NJ LEE Patrol Techniques & Traffic Enforcement 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During a vehicle stop at night, where should an officer position their flashlight to reduce their own visibility to the driver?
- Aimed directly at the driver's face
- Held at arm's length to the side of the body (Correct answer)
- Pointed at the ground in front of the vehicle
- Clipped to the duty belt
Correct answer: Held at arm's length to the side of the body
Holding the flashlight at arm's length to the side separates the officer's silhouette from the light source, making the officer a harder target.
Question 2: A driver stopped for speeding provides a license that appears to belong to someone else. The FIRST action the officer should take is to:
- Arrest the driver for fraud immediately
- Request a second form of identification and run the name through NCIC/CJIS (Correct answer)
- Issue a summons and release the driver
- Confiscate the license and let the driver go
Correct answer: Request a second form of identification and run the name through NCIC/CJIS
Running the information through NCIC/CJIS verifies identity and checks for warrants before making an arrest decision.
Question 3: The 'offset' patrol technique in high-crime areas means officers:
- Patrol only at night
- Vary start and end times of patrol shifts unpredictably
- Travel slightly off the centerline to improve lateral visibility (Correct answer)
- Always patrol in pairs
Correct answer: Travel slightly off the centerline to improve lateral visibility
Traveling offset from the centerline gives the officer a wider field of view and reduces the predictability of the patrol path.
Question 4: Under New Jersey law, a driver who accumulates how many points on their license triggers an MVC surcharge notice?
- 3 points
- 6 points (Correct answer)
- 12 points
- 18 points
Correct answer: 6 points
New Jersey's MVC issues a surcharge assessment once a driver reaches 6 points within three years.
Question 5: When approaching a stopped vehicle on the passenger side, the primary advantage is:
- Faster access to the driver's window
- Reduced exposure to passing traffic (Correct answer)
- Easier view of the glove compartment
- Better radio signal
Correct answer: Reduced exposure to passing traffic
A passenger-side approach keeps the officer away from the traffic lane, significantly reducing the risk of being struck by passing vehicles.
Question 6: A pedestrian is struck by a vehicle in a marked crosswalk. The driver claims the 'Don't Walk' signal was displayed. Which evidence is MOST useful to establish pedestrian right-of-way at the time of impact?
- Witness statements only
- Traffic signal cycle timing records from the jurisdiction's traffic engineering department (Correct answer)
- The driver's blood alcohol level
- Skid mark length
Correct answer: Traffic signal cycle timing records from the jurisdiction's traffic engineering department
Official traffic signal timing records establish the exact phase of the signal cycle at the moment of the crash.
Question 7: An officer observes a motorist whose vehicle is weaving within its lane but not crossing lane lines. This behavior MOST likely justifies:
- An immediate PIT maneuver
- A traffic stop based on reasonable suspicion of impaired driving (Correct answer)
- No police action since no traffic law was violated
- A roadblock ahead of the vehicle
Correct answer: A traffic stop based on reasonable suspicion of impaired driving
Weaving within a lane is a recognized National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) indicator of impaired driving, establishing reasonable suspicion for a stop.
NJ LEE Patrol Techniques & Traffic Enforcement 2
During a vehicle stop at night, where should an officer position their flashlight to reduce their own visibility to the driver?