Just to clarify for everyone...probable cause is NOT necessary for a traffic stop...o ly reasonable suspicion....which is a lower threshold. That being said...we are not supposed to be running tags for no reason...
“we are not supposed to be running tags for no reason...”
Now that may very well be true, but if that is the case there is really no reason for plates to be required at all.
Just about every cop car has software that will run the plates of cars near by. Many highways also have cameras to record your passing, and note you license plate number.
In short, unless you are in a very rural area, they have an electronic record of where you go every day.