• Pick the stop location, not the driver. Delay activation until a shoulder, lit parking lot, or side street is available. Most drivers will follow you for several blocks.
• Avoid stopping on curves, hill crests, bridges, and narrow shoulders. If the driver stops somewhere bad, use the PA to move them.
• At night, prefer locations with ambient light and an escape route for your squad.

• Call out plate, location, vehicle description, and occupant count before you exit. If the plate return is bad, dispatch now knows where you are.
• On a felony return, stolen flag, or multiple occupants in a high-risk area, wait for a second unit. Proactive does not mean alone.
• Keep your portable on the right channel and volume. Confirm dispatch heard you.

• Offset left about half a car width toward traffic, 15 to 25 feet back, wheels turned left. Your squad is a barrier that pushes traffic away from your walking lane.
• Takedowns and spotlight into the rear window and mirrors. Illuminate the interior, blind the occupants, and silhouette hands.
• Use your squad's emergency lighting pattern that reduces glare for approaching traffic at night so you are not causing the crash you are trying to avoid.
• Never stand between the two vehicles. The space behind your squad is the only place you should be if you are not at the window.

Approach options

• Driver-side approach: the default. Stop at the B-pillar so the driver has to turn to see you. Watch hands, lap, and console.
• Passenger-side approach: safer on high-speed roads and when you suspect weapons. Drivers often do not expect it and you have a better view of the console and the driver's right hand.
• No approach (call-out): for high-risk returns. Stay behind cover, PA the occupants out one at a time, wait for backup.
• Check the trunk latch with a light touch on the way up on vehicles where a person could be concealed.

• Hands kill. Watch hands first, face second. Ask for hands on the wheel or dash before you get to the window.
• Have the driver retrieve documents one at a time while you watch. Do not reach into the car.
• Passengers' hands matter too. If you cannot see them, ask for them.

• Scan the back seat and floor before you commit to the window. Occupant count should match what you called out.
• Flashlight in the non-dominant hand, weapon side bladed away from the vehicle.
• Note anything within reach: console lids ajar, bulges under seats, loose ammunition, holsters.

• Walk back watching the stopped vehicle, not your MDT. Keep the suspect vehicle in your peripheral until you are behind your door.
• Write the citation from the passenger seat or standing behind the squad on high-speed roadways, not sitting in the driver's seat with your head down.
• Re-approach as a fresh stop. People who were calm the first time have had time to decide.

• Driver flees on foot: secure the vehicle and passengers first unless department policy and circumstances justify a foot pursuit. A car with occupants and your squad running is a bad thing to leave behind.
• Vehicle flees: know your pursuit policy. Illinois agencies vary widely. Get the plate and direction out and let the policy decide.
• Passenger exits: command them back into the car or to a specific spot. Do not let them flank you.

• Armed subject at the window: move off the X. Your squad, the engine block, and distance are your friends. Do not stand and fight at the window if you can move.
• Medical emergency: traffic stops turn into overdoses and diabetic events. Carry naloxone and know where your first aid kit is.
• Your own fatigue: the proactive officer on a 12-hour shift at hour 11 is the one who skips steps. Know when to take warnings and go home.