a police officer will never admit to not having a reason for following you, but yes, depending on state regulations, a police car can follow you, some states only for so many blocks before deciding to pull you over or leave you alone.
Canada
Yes, pulling over a motor vehicle is never done for NO reason. If they had no reason why would they bother and waste their time. An officer may pull a vehicle over even if it just to ask if the driver has had anything to drink. Reason enough. Checking on the status of the vehicle insurance, plates, driver welfare, passenger welfare, etc are all legitimate reasons. What they find after the stop can make the difference whether you are subject to further investigation or sent on your way. If you are doing nothing wrong then there is little to worry about, they really have much more to do than harass the perfect citizen.
United States
In legal theory, no you cannot be stopped simply because an officer chooses to do so.
However, any small infraction such as not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign is a viable reason for a traffic stop. It is a fairly simple matter for an officer to find a reason to stop a vehicle, but the search of the vehicle and/or subject is a different matter.
Police can't legally stop you on "mere suspicion" alone, they need "probable cause" (such as a broken light, etc. as mentioned above), or have "reasonable suspicion" such as a vehicle matching that description was reported fleeing from the scene of a robbery in the vicinity moments earlier. . . but some do, regardless.
Usually not. There may be specific circumstances or locations (such as federal property) where they may stop on a whim, but it most commonly needs a clearly articulatable reason to stop a car.
Another View: Original answer is open to interpretation. There have been court rulings in several jurisdictions to the effect that, in the interests of compliance and public safety, law enforcement DOES possess the authority to conduct random traffic stops to determine compliance with the state's licensing, registration and vehicle safety laws. HOWEVER - it must be done in an entirely impartial and random manner!
For no reason No...... but if your on a public highway or street they can stop to see if you have a drivers license and if it's valid. Or there is the off chance you only signal 99 feet before a turn. Or say defective license plate light. Or your license plate is dirty. Or they can't read the state name on your license plate. So to sum it up no not for no reason but yes for very little reason.
Police followed a car for at least a mile before finding a reason to pull them over. Is that legal?
Means the police made you pull over in your vehicle.
Whatever works. Define "no reason." There are SO many requirements of the motor vehicle safety and equipment codes, I have never seen a vehicle or a driver, that I couldn't find some lawful reason to justify pulling the vehicle over. If you felt you were dealt with wrongly file a complaint with the police agency that stopped you, or with the prosecutors office for false arrest.
yes
If they know your name or licence number, they can look it up. But they need to know this first, so, if you're not already known to them, they'd have to pull you over to get this information. They can, however, run the licence plate. Now if the owner of the vehicle is, say, a woman in her 50s, and the driver appears to me a male in their 20s, they'll know the driver of the vehicle isn't the owner, which could be reason to pull that vehicle over and verify the ID of the driver. While there does have to be reasonable cause to pull a vehicle over, it's not very hard to find. When I did patrol, if I wanted to pull a vehicle over, 99% of the time, I could find a valid reason to.
no not necessarily you do not have to pull over for ambulances or police cars. ,but you must pull over for mail trucks. The mail truck is the only government official vehicle you have must pull over for. The other government vehicles you don not have to pull over for.
Yes, a cop may pull you over on private property in Nevada. There are not any laws that prohibit this.
My son was pulled over by local police because music from sons' vehicle loud. The officer called for an additional officer to pull sons' vehicle over. The police then searched my sons' vehicle and sent him on his way - no citation, warning - nothing. The police officer never requested proof of title/ins.
Police can pull a person over for numerous things such as speeding, no taillights, a headlight out, or swerving.
It is a violation of State law to operate a motor vehicle without a seatbelt.
In general, the presence of a felon in a vehicle does not automatically give police the right to search the vehicle. However, if there is reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed or that evidence related to a crime is present in the vehicle, police may be able to search it, depending on the specific circumstances and applicable laws. It is important to consult with a legal professional for advice tailored to your specific situation.
A citizen can not pull over a police officer for bending the law, but you can report them to the superiors of their Police Department.