0:02 You're driving home, normal night,
0:05 nothing illegal. Then boom, red and blue
0:07 lights in your mirror. You pull over and
0:10 the officer walks up to you with this
0:12 question that sounds harmless. Do you
0:13 know why I pulled you over? Most people
0:15 answer that question and they don't
0:17 realize they stepped into the first
0:19 trap. Because that question, it's not
0:22 small talk. It's a confession generator.
0:24 In the next few minutes, I am going to
0:26 show you seven traffic stop traps that
0:29 turn just a warning into a search, a DUI
0:32 investigation, and even an arrest. And
0:34 I'll give you the exact phrases to use.
0:38 Calm, respectful, and legally smart so
0:40 you don't talk yourself into trouble.
0:42 And stay to the end because trap number
0:43 seven is the one that matters most when
0:46 a stop drags on and you feel like you're
0:48 being held hostage on the side of the
0:51 road. Trap number one, the why question,
0:53 or I say I call it the confession trap.
0:56 When an officer asks, "Do you know why I
0:58 pulled you over?" They're fishing for
1:00 admissions. Here's what people do.
1:02 Driver, uh, was I going a little fast?
1:04 Maybe my tail light was out or the worst
1:06 one. Officer, I only had two beers. I
1:08 think I'm safe to drive. Even if the
1:10 officer wasn't sure what they saw, your
1:12 guess can become the reason. So, the
1:15 move is simple, polite, and forces
1:17 clarity. Oh, officer, why did you stop?
1:20 Say it calmly, then stop talking. You're
1:22 not being rude. You're being smart. But
1:25 just be aware, officers don't always
1:27 have to tell you why they stopped you.
1:28 Sometimes they're going to say, "I'm the
1:30 one asking questions tonight." Got to
1:32 love those guys, right? There are some
1:34 states like California, the officers
1:36 must tell you if asked. But just
1:38 understand that's the exception, not the
1:41 rule. So be prepared for an officer not
1:43 to tell you why he pulled you over. But
1:45 please don't argue about if he was or
1:46 was not allowed to pull you over at
1:48 that. Arguments made for the court, not
1:50 the side of the road. Trap number two,
1:53 the I know my right spiral, or as I call
1:56 it, how to escalate things needlessly. A
1:57 lot of people think the goal is to win
2:00 an argument at the roadside. It's not.
2:02 Court is where you win. The roadside is
2:04 where you avoid giving them extra
2:07 reasons to investigate, detain, or even
2:09 arrest you. Here's the trap. Once the
2:11 tone becomes combative, everything
2:13 becomes officer safety and
2:16 non-compliance. And suddenly you're
2:18 being ordered out of the car, might be
2:20 ordered to sit on the ground, even if
2:22 it's wet. When they put in some
2:25 handcuffs, officer safety. Officer
2:27 safety, the courts give the officers so
2:28 much leeway. And as soon as they say
2:31 that, well, things can go south quick.
2:33 So, here is the best mindset. Don't
2:36 argue, don't perform, don't escalate.
2:38 You can assert your rights without
2:40 turning it into a show. So, what you can
2:43 say is, "Officer, I am going to comply
2:46 with your lawful orders. I just don't
2:48 consent to searches, and I will not be
2:50 answering any questions." That sentence
2:52 is pure gold. It's respectful. It's
2:54 clear. It's controlled. Now, just
2:56 understand for you people out there that
2:58 think the right to travel involves not
3:00 needing a driver's license, you're
3:02 wrong. Number one. So, if an officer
3:04 asks you for your identification,
3:06 driver's license, or you don't have it,
3:08 name, address, date of birth, like
3:09 you're required to give in some states
3:11 like Indiana, get that information to
3:14 them. Proof of insurance. Please don't
3:16 fall for this. I have a constitutional
3:18 right to travel. You can't tell me I
3:20 need a driver's license. No, that's not
3:21 what constitutional right to travel is.
3:24 Not even close. It's not. Give me those
3:26 cases. They're not relevant. So, please
3:28 do your best not to just make the
3:29 officer mad needlessly. I'm not telling
3:31 you to lick his boots. He's doing his
3:32 job. You're doing your job. And your job
3:36 is to assert your rights. So, trap
3:37 number one, don't guess. Trap number
3:39 two, don't argue. Control the tone. Now,
3:41 trap number three is the one that ruins
3:43 people who thought they were being
3:45 helpful. Trap number three, the mind
3:47 trick consent search. This one is deadly
3:50 because it comes wrapped in politeness.
3:51 The officer will say something along the
3:53 lines, "If you don't have anything
3:54 illegal in the car, then you wouldn't
3:57 mind me giving a quick search." Or, "If
3:59 you're innocent, you'll let me search."
4:00 Or, "Hey, listen. I'm going to give you
4:02 a quick search. It'll only take you a
4:04 second. If you consent, you've just made
4:07 their job easy. And yes, your car can
4:09 end up looking like it got hit by a
4:11 tornado and that's still your problem.
4:13 So your line when asked those question
4:16 is very simple. Officer, I do not
4:19 consent to searches. Then stop talking.
4:20 If they search anyway, you're not
4:22 stopping it with your words. Your lawyer
4:25 stops it in court. Just don't consent to
4:26 searches. And for some of you all
4:28 thinking, what? I'm not afraid of them
4:30 searching my car. I don't care. Couple
4:31 different things. Number one, you don't
4:33 know every single thing in your car. Did
4:35 you give a little ride to your nephew?
4:36 You don't know what he's doing all day.
4:38 Was your car unattended? Did someone get
4:40 into your car and do something inside
4:42 it? Or number three, even if you truly
4:44 do have nothing to hide. Those officers
4:46 can search your car
4:48 and then leave all yourself on the side
4:50 of the road and drive off. Don't do that
4:52 to yourself. Don't do that to yourself.
4:53 Don't consent to searches. Trap number
4:56 four, the windows hands movement trap.
4:58 Officers are trained to watch hands and
5:01 movement and rightfully so. The trap is
5:03 frantic reaching, digging around the
5:04 glove box, leaning under your seats,
5:06 just grabbing your registration. Even
5:08 innocent movements get narrated as
5:12 suspicious. I observe movements. I
5:14 feared for my safety. I suspect the
5:16 driver was trying to hide some. So, here
5:18 is your best practice checklist in 5
5:21 seconds. Pull over safely. Window down
5:24 enough to communicate. Cans visible on
5:26 the wheel. At night, turn the interior
5:29 dome light on. And number five, speak
5:31 slowly. And if your documents are
5:33 somewhere you have to reach, say it
5:35 first. My registration is in the glove
5:36 box. I'm going to reach over and get it
5:39 for you. That one sentence removes the
5:41 fertive movement storyline. Officer
5:42 can't say you're trying to hide things
5:45 or being suspicious. I'm doing what you
5:47 asked me to do. And it goes without
5:50 saying, if you are carrying a firearm,
5:52 you want to keep that separate from your
5:54 license and registration, whatever
5:55 documents are in your glove box. You
5:57 don't want a situation where the officer
5:59 observes you reaching into a glove box
6:00 and he sees a firearm because then it
6:03 becomes a safety issue and the officers
6:04 and safety issues can pretty much do
6:06 whatever they want unfortunately and it
6:09 might not end up very nice for you. So
6:11 keep those firearms and documents as a
6:13 license, registration, insurance, keep
6:15 that separate than any firearm. Trap
6:18 number five, the step out of the car
6:20 order. If an officer orders you out of
6:22 the car, most people think they can
6:24 refuse to get out. In most situations,
6:26 officers can legally order the driver
6:29 and passengers out of the vehicle under
6:31 various Supreme Court rulings. The trap
6:34 is arguing about it because the argument
6:37 becomes resisting so fast. It becomes
6:39 non-compliance so fast and it becomes an
6:41 officer safety issue faster than you can
6:43 think. and all of a sudden you had these
6:46 extra charges do not exist 30 seconds
6:49 ago. So do this instead. If officer asks
6:51 you to get out of the car out of the car
6:54 officer is at a request or a command. If
6:57 they say it's a command, comply calmly,
6:59 then you anchor the record and you can
7:01 even say autoblade. Catch on their
7:03 camera or maybe even your recording
7:06 device. I'm complying but I do not
7:08 consent to any searches. I advise
7:10 rolling the window back up and locking
7:11 the car as you get out of it. It might
7:14 piss the officer off, but it does add an
7:16 extra Fourth Amendment barrier to them
7:17 getting back into the car. It's not
7:19 going to prevent it entirely, and some
7:20 officers might just take the keys and
7:22 open it back up. Hopefully, that's on
7:24 the body cam or dash cam. Getting out of
7:27 the car is not giving in. You're
7:28 avoiding a worse outcome while
7:30 protecting your legal position. Now,
7:33 trap number six, the weapon surprise,
7:35 which basically don't create a scare. If
7:37 you legally carry, listen closely. Laws
7:40 vary. In some states, you have a duty to
7:42 inform the officer that you're caring
7:44 the moment he walks up. Some states, you
7:46 have a duty to tell them you're caring
7:48 if they ask you. Some states, like
7:50 Indiana, you don't got to do anything.
7:52 But you can't lie if asked. Keep that in
7:55 mind. Lying is a crime. But the
7:57 universal trap is this. Your paperwork
7:59 and a weapon are stored in the same
8:01 place. So if you grab the insurance
8:03 document and the officer sees a weapon,
8:06 NOW EVERYTHING IS HANDS DON'T MOVE. Step
8:07 out. England and your night could very
8:10 well be ruined. So do two things. Store
8:13 paperwork separate from any weapon. And
8:16 don't reach for paperwork, anything
8:18 without narrating what you're doing. And
8:20 I've said it in other videos, I would
8:22 never touch a firearm in the presence of
8:24 a police officer because well, that
8:26 could end very badly under officer
8:28 safety. You might not be going home that
8:30 night, but that officer probably will be
8:32 a okay. So, if you're in a state, we
8:34 have a duty to inform or the officer
8:36 asks you if you're caring. Here's your
8:38 line. Officer, I want to let you know
8:41 that I'm lawfully caring. How would you
8:42 like me to proceed? If you're in a state
8:44 that does not require disclosing that,
8:46 please don't do anything that can cause
8:49 an officer to think that you are a risk
8:50 to his safety because again, that will
8:52 not end well for you. So, hands on the
8:54 wheel, calm voice. Let them give you
8:56 instructions. I want you to do this. I
8:58 want you to do that. Now, trap number
9:00 seven is what happens when the stop is
9:02 over, but somehow you're still not
9:04 leaving. Trap number seven, the dragging
9:07 it out trap. The Rodriguez clock, as I
9:08 like to call it. This is the trap they
9:10 really hope you don't understand. That
9:12 the stop turns into a fishing
9:14 expedition. The officer is checking
9:17 something, waiting on a supervisor,
9:20 running it again. Just one more minute.
9:22 In Rodriguez v. US Supreme Court said
9:25 police cannot extend a traffic stop
9:27 beyond the time reasonably needed to
9:29 handle the traffic mission just to
9:31 investigate other crimes without legal
9:34 justification. So what do you do in real
9:37 life? First you wait until the ticket or
9:40 warning is done or the stop should be
9:42 over. Then you ask the question that
9:44 resets the power dynamic. Officer, am I
9:47 free to go? If they say yes, leave. If
9:49 they say no, don't argue. You clarify.
9:51 Am I being detained? And if so, for what
9:53 reason? Well, they may not have to tell
9:55 you why they're detaining you or keeping
9:58 you longer. But those words are going to
9:59 trigger something inside the officer's
10:01 memory. Oh man, this guy knows
10:03 something. He knows I'm dragging this
10:05 out. If the officer won't answer or
10:07 gives you a bad answer or just trying to
10:09 keep chatting you up, you use the
10:11 cleanest line in America. I'm going to
10:13 remain silent and I want a lawyer
10:14 because the goal isn't to win the
10:16 conversation at the roadside. The goal
10:18 is to give them nothing to use against
10:20 you later. So, here's a quick recap with
10:22 some screenshots to help you remember
10:25 all these seven. Number one, no officer,
10:26 why did you stop? Number two, I'll
10:28 comply with lawful orders. I won't
10:30 answer questions. Number three, I do not
10:33 consent to searches. Number four,
10:35 request or command. Then comply with
10:37 commands. My registration is in the
10:40 glove box. May I reach? Number six, I'm
10:42 lawfully carrying. How do you want me to
10:45 proceed? Number seven, am I free to go?
10:47 Here's the truth. Most traffic stops
10:48 don't become cases because of what's in
10:50 the car. They become cases because of
10:52 what the driver says and how the
10:54 situation escalates. Be polite. Keep
10:56 your hands visible. Don't consent to
10:58 searches. Don't answer investigative
11:00 questions. And if they cross the line,
11:02 you fight it in court, not on the side
11:04 of the road. Now, if you watch this
11:05 video this long, you must like me. Come
11:08 on. Subscribe to my channel. Like this
11:10 video. Leave me a comment. Let me know
11:11 if you agree. Let me know if you've ever
11:13 dealt with any of these traps. You truly
11:15 don't know what to say. Let me know who
11:17 you remind me of. Got a running list
11:20 here. John Iguazamo, Joe Peshi, Turtle
11:22 Montra, someone mentioned Tom Cruz. That
11:24 person is my favorite person in the
11:26 world. Remember, this is general advice.
11:28 You need to do the research for what's
11:30 applicable in your state. Although I've
11:32 done my best to make sure the videos on
11:34 Tuesday afternoons are applicable to the
11:36 entire 50 United States, but there's
11:38 always some weird exceptions. Research.
11:39 Check it out. Figure out what the law is
11:41 on your area. Find a cool attorney in
11:43 your area. have them on speed dial so
11:46 you know them before you need them. And
11:48 if you're facing charges in Indiana,
11:51 give me and my team a call 317632 3642.
11:52 But most importantly, I want you to
