Can the officer stop two people at once?

It might surprise you, but yes, law enforcement officers can pull over two people at once. They still have to have reasonable suspicion to stop both vehicles, but the traffic stop would be valid.

Video Transcription

Hello, my name is Andrew Flusche. I’m a Virginia traffic and DUI attorney. One issue that comes up sometimes with potential clients is whether or not the officer can stop multiple people at once on the interstate. Honestly before I started doing traffic defense, I would’ve thought that the answer was no, but I have since learned that the officers can, not only legally, but also quite possibly physically, be able to stop multiple people at once even on the interstate. Some of the troopers here in our area are actually quite good at it and I see it happen somewhat regularly where a couple of people are on the interstate, both going about the same speed, and the trooper gets a good clock on both of them, and turns his lights on towards the lead car but points to both of them to pull over.

So unfortunately it is possible to be pulled over in a group or a pack; usually just a couple cars but I guess sometimes it could be even more than that. So it is possible and it is legal. It doesn’t give us any kind of argument just because you were pulled over with somebody else. Now, we would always check of course to make sure that the officer did get a good clock or a good pace on both vehicles. He’s got to be able to prove individually that each of you was indeed going the speed he’s claiming. Other than that, however, just because you were pulled over with someone else does not unfortunately give you a defense to a Virginia reckless driving or speeding case.