"I was almost hit by a semi"

Traffic stops are one of the most dangerous daily duties of law enforcement officers. They never know what may be waiting for them inside the car they just pulled.

However, it's not just the pulled over car officers have to worry about, but other drivers speeding past the scene as well.

Pennington County Sheriff's Deputy Samuel Black says, while accidents are fairly rare, close calls are quite common.

"There are about 10 officer fatalities nationwide like that a year," Black said. "We are trained to make the situation less dangerous."

Officers position their cruisers at an angle to block oncoming cars and they sometimes choose to approach from the passenger window to get out of the road. Still, Black say it's on the public to pay attention to the flashing lights and move over.

"I almost got hit by a semi one time," Black said through a half laugh. "I later found out he was just trying to put his audio book CD in. He took his eyes off the road for a minute which we have all probably done at some point or another. I just happened to be the unlucky party that was close when he took his eyes off the road."

Black says many people don't realize amber lights mean you are required by law to slow down to 20mph. Red and blue lights require you stop all together.