[PHP][/PHP]
Quote Originally Posted by joecoolfreak
Yes, as long as there is a marked vehicle doing the initial "pull over" there can be as many unmarked cars as they like. BTW, from a quick bit of research, GA is the only state that completely disallows unmarked vehicles from pulling over a motorist for traffic infractions.
Actually GA does NOT "completely" disallow unmarked cars at all, you just have to get used to reading "lawyer speak". If you read the above referenced code sections, OCGA 40-8-91, and also 40-1-7, you'll notice that a big key phrase is "assigned routinely or primarily to traffic law enforcement". So that detective in an unmarked car who's on his way to lunch and watches you do something stupid can still stop you. 40-1-7 also says "An otherwise lawful arrest shall not be invalidated or in any manner affected by failure to comply with this Code section". Which basically means theoretically some Sheriff out there COULD decide to just make all his cars unmarked and go out there and enforce traffic all day long. The State would have to sue him to get him to stop. Granted the state court judges and/or prosecutors in a case like that would probably just start throwing the cases out. But there's plenty of case law that says if an officer sees a dangerous offense, like a DUI or a reckless driver, he has a duty to stop the guy whether he's in a marked car or not. There is a Georgia Supreme Court ruling from a case back in the 1980s where 2 narcotics agents in an undercover Ford Mustang on their way back from working a search warrant stuck one of those Miami Vice style rotating blue lights up on the dash and made a DUI case on a guy because there weren't any marked units around. The Supreme Court said it was fine since it wasn't "routine traffic enforcement". The ONLY exception is an officer has to be in a marked car to charge someone with fleeing and attempting to elude. However, he could still charge them with obstructing an investigation and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle if they tried to run. To be defined as an "emergency vehicle" in Georgia you just have to have at least 1 flashing or revolving blue or red light visible from at least 500 feet away and an audible horn or siren. I'd just hate to see someone end up in jail because "But I read on the internet that I didn't have to stop for an unmarked car".