officer knows something he or she does not. When your stop does end in a ticket (or worse, an arrest) the traffic ticket attorneys at Finebloom & Haenel P.A. are here to help you. Most people in Sarasota do not realize that when he or she pays a traffic ticket, they are also simultaneously admitting guilt.
