As anyone who the police have ever pulled over knows, the experience can be both stressful and confusing. However, there is a Siri Shortcut that can help ease the tension and ensure you are prepared for what comes next.
The “I’m Getting Pulled Over” Shortcut was created by Arizona resident Robert Petersen and aims to assist drivers by automatically recording their interactions with police officers if stopped.
How does the “Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over” shortcut work?
When you trigger the shortcut, either by voice command or tapping the shortcut on your iPhone screen, it will:
- Activate Do Not Disturb – turning off all incoming calls, messages and notifications.
- Set volume and screen brightness to 0%.
- Send your current location to contacts you have selected in the setup process.
- Start recording a video of the incident.
The shortcut can be downloaded for free and installed on your iPhone using the Shortcuts app. If you want to learn more about the Shortcuts app, we’ve written all about it here.
How to install the “Hey Siri, I’m Getting Pulled Over” shortcut
As a third party has created this shortcut, it isn’t available to download from the Gallery in the Shortcuts app. To install the shortcut on your iPhone, follow the instructions below.
Download the shortcut
- Open Safari on your iPhone and open this link.
- The Shortcuts app on your iPhone will open automatically. Read through the description of the shortcut, then scroll to the bottom and tap on Set up Shortcut.
- Now, you’ll be prompted to start configuring the shortcut. First, select the contacts you want to receive the message containing your location when the shortcut is triggered.
- Tap Next.
- In this step, choose which of your contacts will receive a copy of the video.
- Tap on Add Shortcut
The shortcut is now ready to use; however, if you want to save a copy of the video to Dropbox, you need to give permission in the shortcut settings.
- While in the Shortcut app, tap on the Shortcuts icon at the bottom left of the screen.
- Find the newly installed shortcut and tap on the three dots at the top right to do some more editing.
- Scroll down until you see the action Save Dropbox File.
- Tap on Allow Access.
- The Dropbox app will open on your iPhone, asking you to allow permission for Siri Shortcuts to access files and folders.
- Tap on Allow if you want to go ahead.
- Tap on Done at the top of the screen to finish editing the shortcut.
Within a few minutes, you should receive an email from Dropbox confirming that you have connected a new app to the service.
How to activate the “Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over” shortcut
Once it’s installed, running the shortcut is simple. The easiest way is to say:
Hey Siri, I’m getting pulled over.
You can also activate Siri by pressing and holding the side/home button on your iPhone.
Additionally, you can open the Shortcuts app and tap the I’m getting pulled over shortcut to run it.
Important notes
Due to Apple’s stringent security measures, you may find you have to permit shortcuts to use your location and are asked to unlock your phone before the shortcut will run.
We recommend testing out the shortcut a couple of times before you’re in a situation when you might need it. This will give you an idea of how your device will behave and what security steps you might need to take before the shortcut is triggered.