How To: Talk your way out of a ticket... respectfully
An old friend of mine used to have a trick for getting out of tickets. She would flick her long blonde hair back over her shoulder, blink a lot and emphasize the ending of any word that concluded with a long "e" sound. "Sorryyyyyyy," she would say, and the cop's pen would never touch pad. Unfortunately, my bag of tricks is missing a few of those tools, so I've gotten a ticket for every time my car has been motioned to the shoulder.
Perhaps, however, there are strategies to get out of a ticket for those of us who are not blessed with long blond hair and a cute voice. Our brand new sister site, DIY Life, has somewhat of an ex-cop on staff who offers his own How To on getting out of a ticket by being respectful. Yes, respectful. If you've been pulled over, you should suck it up and own your mistake, then go about seeing how the officer's attitude towards you can be improved. Among DIY Life's best pieces of advice is submitting to the cop's authority by having both hands on the wheel before he or she arrives at your window. That gesture alone will make the cop feel much more comfortable approaching the situation, and a comfortable cop that sees you don't intend to be confrontational may be more lenient. There's plenty more good advice available by clicking the Read link below, but let us know in the comments some of your own tips that have proven successful.
[Source: DIY Life]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Admiral Ackbar 5:53PM (8/14/2007)
The only time I have ever gotten out of a ticket was the last time I got pulled over. Coincidentally that was the first time I had done the keys/license/registration on the dash, hands on the wheel thing. And the plural of anecdote is data, so there you have it.
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Don 7:17PM (8/14/2007)
Hey, they're just doing their jobs...and they deal with assholes all day long.
It also helps to have a father and brother on the force (Firefighters)...and the appropriate stickers where the officer can see them.
1337 9:34PM (8/14/2007)
Don,
You don't need to be related to firefighters to have FF plates. I have them and they work like a charm.
policyvote 8:47AM (8/15/2007)
The exact same thing happened to me the last time I was pulled over. I killed the engine, put the keys on the dash, rolled the window down and put my hands on the wheel. I didn't go for my license or registration until asked, and even then I warned the officer before every move I made. I didn't even finish fishing my registration out of my glove box before the officer told me to forget about it and have a nice night.
Peace
policy
Will 5:53PM (8/14/2007)
Got pulled over doing 80 in a 55 once (which I NEVER do) and did exactly what this post says- kept my hands on the wheel, spoke respectfully and told the cop the truth. When he asked what my hurry was I told him I had just bought the car a few weeks ago and had never gotten on it in fifth gear, so I wanted to give it the boot for a quick stretch on clear highway. Honestly, I never thought for a minute he would let me go, but he told me to stay safe and walked off.
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Kwyjibo 6:05PM (8/14/2007)
When I was 17 I was being very stupid, doing about 90 in my dad's car in a 55. Got lit up, pulled over, told the cop I had the runs. He was nice enough to not give me a ticket I would have probably gotten my ass beat for!
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Seminole 6:06PM (8/14/2007)
When I first got my liscense I got pulled over 4 times for speeding (10 over, 10 over, 15 over, 25 over). All were on empty roads at night home from work, and the cops showed no compassion as they all wrote me a ticket.
My last two times being pulled over were for going 15mph over in Havana Florida on my way back to Tallahassee. My roomates and I decided at 4 in the morning we were hungry, so we went down one of the main streets in Tallahassee (Monroe St.) looking for food. Everytime someplace was open my friend Matt, who was driving, would point it out. But the other passenger, Steve, and I just remained quiet and didn't really say where we wanted to go. After a while Matt got fed up and said he'd just keep driving north till we gave him an answer. Matt's car was a 1990 something Honda CR-V with a broken heater, and it was in the teens to 20's that night. Well 2 hours later we get to Bainbridge, Georgia, and had the best food of our lives at a Huddle House. I think it might have been because we were starving and freezing, that I thought it was so good. Well I lost "not it" and was elected to drive back, which sucked because the other guys could curl up and keep warm while I had to drive. The speed limits changed a lot, they would drop down to 45, then up to 60, then down to 55, and back to 60. When I hit Havana I didn't notice any speed limit sign so I just did 45, then I saw the blue lights in the rearview. When the officer came up he did the whole liscense and registration thing, then asked if I saw the 30MPH sign. When I told him no, he informed me it was right next to the 30 foot wide "Welcome to Havana" sign, which I told him I also didn't notice because the only thing I was concerned with was making it back to school to sleep in a nice warm bed. Matt's car was filled with trash and all dented, so the cop looks at me and told me that he was going to let me go with a warning. I'm convinced it was because he though we wouldn't be able to afford the ticket and weren't doing anything bad. So I guess driving a beater helps.
The most recent time pulled over was by the FSU PD for making an illegal left. As soon as his lights came on I put my hazards on, pulled over, put all the windows down, turned off the car and placed the keys on the little visor above the instruments, and placed my hands on the wheel. When he came up you could see he looked happy that I had done all that. When he asked for my liscense I told him it was in my backpack in the backseat and if I had his permission I was going to reach back and get it. After I gave it to him, he asked why I did all the stuff like roll the windows down, and I explained it was to make him feel safer and show I wasn't posing any danger. He thanked me and gave me a warning. So my other advice is do that stuff like I did, always tell the officer what you are about to do, so you don't reach in the back seat and catch him off guard, and be polite. They'll appreciate it and it helps your case.
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Seminole 6:08PM (8/14/2007)
Woops I meant "license"
Shadyman 6:21PM (8/14/2007)
Georgia speed limits are crazy. Randomly changing, with no warning. And if you happen to be in the fast lane with a wall of trucks to your right? Tough.
1337 9:32PM (8/14/2007)
There's no law against slowing down in the fastlane. It's a bitch move, but if someone rear-ends you, they (or their insurance) has to pay for most or all of the damage to their car AND to your car. If you drive a beater, they might do the favor of totaling it for you.
TheSwener 6:06PM (8/14/2007)
Only time I got off with a warning was when I chirped out from a stop light and got up to 60 in a 35.
When the cop pulled me over, I told him I was just learning to drive stick and floored it because I was afraid of stalling.... and he bought it!
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Paul Y 6:07PM (8/14/2007)
I can proudly say I've only been pulled over three times, and have gotten one ticket that was much less serious than my offense actually warranted. The ticket I did get was for having license plate frames (the dealer ones! they're illegal in NY), but I was doing 70 in a 55. The Trooper was very nice about it, and was clearly glad that I was respectful, cooperative, and polite. The other times I've been pulled over, was the same deal, but again, no tickets. It's that simple!
Still, this bit of common sense/courtesy is way too easy to overlook, and that's kinda sad.
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Seminole 6:08PM (8/14/2007)
Woops I meant "license"
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spdracerut 6:15PM (8/14/2007)
I unfortunately got tickets the last two times I've been pulled over, both with absolutely no traffic around, but it was around small towns where their entire revenue is from tickets.
The other 7 I've been pulled over, they all let me go. If it's at night, turn on your interior light, window down and hands on the wheel. The safer they feel, the better! I believe most of the time, they're looking for drunk drivers.
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retsel 6:17PM (8/14/2007)
what do you do when your black...
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Braden 7:10PM (8/14/2007)
"what do you do when your black"
When your black *what*? Or did you mean to use "you're," the contraction meaning "you are?"
Being respectful and thoughtful helps a lot. The "OMG black person is bad" stereotype can be easily wiped away if you don't behave or dress like a "thug" or any other stereotyped "bad group." A white kid dressed like a punk / skater type gets mentally marked as "bad" by a cop just as quick as a black guy wearing whatever the hot "gangsta" brand is right now.
It's not skin color so much as general appearance, or so I've heard from cops.
tedandelaine 11:27AM (8/18/2007)
Retsel, What if I'm white and the officer is black?
Todd 8:22PM (8/14/2007)
Exactly my thoughts, Braden.
On both points.
retsel 10:45AM (8/15/2007)
You guys have no idea... i was pulled over once for speeding... and i was arrested for having suspended license... turns out it was a DMV error and the suspension date was before the date i was born. the court officer ruled that it a wrongful arrest (the officer should have seen this error and that i should have been just given a ticket or told to go sort it out...
But he was so happy to snag a black guy in a jag on a Sunday afternoon coming from a church picnic...
Added to that... what about the annoying practice the police has of running you tags when they see the person who is driving the car...
Scott 11:48AM (8/15/2007)
"But he was so happy to snag a black guy in a jag on a Sunday afternoon coming from a church picnic..."
You know what they say about ASSUMING things.
"Added to that... what about the annoying practice the police has of running you tags when they see the person who is driving the car..."
They run "tags" on every car they pull over. Or are you saying you somehow instictively *know* they are running your license as you are driving by? Paranoid much?