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How To Avoid A Speeding Ticket

Things not to say to police officers:

1. Sorry, Officer, I didn't realize my radar detector wasn't plugged in.

2. Aren't you the guy from the Village People?

3. Hey, you must've been doin' about 125 mph to keep up with me. Good job!

4. Are You Andy or Barney?

5. I thought you had to be in good physical condition to be a police officer.

6. You're not gonna check the trunk, are you?

7. I pay your salary!

8. Gee, Officer! That's terrific. The last officer only gave me a warning, too!

9. Do you know why you pulled me over? Okay, just so one of us does.

10. I was trying to keep up with traffic. I know there are no other cars around. That's how far ahead of me they are.

11. When the Officer says "Gee Son....Your eyes look red, have you been drinking?" You probably shouldn't respond with, "Gee Officer your eyes look glazed, have you been eating doughnuts?"
 
This is not a thread touting the times my Valentine 1 has assisted me in avoiding a ticket (although it certainly has). Instead it is a comment on Victor Cruz's Article How to Avoid A Speeding Ticket. While the Article contains a great deal of valuable information, I must respectfully disagree with one aspect of his advise.

Mr. Cruz advises that upon being stopped you confess to the alleged violation and save any contest for court. Everything you state to the officer is either being recored on video or will be entered as an annotation on the ticket. It is far more difficult (read virtually impossible) for you (or your lawyer) to deny you were speeding in court if you have admitted the violation to the officer. I obviously agree with Mr. Cruz to remain polite. Confessing to the offense MIGHT convince the officer not to write the ticket, but if you admit the violation you have traded your chances of beating the ticket in court for the chance the officer will not ticket you. Not a trade with good odds in my experience.

My exchange would go more like this:

Officer: Do you know why I stopped you?
Me: No Sir.
Officer: Do you know how fast your were going?
Me: I'm pretty sure my speed was not excessive.
Officer: You were speeding, we clocked you at 70 in a 50.
Me: I see.

You have been polite. You have not argued. AND you have not destroyed your chances to beat the ticket in court.

As a retired LEO who worked a traffic unit for a NUMBER of years, I would definitely consider the exchange above as polite and in no way argumentative. :thumb Even admitting doesn't always equal a citation, but would make it more difficult to fight in court if you chose to.

Now on a different point. What I notice motorcyclists on all brands do more than speed is pass on twisty roads in no passing zones. Yes, even those leading club group rides will do it. In N. Ga. that will get you a citation quicker then anything else.
 
One other tip:

While it is your right to contest ANY citation in court, do it wisely. NEVER argue with a judge that the speed limit should be something else than it is posted as. The traffic court judge is not there to determine what speed limits should be but only to decide whether or not or you did/did not exceed the speed limit by a given number of mph in a posted mph zone by the evidence and testimony presented. You will lose that one EVERY time and sometimes more expensively that just saying "I didn't do it."
 
Don't go to court

I hire lawyers that keep me out of court. Last citation,,,this year. last conviction? 1963. I learned my lesson quickly and well.
 
OFF: Do you know why I stopped you?
Me: No.
OFF: You were exceeding the speed limit.
Me: No I wasn't.
OFF: yes you were Sir, I clocked you at 75. The speed limit is 55.
Me: No it isn't.
OFF: Yes it is Sir.
Me: No it's not and I can prove it.
OFF: how can you prove it?

ME: Here ya go Officer.

speedlimit.jpg
 
Officer: Do you know why I stopped you?
Me: I have an idea but before I incriminate myself why don't you tell me?
 
Asking a violator if they know why they are being stopped is old, old school tactics and in my book somewhat unprofessional. True it is a way to get a person to admit to something but I never used that approach in over 30 years of traffic enforcement, because in my opinion it makes the cop sound like he/she is on a fishing expedition. I simply informed the person why I stopped them and if they admitted to the violation great and if they didn't that was no problem either. If the evidence I had, with or without an admission of guilt, didn't stand up in court than I shouldn't have written the citation. Relying on an admission of guilt to prove a case in court is foolish. Now if a person wanted to tell me why they violated a traffic law than that was fine and would be noted in my report along with their excuses. And yes, there were instances where I would change my mind and issue a warning versus citation if I felt it was justified based on the facts of the case. Giving me a hard time or arguing with me about what happened was pointless because there was no chance of a break after that exchange.

The chance of getting a warning was also slim to none if the speed violator had a radar/laser/lider detector. If you can afford the detector you can afford the ticket. Almost universally a person that speeds will break other traffic laws as well especially following too close or making unsafe and illegal lane changes. So it isn't just a case of someone speeding, if so that wouldn't be too bad, but it is what comes along with the speeding violation that can make matters much worse. Then of course just how fast a violator is going over the speed limit can and does play into the issue. 20 mph or more over the limit will certainly get you an introduction to a traffic officer. 15 to 20 coupled with other violations will also get you that introduction. 10mph or so over and you might not get a second look from the Po-Po but if you do get stopped be polite and cooperative. And I can't begin to count the number of times people would pass me, while I was in a marked patrol vehicle or riding a department motorcycle and they would be going well over the speed limit! I always wanted to ask these people if they had any amount of common sense or living brain cells between their ears!! There were also times when someoneI stopped at not too great a speed would say to me "You got me trooper! I was going too fast and should have known better." Upon hearing them admit they were speeding was sometimes all I needed to change from a ticket to a warning.

I can recall one instance where I stopped a guy going to the airport in Milwaukee. I had him at 28 mph over the posted limit of 55. He had a pretty clean record and admitted to the speed and I thought I would give him a little bit of a break. I wrote the ticket for 19 over which kept him from having a major violation on his record and it also saved him some serious fine money. Four weeks later I get a trial notice and when I get to court I see it's the guy I gave a break to and he has his lawyer with him. I explained what the circumstances were to the prosecutor who promptly had my 19 over ticket dismissed before the trial proceedings and he had me re-issue for the 28 mph over violation. We went to trial on the 83 mph speeding violation and the violator was found guilty. Not only did he reap the reward of a 6 point major infraction on his record and a major fine, but the judge suspended his license for 15 days for going more than 25 mph over the speed limit. As a cop that was one of those "teaching moments" for me about human nature. For the next 18 years I never made the mistake of being too nice because it could have put me in a bad position with the prosecutor.
Ride Safe (and keep your speed reasonable)!
Rick

P.S. Some things you may not want to say are:
"I know the chief/sheriff.".......yep, that's gonna help your case alright.
"I will see you in court or you will hear from my lawyer."....... In my case I liked hearing that one because if true I would be on the overtime clock for court.
"What's your problem officer?"....... The cop doesn't have a problem pal, YOU do.
" Your radar or laser is wrong!"....... Really??? You know all about this stuff huh?
" You are just picking on me!"...... Right, 8 million vehicles out here and I picked on you for absolutely no reason.....
"Do you know what you are doing to me?"...... What? You did it to yourself dummy!
" I will have your badge copper!"....... I loved this one because I used to give people a plastic Junior Trooper badge when they told me this....
 
And I can't begin to count the number of times people would pass me, while I was in a marked patrol vehicle or riding a department motorcycle and they would be going well over the speed limit! I always wanted to ask these people if they had any amount of common sense or living brain cells between their ears!!

While I will not roar past a LEO marked or unmarked when running at the posted limit...or close, I often have passed the 5-10 under the posted, often time left lane riding LEO vehicle. What's the deal here?
On some two lane highways it's a rolling roadblock with a line backed up behind a smiling in his rearview officer, daring folks to pass...I have when safe/legal to do so and have not recently been stopped for doing it. Still wonder what's the "stategery"here?:scratch

There is a local toll road that recently was raised to 80MPH, had just picked my daughter up from airport and came up on the Highway Patrol unit running near 60... in the left lane of a three lane expressway. There were cars jamming on the brakes and slowing to his pace...some moved to the right lane.

I shook my head as I came up behind him in a WTH look as my daughters voice came over the Autocomm..."uh, Dad...that's a po-po!"

I said he's "texting" and passed him at 80 in the center lane and noticed him typing away on his laptop:banghead I just :wave
 
As Motorcop said is right.

We even had a class once that encouraged the encounter to start more like: "Hi. (you could even add "I'm Officer.....") The reason I stopped you is for speeding. I checked your speed at X in a posted Y zone by using radar (Laser was non existent then). Would there be any lawful reason for that?" Then you ask for the DL and other documents and go from there.
 
" I will have your badge copper!"....... I loved this one because I used to give people a plastic Junior Trooper badge when they told me this....

Rick: When our officers hear this threat we add another charge : "Public intimidation and retaliation". That really pisses off the Judge and Prosecutors when they see that, and there are no deals made at all. This charge is a relative felony dependent on length of sentence and whether the jail is hard labor or not, and that is dependent totally on what an ass the offender has made of himself :)


Louisiana Revised Statutes, R.S. 14:122 Public intimidation and retaliation

A. Public intimidation is the use of violence, force, or threats upon any of the following persons, with the intent to influence his conduct in relation to his position, employment, or duty:

(1) Public officer or public employee.

...

C. Whoever commits the crime of public intimidation or retaliation against an elected official shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or both.
 
I have earned some tickets & had a few that were kind of pissy experiences as not deserved or LEO was less than charming,etc.. I quit using a detector maybe 15 yrs ago & try for the slightly over in good conditions on slab and straight shooter on 2 lanes "mostly". The tickets I've had since trying to "reform" my heavy foot have all been in areas of wide open roads w/o traffic or side traffic and no weather thrown in.Past 5 yrs:Got one in GA on rural 2 lane with pass lanes for 70/55 & no other cars etc.. Got one(Maryland) passing a truck at the top of a hill on slab-guy said it was starting to rain and I was being stupid to go over 70. Got one(KY) after I left a work zone & passing a truck & was told I was in the zone. Got the last one(KY) as I accelerated down empty ramp onto pwy to gain safe distance between me and oncoming cars(which included LEO); I can go on with a couple more but its the "bad tickets" that stick in my mind which could have been non tickets or warnings & not the well deserved ones that came my way for a heavy foot/hand.
As the tax coffers are really hurting the courts are going to try for more $ from ticket sales & will be/is harder to avoid tickets as OP asks.
 
:brow
Rick: When our officers hear this threat we add another charge : "Public intimidation and retaliation". That really pisses off the Judge and Prosecutors when they see that, and there are no deals made at all. This charge is a relative felony dependent on length of sentence and whether the jail is hard labor or not, and that is dependent totally on what an ass the offender has made of himself :)


Louisiana Revised Statutes, R.S. 14:122 Public intimidation and retaliation

A. Public intimidation is the use of violence, force, or threats upon any of the following persons, with the intent to influence his conduct in relation to his position, employment, or duty:

(1) Public officer or public employee.

...

C. Whoever commits the crime of public intimidation or retaliation against an elected official shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or both.

As a former public employee with a lot of interaction with angry citizens, that is a pretty hefty charge.
I use to laugh and hand them the City Managers phone number...and say have a nice day...and " only need to pay your electric bill!" or " the crews are working as hard as they can to get the lights back on".

I would hope the officers use some discretion pulling that trigger and only when the situation escalates into something more than some venting. But having been stopped by some very rural parrish LEO's many years ago...I guess it's just LA doing the LA thing.
 
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