I was recently chatting with a friend whose OCD makes Farago's look like drunken absentmindedness, when she revealed that over the weekend was her 10th time getting pulled over and getting out of it.Sure, she's very pretty and very blond, but even still. That's one Hell of a lucky streak. Running back through my own encounters with Johnny Law I realized that I'm about 50/50. Ironically, the faster and more expensive my ride, the luckier I am. Case in point, when I dumped the GT500's clutch and laid tire tracks for almost an entire block, the officer wanted to know how I liked the overblown Shelby compared to the regular GT. Going 55 in a 35 mph behind the wheel of a Ford Explorer? Not so lucky. Going 135 100 mph in a WRX? Got written up for 85 mph. Going 80 mph in a green Sentra? Traffic school. How about you?
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I’ve been about 50/50 as well since I got my Vette, but I was about 75/25 (in favor of getting at ticket) back when I was driving a Camry. So there may be something to your theory
One other thing I’ve noticed is that I I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a ticket when I was blatantly abusing the rules of the road (e.g. 100-160mph on the highway, occasional weaving, etc.). It’s the times when I’m just relaxing at about 80-85mph on the highway or ~10-15mph over the limit in the city that I get busted
about 80% favorable. Some luck has come into it, for sure (won’t go into it, statute of limitations hasn’t passed on all of it yet.) Only two tickets i’ve gotten was an unlawful lane change (!!) in North Myrtle Beach SC (!) during Bike Week (!!!) while i was driving a CAR (%@#$@^!!!). I sent them a rude letter and a check. The other one was reckless driving going through Virginia at 1am on the way home from sister’s wedding last year. 85 in a 65 and i eventually got the case dropped – I guess I’m lucky!
Mostly i am fond of the Police and what they do – it’s just no one likes them when the blue lights come on.
I was 0 for 1 with my Z06 – it was training day, no getting out of that one. Overall I’m about 1.5 out of 5 (let go once and reduced speed once).
Rotten, thanks for asking.
Case in point #1:
I was out, in a canoe, at 8:30am in the morning, in a small lake in north-central Ontario. I was just paddling around, ejoying being the only person out on the lake at sunrise. You could only say I was intoxicated by virtue of not having had morning coffee.
I had a lifejacket, but no whistle, bailer, bouyant rope or flashlight. The OPP patrolboat that pulled me over cited me $105 for each violation. Yes, over $400 in fines.
Did I mention it was the day after Victoria Day? I guess someone didn’t make his quota.
Case in point #2
Picking up my in-laws in downtown Toronto on Christmas Eve at 10:00pm. Yonge is Toronto’s downtown street; on Christmas eve, at 10:00pm, in a moderate snowstorm, there’s so much light pollution from store signs and streetside Christmas lighting that you’d be lucky to see traffic lights.
I never drive in downtown Toronto, so I don’t know the traffic rules well. I’m only doing this because it’s late and cold and the transit service is slow on holidays.
There’s a small “No right turn at any time” sign on Yonge St. at Queen St. Queen is not a one-way street. There’s no pedestrians and very few vehicles (keep in mind this is Christmas Eve).
I make a right turn onto Queen. A block in, a police car flips it’s lights on, pulls me over and proceeds to ticket me $105. Oh, and cites me a further $105 for the wrong address on my license, and another for my insurance. I’d moved down the street (same city, same block) two months ago. and hadn’t bothered to update them.
Did I mention it was a K-9 cop? It was all I could do to not say “Don’t you have some real crime somewhere?” or “So, the smarter one is staying in the cruiser”.
Case in point #3:
My wife was struck, as a pedestrian, while crossing legally at a three-way intersection by a guy making a left turn. Knocked her right down, caused a concussion and a lot of bruising. Paramedics don’t know how she wasn’t worse off since she dented the truck’s hood.
He claims he didn’t see her. He get’s a $105 ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian. He had–wait for it–invalid insurance and didn’t have his full G license, which means he shouldn’t have been driving by himself.
You’ll pardon me if I happen to think a lot of traffic enforcement is a complete crock of sh_t. It’s also why I happen to think speed- and red-light cameras are a good thing, because they don’t make “judgement calls”, media-driven “safety blitzes” or “month-end quotas.” I’d rather pay a few thousand bucks for a camera and some postage than over a hundred thousand a year for an officer or two to sit in a car and do the same job.
I got lucky in my Corvette. No, not THAT way…
The motorcycle cop was right next to me; it was after 2 am, and I was in a BAD part of town.
I had just helped a couple of my lady friends get their van out of impound. They had driven off in the other direction, and I wanted to get the hell out of that side of town before I got carjacked.
I heard the motorcycle next to me at the red light, but I didn’t look; didn’t want to invite any unpleasantness from a possibly drunk or violent bike rider at that hour. When the light turned green, I hit it. What a lovely sound that 5.7 V8 used to make!
But then the lights immediately appeared in my rear view mirror. I pulled over into a bank parking lot.
The cop was furious with me; I apologized.
That made it worse! He hollered at me that I was only sorry because I got caught. Actually, no, that wasn’t true. I just didn’t want to be in that neighborhood, and the freeway entrance ramp was only a quarter mile away. I wanted to hit warp factor 65 as quickly as possible so that I could breathe easier and not have to worry so much about having a gun stuck in my ear!
I never got the chance to explain. He swore at me up and down, then he roared off on his patrol cycle.
Maybe only God knows why, but I received no ticket…not even a warning (unless you call a cussing-out a warning), and I think I still made my best quarter-mile time getting to that freeway ramp!
“Turbines to Speed!”
1 stop, 1 ticket. I deserved more stops than that, but managed not to be conspicuous enough, I guess.
But the other point on my license was dumb, and arguably unlucky. My old beater was running hot on 101 just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. I saw a wide-open area (at a radio transmitter shack or something) to let it cool. A cop pulls up next to me, asks me if there’s an emergency, and I foolishly say “no.” (I didn’t think of it as one!) So I get a ticket for a non-emergency stop on a freeway. Which comes with a license point – I had asked the officer and the county court clerk and they said it didn’t, so I just paid it and my insurance went up more than a thousand bucks. Whee.
Shitty.
Not because I get tickets when I get pulled over but because I get pulled over for highly specious things: e.g. 72 in a 70, expired license plate that was not expired, suspected DUI in the middle of the day in the middle of nowhere Tennessee, no front license plate when I had out of state plates, etc.
Basically the cops had nothing to really ticket me on because in the end, I drive within the law because I getted pulled over for such ridiculous shit.
No moving violations, though I’ve been pulled over five times, once for an illegal turn, twice for invalid tags, and twice for a burned out headlight.
The illegal turn happened between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM, and there was absolutely nobody else on either street, unfirtunately, there was a cop that I didn’t see parked in the vacnat lot on the corner. I decided whiel sitting at a red light that the best way home really required a right hand turn rather than continuing straight; so, that’s what I did…from the center lane. He pulled me over and asked if I knew what I had done. I told him yes, but I looked and saw no other traffic on the cross treet or the street that I was on and so thought that it would eb safe. He asked where I was coming from. I told him that I had just got off work at McDonald’s and had gotten something to eat at Taco Bell. That made him laugh and probably had something to do with him letting me off with a warning.
One of the times that I got pulled over for burned out headlight, I actually had the headlight in my car and was coming back from the store, which probably got me out of even getting a “fix-it” ticket.
Maybe 20/80 or a little better. Depends somewhat on the state. I’ve had good luck in MD, and I believe their state motto “Most lenient judges in the USA!”
Every damn time. Got a ticket.
But I’ve been speeding a lot lately, and seen plenty of cops out, but they don’t come after me, I think it’s pity maybe, as I’m driving my ’88 LTD Country Squire most of the time.
My daily driver is a VW Jetta TDI. Not at all capable of warp speeds, or even laying down rubber. However, it can, and DOES exceed the speed limit just about every day. I have a Valentine1 in it, and live by my rules for not getting tickets… I have only been pulled over and ticketed in that car twice. Beat them both in court though: 2 for 2.
Now, my other ride is a 1965 E-type Jaguar… my dad’s old car. It comes out on weekends, and summer evenings. I swear I get pulled over in that car about every 4th or 5th time I drive it. In fact I was stopped weekend before last… BUT I NEVER** GET TICKETED. I think the cops just want a closer look. Go figure.
**Except in Idaho. Those guys have absolutely no sense of humor.
–chuck
Got a ticket the 3rd day I had a new car, allegedly street racing a friend and fellow TTACer (hatebobbarker). The ticket was for 70 in a 50 zone, and “Exhibition of speed” My ticket says my black 2008 350Z is a white 280Z.
The officer said he paced us up to 70, though he was pulling into the main road just as my friend and I accelerated from the light. My guess is, he accelerated up to 70 to catch up, and assumed that’s how fast we were going.
Neither of us received courtesy notices and were not on the docket on our assigned court date. According to a traffic lawyer, there’s a statue of limitations of up to a year for the officers to file, though the court clerk told us to call back every 10 days for 2 years.
Luck? Good. So far.
in 16 years of driving I have gone past officers “too fast” 2 or 3 times on my motorcycle. I once noticed someone tailgating me in the left lane who continued following me after I moved right. I moved to the slowest lane & slowed down to go with traffic & the tailgater followed. I adjusted my view and I saw cop lights hidden by my STi wing. I gradually slowed down to 55 and then put it on cruise control. A mile or two later, the Illinois state police car sped off around me accelerating up to about 80 (in a 55).
I have never gotten a moving violation and got let off once when I made a right turn on red after stopping for 10 solid seconds, asking a friend in the passenger seat if he saw a “no turn on red”. He said no, and then we turned & the lights came on. Was let off with a warning. I will be 33 in october and have been driving since I was 16. I have never had a moving violation.
Chuck, thanks for the link to your excellent advice. I already do a lot of what you suggest, but there were some new points that I shall incorporate.
I drive a charcoal midsize family sedan. I don’t think the cops even notice me.
TN cops, full speeding ticket.
NC cops, hey buddy slow it down, or a little warning light flash.
I am also about 50/50, but value of car didn’t seem to help. Being in the Army during the Gulf War was good except when on base.
Strangely, I have always had to go to court to beat them when they were wrong. When they had me fair and square is the only time I got a warning.
Haven’t been pulled over for a moving violation in a decade. Not that I am trying to save gas, but I was warned that a heavy foot would mean transmission rebuild sooner rather than later in my old ‘crusher.
There’s no way I’m jinxing myself by answering this question!
For years I owned nothing but red cars and I was told by everyone from my mom to my wife that I would be a ticket magnet. Never got one. Routinely drive 80-90 on the Turnpike and Interstates. Got a blue Acura and got pulled over 3 weeks after I got it. Got out of ticket when the trooper turned out to be really interested in getting one for himself. Spent 30 minutes talking with him about the car and he let me go. I think it’s not so much the speed as the behavior….passing on the right, tailgating, cutting people off, etc. I drive 30 miles to and from my office every day and it’s 80-90mph. I think as long as you don’t draw attention to yourself you’re ok.
I’m two for five.
The first time I was pulled over, I was 18 and driving a Chevrolet Impala quite a lot over the limit. I received a warning, ostensibly for my honesty in ignorance of the limit, but more likely because traffic was too heavy for him to do anything more than eyeball my speed. Still, a nice cop.
The second time was for expired tags, except that they weren’t expired. Some cad had stolen my “200X” sticker they give you when you register, leaving the older one underneath. This was a warning as well.
Times three and four were speeding, both for the same (excessive, 1.6X the limit) speed. Clearly I didn’t learn anything. Ticketed both times. I was in my Malibu, so I can’t attest to the ‘expensive car’ theory.
The last was for (supposedly) violating the Move Over law in Georgia. Followed by two cops, ticketed by one. And he was not pleased. If the judge hadn’t knocked the fine down to $100, I’d have taken this to trial, because I was actually watching out for their safety at the time. Most of the time I deserve the ticket. Not this one.
So, yeah. My luck is neither great nor horrid. Knock on wood.
Got ticketed for doing 69 in a 65 interstate zone. Cop claimed he clocked me doing 71, even though I admitted I had the cruise control set at 69. He “cut me a break” (his words) by writing the lower amount, so that I paid the lowest fine. Gee thanks, and I wasn’t even a jerk to him.
Got off with a warning just once in my whole life. I must have a guilty look on my face. That or I’m ugly.
I refuse to post an answer to this question because my 11 years of good luck will end if I do.
Got pulled over in Milan Italy one evening driving around completely lost trying to find my hotel. The cop started yelling at me in Italian. The only Italian I know are the really bad words, so I have zero idea what I had done, or what was up.
Me, to him, in English: “Dude. I’m lost tourist. I have no idea what in the hell you are saying.”
I must have done something bad because he continued on for some some time in fast and loud Italian. He never took my license (I never offered it), or any papers. I just sat there and looked at him like he was crazy. Then he threw up his hands and stormed off.
I still wonder what I did that pissed him off so much. I’ll never know.
His theory is right! I got a $1,000.00 speeding ticket, a nice $15,000.00 hospital bill. (for an 8 mile ambulance ride + 4 x-rays and a cat scan) and oh, yah, I lost my license for 3 Months!
I was driving a 2001 Saab 9-5 wagon (euro spec.)
Interestingly enough, I got pulled over the other day, (8 months later)
I was doing 103 mph in a 30 mph. zone
I got out of it by crying, and then puking all over the police officers shoes(i really did throw up)
I was driving a Brand new 2008 MINI Cooper Cooper Works Edition. With level 3 Upgrades. Ive put like 20 k into this car. I have dusted everything from Evo’s to civics to WRX STI’S. I bet i could come close to beating a Corvette.
My luck’s pretty damn good. pulled over 3x, no ticket. Even got pulled over with a radar detector in the windshield (cop came up behind me and I didn’t have time to take it off) and got out of it.
Had really bad luck with a parking ticket, though. Damn meter maid slipped a ticket under my wiper while I was asleep in the car.
I got pulled over the other day, (8 months later)
I was doing 103 mph in a 30 mph
Are you insane?
Try the UK – if you’re pulled 99 times out of a 100 you get a ticket. The police patrols coupled with numerous speed cameras make driving here a nightmare. My record reads stopped six – tickets six.
Last week I was running late for work and was going 85 in the Camry on the left lane of the interstate. Out of the blue I see that a state trooper is behind me. Shit. And then he moves over to the middle lane and passes me and keeps going.
Most likely he was headed home or to something more important.
I agree with you. Driving my Vette I just get looked and pointed at. Driving my Fiesta, I get pulled over – sometimes more than once a day! And yesterday, I was driving my totally illegal Race Truck (rock crawling Samurai with a Toyota diesel, exoskeleton and GIANT tires) back from the shop and the Police just smiled and waved!
I’m running about 50% – Ironically, I’ve been able to beat the ‘legit’ ones (72 in a 65, etc), but I have been unable to on a few BS ones (wrong way down a 1-way, that is not marked at all on my alma maters campus, even took pics and still lost), with one exception.
Last year, I got pulled over coming off Rt 28 in Pittsburgh, with my father in the car. I was cited for doing 67 in a 55, and the guy was a real prick, telling me I need to learn how to drive or some crap. As I exited, he pulled me over, but the green jetta that tailgated me (I wasn’t doing 67 either, more like 60) went flying by when I changed lanes to exit. The ticket stated that I was “weaving in and out of lanes” (I wasn’t at all…I was exiting) and that I had a “Green Honda”. I have a black Acura. I have no idea what this cop was on, and it was complete BS. I beat it easily…The judge even told the officer that he needs to get his stuff together and stop wasting citizens time, which I found amusing.
This past Saturday, I got my first taste of a Motorcycle cop with NOTHING to do on Rt. 8 N, and was pulled over for TINT on my vehicle. He even complimented my knowledge of the speed limit and proper driving, then hands me a $108 citation that says “No non-transparent material on the front side windows”. My tint is at 60% VLT. Well within the legal limit, because PA State motor code simply says that you can’t have sunscreening that prevents a person from seeing inside the vehicle. You can see straight through my windows, out the other side, and everything on the other side quite clearly. It’s not like I have limo black on it…not even close. There is no hard number or percentage of light transmission in PA law. AND it just passed inspection without a problem only 6 weeks ago, and the prior year.
I’m fighting it, but I suspect that I’ll lose, because it’s complete BS. They only write this crap if they feel like it…I’ve fought every one except one from 2000. I got caught doing 91 in a 65, while trying to pass a log truck that had a pretty shaky looking load (he had to be doing 80 at least). As soon as I got around the truck and back in the right lane, I saw lights come around it behind me. I explained that the load looked loose, the cop agreed, radioed up for another cop to pull the truck over, and still gave me a ticket, but for 70 in a 65, as he said that he “wouldn’t want to be behind that load either”.
On my motorcycle got a driving too fast for conditions, no points. I was cruising.
Pulled over at 10:00 PM one night doing 50 in a 35 zone, got speeding ticket, and was told by the cop to plead not guilty. Plead not guilty and went to court and the judge let me slide. Cop said they were there to reduce drunk driving from a local college bar and I just happened by. No points.
Pulled over at 6:00 AM doing 85 in a 55 and was told to slow it down, no ticket.
Caught doing 76 in a 55 and got a failure to obey traffic signs, no points.
Finally caught doing 67 in a 35. Got a ticket for 45 in a 35. 2 points.
In all cases I was guilty as hell and admitted it. Last ticket there was no real discussion. I was going to get a ticket no matter what.
A buddy got a ticket for going 53 in a 35 about a week ago. I told him to plead dyslexic.
I get one each and every time, and I am uber-polite. I think it’s because I’m male and unattractive. It helps balance the numbers, and lets all the girls get warnings.
No doubt as en ex-cop, I’m hardly objective, but you guys a have a lot of misconceptions about quotas, bias, and traffic citations.
Of course, I worked in a busy area, where we were too busy to worry about a lot of chicken sh-t traffic issues.
I could go on and on about this, but I assure you, when I started with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office, I had a captain come into our orientation and take an entire 4 hours about how we didn’t need or have to write citations.
I can’t remember ever getting stopped, in the last 50 years, for anything but speeding, and lots of times for that. Never for going through a stop sign, making an illegal turn, failing to signal, taillight out or anything but speeding.
And the problem with speeding seems to be that it’s a cut-and-dried deal, basically revenue enhancement rather than habit-altering, so even if the cop is as nice as can be and perhaps even feels some sympathy for you, he’s still going to give you the ticket. The only times I get off are when I’m wearing my EMS-volunteer uniform and have the green light on the dash. I get tickets 90 percent of the time I’m stopped.
A cop friend once laughed and said to me, after I’d described to him a speeding stop on an empty road, “You have to understand, that’s what we do: we give tickets. You write magazine articles, we give tickets. It’s our job.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve been pulled over. In my youth, it was a frequent occurence. My wife seems to be a good luck charm, as when she’s been in the car, my odds go up exponentially. Alone, I’d be ticketed without exception. With her – it’s 1 for 3.
Now I’m invisible. And reasonable cautious.
It’s true, the nicer your car, the more likely a cop is just going to ask you about it and then take off after saying “drive safe.” A lot of cops are car guys I think.
Only 1 speeding ticket in almost 16 years of driving….I was in my then 2001 Lexus ES 300 & in my late 20’s.
Long story short, the officer could not get his head around the fact that this was my car & did not cut me a break (hey I’m Canadian so all was polite)…..I fought the ticket in court & 2 years later almost to the day, I paid a small fine with no points….the original ticket was a 4 pointer & $295.00 fine. Have a nice day officer!
I’ve only been pulled over twice in the last 20 years despite some fairly enthusiastic driving. Both times I was issued pretty bogus tickets – and both times I won in court by presenting the evidence clearly and politely showing the officer was just plain wrong to have issued a ticket. Luckily some judges still are fair.
I never get out of tickets, no matter what I’m driving.
What does happen is, since I’m a lawyer, I receive “professional courtesy” from most DAs and wind up with a non-moving violation.
Hmmm
I dont get moving violations.
I dont get parking infractions.
My car is in good working order.
And I have all of my documentation.
Maybe Im just a lunatic? My luck isnt too good. Maybe Im just doing stupid things?
I drive a sensible car.. a Red 00 4cycl Accord.
But I might not drive it sensibly. 75-80 average … 90-110 occassionally.
I drive the same route pretty much daily, and I know where the cops are.
Ive gotten bagged in the same place.. like 3 times, because he came up behind me. (Normally he’s in the median) But now I stick with slower traffic.. and keep the speedo around that area under mach 4.
The other areas.. are a crap shoot.
I did get out of one.. it was a weird occasion. I just got done test driving a Mazda 3 5dr hatch feeling all happy and .. and I had basically tailed this cop from where I work in one state.. to basically the end of his jurisdiction. I told him I do this everyday and made a horrible excuse, and took full blame. He let me go.. and I said 5 hail maryies.
My luck.. is pretty damn bad.
I wonder what I could buy.. that would get me looked at.. FOR THE RIGHT REASONS?!