ANNAPOLIS, MD - A bill under consideration in the Maryland Senate would limit police officers’ ability to conduct traffic stops for minor infractions, such as driving without headlights. It's filed as Senate Bill 292.
If passed, the legislation would apply to all law enforcement officers in the state, prohibiting them from using certain violations as the primary reason for pulling over a driver. According to African American leaders supporting the bill, the measure aims to reduce what they consider unnecessary or targeted stops.
"They couldn’t stop them solely for not having tags, registration plates on your car, throwing litter out the window, failure to have any turn signal at all, failure to have lights on at night," said Sheriff Joe Gamble of the Talbot County Sheriff's Office. "So a car could be driving with no lights on, and I see it quite often when I leave work—probably once a week, I stop someone for not having their lights on."
Carl Snowden, convener of the Caucus of African American Leaders, said the bill is intended to address racial injustice in traffic enforcement.
"I think many African Americans believe that when they're stopped by police officers, they're literally put in the position where it could be a life-and-death encounter," Snowden said. He added, "I can tell you a number of stories where African American motorists have been stopped for pretty insignificant reasons, and that has mushroomed into something much worse."
However, Gamble argued that such stops are necessary for public safety.
"If you're driving without brake lights on your car, it's dangerous for the people behind you. Without the ability to stop those vehicles, there’s gonna be a lot more accidents on the roads," he said.
Gamble also noted that routine traffic stops often lead to the arrest of individuals with outstanding felony warrants.
Snowden countered that these stops disproportionately target African Americans and can escalate into arrests or deadly encounters.
The Talbot County Sheriff's Office also warned that the proposed bill could eliminate the ability for officers to issue simple warnings. If a driver is eventually stopped, officers may have no choice but to issue a citation for any of the listed infractions.
If passed, here is a list of the violations an officer could not consider a 'primary reason' for making a traffic stop.
Under the bill, the following vehicle offenses under the Transportation Article are subject to secondary enforcement only:
- driving or allowing an unregistered vehicle to be driven
- improperly displaying registration plates and tabs
- driving a vehicle without evidence of registration
- unauthorized use of registration card, plate, special plate, permit, or certificate of title
- failing to comply with turning, slowing, and stopping movements; failing to give required signals
- failing to give signals by hand and arm or signal lamps
- putting glass, injurious substances, or refuse on highways, bridges, or public waters
- engaging in skidding, spinning of wheels, and excessive noisemaking
- driving, standing, or parking a vehicle in a dedicated bus lane
- committing any forbidden act or failing to do any act required under Title 22 of the Transportation Article
- headlamp requirements
- tail lamp requirements; failing to properly illuminate rear registration plate
- stop lamp and electric turn signal requirements
- mirrors requirements
- safety glass requirements
- exceeding the maximum sound limits, when driving a vehicle on a highway.