One of the most visible signs of police authority—and often one of the most misunderstood—is the traffic stop. Being compelled to pull to the side of a roadway and interact with a law enforcement officer, in full view of other passing traffic, is a nerve-racking experience for most motorists. If the traffic stop results in a citation for a traffic law violation, especially for a speed violation, a motorist frequently feels singled out, as the violation the motorist committed is often routinely perpetrated by others who are not stopped and cited. There actually are entire websites and mobile apps dedicated to informing the driving public of the areas law enforcement is currently engaging in traffic enforcement activities so that traffic citations can be avoided.

All officers at some point in their careers have been asked if they are issuing a traffic citation merely to fulfill an agency traffic ticket quota or to raise additional revenue to pay for police salaries. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. For law enforcement officers, traffic stops, and any subsequent citations, are about harm reduction and saving lives on the roadways—not about quota fulfillment or revenue generation.