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ALBANY, GA --
It's the most terrifying sight for anyone driving out on the street. Regardless of what you were doing, when those blue lights click on your heart rate jumps up. But although we may dread it, officers say it's with our best interests in mind.

"Unfortunately a byproduct of that sometimes is that people do get citations and have to pay fines and things like that, but our goal is to promote public safety and make sure people are not endangering themselves or other people," said Lt. Col. Chris Owens.

And officers aren't out there with a tally sheet for tickets either, in fact it's pretty much up to the individual.

"There's nothing set in stone that says we have to give a citation for every single stop that we make, or every single traffic infraction. It's up to that officer as to what they want to do with that particular encounter," said Lt. Col. Owens.

And Owens says the best piece of advice he can give, is to keep your cool after being pulled over.

"A lot of the time officers do look at the attitude of the driver when they go up there. Officers sometimes encounter people who are mad or upset because they did get pulled over," said Lt. Col. Owens.

And even in a down economy, officers say they still have a job to do regardless of the price.

"I take that into consideration, you know I don't want to take food out of anybody's mouth in any way, but I also don't want anybody to get out here and get hurt," said Captain Keith Houston.

So the next time you see those blue lights pop up in your rearview mirror take a second and remember, they’re just trying to keep the roadways safe.