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Shocking Reason Why The Cops Touch Your Tail Light When They Pull You Over
The disturbing reason why cops touch your tail light when they pull you over has gone viral – and it’s not what you would expect.
The police pulling you over is a scary enough experience for anyone, but it turns out it might actually be just as scary for them.
If an officer pulls you over, before they come around to the driver’s side, you will notice they go to the back of the car and touch it.
Although it might seem strange at first glance, the real reason is strategic and smart.
Theories on why the police touch your car when they pull you over have been going viral, and social media users have theorized on why it might be.
Traffic officers and lawyers have now confirmed why it is, and it might shock you.
Why might you get pulled over?
In the US, cops pull you over if they have reasonable suspicion that a driving law has been broken.
Police will most commonly pull you over for a traffic violation such as speeding, running a red light, or not using turn signals.
They can also pull you over for broken lights, missing license plates, or erratic driving behavior.
What happens when you get pulled over?
After getting pulled over, you must pull over safely and stay in the car.
The officer will then come over and explain why they stopped you.
You will need to show your documents, and then they will give you a warning or ticket, and then you leave.
However, many people have noticed in viral videos that in this process, police will touch the back of your car when they stop you.
The reason why they do this is being debated in the comments – but experts have now revealed the actual reason why.
What do the experts say?
Experts have spoken out on the real reasons why the cops touch the back of your car when they pull you over.
It might not be what you expect.
Steven Montiero, known as ‘Trooper Steve,’ shared the reasons why the police will touch the back of your car when they pull you over.
Montiero is a former Florida Highway Patrol trooper and now provides expert safety advice on News 6.
On Ask Trooper Steve, Justin Warmoth asked him about the action which happens during traffic stops.
Trooper Steve said: “When you look carefully during traffic stop, this happens all the time.
“Every law enforcement officer out there is going, ‘I know this one.’
“So, any time a traffic stop is conducted and a law enforcement officer gets off their motorcycle, or whatever they’re opperating.
“As they approach that car you’re going to see something.
“You’re going to look in that rear view mirror next time- hopefully you don’t get pulled over.
“But you’re going to see that officer touch the back of your car.
“Now there are two reasons for this.
“It’s all for the sake of the law enforcement officer- first, they want to make sure the trunk’s closed.
“They want to make sure no one is hanging out, ready to pop out on somebody.
The disturbing reason, which no one knows
“And the really crazy kind of part of it, they’re leaving their fingerprints behind.
“And that is so they can prove they were on that traffic stop, God forbid if something happened.
“So it kind of paints, unfortunately, a crime scene right then and there because if that car decided to leave, that fingerprint would be on the back of the car.
“Of if other circumstances presented themselves, it ties the car and the officer together, and at the end of the day, we know who was involved.”
The presenter was even shocked by this revelation and said: “I’ve never noticed it!”
Similarly, Michael Rosenbloum, an Atlanta lawyer, shared what he knows about why the police touch your car.
He said: “They do this to put their DNA and fingerprints on the back of your car.
“This helps to identify the car in case the officer is injured, or the driver speeds off.”
What do people say after finding this out?
Understandably, people can’t wrap their heads around this discovery.
After finding out why the cops do this, people have a lot to say.
One person said: “Get a car wash after fleeing. Noted.”
Another person added: “So GTA was right all along.”
People who had worked in the force had shared that this was something they were taught.
Sharing their experience, one person said: “I was taught this in the NYPD Police academy.
“It was taught for several reasons.
“Keep in mind this was way before dash cameras were a thing.”
However, some people think this is now pointless, with one commenter saying: “Sounds bogus… What about the dash cam?
“Is this 1940?”
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