Arizona tells armed drivers how to handle police stops...Clueless?

D

DaleA

New member
Well, there's one of two things going on in this story.

http://m.startribune.com/arizona-te...void-deadly-police-stops/436022623/?section=/

Arizona law makers have absolutely no common sense at all or the media, in this case the Associated Press, has badly fumbled in reporting a story.

The story is that Arizona has made a change in its guidelines for motorists.

The change is, get ready for it;

if you are carrying a gun and are stopped by the police keep your hands on the steering wheel.
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Let's think about how this advice might be inadequate.

In 3...2...1. Oh forget it! 99.999% of the folk on this forum had the answer before I even started the count down.

Because it’s not rocket science! It’s incredibly, overwhelmingly, mind numbingly obvious. It’s just common, sense.

EVERYONE, ALWAYS should keep their hands on the steering wheel whether they have a gun or not because THE COPS DON'T KNOW whether you have a gun or not!!! So the advice should be the SAME for ALL motorists!!!

Sheesh!!!
 
Are you implying this is fake news? LOL

What else is new?

I just had this conversation with a "Black Lives Matter" acquaintance. In a discussion about the black driver shot by a white policeman, I asked the simple question that since the driver was instructed not to draw his weapon and since he had his hand in his pocket isn't it more likely that he would not have been shot if both his hands were on his steering wheel? The BLM guy fell silent.

Your assumption that "common sense" is common may not be true. In todays world of ignorance and media bliss "Common Sense" is anything but common.
 
Guidelines, Rules and Laws ????

There will always be grey areas when it comes to Guidelines and Rules. The Law, is another matter. There are times when all can be forgotten, not understood or known. Keeping your hands on the wheel, when stopped is a good idea and most of the time I haven't done so. ...... :rolleyes:

These days, LEO's are in more danger than ever. They are seeing an increase in the number of bad guys out there in additions to putting up with department politics. I know of two instances where they have resigned. They really have a lot of crap to deal with and are seriously weighing their options. ..... :eek:

I too wonder if I am going to be in jeopardy if I don't keep my hands on the wheel. My friend who is the local Chief of police, gave me great advice; "Don't do anything to get pulled over"


Be Safe !!!
 
Pahoo said:
I too wonder if I am going to be in jeopardy if I don't keep my hands on the wheel. My friend who is the local Chief of police, gave me great advice; "Don't do anything to get pulled over"
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That's generally good advice except certian hours of the night the cops can always find a reason to pull you over if they want.

Either they can stop you if you have a light out, even if said light is one of many and does not give grounds for a ticket they can always stop as a "courtesy" to let ya know.. oh and while Im here what's that smell in the car?

Or just follow someone for say a mile.. they're bound to have some small infraction.

If all else fails.. I pulled you over cause this is a bad area known for drugs (news flash officer there are drugs in every area)
Or Ya this car matches the description of blah blah blah.. oh rly? hard to believe they only made a million of this model in this color :rolleyes:

I've never been pulled over, My local PD seems to have a lot of good cops on it, still I'll be honest ever since the Minnesota shooting.. All I can think of is.. That could be me! :(
 
My big point is the Arizona lawmakers have to tell EVERYBODY not to make sudden, furtive, suspicious moves and NOT JUST GUN OWNERS!!!
 
Not to argue the point, as I fully agree with the OP on this one, but it really should be a person's parents, or their driving instructor, that instruct a new driver on how to behave when pulled over, shouldn't it? I mean, let's be honest, the government historically has been less than organized, logical and/or effective as far as 'educating' citizens about anything.

In my case, it was my father who educated me about how to behave when pulled over or otherwise confronted by LE, when I was a few days from taking my driver's license test. The short version was,"yessir," "no sir," and "I don't know sir." I've been pulled over dozens of times in the 30+ years since, and yet I've never had a problem with LE. In fact, the only time I had a problem with LE was the one time I decided to be a smart*ss. Predictably, that encounter didn't go so well. Consequently, I no longer try sarcasm, irony, etc., when speaking to LE.

And, just to be clear, part of that education from my father included keeping my hands on the wheel and to keep them there unless otherwise instructed by the officer.
 
I taught my children if stopped keep both hands on the wheel with the engine turned off. have D.L. and C.C.P. in hand registration and insurance card on the visor. After dark stop in a well lighted area, if one is not close call 911 or *HP and explain you are going to a well lighted area to stop for every ones safety also confirm that is a real officer stopping you. put on flashers reduce speed to below the speed limit.
With in 2 hours travel of where I live 1 officer killed by a driver pulled over late at night, 2 fake officers caught, 1 real officer charged with rape for getting sex instead of giving a ticket.
 
Because it’s not rocket science! It’s incredibly, overwhelmingly, mind numbingly obvious. It’s just common, sense.
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Well, not everyone is a rocket scientist, and their are a great number of folks out there that have little to no common sense at all, like the guy who is at the gun counter and whips out his CCW without letting the counter person knowing what his intention is
 
Let's think about how this advice might be inadequate.
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Not sure what you mean by this.

But, let us look at the actual section from ADOT's website, Section 7, page 56:
https://www.azdot.gov/docs/default-source/mvd-forms-pubs/99-0117.pdf?sfvrsn=37

Keep in mind, this is a booklet for people seeking to obtain a driver's license, so it covers a myriad of topics from flat tires, alcohol and drugs, to registration fees.

I don't have any problem with adding a, "How not to get shot during a traffic stop." section.
 
Destructo6-I mean everyone has to act the same way during a traffic stop.

If you have a gun you should keep your hands on the steering wheel.

If you do NOT have a gun you should keep your hands on the steering wheel.

The news story made it sound like Arizona was giving out different information depending on if you had a gun or not. The news story made it sound like if you did not have a gun you did not have to keep your hands on the steering wheel. Actually the advice in the manual is the same for all drivers.

Thank you Destructo6 for the link to the 'Arizona Driver License Manual'.

Looking at the manual itself I can see I have only a small beef with it. They actually tell all drivers:
‘Keep your hands on the steering wheel in a visible location;’
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Seems to me to be excellent advice.

Then they go on to say:
‘In addition to the guidelines above, drivers with firearms in the vehicle should keep your hands on the steering wheel in a visible location and when the officer approaches let them know that you have a firearm in the vehicle and where the firearm is located.’
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They are telling gun owners TWICE to keep their hands on the steering wheel.

It’s a small point and maybe not worth the effort I put into this post but gun owners and non gun owners BOTH have to keep their hands on the steering wheel because the cop does not know whether or not you have a gun. IMhO it’s stupid to repeat this information for gun owners when it HAS TO and it MUST apply to EVERYONE.
 
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Next time you're at a shopping mall, or similar, take a good look around you. I call it People Watching. It won't take long and you'll realize, that an alarming number of the general public are indeed clueless. Doesn't surprise me a bit that there are people out there that don't know the rights and wrongs of contact with law enforcement.
 
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