Tips for Getting Out of a Driving Ticket

I recently saw a news story on getting out of a driving ticket. I watched with rapt attention to see if they were going to divulge secrets I have known all along. They did. Their tips matched the knowledge gained during personal experiences, both mine and my husbands. I will share them here with you.

Tell the truth. "Do you know why I stopped you?" or "Where is the fire?" are comments that you will often hear from an irate traffic cop. The correct answer is "was I speeding sir?" or " I may have been driving fast because..." (insert a really good and truthful reason there). A really good reason might be, my wife is in labor, my wife or child is sick, I am late for an important meeting, I am really tired, and afraid of falling asleep. In my husband's case, "my computer that I just purchased is not working and the store is about to close," worked. You must give your excuse with a straight face and in all sincerity.

Be a little nerdy or straight laced. In my last example, I mentioned that my husband was caught speeding because he did not want to wait all night to exchange a brand-new non-working computer. He let is geek flag fly, and the cop was amused. Other times he got out of tickets, it was probably due to first impressions. This impression included a stiff shirt collar, a striped tie, and a blazer in the passenger seat. Of course if this is not your style, you could always speak a little more formally.

Shame yourself. I was stopped one time for driving very badly. I actually swerved, only to find a cop driving behind me who was more than happy to turn on his siren and pull me over. "Ma'am, do you realize you were swerving", he asked. "Have you been drinking?" I replied, "only water sir, I thought I left my purse back at the car-wash, and was looking in the back seat". I said this as innocently as possible, as I was really looking for my cell phone, but for the same reason. At that point, he began to make fun of my driving, and my slightly ditsy demeanor which I exaggerated greatly. I smiled and giggled and let him mock my bad driving, and I was ushered home without a ticket.

Tears can help, if they are real. I actually got out a ticket by crying. It helped that I was really distressed. I was in a new town and did not know my way around and was very stressed out. Due to driving that was more aggressive than I was used to, I was prevented from making the turn I had planned, and made an illegal turn instead. The cop began literally screaming at me, and I just burst into tears. He sent me on my way.

Sympathize with the cop. Traffic cops are people too. One traffic cop actually began to weep because he had stopped us in the exact spot of a horrific accident a week before. My husband would have rather gotten the ticket than to have seen a police officer cry. Being apologetic and empathizing with him and promising to be more careful was more than enough for this cop.

Ask for advice. If you crossed three lanes somewhat recklessly, or got caught making a U-turn, and get stopped, you had better have a pretty good reason. In our case, when it happened, we asked for directions for where we were going, and they just shook their heads, gave directions, and warned us to be more careful.

Smile, and nod. Finally, don't make excuses or debate with the officer. Apologize for whatever you can apologize for and try to smile, and they find attitudes and sour faces to be annoying. Nod and say "yes sir" and take whatever verbal spanking they have to give. It is better than the cost of the ticket.

There was one time that I actually did get a ticket. I was driving two women home at 3am, and frankly, they were getting on my last nerve. I was speeding in a known speed trap zone. My bad. While I obeyed all of the rules that I laid out, but it did not help that my passengers thought the fact that I had been stopped was funny, and would not stop giggling. They annoyed me, and they annoyed the cop. While I did my best to diffuse the situation, having stupid passengers is going to hurt your chances of getting out of a ticket, so don't drive dumb people anywhere.

Other tips given in the news story include pulling off the road, to somewhere safe to protect the officer and unrolling the passenger window so they can talk to you from the safe side of the car. Treat them like you want to be treated and they will feel respected, and respect you.