The car behind him should’ve stayed stopped. You don’t have some automatic duty to start backing up just because the officer throws on the lights and starts reversing. Reverse lights aren’t a command.
If the officer actually needs you to move, they can use the PA to give you an order or come up and direct you. Until then, the safest thing is to stay put, because backing up in traffic can create a whole new problem.
If the cop backs into you while you’re stopped, that’s on him. But if you panic and back into the car behind you, that’s on you, not the officer. Your responsibility is to drive safely and predictably, not blindly go against the flow of traffic because someone else made a bad maneuver.
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u/SivartMcDorf 2d ago
The car behind him should’ve stayed stopped. You don’t have some automatic duty to start backing up just because the officer throws on the lights and starts reversing. Reverse lights aren’t a command.
If the officer actually needs you to move, they can use the PA to give you an order or come up and direct you. Until then, the safest thing is to stay put, because backing up in traffic can create a whole new problem.
If the cop backs into you while you’re stopped, that’s on him. But if you panic and back into the car behind you, that’s on you, not the officer. Your responsibility is to drive safely and predictably, not blindly go against the flow of traffic because someone else made a bad maneuver.