Proposed law would allow officers to give ticket without having to leave car

An Oklahoma lawmaker wants to reduce the amount of danger a law enforcement officer faces when pulling over a driver.Sen. Al McAffrey is a former police officer. McAffrey wrote Senate Bill 1872, which would allow law enforcement officers to issue electronic citations for traffic, misdemeanor and municipal ordinance violations.The bill would keep officers from having to approach a vehicle they see in violation."Allowing officers to issue electronic citations will help better protect them. If they don't have to approach vehicles during traffic stops to give people tickets but can simply email traffic violation citations directly to the district court clerk, then they're less likely to get into a dangerous altercation," McAffrey said.The bill would also add a $5 fee to the amount already paid by defendants convicted of speeding, certain misdemeanor traffic violations or a driving under the influence misdemeanor.Part of that fee would be sent to a electronic citation fund created in each county. Another part of the fee would be given back to the law enforcement agency responsible for the ticket to help with expenses related to electronic citations.“Routine traffic stops are one of the most dangerous times for officers to become injured because they don’t know what kind of situation or individual they’re approaching. They’re walking up blind,” McAffrey said in a news release. “We need to provide better protection for them by not putting them in harm’s way unnecessarily. By allowing them to submit electronic citations, they’d no longer have to leave the safety of their car.”

An Oklahoma lawmaker wants to reduce the amount of danger a law enforcement officer faces when pulling over a driver.

Sen. Al McAffrey is a former police officer. McAffrey wrote Senate Bill 1872, which would allow law enforcement officers to issue electronic citations for traffic, misdemeanor and municipal ordinance violations.


The bill would keep officers from having to approach a vehicle they see in violation.

"Allowing officers to issue electronic citations will help better protect them. If they don't have to approach vehicles during traffic stops to give people tickets but can simply email traffic violation citations directly to the district court clerk, then they're less likely to get into a dangerous altercation," McAffrey said.

The bill would also add a $5 fee to the amount already paid by defendants convicted of speeding, certain misdemeanor traffic violations or a driving under the influence misdemeanor.

Part of that fee would be sent to a electronic citation fund created in each county. Another part of the fee would be given back to the law enforcement agency responsible for the ticket to help with expenses related to electronic citations.

“Routine traffic stops are one of the most dangerous times for officers to become injured because they don’t know what kind of situation or individual they’re approaching. They’re walking up blind,” McAffrey said in a news release. “We need to provide better protection for them by not putting them in harm’s way unnecessarily. By allowing them to submit electronic citations, they’d no longer have to leave the safety of their car.”