When Philadelphia’s mayor signs landmark legislation as soon as this week, the city will become the first major US city to ban police from stopping drivers for low-level traffic violations — stops that studies show target Black drivers at disproportionately higher rates. The Driving Equality Bill, passed 14-2 by the city council on October 14, categorizes certain motor vehicle code violations as “primary violations,” which allow officers to pull people over in the name of public safety, and “secondary violations” that don’t meet the criteria for a lawful traffic stop, according to the office of Councilmember Isaiah Thomas, who authored the bill.

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