If you get pulled over, do you answer seemingly innocuous questions?

Such as:

Where are you coming from?
Where are you headed?

I saw an interesting video recently where a lawyer says the best way to handle this is to say "Officer, here is my license, registration, and proof of insurance. I am going to exercise my right not to answer any of your questions, am I free to go?"

Apparently, police ask these sorts of questions to make up a route in their minds as to where you may have been or be going. There could be bars along the way, they can determine if they think you're BSing them if they think you aren't headed in the proper direction of where you said you were coming from and going. They even read your non-verbal cues, which for anyone just nervous of being pulled over could look like you're lying when you're 100% innocent.

The landmark U.S. Supreme Court case is Rodriguez v. United States (2015). The Court ruled 6–3 that a traffic stop cannot be prolonged—even for a few extra minutes to wait for a drug-sniffing dog—beyond the time needed to handle the initial purpose of the stop, unless there is independent reasonable suspicion of other crimes. So, if you aren't giving them information, they can't even get a sniff of something they're making up in their minds to phish for more information.

Of course, this is from the standpoint you really are innocent and only got pulled over for running a stop sign or going a little over the speed limit.

I have never actually thought of this before, and just randomly this video appeared on my feed one day. If I can find the exact one, I will add it to this topic. Looking at it now, it makes perfect sense.




Personally, I wouldn't see this going over well with a cop.