Can cops pull you over if you LOOK young and unlicensed?

Question

Every person who i knew who drives/drove without a license has gotten caught. My cousin got pulled over the first time becuase he had a left taillight out i can understand that. But my other cousin got pulled over and he was driving perfectly he just looks young and he got caught and he was driving by himself! Then once my 14 year old friend was driving and the car was full of teenagers and we got pulled over but thats probably because its illegal IN CALIFORNIA to drive with anybody under a certain age when you are under 18 (even if you have a license). Then my other cousin got pulled over and he was driving perfectly! He is 17 but looks a bit younger. The only law he was breaking was driving without a license and insurance but you cant tell that by looking! Anyways my question is can the police pull you over if you LOOK young and unlicensed but are driving perfecty and nothing is wrong with the car (i.e. stolen, no plates etc)?

Answer 1

yes and i have, its called reasonable suspicion. The United States Supreme court allows the police to use reasonable suspicious to check individuals briefly for possibly committing a crime, actually committing a crime or did commit one. If a person looks to young to drive that is reasonable suspicion to pull the car over.
To all complainers and liberals out there, if you got hit by a unlicensed driver how would you respond? let me guess its the police fault for not cracking down.

Answer 2

Well it seems, at least in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon, that the police can do just about what ever they want. The POLICE in this STATE (at least in Portland) have gotten out of hand. Shoot first, ask questions later. I've lost track of the innocent people they have shot, shot and killed. Shot not just once but many times. It must feel to you like they are saying "now hold on there sonny.....". Just think if you were a chick it would be "Look here now little ladie", or "sweetheart". Blaa I tell all of my friends with dark pigment, especially the guys, if the cops even look funny at you just throw yourself down face first on the pavement. Otherwise you might end up dead. Yours is a serious question though; just what is probable cause? Probably cause you is young, black, a women, have a hat, long hair, no hair, etc. I hear that probable cause can be because you look high!?! "So just take it easy there now sonny."

Answer 3

Unfortunately they can. They will call it 'probable cause' .. if they find out after the fact that you were too young. They can say that they had 'probable cause' to believe that you were too young to be driving and upon finding that you were they are self justified.
If they are wrong, hopefully they apologize and send you on your happy way. I used to get pulled over at least once a week on my way to or from school because I had a beard when 'only hippies wore beards'. The excuse was that my car 'appeared to be unsafe'. They would then do a safety check and do their damnedest to find something wrong. They never did!
It gave me a very negative attitude toward the police and highway patrol that I still have. Maybe if they had respected me I would have more respect for them.

Answer 4

Yes, it's called 'probable cause'. That means that if the officer has a reasonable belief that you are committing a crime, they can stop you. That's the legal opinion.

Now for reality. Cops can pull you over for just about anything. Taillight out, headlight out, stuff hanging from your mirrior, too many people in your car, seatbelts, obstructed view, loud music, unattentive driving, not signaling a turn, etc... Sometimes just because they're bored.

Moral of the story, and I'm quoting Baretta here... "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

Answer 5

Even a good driver cannot drive more than 1 mile without committing some traffic violation.
But to answer your question yes you can be pulled over for looking too young to drive. This is called probable cause and it allows officers to stop and investigate suspicious activity that they see.

Answer 6

Yes they can. If a Police officer suspects that you are under age they can pull you over to make sure you are legal. They are out there to do their job to serve and protect. Think about it, would you want to be driving your car and get hit by someone that is not licenced or insured. They would hit you and take off. If they hadn't caught them, your insurance company would have two options.
1) Fix your car and hike up your insurance rates.
2) Say sorry, you'll have to get the money from the person who hit you....and by the way, your rates are going up.

Answer 7

The officer, generally speaking, needs only PROBABLE CAUSE, that is, he has to be able to justify, in a court, that him pulling someone over was legal according to standing law and was in the welfare of the public.

I'd think that yes, someone who appears too young to be driving could legally be pulled over, but this is different from state to state, county to county, city to city, and judge to judge.

Here's a riddle: Why aren't underaged, uninsured, unlicensed teenagers allowed to drive? Can you guess? Oh, because they CAN'T. Ever wonder why your car insurance rates are so high in SoCal?

Answer 8

While the police can't pull you over for not violating any laws, they all will pull you over if they are suspicious of you. I know it's not right & just but that's how the coppers work. They always say they had "resonable susipition". It's a ploy that they use to make more arrests, the more arrests the more money their city receives.

Answer 9

Forget how police can tell you are young and unlicensed! Stop for two seconds and think of what would happen if unlicensed and uninsured YOU happened to seriously hurt someone or kill someone .... maybe even one of those friends you have in the car. You have no insurance to pay for the injuries to them and/or their car. That leaves your parents who have to be responsible for anything you do as a minor. If you're so irresponsible you can't even think of how this might happen, you're too young and immature to be driving.

Answer 10

They can only pull you over if they have probable cause or the occasional courtesy stop. If you have no license and are under age then your driving WILL show it. Dont take the chance, you can loose your license privilege for years.