This is more of a “how to give yourself the best odds of avoiding a ticket if you do get pulled over, how to give yourself the best odds of not getting convicted when you go to court if that doesn’t work, and how to try to get leniency from the judge as a last resort” sort of article, but I needed a catchy title 😀 .
So, you thought you were Michael Schumacher on the way to work, huh? Or, hopefully, you just want to know how to avoid a speeding ticket if you do get pulled over since it’s easier to do that than it is to get out of it once you’ve got it already. Well, this is a bit complicated so I’m going to let someone else (a former cop) do most of the explaining, but we’ll start out with two simple things first:
- Don’t get angry, don’t argue, and don’t say stupid shit–let me elaborate on the last one: by stupid shit, I mean admitting guilt to anything, including speeding or whatever you think he pulled you over for. Don’t say any more than you absolutely have to. When he asks you why he pulled you over, remember that the only reason he’s asking you this is in hopes of getting you to admit guilt right there on camera (almost all police cars have cameras and microphones now) by saying “because I was speeding” or some variation on that (e.g. “I was doing a little over the speed limit”, “I was going too fast”, “You could see the pot smoke from the joint I’ve got coming out of the window”, etc.). Do NOT say anything like that.
- To add to the “don’t get angry or argue” thing: be nice. You want him to like you. Police officers are people, too, and you’d be amazed at how far some sharp social skills will go in not getting a ticket when you get pulled over. Also, girls, I’ll be brutally honest: nothing beats short skirts and tears, work it if you got it. If you’ve got a legitimate excuse or mitigating circumstances, let him know: if it’s the truth, he’ll probably believe you because you’ll be very convincing and believable (because you’re telling the truth) and may very well empathize with you right there because he has probably had a similar experience at some point, and then you don’t get a ticket, the end, over, done. See how well that worked? Oh, don’t forget to thank him in case he ends up pulling you over again 😉 .
Straight from the horse’s mouth
Additional Resources and Further Reading
If you’ve already got a ticket and you want some solid, guaranteed advice, I would personally recommend what I’ve used before at PayNoTicket.com, they’ll provide you with all the tools, case law, and legal arguments you’ll need if you don’t want to pay for a lawyer (or your ticket).
Forbes has got an excellent article on beating a speeding ticket that you ought to check out as well.
Lifehacker has got a really detailed article on this whole thing called how to beat a speeding ticket with plenty of good advice there (although me and the cop you saw above both disagree with them about the “admitting guilt and hoping for mercy part”).
