There are several important reasons why police do it.

I've been there a few times, it's never fun when you get pulled over. There's no way to spin it....it's intimidating, you're bracing for a ticket and you usually end up being late to where you were headed to. It's just an unfortunate part of life and it happens to the best of us.

As the police officer is walking up to my window I have noticed that they always tap the back of my car. The first time I didn't think much of it, but then I noticed it was a pattern. I kept thinking that there must be a specific reason for it and I wanted to find out more about it. Turns out, there are a few reasons that police officers tap the back of your car.

Why do police officers tap on the back of your car during a traffic stop?

Reason #1- to startle to driver. The driver is usually not expecting the noise and it causes them to stop whatever they are doing. This allows the police officer more time to catch them in any kind of suspicious activity.

Reason #2- to leave evidence. If god forbid the police officer finds themselves in a dangerous situation, the fingerprint shows the officer was present and on the scene.

Reason #3- to make sure your trunk is latched. Police have a tough job and a lot of times can find themselves in tough situations quickly and out of no where. Tapping allows the officer to know and confirm that the trunk is safely latched and that nobody is hiding in there.

Again, thank you to all police officers out there who keep us safe.

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Are there any more reasons that you know of on why police officers tap the back of your car? Share them with us on the station app.

We are talking about safety, but here's a little bit of a different spin on it. Here are items that can be used after the expiration date: