I recently purchased and read Advanced Vehicle Stop Tactics by Michael T. Rayburn. I had previously read Advanced Patrol Tactics by Rayburn and thought it was a good book, so I figured I would give his traffic stop book a read also.

Let me start by saying that Rayburn covers nearly any type of traffic stop you can imagine.  This book of course covers low or unknown risk stops on cars but also has sections on motorcycles, busses, semi-trucks, vans, and RVs.  While I have never done a high risk or felony stop on an RV, I now have some insight on how to do one safely.

I have made a lot of traffic stops in my time on the department.  Rayburn’s book makes a lot of sense and matches my experiences.  Unlike some of the tactics taught by people who have never been there, Rayburn’s tactics are based in the real world.  As it says on the cover “Written by a Patrolman for Patrol Officers.”

Advanced Vehicle Stop Tactics is an easy read at just over 100 pages, and has many diagrams and pictures to supplement the text.  If you spend very much time making traffic stops, this book is well worth the time to read it.

Stay safe!

If you have been on the job for very long at all, you will have discovered that seemingly ‘routine’ traffic stops can go bad in a heartbeat.

The driver I stopped the other day for a minor tag violation had his child’s lunch box in the car with him. Only this little girl’s lunch box held a .38 Special revolver. Fortunately, his behavior prior to the stop tipped me off that something might not be quite right, and I was able to safely conduct the stop.

Last week I was getting ready to stop a car for a minor violation when I was dispatched to another call. So rather than stopping the car, I went and handled the dispatched call. For whatever reason, I clearly recalled some pretty specific details about the car. The next day we got a BOLO from a neighboring agency about that same exact car…that had just conducted a drive by shooting.

These are just two of many examples of minor traffic infractions that could have turned into a deadly force situation very quickly. I’m sure most of you could tell your own stories like these. Keep in mind that there is nothing routine about a traffic stop. You don’t know who, or what, is in the car.

Stay vigilant and stay safe!

I am a huge supporter of using the passenger side approach on traffic stops. From the passenger side, I have seen drugs, guns, and other things that I would not have seen from the driver’s side. It is possible that the driver’s side approach has saved my bacon before. However, on Friday night, it saved me from being run over.

It was just another “routine stop”: a minor traffic infraction that was going to garner the driver a written warning. I set up my patrol car with the normal offset to create the (fictional) lane of safety on the driver’s side. However, for a variety of reasons, I used a passenger side approach. During the course of my discussion with the driver, another driver sideswipes my patrol car and almost strikes the detained motorist’s vehicle.

If I had been standing on the driver’s side of the stopped car, I would have been struck, and probably killed.

The suspect vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, in the same direction I was pointed, so I did not see him prior to the impact. I did not have any warning (revving engine, squealing brakes, etc) prior to the impact. Had I been standing on the driver’s side, I never would have known I was in danger until after I had been hit.

As it turns out, I was unharmed simply, and only, because I used the passenger side approach. Because I was not hurt, I am the center of a few jokes and new nicknames. If I had used the “standard” driver’s side approach, there wouldn’t be any joking going on at my department right now.

So, if you don’t use the passenger side approach, try it out. It is not right for every traffic stop, but it is a very good alternative to the driver’s side approach. Even if you only use it on busy roadways, it can save your hide.

While my wife could use the extra cash to pay off a few bills and get some landscaping done, I am glad she won’t be drawing my term life policy quite yet.

Stay safe!