Why do the police ask, "Do you know why I pulled you over?"

[princenyc]

There has to be a reason they ALWAYS ask that, right?

 

[DancingLady]

My guess is they want to know if you are paying attention to what you are doing. I don't know how much of a difference it makes in whether they are going to give you a ticket or a warning, but they probably want to know if you are oblivious to the fact that you were speeding or whatever it was or if you knew you were doing it.

 

[Sarz]

I think its to catch you out, if you get pulled for a broken light and you go "yeah it's because I have a broken light" . You probably will be getting more than a friendly warning. Whereas if you are oblivious they may just let you know and warn you to get it fixed.

 

[Patrick]

Assessing if the suspect is intentionally or unintentionally committing an offence may help the officer determine the severity of the infraction, if he/she commits it often, and if he/she deserves a ticket or more as a result.

 

[Gelsemium]

I think that the police has the obligation to inform us why we are being pulled over right?

 

[askanison]

One reason is to get you to talk and gauge if you are driving impaired. I usually beat them to it and ask so what was I doing for you to pull me over. I rarely speed and when I have gotten pulled over it was usually for an expired tag I forgot about or expired inspection sticker. Those guys can have some keen eyes.

 

[Rhoda D'Ettore]

I would imagine the sobriety, and to gauge your demeanor. If they ask you a question, and you respond, they can assess whether you are likely to assault them or fight them in some way. guilty people tend to scream and yell and become defensive. Innocent people are just non-chalant, like, "Hey, what's up?" I once got pulled over for speeding and told him straight out, "I was speeding. Sorry." Then he told me he wanted to check out the inside of my sports car. He was nice. I was nice. I got a ticket, but so what? I was in the wrong, and he did his job. Officers have a tough job, not knowing whether a routine pull over could turn into a shootout.

 

[januz101]

Not all police say that actually. They usually greet you first and tell you what offense you violated. If you do encounter a situation where you get pulled over and you dont know the reason then politely ask the police officer what your violation is. Nothing will happen if you just obey the police officer.

 

[Teens In Crisis]

My guess would be that they ask for a combination of finding out what the reason for it is, and also get see if they'll just admit to the crime or not.

 

[LongShot]

They pretty much do this to see how hard they want to be on you. If you know why they might have stopped you then they may go easy on you. They also do it so you can talk to them and pretty much proves if you under the influence of something.

 

[sillylucy]

I have been pulled over about 3 times and have never had an officer ask me this. They usually just greet and then let me know why they pulled us over. It seems that I only see this question on Cops and other TV shows. I don't think it is protocol.

 

[Profit5500]

I think that sometimes they pull you over to know if you were paying attention. I also think that they are playing a gotcha game with you. If you get pulled over you could not say anything when they ask you what is the speed to that certain road they are referring to.

 

[diecarmona]

It gives them time to measure possible dangers. It also allows the officer to "feel up" the person (they could start acting really suspicious). This is why so many actual criminals are stopped by roadstops, the officer is in control of the situation, and if you're guilty of something, you'll probably show it in your reaction.