So, why will some cops make you sit on the side of the road for 30 minutes on a traffic stop? There are some things that the police will do to encourage you only to talk to them. And one of those things is extend the stop unreasonably to make you anxious where you just think you need to talk to them. It's okay for you to ask a police officer, "Am I being detained?" And if you're not being detained, what do you do? You walk away. If you are being detained, then the clock starts running for this police officer to do whatever is necessary because it's unlawful for a police officer to unreasonably extend the stop.