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Traffic stops and enforcement
Summary of the topic
A traffic stop is a seizure under the Fourth Amendment, so the topic starts with the constitutional floor. A stop needs reasonable suspicion or probable cause of a violation, its length is measured by its mission, and a stop that is prolonged beyond the time reasonably needed to complete that mission becomes unlawful. The officer may order the driver and any passenger out of a lawfully stopped vehicle, and may frisk a person only on a reasonable belief that the person is armed and presently dangerous.
The Transportation Code supplies the offenses most often enforced. Section 542.401 sets the default fine at $1 to $200. Section 545.351 requires a speed that is reasonable and prudent, and section 545.352 lists the limits above which a speed is prima facie unlawful, such as 30 miles per hour on an urban street and 70 on a numbered highway outside an urban district. Section 545.051 requires driving on the right half of the roadway, section 545.060 requires driving within a single marked lane, and section 545.104 requires a turn signal for at least the last 100 feet before a turn. Section 545.156 requires drivers to pull over for an emergency vehicle, and section 545.157 requires them to move over or slow down for a stopped one. Section 545.421 makes it an offense to flee from a police vehicle that has signaled the driver to stop.
Chapter 543 supplies the arrest and citation machinery. Section 543.001 lets any peace officer arrest without a warrant for a violation found being committed. Under section 543.004 a written notice to appear is mandatory, if the person gives a written promise, for speeding, a wireless communication device offense and the open container offense, and those are the only offenses for which it is mandatory. Section 543.002 requires an immediate appearance before a magistrate for failure to stop after a collision that damaged property.
Section 521.025 requires a driver to carry a license and display it on demand, and section 601.053 requires a driver to show evidence of financial responsibility. A stop made solely to check a license, without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, is unreasonable.
Provisions this topic covers
- Tex. Transportation Code chs. 541, 542, 544 and 545
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