If you’ve ever been pulled over by a cop, even if you thought you did nothing wrong, it’s always an unpleasant experience.

Your mind starts racing: when was the last time I had a drink? Was I going too fast back there? I did remember to renew my insurance this year didn’t I?

Chances are, if you’re a decent and law-abiding citizen, if one of your brake lights has shorted without you noticing, the cop will give you a quick pointer and you’ll be on your way.

Even if the cop is perfectly nice to you, it’s still always scary, and it’s bound to make you second guess yourself, even if you’re sure that you’ve done nothing wrong.

But imagine to yourself how scary it must be if you know you have done something wrong. What if there’s something in the car that you know you shouldn’t have? What happens then?

The same thing that happens every time that same cop has pulled people over, that day and their whole career. They pull you over in a safe spot, they get out of their car, touch your tail light and approaches your window.

What, you’ve never noticed it, that the cop touches your tail light? Well, if you have or you haven’t, did you ever wonder why they do this?

A cop will touch your taillights in order to leave fingerprints on it.

That’s right, whatever kind of car you’re driving, the cop will do this every time to make physical contact with your car in a clearly marked place. So that whatever happens, there’s proof that you were pulled over by the police.

It’s an important precautionary measure, which is done for a crucial reason. It can even make a difference if the situation escalates in any way, and an investigation is required.

So, the fingerprints function as evidence that your car was pulled over.

This is done to ensure that if anything does happen, the authorities have proof that your car and a police officer met.

Cops are routinely exposed to many different dangers on the road.

If the driver they approach has done something illegal, that driver might think that hitting the gas and driving away is less of a risk than finding out what the cop has to say to them.

If the driver does decide to flee, the cop will then identify the car. Once they do, the fingerprints will allow the authorities to be certain that the car they’ve identified is the one that broke the law. This makes any future investigation much easier, and convictions much more likely, since there is a chain of evidence in place.

The light tap is also designed to startle the driver in case they are making an attempt to hide something in their car when it happens.

When the look up and see the officer approaching their window, they stop what they’re doing momentarily, and this may be long enough for the cop to realize exactly what’s going on. It’s a surprise tactic which has been responsible for the arrest of many drunk drivers, drug dealers and other kinds of criminals.

Of course, even for a measure designed for the cop’s safety, it can still be dangerous. When they touch the tail light, the driver may become desperate to escape, and could even injure the cop in their attempts to escape, perhaps even seriously.

But again, there is a chain of evidence that proves the cop and the car came into contact, because they touched the tail light. So if the driver hurt the cop in their escape attempt, there is proof of this.

These days, the practice has largely been replaced with dash cam technology, which allows cops to record the entire exchange without the added risk. But some police officers like to keep it old school, and old habits sure do die hard!

Are you a cop, or are any of your friends or family members? Let us know if you’re clued into this practice with a COMMENT and please feel free to SHARE this article!