(CNN) 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.
While Philadelphia is the largest city to ban such traffic stops, some local and state governments have also enacted similar policies.
In Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey announced in August that the city's police officers will no longer conduct pretextual traffic stops for low-level offenses as part of his 2022 budget proposal.
Once the Driving Equality Bill is signed into law, the Philadelphia police will work on directive amendments and necessary training.
The lawsuit alleged that thousands of people in Philadelphia are illegally stopped, frisked and detained by police officers.
Black drivers, which comprise 48% of Philadelphia's population, accounted for 72% of the nearly 310,000 traffic stops by police officers between October 2018 and September 2019, according to data from the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
As of this year, Black drivers account for 67% of stops compared to just 12% of White drivers, the data shows. »
