Unnecessary Traffic Stops
The problem
There are far too many traffic stops across America today that do not advance traffic safety. A significant share of the more than 20 million annual traffic stops stem from equipment, administrative, and other minor violations like a missing inspection sticker or a graduation tassel hung from a rearview mirror. Research shows that stopping motorists for these violations has virtually no benefit to road safety.
These stops create needless opportunities for confrontation and violence. Emerging research shows that interactions like traffic stops can also cause psychological, physical, financial, and other harms that disproportionately impact communities of color. Unnecessary traffic stops contribute to community mistrust of police and take resources away from more important public safety needs while rarely helping police solve serious crimes.
Key facts
Non-safety stops are unrelated to car crashes.
The majority of fatal crashes are related to drunk driving (32%) and speeding (29%), while equipment and administrative issues that are enforced by police are implicated in just 0.2% of fatal crashes.
Many traffic stops are for these non-safety reasons.
In North Carolina, for example, 46.5% of police traffic stops from 2002-2020 were for non-safety reasons.
Traffic stops rarely uncover evidence of a random crime.
Evidence from multiple studies show that police uncover evidence of a serious crime in fewer than 1% of traffic stops.
Non-safety stops are more likely to end in police force.
When police pull people over for non-safety violations and search them for evidence of crimes, there is a greater likelihood of police use of force. Force was more than 14x more likely in traffic stops in major California cities involving a discretionary search..
These risks are higher for drivers of color.
Across the country, Black drivers are more frequently pulled over for non-safety stops and 2x more likely to be searched once stopped, despite the fact that they are less likely to be found in possession of evidence of a crime.