Imagine driving down a road near your home, and you see a car that has no headlights, no taillights and only a rear license plate that is not lit, so that you cannot read the plate. And even if you could see the license plate, it would not matter because the registration was expired, or the license plate was for another vehicle. You also cannot see the driver of the vehicle because the tinting on the vehicle is so dark. The driver of that vehicle cannot see you because the vehicle has no mirrors. Furthermore, the driver of the vehicle is changing lanes without using a turn signal while tossing trash out of the window.
Under a bill introduced into the Maryland Senate last year and expected to be introduced again in the upcoming legislative session in January, a police officer would not be justified in stopping such a vehicle.
Why would law enforcement not be able to stop this vehicle? Under Senate Bill 292, introduced in the 2025 session of the General Assembly, all these traffic violations would be made secondary offences, meaning a police officer cannot stop a motor vehicle for these traffic violations. This is just another attempt by the Democrats in Annapolis to throw out common sense, like that driver who tosses trash out his car window, in another ill-advised attempt to handcuff law enforcement’s ability to enforce the law. Who in his or her right mind thinks it is a good idea to let motor vehicles operate on our roads without the proper safety equipment? And who thinks it is bad public policy to allow a police officer to stop a vehicle because it has a busted taillight, even if that stop leads to the discovery of serious criminal behavior?
Witness how that worked in Baltimore City when former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby announced that her office would not enforce “minor” criminal offenses. Not only did those “minor” criminal offenses go unpunished, but major, violent crimes significantly increased. There is a direct correlation to an increase in serious crime when we limit the ability of the brave men and women sworn to protect us to enforce or pursue less serious crimes.
If the Democrats in Annapolis had their way, traffic stops by police officers would be replaced by speed and red-light cameras everywhere — not to deter and stop crime, but to collect even more of your hard-earned dollars to spend. Keep a sharp lookout this 2026 legislative session for another version of Senate Bill 292 and other proposed legislation that attempts to limit the ability of law enforcement to do their jobs and keep us safe.
Allan Culver is special counsel to the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office. He is a Republican candidate for Carroll County state’s attorney.
