What to do if you are caught in a police chase?

Drive reader Jannell Rodewald Brown recently found herself in a precarious situation while driving through the northern suburbs on Interstate 694.

Surrounded by other motorists, Rodewald Brown saw a speeding vehicle weaving through traffic. The driver of the car drove past, then noticed police cars right behind her. She was innocently caught in a police chase.

“I didn’t know what to do,” she told The Drive. “Where was I supposed to go? Should I park? I just kept driving.”

The Minnesota Driver’s Manual states that drivers traveling on a two-way road must pull right and stop when emergency vehicles with flashing lights approach or attempt to pass. On roads such as interstates or highways that are divided by a median and travel in one direction, drivers must pull over to the near side and stop.

But when a pursuit is underway, “it’s a unique situation,” and there’s no standard response, said Mike Hanson, director of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Traffic Safety. “You have to get away safely and let law enforcement do what they need to do to safely conclude the pursuit. Find your way out.”

This may mean moving to the left shoulder if it is closer, being aware that drivers may use the left lanes to overtake. Going to the right shoulder is also an option. The important thing is to move as far away from the road as possible.

Drivers don’t always have a lot of time to react in these kinds of situations. The best advice, Hanson says, is to avoid making a panicked decision and take actions that won’t increase exposure to danger based on the time and space available.

“I wish I had the perfect answer to give,” Hanson said.

One of Hanson’s tips was that drivers should be aware of what is happening around them, both in front of them and behind them.

“Pay attention and know what’s happening,” he said, encouraging drivers to constantly check their rearview mirror.

Police pursuits are more common than before the pandemic. Minnesota law enforcement was involved in 1,751 pursuits in 2016. In 2019, that number jumped to 2,252 and surpassed 3,150 in 2022, according to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s annual Uniform Crime Report. There have been 934 pursuits reported through May 31 of this year, according to the agency’s data.

A 1988 law requires peace officers to report pursuits to the Department of Public Safety.

“We’re seeing numbers we’ve never seen before,” Hanson said. “There is a lack of respect from people behind the wheel. This is something that leaves us perplexed. »

A vast majority of chases last only five minutes or less, according to the data. But that’s long enough to put drivers like Rodewald Brown in danger, and sometimes with bad results.

“There are variables that are beyond their (law enforcement) control,” he said. “They have no control over the decisions that the bad guys make.”