Want to check out my Car’s Infotainment System? Get a Warrant!

By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director Editor’s Note: This post first appeared in January 2022 as NMA Weekly E-Newsletter #681. If you would like to subscribe to the one-topic newsletter delivered to your inbox every Sunday morning, Click Here. Many of us find using a cell phone convenient for communicating and learning. Now, connecting a […]
Speed Trap Karma Part 1: NMA E-Newsletter #697

Reason.com recently published a list of eleven U.S. towns where their police forces were either disbanded or their autonomy as a governmental entity was dissolved because of an addiction to, and dependence on, ticket revenue. We thought it would be informative to present excerpts from Reason’s article for those cities along with select driver-sourced comments […]
Want to check out my Car’s Infotainment System? Get a Warrant!: NMA E-Newsletter #681

Many of us find using a cell phone convenient for communicating and learning. Now, connecting a smartphone to a vehicle extends the utility of that little pocket computer. Vehicles have become smartphones on wheels. A car’s infotainment system records and stores call logs, contact lists, GPS information, emails, photos, text messages, social media feeds, videos, […]
Fourth Amendment Wins in the Baltimore Plane Surveillance Case: NMA E-Newsletter #654

“Allowing the police to wield this power unchecked is anathema to the values enshrined in our Fourth Amendment,” wrote Fourth Circuit US Court of Appeals Chief Judge Roger Gregory in late June. The case, Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle v. Baltimore Police Department, involved the use of aerial surveillance that continuously tracked and monitored the […]
How to Handle Yourself at a Checkpoint or Roadblock

By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the NMA’s Driving Freedoms Magazine in the Fall of 2020. If you would like to receive the NMA’s quarterly magazine, join the NMA today! Check out the first in this series: Have Checkpoints Gone Too Far? Similar to a traffic stop, a […]
The Ins and Outs of Warrantless Vehicle Searches (Part 2)

By Ted Levitt, NMA Texas Member Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared as an NMA Weekly E-Newsletter in 2014. Ted recently reviewed the information and informed the NMA that the post is still accurate and vital information for all drivers. Check out Part 1 HERE. If you would like to receive the NMA Weekly E-Newsletter, […]
The Ins and Outs of Warrantless Vehicle Searches (Part 1)

By Ted Levitt, NMA Member Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared as an NMA Weekly E-Newsletter in 2014. Ted recently reviewed the information and informed the NMA that the post is still accurate and vital information for all drivers. If you would like to receive the NMA Weekly E-Newsletter, join the NMA today! If you’ve […]
Six Simple Words to Use during a Traffic Stop

Do you know what the six most simple and important words to use during a traffic stop? “Am I free to go now?” The NMA said this In the NMA E-Newsletter #176 from May 2012, and we still say it in 2020. When an officer(s) pull you over for a traffic violation, they should have […]
Police Checkpoints: The Scariest Ride of Your Life

By guest writer William Rayburn, NMA Washington State Member Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared as NMA E-Newsletter #451 from September 2017. Due to the current COVID-19 Crisis, more police checkpoints have popped up to control motorists driving from one town to another or one state to another. If you would like to receive our […]
Roadblocks and Checkpoints during the COVID-19 Crisis: Driving in America Blog for April 3, 2020

By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director In my position as the NMA Communications Director, I skim or read hundreds of motoring news stories every day to bring you the news and to share trends and perspectives. Up until this week, I rarely ran across articles about checkpoints and roadblocks. The COVID-19 crisis is scary enough, […]