Among the writers here at Autoblog, we could probably put together a meaty album full of our most memorable speeding tickets. Something about a bunch of gearheads in high-powered, tire-shredding, plate-glass-shattering muscle cars. Mmmmm. But I digress.
Apparently the best way to get out of a ticket is not to blame the manufacturer for putting too many damn ponies under the hood. Nor should you ask the officer how much over the speed limit he had to go to catch you doing 95 mph. Whoops, my bad. That one was expensive. Oh, and altering speed limit signs has been proven to be hazardous to your court case.
No, according to John Draneas, attorney at law and car collector, the best way to get out of a speeding ticket is just be a nice guy. Don't make excuses, don't beg for a break, and above all, don't get belligerent.
Oh and apparently the first thing you should do after being stopped is immediately throw that fuzzbuster under the seat. Looking like you were trying to avoid a tick to begin with has been scientifically proven to significantly improve your chances of getting a ticket.
So get your speed demon butt over to Sports Car Market Magazine for more tips on beating the Smokies. And remember, 55 saves lives.
[Source: Sports Car Market Magazine]
New KITT Attack Mode revealed at Comic Con
London 2008: Honda OSM concept roadster says, "Cheerio!"
London 2008: Lotus unveils the Evora
2010 Chevy Camaro - Official Details and Images
2010 Chevy Camaro - LIVE from the reveal
In the Autoblog Garage: Aprilia RSV 1000 R
First Drive: Maserati Quattroporte S in Europe
First Drive: 2008 MINI Cooper S JCW
In the Autoblog Garage:2009 Nissan GT-R
North American Exclusive First Drive: Alfa MiTo
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
iQuack @ Nov 17th 2006 12:19PM
Very important to be thoughtful.
I was going 95 MPH in blinding rainstorm a number of years ago and was pulled over for speeding.
The police officer came to my car and I rolled down the window just a bit because it was raining so hard.
Officer said, "Hey, Stupid, did you know you were going 95 in a 40 MPH zone?"
I said, "Officer, don't call me Stupid--you're the one standing out in the rain!"
Chris @ Nov 17th 2006 12:54PM
Interestingly enough, the blinding ignorance method that this article advocates against is exactly the method I used to get out of my last ticket.
I was pulled over for blowing through a red light. The only problem this incident is that I hadn't actually blown through the light--it yellow all the way through. I'm certainly not going to stop in the middle of the intersection for a yellow light.
When the officer approached me, she said: "Do you know why I pulled you over?" Me: "Speeding?" Her: "No, try again." Me: "Missing my front license plate?" "No sir, you ran a red light" Me: "Really?! Are you sure??"
Needless to say. No ticket.
chuck goolsbee @ Nov 17th 2006 12:54PM
I am a confirmed leadfoot. It is best to AVOID speeding tickets, and I could write a treatise on that, as I have been ticketed for speeding only twice in the past 10 years.
Oh, and one of those two I beat in court. So I really only have 1 speeding offence on my record, and that is because I did not follow my own rules regarding avoiding tickets. ;)
That said, I do get STOPPED for speeding relatively often, yet somehow rarely get ticketed. Mr. Draneas (a regular columnist in Sports Car Market, an excellent mag!) has some good points. Most of them are what I have successfully deployed to drive away with warnings. To it I'll add this one: When the LEO asks that famous question I ALWAYS answer with as close to the exact truth as possible. If my V1 says "gotcha" with the laser alert and I'm going 83, I tell the Officer "about 83"...
My Attorney wife tells me I'm an idiot when I do this, because it is basically an admission of guilt that means I'll never beat the rap in Court. BUT the affect on the Officer is usually enough to put a smile on his face and bring the situation to a happy ending, thus averting the need for Court altogether. It *is* risky though. Catch a cop on a bad day and it could mean worse than Court!
Anyway, my theory is that it accomplishes this:
* It shows the officer that I was paying attention.
* It shows the officer that I am honest (to a fault perhaps)
* It is a refreshing change of pace for him dealing with lame excuses, inattentive drivers, and people with attitude.
Of course, if everyone tries it, then it loses effectiveness so if you live in the Pacific Northwest, please don't try this technique. =)
--chuck
Richard Warren @ Nov 17th 2006 1:01PM
The easist way? Don't speed. Of course if you like to drive that won't work at all.
Being nice works.
Jamie M @ Nov 17th 2006 2:05PM
I was once pulled over for doing 80kph in a 50kph zone. I was stuck behind a car waiting to turn left into a driveway and punched the accelerator once the car turned. I had a Grand Prix GTP at the time at kind of got carried away and hit 80 before I knew it. It just so happened that as I hit 80, i came over a hill and a cop was coming the other way.
I had pulled over and got my license and registration out before he even had a chance to turn around. I was polite to the officer from the beginning. When he asked me why I was doing 80 I didn't try to make an excuse and said I was just being stupid. He said he had no choice but to give me a ticket becuase of how much over the limit I was. I just nodded and said I understood. He went back to his cruiser with my license and registration. When he came back, he said he decided to give me a warning because I didn't give him a hard time and didn't try to make excuses.
Kevin White @ Nov 17th 2006 2:53PM
The last two times I've been stopped (backroad) I've acted surprised at my speed and mentioned something about how usually I gauge my speed with the other cars and must have been going faster than I thought. This has immediately set the officers at ease and they've asked me to please watch the speedometer when other cars aren't around and to be safe on the way home. The road is a 30 but could very easily be a 45. 30 is hopelessly plodding along on this road... (Dove road in Westlake, Texas).
Jro @ Nov 17th 2006 3:18PM
FYI: In Waldo, Fla. along US Hwy 301 you can be as nice or play as stupid as you want to the copper, they WILL pull you over and ticket you every time if you're doing anything over 5 mph. i found out the hard way and played dumb enough to get it knocked down to only 10 over instead of 25.
BEWARE OF WALDO!!!
JM @ Nov 17th 2006 3:56PM
The key is to GO TO COURT! Many times they will reduced the fine, take it off your record if you got to traffic school, or even take it to trial and 90% the cop won't show and your scott free.
Mike @ Nov 17th 2006 4:03PM
check out www.ticketassassin.com, for like $25, this guy gives great examples on how to beat specific tickets. ranging from stop light cameras to speeding... don't know which states he has the info for, but i know it works in CA from personal experience... thanks patrick :)
Howard Kerr @ Nov 17th 2006 4:47PM
Luckily, I haven't been pulled over for speeding in almost 26 years. How do I do it? First, I finally stopped buying RED sporty looking cars (yes, that does seem to get you noticed more easily, be it a Fiesta or a Corvette) and bought non-descript 4 door sedans...BLANDMOBILES as they are called here at AutoBlog.
But when I was stopped for speeding (last 2 times in 2 different speed traps in Texas), being nice was absolutely no help. One time was at midnight on the day after Christmas and the only other car happened to be a unmarked town patrol car in one of those stupid areas where you can see the speed limit signs go from 55 to 25 in ten mile per hour increments in less than an eighth of a mile. The cop was nice, I made nice conversation about how I was active duty Navy returning to base....no help to my "case". Other time was like a previous poster, I passed a slow driver, as it turned out...right under the cop's nose. Was doing nearly 40 in a 30 zone and still got a ticket even though I was nice and made no excuses. I put it all down to whether they need to make a quota and just how that particular cop feels at any given moment.
Steve Parker @ Nov 17th 2006 5:10PM
For radar tix, a book called 'BEAT THE COPS' by Alex Carroll, contains ALL the info ... and it works, too! Worked for me two times so far. Book is, I think, on Amazon.com and all the others ... Worth the cost, definitely (was $14.95 last time I checked). He was a guest on my radio show several times and evidently the book worked for many of my listeners, too. I recommend it ... heartily and without getting anything to say that! Which is usually the situation when something gets recommended by an auto 'journalist' ... Haven't talked to Alex, in fact, in over a decade ... But steal, buy or borrow the book! And USE it! Radar tix are the EASIEST to beat, but most folks are so intimidated by the system, the technology and the court, that they never fight them.
Gardiner Westbound @ Nov 17th 2006 5:10PM
Police in this jurisdiction are required to recover their salary in traffic violation citations. Speed trap operators are expected to gain several multiples of their salary. Enforcement statistics are tallied at month-end. Those falling short are disciplined, or worse.
Speeders and other offenders have a much better chance of catching a break at the beginning of the month than the end.
Steve Parker @ Nov 17th 2006 5:10PM
And by the way ... When the cop asks the inevitable "Do you know how fast you were going?" ... Your answer is ALWAYS: "No, officer. I was watching the road, not my speedometer".
S4 @ Nov 17th 2006 5:42PM
It works sometimes. I recently had a CHP stop me for going, shall we say expensively fast, but I was very respectful and apologetic. He still wrote me a ticket, but he also told me when he would be out of town and couldn't show up to court.
And sometimes it doesn't. Last week I got a ticket from LAPD an motorcycle cop for being a millisecond late over the limit line on a yellow light making a left turn. I was polite and cooperative. He told me "LAPD no longer gives warnings, if you get pulled over you're getting a ticket."
It never hurts to be nice, but it's not always going to get you out of a citation.
S4 @ Nov 17th 2006 6:43PM
It works sometimes. I recently had a CHP stop me for going, shall we say expensively fast, but I was very respectful and said "I know I was being dumb" and I was apologetic. He still wrote me a ticket, but he also mentioned when he would be out of town and couldn't show up to court.
And sometimes it doesn't. Last week I got a ticket from an LAPD motorcycle cop for being a millisecond late on a yellow light for a left turn. I was polite and cooperative. He told me "LAPD no longer gives warnings, if you get pulled over you're getting a ticket." LA City is also cracking down, so now you can expect your officer to show up in court about 90% of the time.
It never hurts to be nice, but it's not always going to get you out of a citation.
SOhp101 @ Nov 17th 2006 8:03PM
#12, great tip... never really thought of repsonding like that.
MikeW @ Nov 17th 2006 8:07PM
The answer to that loaded question is 'Do you believe I was speeding?'
The solution is to set the speed limits correctly, at the 85-90th percentile.
David Couch @ Nov 19th 2006 9:27AM
1. Pull over in a safe place for you and the officer. Pull as far over as possible. If raining, and it isn't to far, signal officer with a wave and pull over under an over pass. Regardless, make sure the officer knows you know he is there, and you are trying to find the safest spot to pull over. For HIS safety.
2. Turn off engine, turn on inside lights, then roll down your window. Put hands on the wheel. (What is the officers NUMBER ONE concern? That you are a whacko and are going to shoot him. Put him at ease!)
3. When he asks for License and registration, state "Officer my information is in the glove box, is it ok for me to lean over and get them?" You have just showed him that HE is in charge. That you are NOT A THREAT.
4. NOW is the time to make your case. You are speeding because it is your sons birthday, you forgot your wifes birthday, you have a sick coworker you are going for a perscription, your mom's not answering her phone and you are worried. Make the lie plausible to the time, location, and your location in relation to the lie.
5. Another great case to make: Have a cousin on the force, even if the cousin is a mystery cousin. Ask him if he knows "Steve" in the town next to you. He is on the force, and if he ever hears about this he is never going to let you down. COPS love to needle their fellow officers, and they know how "Steve" is going to tell your mom, and make you the pit of their jokes.
Good luck, and don't forget this one thing: Make the cop feel safe!