Complete agree. However, he really threw me for a loop when he said that he didn't like my attitude. I was genuinely trying to be cooperative, and admitting to my transgression. Oh well, he was nice in the end, and I am grateful.

 

JR-01,

Here! Here! I couldn't agree with you more. Be honest, admit your mistake, and say "yes officer" or "yes sir". Good advice.

Carcrisis

 

EXACTLY!!!



I've been driving sports/muscle cars for the last 43 years. Have I ever exceeded the speed limit? Yes, as have all the rest of us. However, I'll say this.....NEVER have I gotten off with a warning. NEVER have I even been given as much as 5 seconds to provide even a weak excuse. All I get is an LEO at my window saying, "I clocked you at 8 over the limit, license and registration please". A couple of minutes later, I'm driving off with a ticket in my hand.....


It's called the "sports car tax".

 

In the ten years I had my C3 I was stopped at least 5 times for 10 mph or more over. All I ever got was a verbal warning. You must be doing something wrong.

 

Yeah, I drive black, very sinister looking, sports/muscle cars.....

 

I am a lawyer and the correct answer is be passive, when pulled over get as far over as possible, make it easy for the officer to approach the car, have your hands on your steering wheel or at least where they can be seen by the officer, do not move around in the car before the officer gets to your window and if there are others in the vehicle tell them to keep their pie hole shut until after the stop. It is routine for the officer to ask if you know why you are being pulled over. Always be vague but not rude. Give them a reason by actions to give you a warning but do not admit to anything. Officers are like anyone else and getting a ticket usually has nothing to do with you but rather what they had for breakfast, if they had a fight with their wife, if the dog pooped on the carpet etc. If they are having a bad day then someone else will too if they have any problems. If they are having a bad day and you make it better then you get a warning. If they are having a good day and you make it worse then you get a ticket. If they are having a good day and you make it better then you might get a warning. Worst case scenario you get a ticket and you were polite and helpful at the stop the officer will remember it and things will go better for you in court.

 

I'm going to throw this out. I've been driving for 55 years, always a high performance car. I've been stopped a dozen times over the years. I've never received a ticket " Ever" I have always been polite, but I've never admitted to anything. To think that admitting to nothing is rude and an invite to a ticket is about as dumb as thinking that admitting fault is something in your favor.
You have seen input from a lawyer here, If you are smart ( I'm not admitting that you are smart ) And you missed the reference to the Constitution of the United States, ( which exactly addresses personal admission of guilt ) and input from Police officers, then you deserve what you get. Smart money is on polite attitude with a police officer and a non committal statement of breaking the law. If you can not accomplish that, then your basic communications skills are sadly lacking.
If I'm a police officer and you are dumb enough to tell me that you knew you were going 100 mph, then in my book , you deserve a ticket, Because you consciously broke the law, leaving no room for mitigating circumstances. Many police officers will give you a break based on their day and your attitude. If you flaunt your knowledge of the infraction, there is little room for concession.

 

I disagree. Getting a ticket or not has everything to do with you. There are people with attitudes that will get a ticket every time.(see posts above) If the cop is having a bad day it isn't that hard to make it better and courtesy and honesty go a long way. One time after being stopped, saying "Good Morning", admitting my mistakes and being polite, the cop told me if he had my car he would probably be speeding, too. Being vague, defensive and in denial is a guaranteed ticket.

 

Good, solid, advice overall. I witnessed this approach by both defendants and lawyers numerous times over the years, too many to count. For anyone seeking to go to court to fight a ticket, NOT "spoiling the water", so-to-speak, ahead of time is absolutely vital. With no prior ill-will before the court date, both prosecutors and officers are much more amenable to reducing charges, fine amounts, or granting defensive driving class for ticket dismissal, etc.

Most people just pay the fine ahead of time and go on with their lives, mainly because they are guilty as charged and they KNOW it.

 

You know you're guilty, the cop knows you're guilty and he knows you know your guilty. Acting ignorant doesn't usually work. If I am speeding I admit it (I do not say how fast I was going) and have always gotten just warnings. Now like I said before, this works only for minor violations. Anything worse, keep your mouth shut and call your lawyer.
Psychology 101 works on cops just like anyone else. When a cop asked you if you knew you were speeding and you say "yes I guess I was" works better than acting dumb. The last ticket I got in '79, I kept my mouth shut and he wrote me a ticket.
Whatever works for you.

I would wager lawyers get as many tickets as anyone else. Probably more.

 

I stand corrected. Getting a ticket has everything to do with the driver. If you commit an infraction you will might get pulled over. If you get pulled over then it is only you to blame. However, how that ticket is handled by the officer is in part due to his or her day. It is not being rude to be vague about why you are being pulled over. It is in your best interest to be polite and assist the officer as much as you can with out admitting that you have violated a particular statute. It is not a lie or rude to state that you do not know why exactly you are being pulled over. Could have been speeding, could have been a tail light you were unaware of, might have made an improper turn, could have been because the officer just wanted to check out your car. Plenty of stories told on here by members where that has happened. You do not know what is in the mind of the officer. My point was that your attitude will without question dictate what will happen if you choose to go to court to fight the ticket. And you should always go. I was in court last week with a client who had 17 points in 2 years and would have lost his license if he received any more points. He was charged with following too closely (3 points in VA) and reckless (4 points). The officer did not show up and the tickets were dismissed saving his license.

 

You are absolutely clueless, you never listen to anyone who actually knows something. Even the dumbest of people know that you lawyer up because they know the law. There have been cops and lawyers here, you argue the law with lawyers, you argue automotive technology with automotive engineers and every time I look in you tool box ( you open your mouth ).. it is empty... you have no clue about how the law works or a clue on modern automotive technology.. at least one thing is evident you are consistently wrong about everything you consider to be fact.

 

Hey Einstein, we are talking about a minor traffic violation and how to get the officer to go easy on you. You really are a piece of work. I don't listen to you because it is obvious you know nothing.
Law? Lawyers? Rights? It's a speeding ticket, you moron.

 

Actually if you do know, it is a lie. If I'm doing 10 over I know exactly why I am being pulled over.

 

 

Some folks here think it's terrible advice and they know lawyers.

 

You would not know the spirt of my advice if it bit you in the ***. You act like an 18 year old kid who has it all figured out.
So what you are saying its ok to admit to a minor infraction, because its good for you. but its ok to lie about a major violation. So when they drag you off and impound your car, you don't want to admit to doing wrong . You cant have it both ways. but then you are extremely naive ( its evident in your respect for those who make a living with the law. and disrespectful of those who actually have been through life and have offered a way of life with respect to the law, Only a very dumb person would admit to doing something that breaks the law. That doesn't mean you have to lie, so you fall on the part of the law that allows you to be non committal.. when you grow up you will understand how life actually works and that people who make a living by defending people's rights, or those who have invested a career in automotive technology actually know something.

 

My last speeding ticket was given to me by an LA motorcycle cop running a speed trap.

He did approach my car (Chrysler 300C, not even the Vette!) and asked if I knew why he pulled me over. I said no. He told me where I missed the 35 speed limit sign due to the tree branches. I didn't see the sign with the lower speed limit hidden by tree branches on my side, but I didn't argue with him about it. I just told him the truth, two mini vans were all over the road with moms yelling at kids and I finally got to go around them and I did. The limit was 50 before, but it dropped to 35 at that sign.

He said he "gets people with that sign all the time", that's how he makes his ticket quota. At least he was honest.

Then he asked me if I had any weapons in the car. What? Uh, no I'm picking up my sister and brother in law to take them out to dinner, which I was buying, so I didn't feel the need to hold them at gunpoint while on our way to dinner.

His reply "Maybe you should make them buy dinner since this is going to cost you a bundle."

******** cop. I didn't fight it. I went back later and took video of the sign, and if you were in the left lane and looking between the branches you could see the sign. In the right lane it was well obscured.

Pretty sure once you get a cop with an attitude and an agenda that if you go to court, they'll show up and make it worse.

Then there was the ticket 13 years ago (my only other one this century) in California. I passed a semi truck w/trailer going downhill, the sign changed to 55mph from 75. The truck covered the sign as I passed it. Whoops.

The CHP asked why I didn't slow down and kept going 75 even though his lights were on for two miles behind me. I told him I figured he had to go to an emergency since I was doing the speed limit.

He told me about the sign, I told him about the truck. He told me "I figured as much. Wait here." He wrote me for doing 65 in a 55, not 75.

I went to pay the ticket by phone, and apparently he was in a good mood because when I called to pay it, I was told that I could come to fight it (up by the Hoover Dam, 400 miles from LA) or pay the same fine, but have it reduced to illegal parking.

Illegal parking? What does that cost? $75

But I'm sending you $325 to have it reduced and not be a point on my record? Yes.

I'm guessing the retirement fund for the judge and the CHP is growing up there? You guessed it, sir. Would you like to take us up on that offer?

Yes I would. I sent the check.

I always try to be polite, and let them tell me what I did wrong. I don't admit guilt, I don't argue. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

In my experience, it depends on the cop.

 

If you're referring to me, re-read what I said. I've never even had the chance to give the LEO a hard time. EVERY time except for once, that I've been stopped, as the LEO is approaching my car, he's already asking for my license and registration. At that point, I'm not uttering a word, just getting the paperwork out of my wallet. I get it out, hand it to him, and he simply walks away and goes back to his car to write the ticket....



The one time the LEO actually spoke with me, he asked if I knew how fast I was going. I replied 45, why did you stop me? He then asked if I knew what the speed limit was. I replied "45, that's why I don't understand why you stopped me". He then said, "When you crossed the county line, it dropped to 40". At that point, he turned and walked back to his car, to write the ticket.

I was quite upset, of course, but did NOT say anything else to him. I did, however, immediately turn around to find this speed limit sign that he said was there......Yeah, I found it, partially obscured by a big pine tree......out in the "boondocks", in a rural area with no street lights at all, at 10 PM.

Bottom line, I was a youthful looking male (even though in my 30s at that time), driving a black "muscle car"....

 

As I've said, I've been driving for 55 years. I've been stopped a dozen times. I've never received a ticket, I never admitted to doing anything illegal and always conducted myself with the officer in a respectful and professional manner. Obviously with my track record and owning muscle cars since the 60's, I must be doing something right.