When a cop pulls you over, what you do and say in the next few minutes may well determine whether you get pounded with a ticket for the maximum fee or skate like a celebrity. It’s not so much about being able to talk your way out of a ticket — because let’s face it, the cop has probably decided your fate before he asks for your license — but avoiding digging yourself any deeper.
MarketWatch doles out some advice on what not to say to a traffic cop who’s pulled you over.
The instructions are simple:
*Don’t lie. — You know what you did wrong. There’s no need to sandbag when a policeman asks you how fast you were going. Insist you were doing nothing wrong and you risk implying you were pulled over for no reason.
*Don’t argue. — The cop isn’t looking for a debate. If you want to fight a possible ticket, save your argument for the judge.
If you have any tips on how to get out of tickets, please share them.
What not to say when pulled over by a cop [MarketWatch]
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Have an adorable dog with you – helps if a rarer breed. Now com’on – take a look at Ramona over there ..
I once got out of a really stupid ticket (not speeding) when I challenged it, went to court, the judge asked me to wait in his office while he got a coffee…. While waiting I noticed his office was just covered in winning show photos of several gorgeous Akitas. When he returned we spent about 30 minutes talking showing dogs and various venues and judges, and maybe 15 seconds dismissing the ticket against me entirely. Honestly, the ticket was really really undeserved and the officer in question made some really stupid comments to me when writing the ticket (and of course I took notes as soon as the officer went back to check my record) so perhaps having showdogs in common had nothing to do with it… but it sure didn’t hurt either.
Don’t ADMIT to breaking the law, jeeeez. And IAAL. Don’t be a dickhead, don’t be argumentative, but if the cop asks you how fast you were going, don’t admit you were speeding. ISay you think you were going the speed limit, you were just keeping up with everyone else, or just “no.” There’s no way to know exactly how fast you were going at the very moment the cop decided you were speeding. And don’t assume the cop is pulling you over for speeding. If the first thing you say to the cop is “yeah I know, I was speeding” before he even says anything, you’re a true moron.
This is good advice, but it’s also predicated upon the notion that cops won’t lie in court. Unfortunately that’s a false predicate. They’ll commit perjury and say you admitted you were driving 81 in a 65 as easily as they will eat a donut. So the best you can do is hope you get the rare honest cop, and act accordingly.
ianal, but I remember reading somewhere that you shouldn’t sign the ticket (and aren’t required to) if you intend to dispute it. In some places, signing the ticket is essentially signing an agreement/confession that you were doing x, where x is what the ticket is for (this is why it wasn’t required). Not sure how this would vary between states though
Say nothing. Period. Smile and take the ticket then fight it in court. I’m sure this is posted already but here it is anyway:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqMjMPlXzdA
Here’s a thought.. don’t break the law. I know that everyone does, but there are some of us that really try hard to be a great driver.
Here’s another thought that will not be popular: If you break the law and get caught, man up and pay the price. I’m perturbed that people are so anxious to weasel their way out of everything and skirt the responsibility.
Lose your insurance documentation. The cop will think you’re lying and don’t actually have insurance, and you’ll get a $400 ‘no insurance’ ticket. Then find your insurance documentation and take it with you to the courthouse. They void your ticket, and you get off scott-free. It’s worked for me twice, and once for my cousin. Of course, I wasn’t lying to the officer… I genuinely couldn’t find it. But hey, it worked out in my favor, right?