If there’s anything that makes you swear faster than passing a cop aiming a radar/laser gun at your car, it’s seeing a cop car looming in your rear view mirror. Either way, you’re busted. You’re about to play your part in a carefully scripted interchange with tax-funded law enforcement. How you play your role will have a big impact on what happens next.
First and foremost, don’t act coy. If the blue lights are flashing on your behalf, put on your hazard lights immediately and pull over. You can turn a simple traffic violation into a misdemeanor easily by missing this one. Remember that the officer has one thought as he yanks your chain: he doesn’t want to get hurt. So pull over somewhere safe, preferably off the main road, but always into a well-lit, open space.
When Officer Krupke pulls you over, he doesn’t know if you’re an honest citizen with a heavy foot or a third strike felon with a weapon. So do not reach into your glove box or your coat pocket for your license and registration before the policeman approaches. Lower your window, put both hands on the steering wheel, relax your shoulders and wait.
In most cases, the officer will call in your plate and his location before he leaves the car. He’ll watch you and your passengers (repeatedly) for “furtive movements.” The cop will approach you over your left shoulder. It’s tactical: he/she can see almost everything you do and can respond quickly if you're stupid/drugged enough to “try something." By the same psychological token, the bright lights are supposed to scare you and illuminate the inside of your car.
When the cop approaches, let him speak first. Most times, he’ll ask for your license and registration. Sometimes, he’ll ask you a direct question, to determine your state of mind and whether or not you’re drunk or drugged. If the officer asks you a simple question (“Do you know how fast you were going?”), provide him or her with a simple answer (“No, I’m sorry, I don’t”). Keep your voice level and your tone respectful.
After the initial interchange, you can proffer an excuse, if you so choose. Don't schmooze; friendliness counts for nothing here. All the cop wants is his safety and your respect. So be direct, courteous and passive. Make your excuse simple (e.g. “I’m late to pick-up my kid from school”) and always start with an apology. Yes, an apology. But do not admit guilt. Just “I’m sorry.” Not, “I’m sorry I was speeding.” It’s a fine line. Don’t cross it.
Many times, perhaps even most times, the officer simply doesn’t want to hear your story. In some cases, the cop might even walk off while you’re in mid-sentence. Don’t lose your cool. These guys have heard it all before. They may have other things they want to do besides listen to you lie, prevaricate or explain your criminal behavior.
Once the officer gets your papers, the officer will usually go back to the safety of his car (roadsides are dangerous for all) and run your specifics. He will check out your car from time to time, looking for those “furtive movements.” After the policeman establishes that your license and registration are valid, and that you and your vehicle aren’t wanted for any reason, he or she will cite you for your offense(s).
If you were polite, sometimes there will be a small “roadside reduction” or even a warning instead of a ticket. If you were rude, there will be no mercy. If you were very rude, then there may be several citations. I can often tell by the set of tickets presented how my client acted towards the police officer on the roadside. In States like Virginia, where a ticket (and various inventive surcharges) can be mortgage money expensive, you’ll want any “discretion” the cop has used in your favor.
When the officer gives you the ticket (s), he or she will briefly engage you in conversation. If the officer gives you a lecture, or asks you a series of questions intended to rub your nose in your offense, just grin and bear it. Under no circumstances should you ever argue with the police. If the ticket’s written, the deal’s gone down. If you’ve been hard done by, you’ll get your day in court (and do NOT use that as a threat of any kind).
For most normal traffic stops, the police officer has made notes on the back of the ticket as to the particulars of the stop, and your attitude. He will have forgotten about you (usually) as soon as he’s back on the pavement at patrol speeds. Which leads us to the next part of our story… the Courthouse.
You are, of course, pleading Not Guilty.
I can vouch for the value of Mr. Raskob’s advice here. Do everything he says and you may well get just a warning.
One thing I read a long time ago and has saved me is to make sure you do nothing that makes your stop seem memorable. Because as Casey said, the only thing the officer brings to the hearing is his notes. If it’s a routine stop then his notes will not be nearly as detailed as if you do something that makes the stop memorable.
Even if you know you’re right, don’t tell the cop. If you need to take pictures of the area (e.g. to prove that you couldn’t see the stop sign.) Drive away and then come back after the cop is gone. Never mention court, or any challenge to the ticket, you just want the cop to think it’s a routine stop so his note leave lots to be questioned in court.
Yeah, you’re not talking your way out of the ticket on the side of the road, the real games come in court weeks later when the cop either doesn’t show up, the docket is too full that day, or there is some doubt as to what you were doing, how you were clocked, or if there is a case of mistaken blame.
I had one guy ticket me because he said he followed me for 1 mile (the standard) at speed. Turns out the section of road was less than a mile and there was no way he could have caught up to me and clocked my speed with his dashboard for 5280 feet. Case dismissed. But to argue that point on the side of the road will just cause drug sniffing dogs to come out, you to be handcuffed and car sat for your own protection, and spend 1 hour waiting to leave with the ticket anyway.
Good advice. It brings to mind Chris Rocks “How NOT to get yo Ass Beat by the Police” routine…
What not to say:
“Do you know how fast you were going?”
“Why, no officer. I thought you were supposed to know.”
Another reason why we need AI cops.
Ok, so what does one do when they are pulled over and have the radar detector on the dash?
My advice is to have your license in hand when the officer approaches, or at least be holding your wallet so that the officer can see both hands. Many officers I have spoken to that have the discretion to give a warning or a citation have told me that the initial attitude of a driver upon being approached is what guides them. The officers generally also want to pull up your driving record to make sure you don’t have a lot of points accumulated.
I have witnessed judges hand out harsher penalties when the officer relates how rude or uncooperative a defendant was during the stop.
And with regard to Virginia, they have repealed the harsh driver penalties.
I have to agree with this advice. I recently got pulled over for rolling through a stop sign to make a right turn at a deserted intersection. Now, while I was annoyed at the stop, I acted politely and gave her my license and registration. Thanks to politeness and modern technology (the VA cop couldn’t find my NY license in the database), I got off with a warning. You better believe that if I had pissed her off, she would have gone to the trouble of making sure I got the ticket.
I’ve only been pulled over for speeding once, years ago, in Charlotte by a NC State Trooper while I was trying to get out of town before the rush hour traffic got bad. I had a radar detector but I was on the inside lane and he was using visual timing anyway. As soon as I saw him getting on the ramp, lights flashing, I knew he was after me, so I started getting over. He had me sit in the cruiser with him while he was going through the paperwork and asked me why I had changed lanes when I did. I told him straight out I knew he was after me and didn’t want to cause any problems. I guess he was cool with that because he knocked down the reported speed to just low enough that he wouldn’t have to suspend my license. The moral of the story, of course, is if your ass is busted it’s probably best to just suck it up and let the nice officer catch you. Now, if you’ve got a dead hooker in the backseat to keep the kiddie porn and heroin from sliding around, you might have to take your chances, but you didn’t hear that from me.
All very good, sensible advice. Here’s another one: if your wife/girlfriend is in the car and the cop is male, let her do the talking, especially if she’s cute. I look like a German Black September cell member-slash-snuff movie porn star and have a French accent, so it usually goes down a lot better when she does the talking, being a pretty american blonde.
Speaking from expierence, the excuse/argument that “if it was dangerous for me to go that fast, wouldn’t it be equally as dangerous for you to go that fast if not faster,” doesn’t work. That was the one thing from Yate’s book “Cannonball” I wish I hadn’t tried.
One thing that I’ve found works for me in at least reducing the fine or getting a warning instead of a ticket is taking off my hat and sunglasses when I get stopped (if wearing them), taking the keys out of the ignition, and placing them on the dash.
Here’s another piece of advice: If it’s dark, turn on your dome light after you come to a stop. Make it clear you have nothing to hide, and make the officer feel as safe as possible.
Politely avoid answering, “Do you know how fast you were going?”
A driver is required to be mindful of his speed at all times. “I don’t know,” is evidence of careless driving.
A traffic policeman of my acquaintance solicitously asks, “Is there a reason you were driving so fast?”
Thinking he has found a sympathetic heart, the motorist replies honestly or fabricates a justification.
The truth may set you free, but it’s a bitch in court when the policeman’s testimony includes the excuse as further evidence of guilt.
chris123 – I have a good one…
The first ticket I ever got was from the wonderful Pennsylvania State Trooper/military patrol. I trudged that route many of times heading from my Xavier University kingdom in (right now) freezing cold Cincinnati to the rest of my family on the far side of Pennsylvania. I never used a radar detector but when a friend of mine that I was taking to Philly so he could finish the rest of his trip back to Boston snagged one, we hooked it up.
Fast forward to the mountain part of the Turnpike back in the days of PA’s 55mph crawl. I’m cruising this rather expensive road around 65mph and gain and lose speed depending on the mood of the cruise control and how steep things are. All of a sudden in my rear view mirror, I see a blue light put on a dash and this cream colored Crown Vic (unmarked except for a bunch of antennas that could contact Mars) is hauling me over. My first reaction was what to do with the fuzzbuster! No time to hide it – he was out of his car in a heartbeat.
The officer went through his routine of costs, mailing dates, etc but never said anything about the Escort on the windshield. Before I had a chance to roll up the window, the officer walks back to my door with a smile on his face. He points at the windshield and says, “You know son, you live by the sword, you die by the sword!”
Thank you officer. Thank you very much.
Of course about 18 months ago, my Valentine was stolen out of my current car and I haven’t replaced it yet…don’t plan to.
Consider me blessed (I certainly do) but I’ve managed to get by with a warning EVERY time I’ve been pulled over since 1984. How do I do it? It’s not rocket science.
1. I don’t get pulled over much. I only speed moderately (mostly), I don’t crowd other drivers, and I exercise good lane discipline. My cars, regrettably, are instantly forgettable.
2. I pull over promptly and safely, and keep my hands on the wheel. In my prosecutor days I paid attention to police reports of ‘furtive activity within the car’ since they usually preceded a BS search for drugs or weapons.
3. I wear a polite smile and try to relax. No Tom Delay-style grins, no scowls, no jokes, no backtalk. Unless there’s a homicide BOLO out for a person matching your physicals and license plate, it’s remarkably easy for you to keep your officer feeling unthreatened and ready to send you on your way so he can get back to work.
4. I begin each sentence by addressing Smokey as “Officer.” It’s respectful, forgettable, and costs me nothing.
5. No excuses. I read this advice in Car and Driver long ago, with the proviso that it’s okay to say “Sorry, Officer, I must not have been paying attention.” If you’ve been pulled over, this statement is almost always true. Think about it.
6. I don’t admit to speed. Refer to #5.
7. I don’t make legal arguments at the roadside. I’m a lawyer, and I’d much rather make them in court where it can make a difference.
8. Take the ticket (or written warning, or verbal warning) with a thank you. As above, it’s police and forgettable and costs nothing. Of course, you’ll be much more grateful for the warning than the ticket…
9. It’s never happened to me, but if you hear the words “I’m placing you under arrest for ______; please turn around and place your hands behind your back” you better do as you’re told. Don’t beg, don’t bitch, don’t stiffen up. The time for talking is over. You have the right to shut the $%^# up, so use it. Give your name and information, ask for your lawyer, and shut yer trap.
Excellent article! I look forward to more.
I advise everyone to ignore cjdumm’s last bit of advice. There is something oddly entertaining about watching taser videos on youtube.
I will add that if you have any idiots in your car, silence them at all costs.
In college we had 5 guys in a car stopped for rolling through a stop sign after a taco run. One of the passengers in back asked “Don’t you have anything better to do, like getting donuts?” He was actually dumb enough to think he was being funny. The rest of us groaned. An hour and a half of questions, waiting, searching, waiting, sobriety tests and more waiting, the driver was given a ticket and all of us a tongue lashing. We thanked the officer and promised the heckler would get what’s coming to him.
Many years later I got pulled over for a non-functioning brake light in a rental. One of my clients in the back seat decides to let the officer know that the line of questioning doesn’t pertain to the brake light. Flash back to college except now we’re standing in suits and ties.
Another reason I won’t car pool.
Gardiner Westbound:
February 14th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Politely avoid answering, “Do you know how fast you were going?”
A driver is required to be mindful of his speed at all times. “I don’t know,” is evidence of careless driving.
Gardiner – If you say you know how fast you were going it is an admission of guilt and fully admissible in court as an admission of a party opponent. Therefore it is better just to, as you said, avoid the question or say you don’t know when asked.
I too have been pulled over with a radar detector… the cop didn’t say anything about it, and he was very polite… but I sure got a ticket. After 15 years of incessant (and I mean I speed all the time) speeding, that was the only time I have been pulled over. I tend to think that a good amount of intelligence along with a good radar detector means you will never get pulled over…
However… that day I decided to turn off my intelligence and play Michael Schumacher by passing a slower truck in the curve on a relatively low-trafficked street. Of course, I did this at about 90 Mph driving right past a cop pulling up on a side street. I couldn’t slow down too much while passing the truck and I already looked like a complete A-hole… All it took was one shot with the handheld radar gun, and that was it… he pulled me over with my radar detector screaming KA-Band all the way…
Couldn’t you say: “I did not know I was speeding.”
I can’t think how they could use this against you unless you were driving like an idiot. If you were going really fast, I suspect an admission of some sort might be helpful. I have gotten away with warnings and write downs with, “I am sorry, I was in a hurry, and I really should not have been.”
I used to speed all the time, and I got a ticket about every other year, which meant I could go to defensive driving instead.
Once I became a pilot, learning about how stupid other pilots have been made me realize that driving fast means you are driving too fast to get along safely with all the people on the road who have poor skills, and bad judgement. I also learned how much cheaper and easier it is not to speed because you have to be going a LONG way for it to be much benefit. I got a safer car, and slowed down.
“Do you know how fast you were going?”
“I’m afraid I can’t say. Heisenburg’s uncertainty principle states that if I am certain of my position, I cannot be certain of my momentum. Since I know exactly where I was, it’s impossible to state how fast I was going. Not only that, but by noting my speed, you have irrevocably modified my position, and cannot be sure it was me you were measuring.”
But then, cops rarely know anything about particle physics and quantum mechanics. :(
Coming from my sister the cop, nothing pisses them off more than saying that they can’t give you a ticket because of your impeccable driving record. Using the argument that “I haven’t gotten a ticket in 20 years!” after you’ve just blown through a red light right in front of them is not going to win them over to your side. And I’ll second the guy who said to turn on your dome light if you get pulled over after dark. In the same vein, if you’re a motorcyclist, take off your helmet. Sometimes being very cooperative in this manner initially goes a long way in them deciding to write you a ticket or not.
You mean to tell me that they don’t teach quantum theory to state troopers? Where exactly does my tax money go anyways?
And as far as my own personal experience, it doesn’t matter what I do, I am getting a ticket. If I’m polite, ticket. If I have everything ready for him/her, keys on the dash, dome light on, “Yes Officer, no officer, 3 bags full officer,” ticket. If I was a 50 year old white male, and the cop was my brother, I’d get a ticket.
The one exception was when I was 16, had a van full of my friends at 1:30 in the morning (this was when I had one of TN’s lovely “restricted” licenses, meaning I couldn’t drive with more than one person after 11pm) doing about 20 over. The cop was really nice, and he just told me to slow it down.
I’m with Gardiner Westbound on this one. Being attentive is THE MOST IMPORTANT part of driving, so claiming ignorance of your rate of travel is worse than an admission of guilt, it is a compound error.
As I have said before in my own version of this series I have found that answering the question of “Do you know how fast you were going sir?” with the exact rate of speed I was clocked at by Officer Friendly nine times out of ten gets me a warning. Not only am I being attentive, I am being honest.
Mind you, I have also been stopped, and ticketed, and have never been asked that question in the process… but if I am asked, I answer straight, level, and honest.
The reality is that speed measurement is primarily a revenue issue. The Troopers know that. Secondarily it is a safety issue as realistically speeding in certain conditions is unsafe. Mind you, I’ve never seen a speed trap set up and operating in unsafe conditions; fog, snow, rain, etc. Just about every speed trap I’ve encountered was on a clear day with dry pavement. The Troopers hear lame excuses and claimed ignorance all day every day, I figure honesty is a refreshing change of pace, and it works for me.
If I recall correctly the author of this series is an attorney, as is my wife, and I completely understand WHY they have to tell you not to admit guilt. In the grand scheme of things however admitting to traveling 74 MPH in a 65 MPH zone is not equivalent to confessing to a felony. The cops live in the real world too.
–chuck
http://chuck.goolsbee.org
I’ve tried civil cases for the last twenty years and based on that, I can’t imagine that a cop would ever remember what you said when he asked you “do you know how fast you were going” three months ago, unless you were a standout jerk when you said it. And if he claimed to, I think the judge would roll his eyes knowing the cop “processes” 10 or more tickets per day. In the end, I doubt that it matters at all what you say to the cop as long as you don’t go out of your way to make it especially memorable.
(This theory may undermine the “have your hot-looking girlfriend do the talking” strategy mentioned by AKM earlier. I’d bet most cops would remember a hot-looking girlfriend.)
I’ve tried civil cases for the last twenty years and based on that, I can’t imagine that a cop would ever remember what you said when he asked you “do you know how fast you were going” three months ago….. – Cicero
Policemen in this jurisdiction are trained to record pertinent notes on the back of their copy of the ticket.
just this last black friday, i was going 45 in a 35 when a cop sneaks up behind me and single fires a shot right up my ass. My passport goes K band crazy for a bit, and I see him right behind me. Lights go on, and I pull over immediately, no time to hide the detector.
Since this was 4am the day after thanksgiving, I think his main priority was DUIs. He asked me if I’d had anything to drink (nope), then if I knew how fast I was going (sorry, I may have drifted over). He asks for my license only (no reg), goes back to his car and returns a min later. He tells me to watch my speed like he’s going to let me off with a warning. Then while returning my license, he peeks in the car and sees the radar detector, and his face totally froze up. “What’s that you got there?” “Oh, it’s a radar detector. Good night, sir. Thank you.” raised that window and drove away. whew.
A month later, my window gets smashed and my radar detector gets stolen. In a nice neighborhood, too. $160 for the window and still need to replace the detector. Karma at work.
Gardiner Westbound :
February 14th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
Policemen in this jurisdiction are trained to record pertinent notes on the back of their copy of the ticket.
I’ve always been curious about what a traffic cop actually writes down after a stop. Do they really record roadside confessions?
Any cops out there care to comment?
Here’s a few simple suggestions from a probation officer friend of mine that I whole heartedly believe resulted in me receiving warnings for moving violations in four states (PA, NJ, IL, UT) over the last ten years. It even worked once when I was doing 82 in a 50 zone on a secondary road…
1) When you pull over, turn off your engine (it neutralizes the risk that you’ll pull off while he’s outside his cruiser)
2) Echoing an earlier point, turn on your interior light
3) Go one step beyond putting your window down – roll down your window & put your hands out the window palms up
All these things reduce the officer’s anxiety & reduce his risk. It’s also exceptionally courteous to the point that all four times I’ve needed to use this advice, the officer asked me why I was doing it. This opened the door to explain best friend is a PO, my uncle is a patrolman, I used to be a volunteer firefighter, etc. Basically, conveying to him that I’m part of the first responder family & respect you. Four for four is a pretty good track record.
I’ve found that being terrified and/or surprised works well.
The first time I was pulled over it was like 2am and I was 17…I’d never been pulled over, so I just acted like a scared kid (to my benefit, I was doing about 15 over on an interstate, but noticed immediately headlights that hadn’t been there 2 seconds before…I slowed down to 5 under as the cop caught me and followed me for about 5 miles…then pulled me over). He let me off with a “slow down and have a good night.”
Second time I was honestly shocked…It was in a borrowed Explorer that had rammed a guardrail the day before…The clock said 72mph (in a 65). The cop asked if I knew how fast I was going and I think I kinda mentioned “around 70.” He said “I had you at 77” and I was honestly surprised and stated so…he dropped it down to a “Failure to Obey a Traffic Device” and told me I should plead non-guilty and work with the D.A. to make sure it wasn’t too expensive.
I have also benefited multiple times from being aware and/or having non-aware idiots near me. The last time was a few years back, I was passing an idiot in a pickup, who was talking on his cell (in NYS just after the ban on cells went into affect). The cop saw me and did a U-turn through the median…I slowed down to the limit and the cop started to catch up with me…He was passing the guy in the pickup, who was still on his phone, and I guess decided that he would rather deal with someone who didn’t know what was going on…Thank you for being such an inattentive driver, you just saved me a hassle.
Cops are not angels – some of them are on an ego trip – or needs to show who is the boss – since it is on a roadside, they can wise crack without being reprimanded [this makes the cop feel high, and his adrenaline gushing]
I can only imagine how minorities are being profiled racially, pulled over, beaten up, and shot at, locked up and prejudged as guilty – sorry my friends you seem to live in utopia and ignoring the real world.
I would take this article with a grain of salt, if you have a cop, who wants to mess you up [he has made his mind before leaving his cruiser] the best advice is ‘do not speak’.
Cops are always the types of judge judy – who enjoy to humiliate others with boorish attitude and they are aware that they can get away with it.
They are high school graduates, what do you expect? they are trained to dehuminaize others – the best advice is ‘shut up – and do not speak’ wait till you reach the court where you can speak.
I am aware this blog is a pro law and order and is populated with a gung ho attitude or buffs of law and order – you can’t denie the law enforcements have gone wild – with recent incidents that have been caught on video.
Regarding a proper response to the question, “Do you know how fast you were going?”:
I was once stopped on the main street through my city’s western suburbs. It is a two-lane street lined with businesses and homes.
The speed limit is 25 mph…and during most of the day, you are lucky to be able to hit 30 mph because the traffic is just too heavy to go any faster.
It was 11:30 p.m. on a warm August Sunday night, there was no traffic…and I was traveling at 45 mph on this street.
The police officer pulled me over and asked, “Is there a reason you are going 45 mph in the 25 mph zone?”
My response: “I wasn’t paying attention the way I should have been, as I’m used to there being much more traffic on this road. I let the speed get away from me.”
I got off with a warning, so it must have worked. I think he was looking for drunk drivers as much as speeders, to be honest…
Further notes:
If you are in a nice German car, you are screwed. My wife ONCE pulled off the cute redhead ploy, but there is a trap near here where all they ever pull over are cars worth over 40k.
Also, as Greystone pointed out, cops are not angels. Our guys are on quota. So long as the quota is for writing the ticket, and they are not measured on how many tickets stick, they will be honest in court (mostly). The day the quota is based on collections, some will simply put a confession on the back of every ticket.
@greystone: while I agree that you probably can’t do anything with a cop that wants to bust your ass, you might as well at least start out polite – I beat my first 5 stops (doing 20-50kph over) with simply “yes sir/no sir” answers. Granted, I’m about as WASPish looking as you can get, so I’m likely not subject to as much negative profiling.
@Landcrusher: Funny, that you mention the German car – I’ve only been ticketted twice; once doing 30 over in my BMW in an area where 30kph over is nothing extraordanary, just stopped paying attention long enough to get caught in a hidden speed trap (on that area of the highway, it’s a 100kph limit – lots of 40/50kph over traffic during off peak hours). My other ticket was a justified 50kph over bust on a country road with an 80kph limit; the only other common thread that I can think of, is that I’ve only been ticketted by women, never by men… Maybe “yes sir” doesn’t work as well with the ladies… ;-)
Greystone,
you wrote: “Cops are always the types of judge judy – who enjoy to humiliate others with boorish attitude and they are aware that they can get away with it.”
While I know some cops who truly enjoy the authority they have and mis-use it, your blanket statement reveals more about you than it does about cops.
Maybe I’m wrong and you’ve met EVERY law enforcer in the whole world and are an unbiased and perfect judge of character.
Replying to some of the comments…thank you !
Most cops are “normal”. They do their jobs, and most don’t work out personal issues in a traffic stop. YOU can make it personal, but it’s 99% not that way.
As far as notes go, some cops write a short story on the back of the ticket, but most I deal with in the NY area (about 15 different agencies) make brief notes as to your lane, speed and any other observations. Some take zero notes unless you show yourself to be “special”.
While I have heard some “bad cop” stories, those guys tend to leave their agency fairly quickly. Also, as another attorney commenter mentioned, if you are out of the car, SHUT UP and don’t try to talk your way out of it. You are already under arrest (or will be shortly) and your statement will only be a hole you dig for yourself.
Brendon,
I was in Calgary when the city council (actually I think they called it something else) tried to tell the police to bring in more ticket revenue to pay for budget items. The Chief of Police thumbed his nose at them and told them that his officers gave tickets for public safety, not revenue. Had I been able to vote, I went have nominated him for Mayor on the spot.
Over all, I found Canadian public servants to be quite different from ours in many ways, while similar than others. I wouldn’t expect leniency in a BMW up there at all.
My favorite is the “driving while out of state” traffic stop. Nothing you can do, someone with in-state plates passes you, the cop pulls out to pull them over, sees your out of state plates. Bang! You’re hit for a 72 in a 55 no matter what speed you were going.
Now if you’re in the middle of arguing with one’s mother about why you’re going 54 in the 55 zone, trying not to get pulled over on the way to the house signing… That’s a whole different ball of wax. What are you supposed to tell the cop?
“Do you know how fast you were going?”
-“Yes, 54 in a 55 zone sir.”
“No, you were going 72.”
-“Sir, that was the red car that pulled over on the left shoulder, not me.”
“Shut up and give me your license and registration.”
-“Sir, this address on my license is not current, we just moved to your state today and we’re signing for our house in fifteen minutes.”
In court, it was thrown out… And I ended up moving out of that state as soon as possible. What are you supposed to do when you’ve been pulled over for an invalid reason?
I have to side with those who use the “I’m sorry officer, I wasn’t paying attention” excuse when asked about their speed – I get pulled over for speeding a few times a year, and haven’t gotten a ticket or written warning since 1998. While it might seem like a bad idea to admit that you weren’t paying attention, in the real world that seems to be the best approach.
The only other advice I’d add is that if your registration is in your glove compartment it’s best to leave the glove compartment door open, but if it’s in your center console make sure to close the lid after you take it out. According to a friend who is a police officer, having the center console lid open makes them nervous because it might give you quick access to a weapon – but it’s okay to leave the glove compartment open, because it shows that you have nothing to hide (and the officer can see inside). Turning on your dome light at night is also excellent advice – and if you have tinted windows, lower all of them before the officer approaches your vehicle so they can see inside.
Also, having a visible radar detector makes it about 10 times more likely that you’ll get a ticket – so it’s best to either not use one, or figure out a way to hide it so the cop doesn’t notice it (though they can still detect them if they have the right equipment). My personal rule of thumb is that if you’re only going 15 over the limit or so it’s best to go without the detector – but at 20+ over the limit you might as well use the detector.
The vehicle also makes a big difference – I once drove a light-blue Towncar that was invisible to cops…even at 20 or 25 over the limit they wouldn’t even give me a second look. I would also recommend against bumper stickers, because whichever sticker you have is likely to offend the particular cop that pulls you over.
Having all the paperwork helps too. I was let off with a warning for 10-15 over on a motorcycle several times in New York, probably because the cop was surprised to see somebody riding with a motorcycle license, and current registration, inspection and insurance. I also got off on a fix it ticket for a bad brake light twice. Being a polite working stiff in an old car apparently arouses sympathy.
Cicero :
February 14th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
I’ve always been curious about what a traffic cop actually writes down after a stop. Do they really record roadside confessions?
Any cops out there care to comment?
I was taught to write traffic conditions, lighting, road conditions, description of the driver and/or passengers, contents of the car – whatever I thought was pertinent that I might discuss in court.
I wrote very few moving violations, though (traffic wasn’t my thing), so most of mine were criminal violations (stolen tag, suspended license, warrants, etc.) – so I rarely had to worry about those notes. The traffic infraction was just probable cause to get down to business, quite often – there was usually a bad guy in that car just begging to go to jail.
“Do you know how fast you were going?”
“Yes, officer.”
The last time I got pulled over by a Michigan State Police trooper he ended up taking me in on a bench warrant from my ex’s collection agency. While riding to the Berrien county jail I asked him why he pulled me over, that I was doing less than 79 in a 70 and in Michigan you can pretty much do 80 all day and night. The trooper sort of apologized and said that it was because I was inbound into the state (less than 30 miles from the border) and that if I was going in the other direction he’d never have pulled me over. As it was I suppose he figured he’d already messed up my day because he never gave me the speeding ticket.
As a police officer for 12 years I tend to agree with most of Casey W. Raskob’s points. I will add this though.
Police departments, like any big company, are broken into different sections. If you get pulled over by the traffic section then you will likely be getting the ticket. Their job is traffic enforcement and so the best you can hope for is a reduction in fine.
My first 7 years were in general duty which is equivalent to a patrolman in the US. Like “blautens” I was more interested in criminal violations than traffic but was happy to use a traffic infraction as an opportunity to run the drivers name. You would be surprised how many subjects with arrest warrants I found. If the driver was clean I would let them off with a warning and most were very happy with that. That being said I have had drivers talk themselves into tickets by being rude.
If I can offer a response to “greystone”, despite our best efforts to weed out the bad apples there will always be some that get through. A bad cop makes my job that much harder to perform. What I ask is to not pre-judge us just as you would not want to be pre-judged. The vast majority of Police officers out there want to do the best job possible.
In my experience, about half the cops are bullies with a badge. How many times have we seen videos or read substantiated articles, about cops abusing people? In these cases that I’m aware of, there were usually other cops around who did nothing to stop the abuse nor anything to report it. In the case of Abner Louima, the guy in New York who had a plunger rammed up his rectum by a cop with another cop holding him while in a police station, after being beaten repeatedly with a flashlight, there were cops all over the place. None did anything to stop it and when he was taken to a hospital a cop said the rectal damage was due to homosexual activity. The argument of a few bad apples doesn’t fly. Cops wouldn’t behave the way they do unless they were confident it wouldn’t be reported.
Years ago I worked in DC downtown near the court houses and DC police station. One day in a resturant I heard a DC cop, possibly a US Park Police cop, talking loudly at a table about his recent assaults (kicking in the groin) of homeless guys in parks at night. There were probably other cops in that resturant, and the offending cop was not at all concerned about who would hear him.
Great advice offered here. I know I’ve been lucky, but following ALL of the advice offered in this article has netted me 7 warnings the last 7 times I was pulled over for speeding. And I’m a 25 year old male driving a 2 seat roadster.
I would like to add though, I feel it is best to address the officer as “sir,” and not “officer.” 2 reasons: First, not all members of the police force are officers, state troopers actually have the rank “trooper,” for example. Second, it is my understanding that proper etiquette entails that one addresses anyone who outranks them as “sir.” You, as a civilian, do not outrank the police officer who pulled you over.
With female members of the police force, I tend to just answer their questions with a simple and direct “Yes” or “No”. I don’t personally know any women who like to be called “ma’am”. Maybe it makes them feel old :)
If you are driving down a four lane undivided road and you are getting pulled over and you just stop in the right hand lane and cause a hazard(because of where you stopped); he’s going to quickly write a ticket and send you on your way. No chance of getting out of that situation without a ticket.
Now say it’s that same situation and instead of stopping in the road, you pull into some place instead. Here is the key. Don’t stop in such a way that all you have to do is go forward to proceed. Stop in such a way that you pull into either a parking space with a building in front of you or some other impassable object. The point being is so that the police officer parks behind you and blocks you in. The psychological effect in all this being that it puts his mind at rest as now he knows he’s got you and you aren’t going anywhere. Versus the other situations where he steps out of his car and you suddenly take off never escapes his mind.
The best luck I’ve had is park in some spot where it’s wide open and the entire city driving by sees the whole thing. Now he’s putting on a show and really thinks he’s embarrassing you good.
If you park in such a way, or he’s parked in such a way as to which creates a traffic obstruction or obstacle, your getting a ticket quickly. If it’s all parked such that the situation can remain that way for the next 20 minutes, you’ll likely get a lecture and a warning.
I have been pulled over six times in the last fifteen years and have only been cited once. My insurance is like eighty bucks for six months of liability coverage as a result, even though I drive a Boy-Racer WRX. One thing that’s helpful I noticed is to have Hawaii plates on the car.
My brother is a military officer, so he gets to ship his rides around wtih him to various posts for free. I bought his S-10 from him years ago and he shipped it stateside when he transferred to the now-defunct El Toro MCAS. I got pulled over twice in this ride (in Idaho), and although the registration was expired (oops!) the cop was always too lazy to call out to Hawaii to check the plates. They are not on the same cop.com (at least back then) setup as everyone on the continent. So the cop would have to call dispatch, who would then place a call out to the Hawaii DMV and get put on hold and the run-around – like any other chump calling a DMV. Ahh, the good ol’days.
The contents of this article seem like common sense, but people are stupid, so OK.
What I would like to see addressed in the next segment about going to court is:
WTF do you do if you are pulled over on vacation? I mean, are you gonna be able to take another vacation to fight the ticket? Nope, you’re screwed. You will not take time off work and travel 1000 miles to fight a speeding ticket. A poorly placed sign on a straight and clear road through some nowhere hick town and boom- I’m out $300 even though the sign was obviously NOT visible until I was two car-lengths away.
Too bad I can’t take two days off work, drive back there, take pictures, and then go back again for a court date.
Some states (at least Texas) allow you to go to a different jurisdiction within the state and get your ticket dismissed. I know of at least two judges that put the word out that they would dismiss almost any ticket written in towns like the ones you describe, and they could do it by mail.
Also, you can try to fight it by mail or phone, and you never know if the judge is going to be sympathetic or in on the road tax ploy.
Fact: Town A is across the river/state line from Town B; they are contiguous via a 100-yard-long bridge. Town A, with one-third the population of town B (a college-big hospital town–population figures are for permanent residents only–keep that in mind)writes three times as many traffic tickets as Town B. Town A has five full time coppers, while Town B had ten and a college cop squad as well.
Town A is entitled by state law to keep 75% of the revenue generated by traffic tickets. The chief of police of Town A wrote a trucker making a local delivery of wood chips an $11,500 ticket for being 1000 pounds overweight and not having a local permit for his load, though he met all the state requirements and state law forbids restrictive local permitting, viewing it as an unreasonable, inconsistent barrier to commerce.
Town A ticketed a fourth-generation farmer driving his unregistered tractor, even though the state law expressedly waives the registration requirement for farmers and always has.
Oh, yeah, Town A has the highest per-capita income in the state. Cops are agents of the municipality; like schools, the cops are mirrors of their bosses–eg, the town.
Dick towns have dick cops.
Have your paperwork in your hand and give it over through a window open no more than two inches. Say nothing beyond neutral, courteous yesses and nos. Lock the doors and refuse any requests to search your vehicle. It’s too easy to phony up a DUI or probable cause stop, and it’s even easier if you give ’em an opening.
There are ‘way too many cases of police-power abuse today–google “pepper spray franconia police killing” for one very recent case– and vigilance is your best protection. They aren’t your friends.
Hat tip to the succesful DUI defense lawyer and the Public Defender buddies for info that works.
Great article and great advice.
I was once doing 87 in a 50 (KM/H) when I met a cop. He turned on the lights and before he got turned around, I was pulled over.
He came to the window, asked “do you know why I pulled you over?” I said Yes. He asked why I was speeding, I said that I thought the 80 zone started earlier. He went back to his car and wrote me up a ticket for not obeying road signs (a $90 fine compared to upwards of $200 plus a weeks suspension for the speeding ticked)
Just be respectful and if you have a problem, take it to court.