Philadelphia’s ban on low-level traffic stops could be a model for the nation

Philadelphia Councilmember Isaiah Thomas says since he was a teenager, he has been pulled over by police more than 20 times for unjustifiable reasons.

The 37-year-old at-large councilmember says he has been searched, handcuffed and forced to watch his parents’ college graduation present, a late-model Cadillac, torn apart by cops who found absolutely nothing illegal. This, he says, is “a rite of passage” for young Black men.

Perhaps the worst part is that his 8-year-old son was with him during a couple of unwarranted stops.

These experiences are part of why he drafted new legislation to ban police officers from pulling drivers over for minor traffic violations. He says the law is rooted in his duty to his constituents but also in his personal experiences as a Black man.

“We feel like an entire generation can be changed as it relates to their perception of law enforcement and law enforcement relations,” said Thomas, the council member who championed the legislation. “Being pulled over by police is what I would like to call a cultural norm. We would purchase our cars based on the likelihood of being pulled over or not pulled over. The amount of people you’d drive with would be predicated on this idea of not wanting to be pulled over.”

Philadelphia’s new Driving Equity Act bars police officers from pulling over drivers for minor traffic violations with an aim to closing racial disparities in traffic stops is another important step toward police reform and building trust between police and the community.

Mayor Jim Kenney recently signed the Driving Equity Act into law, making Philadelphia the first major city in the U.S. to ban low-level traffic stops. The law, which also requires city police to gather and publicly release data on traffic stops, goes into effect early next year. 

“Today, I signed an executive order to implement the legislation outlined in the Driving Equality bills, introduced by Councilmember Isaiah Thomas,” Kenney tweeted. “This legislation establishes Philadelphia as the first large U.S. city to ban minor traffic stops with the goal of healing police-community relations.”

This bill aims to redirect police time and resources toward reducing negative interactions between the city’s police and drivers and what constitutes a primary and secondary traffic violation.

“Data and lived experiences showed us the problem, and data will be key to making sure this is done right,” Thomas said.

“Data will tell us if we should end more traffic stops or amend how this is enforced. Data will also tell other cities that Philadelphia is leading on this civil rights issue and it can be replicated.”

Studies show that Black drivers get pulled over for low-level infractions more often than any other drivers in the United States. Civil rights groups often condemn such stops as a cover for racial profiling.

An analysis of 14 years of traffic stops in North Carolina, conducted by the University of South Carolina shows Black drivers are 63% more likely to be pulled over than their white counterparts, and Black drivers are 115% more likely to be searched during that stop, even though data shows contraband, like illegal guns or drugs, are found more often when a white driver is searched.

It is important to note that Philadelphia’s new laws does not ban all traffic stops.

The bill passed 14-2 by the city council on October 14, categorizes certain motor vehicle code violations as "primary violations," which allow officers to pull people over in the name of public safety, and "secondary violations" that don't meet the criteria for a lawful traffic stop. 

Police could still stop motorists for violations that put people or property in imminent danger, such as drunken driving or running a red light.

Philadelphia’s new legislation specifically bans stops for:

Driving with a single broken brake light.

Driving with a single headlight.

Having a registration plate that’s not clearly displayed, fastened or visible.

Driving without an inspection or emissions sticker.

Bumper issues.

Minor obstructions (like something hanging from a rearview mirror).

Driving without vehicle registration within 60 days of the observed infraction.

While these low-level offenses will no longer lead to interactions between police and drivers, such infractions will still result in a ticket that is either left on the driver’s windshield or mailed.

It was important that the Philadelphia Police Department was part of a coalition of stakeholders who helped draft the legislation.

“We believe this is a fair and balanced approach to addressing racial disparity without compromising public safety,” the department said in a statement. The department plans to retrain officers over the next four months before the change is implemented.

Other state and local governments have introduced similar legislation. The state of Virginia enacted a law in March that includes a ban on stopping and searching drivers for reasons including defective taillights, loud exhaust or the smell of marijuana.

Many fatal encounters between police officers and citizens have occurred during traffic stops.

The 2016 police killing of Philando Castile, a Black man pulled over in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area for a missing taillight, drew national attention to the enforcement of low-level traffic stops.

Minneapolis, near where Castile was stopped and killed, has implemented a policy change to scale back on such police stops.
Consider the history of Philadelphia police and its Black constituents, the city will be a major test case.

Black drivers, which comprise 48% of Philadelphia's population, accounted for 72% of the nearly 310,000 traffic stops by police officers between October 2018 and September 2019, according to data from the Defender Association of Philadelphia. As of this year, Black drivers account for 67% of stops compared to just 12% of White drivers, the data shows.

Alan Tauber, the chief defender for the Defender Association for Philadelphia said the legislation is a "great first step to building more trust between our police and communities of color," adding, "We're hopeful that passage of the Driving Equality Bill is just the beginning of informed and meaningful conversations about positive changes to our justice system that will benefit all Philadelphians."

Philadelphia’s Driving Equity Act could help reduce tensions and build trust between police and community members and hopefully become a model for other U.S. cities.

Irv Randolph is an award-winning journalist and creator of The Randolph Report, a newsletter dedicated to pursuing truth and justice. Sign up for free and get an independent view on politics, race and culture delivered to your inbox every week.