How long can they keep me on the side of the road?

As long as it reasonably takes an officer to deal with the reason you were pulled over — and, without a new reason, no longer than that.

Is there a number of minutes?

No. There is no magic number, and Tennessee courts have refused to set one.

What courts look at instead is whether the officer was moving the stop along or stalling. Tennessee courts have upheld roadside detentions that ran well over an hour where officers were working steadily on the original problem, and where part of the delay came from the driver's own requests. A stop is not unlawful because it felt long.

What counts as "the reason I was pulled over"?

More than writing the ticket.

Checking your license, running you for outstanding warrants, inspecting your registration and proof of insurance, taking ordinary safety steps, and asking you to step out of the car are all treated as part of the job the officer started. None of that is an extension. Tennessee courts have also allowed reasonable waiting for a second officer to arrive.

What if the officer finishes and keeps me there anyway?

Then the officer generally needs a specific, articulable reason to suspect other criminal activity — not a hunch. Tennessee's appellate courts have held that a person's prior record, standing alone, is not enough to turn a traffic stop into a drug investigation.

But officers develop new reasons constantly. An odor, slurred speech, a bad answer on the license check, something visible in the car — any one of those can lawfully buy more time.

Does it matter that a drug dog showed up?

Only if waiting for it added time.

This is where most challenges die. If a dog is walked around your car while the citation is still being written, Tennessee courts have often found no extra time was added at all — and where no time was added, a delay argument usually fails. A fast officer who does several things at once is very hard to attack.

Can I make any of this stop at the roadside?

No. None of it is a right you can enforce there.

This rule is a courtroom remedy, argued months later on a motion, using dashcam and body camera timestamps and the dispatch log. That is why getting that footage early matters. And even a proven violation does not automatically erase the evidence — Tennessee recognizes a good-faith exception, so an unlawful detention and a suppressed case are two different things.

What should I do now?

Be polite, produce your documents, and say as little as possible about where you were going, what you drank, or what is in the car. Those answers are what the case gets built from.

Then write down the time you were stopped and the time you left, and let a lawyer read the timeline against the video.

About the Author

David G. Ridings is a Nashville criminal defense attorney with nearly 40 years in the Tennessee justice system: a former police officer, former prosecutor, and former night court judge who now defends the accused. Nationally known as “DrJudge,” he hosts DrJudge Media across YouTube and every major social platform, teaching millions of people their rights during police encounters.

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