If I Get Pulled over for a Traffic Offense, Can the Police Search My Car?

If the police pull you over for a traffic offense, they typically cannot search your vehicle. Unless there is for some reason probably cause to search your vehicle. So, if an officer pulls you over for speeding, and he comes up to the vehicle and he issues you a citation, there is really no probably cause there for him to search the vehicle. In some cases, a law enforcement officer may ask for consent to search the vehicle and you have every right to tell that law enforcement officer no. However, if there’s a situation where a law enforcement officer encounter rises to the level of probably cause, then he might be able to search your vehicle. An example of this would be if an officer pulls someone over for speeding, and when the driver puts the window down, the officer detects the smell of marijuana. Cases have said that that would allow to an officer to then search the vehicle.