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The dramatic video went completely viral: A car club was driving along the highway when a police officer caught up, flipped on their lights, and pulled one of the lead cars over. In response, the entire club pulled in behind the cop. The camera man says, “We in this together, you’re pulling us all over.” The moment had many wondering, Can you legally stop and wait if your friend gets pulled over?

When my colleague, Allison Barfield, covered the entire car club sticking together she pointed out that some social media comments were supportive. She added that others said the move blocked traffic, or may even have made the police officer feel threatened.

So is it legal to park your car nearby when your friend gets pulled over? The truth may depend on where the traffic stop happens.

A police officer giving someone a speeding ticket
A police officer writing a ticket | iStock

On Reddit’s forum for /r/NoStupidQuestions, one poster asked “Can I pull over too if I see somebody else pulled over by the police?” Many commenters had thoughts and opinions. But then a police officer weighed in.

“I’m a cop. If you pull over too I’ll walk up to your car and ask why you’re stopped. I’ll then tell you you can continue on your way because I didn’t intend to stop you. If you refuse to leave I can either issue you a citation for parking on a highway or somthing to that effect or if you’re preventing me from doing my job I can arrest you for interference.”

Reddit user

This commenter makes a good point: It’s illegal to park in a highway’s breakdown lane unless it’s an emergency situation. Showing support for your friend who’s been pulled over, however well-meaning, is not an emergency situation. So in this case, police could ask you to leave and even ticket you.

So what about if your friend gets pulled over on a surface street and there’s legal parking nearby? Can you pull in and watch? That will likely depend on the police officer and how you handle yourself. The same Reddit commenter said they’d have no problem with a polite person watching a traffic stop–and even recording it–if the person wasn’t being aggressive or combative. Here’s how they said it would go down:

“I’d then probably walk over to your car and ask why you stopped. If you were polite and just said something along the lines of, ‘I’m just watching your traffic stop. I don’t mean to get in the way,’ I’d probably tell you that if you’d like to sit and watch the stop I’d like to see your ID (to make sure you’re both legally able to be driving and to make sure you’re not a wanted criminal who is going to try and kill me) and I’d ask you to stay seated inside your car until I return to your car and gave you your ID back.”

Reddit User MyFishDied

Again, the actual situation you find yourself in will depend very much on where you are and on the officer. If a police officer feels you are making their life harder, they can always ticket you for “interfering” with an investigation. So if you see your friend pulled over, it may be best to stop at the nearest rest area or parking lot and text them to let you know when they are rolling again.

Next, find out whether it is legal for police to set speed traps, or see the original “You’re pulling us all over” video embedded below:

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.