Arizona Drivers To See New Recommendations During Traffic Stops

By Bridget Dowd, Katherine Fritcke
Published: Thursday, February 2, 2017 - 5:05am

Arizona residents taking the written driver’s license test can expect a few changes in the coming months. Beginning in March, drivers will see new recommendations for what they should do during a routine traffic stop.

In light of traffic stops turning deadly all over the country, state Rep. Reginald Bolding says it’s important to have good communication between the community and law enforcement. Bolding asked 20 different people what they thought they should do during a traffic stop and then asked police officers for their recommendations for citizens who get pulled over.

"And in every single scenario we got very different answers, which led to the conclusion that people were expecting one thing and law enforcement officers were expecting one thing, which could potentially lead to a dangerous situation," Bolding said.

Bolding teamed up with ADOT, the Department of Public Safety and community members to create guidelines for both drivers and law enforcement, hopefully avoiding miscommunication. Some of the key points include: keeping your hands visible and not immediately reaching for the glove compartment.

There are no penalties if people don’t follow those recommendations exactly. Bolding says he believes that no one should leave a traffic stop in a body bag.