Harford Sheriff Drives Change in Maryland Driver's Ed Program

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — Starting in 2017, driver's education in the state of Maryland will include a new curriculum item.

As of Jan. 1, 2017, Maryland driver’s education programs will include at least one hour about how to interact with police during a traffic stop, a new development advocated for by the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

"The sheriff got to thinking one day [that] his oldest daughter just went through driver's ed, and she didn’t get any instruction on what to do," Erik S. Robey, director of legislative and community affairs for the sheriff's office, told Patch. "So we proposed the idea to our traffic safety advisory board. They researched it and realized driver's ed schools do [not]...teach traffic stops."

To help people see what a traffic stop is supposed to look like, the Harford County Sheriff's Office produced four videos: what to do during a traffic stop; what to do if you are driving a vehicle stopped with multiple passengers inside; what to do at a DUI checkpoint; and how to go through a traffic stop when you are asked to get outside your vehicle.

"Just because it's commonplace for police doesn't mean you know what to do," the narrator said in one of the videos that walks civilians, step by step, through the process of a stop, including what their rights are.

At least one of the videos may be used by the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, according to Robey.

Here are some tips from the sheriff's office on making a traffic stop go smoothly:

• Wait for the deputy to ask for license and registration before looking for the documents.
• Keep both hands on the steering wheel so the officer sees there are no weapons, nothing hidden.

Being asked to get out of a vehicle "isn't necessarily a bad thing," officials said in one video. For example, an officer might want to speak with the driver away from his/her children.

At a DUI checkpoint, the first thing to do is "slow down." The sheriff's office advises the best way to avoid any issues: "...be responsible and make sure you have a designated driver."

According to the sheriff's office, traffic stops "aren't meant to ruin your day." They are a way to keep everyone safe. Officials said that traffic stops lead to arrests of more drug dealers, robbers and murderers than any other officer-initiated interaction.

Screenshot from YouTube video by Harford County Sheriff's Office.