How I Avoid Speeding Tickets
Posted on March 30, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 61 Comments
Because, as it happens, I get out of speeding tickets nine out of ten times I pull over. Here’s how I do it: I admit I’m speeding and tell the cop to please go ahead and write me up. Usually the cop is so shocked that I’m not even trying to argue with him that he’ll let me off with a warning.
This morning, for example, after I was pulled over for zooming out of the airport:
Cop: Sir, you were doing 50 in a 35 mile per hour zone.
Me: I’m sure I was.
Cop: Can you tell me why?
Me: Because I just got off a plane eleven hours late and I just wanted to get home to my family.
(This was true, incidentally)
End result: Friendly warning.
Now you might think the “dude, I just want to get home to my family” hearttugger is what did it, but I’ve also had times when they asked me why I was speeding and I said “I have no excuse whatsoever. Go ahead and write me up if you need to,” and it’s worked pretty much the same. Cops like it when you acknowledge that they are not stupid, and you were breaking the law, and that you recognize this is their job. I’m sure there are other things that help (in this case, I was driving a minivan, I was polite and friendly to the cop, and I didn’t look like I was on a meth bender, etc), but I think just admitting guilt is the kicker.
Now, this doesn’t work every single time, and I suppose that’s the risk; since you’re admitting you’re speeding, you’re going to have problems contesting the ticket in court later. But come on. It’s a speeding ticket, not murder. It’ll cost you points on your insurance at most. But like I said, it generally works for me, because I’m letting the cop know that I know he’s caught me fairly, and that it’s entirely his call to ticket me, and I’m not going to show up in traffic court with some articles I downloaded from the Internet proving his radar is totally borked or whatever. It’s refreshing to them, is what I’m saying.
Worth a try for you, in any event.
Yeah. It pays to be pleasant when being pulled over for speeding. I generally tell them that it’s my own dumb fault, and, to maintain efficiency, I try to speed things along for them. In fact, I’ve actually pulled over before they’ve even hit their lights. I’ve blazed past the trooper, I say something profane as I notice them. Then I see them pull out in my rear view mirror, and I hit the shoulder of the road and wait.
I think they really dig that. It saves them the whole spiel about “Do you know why I pulled you over?”
So, needless to say, I’ve not gotten a speeding ticket in almost twenty years.
My father follows pretty much the same approach.
I think the best memory I have of him doing that was several years ago, when he was driving me west along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, back to Pittsburgh for my next semester of college at Carnegie Mellon.
We were going very, very, very fast.
The state trooper pulled us over and asked us why my dad had been speeding and we went through the polite routine. Then my dad said, “And I’m bringing my daughter back to college at CMU.”
To which the trooper replied, “I’m from Pittsburgh! I used to live in Squirrel Hill!” (right near the university)
And promptly let my dad off with a warning for going 90 mph. =)
This is really the only sensible route to take when you get pulled over for speeding. I mean, unless you really didn’t know you were speeding. Then there are, ahem.. bigger issues there.
I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket. I was pulled over for speeding before and gotten a warning. When I was younger I was pulled over for fishtailing and when the cop came up to my window he saw I had two girls in the truck with me and asked me what was going on. I told him the truth: I was just having fun. I think he could tell.
I recently bought a fast car (bmx 335xi) and I’m still waiting for that day when I get my first one. That car refuses to go under the speed limit. It’s not me Mr. Officer, it’s the car. I swear! But seriously, what I’ll say is simply the truth: i bought this fast car and I had to try it out. Probably still get a ticket but it’s all good. Like you said, it’s not like it’s murder.
Last summer we were coming into a small town when Jo pointed out a lovely house up on a hill. Stupid me, I looked, and missed the sign stating the drop from 80km/h to 50. When the cop pulled me over I apologized and – wisely, I think – didn’t blame my wife or anyone or anything other than me. A polite chat and a warning were all I got. You’re right, but in some cases nothing will work. And that’s probably the smartest time to not get all agitated and angry.
D
I’ve been pulled over for speeding twice, no tickets. Nine times out of ten? If you have that data set, slow down.
John’s method is ok, but I change the “I’m sure I was.” to my “If I was, write me up.” Helps to have a child covered in hives screaming in the car seat when you politely add, “I would appreciate it if you could hurry though.”
Then there’s what a cop said in my high school driving course:
5 miles over the speed limit we don’t care
10 miles over, we care but don’t stop you
15 miles over, we pull you over
I usually go 12 over the speed limit – two times pulled over? 15+ over the limit.
Oh, helps to be caucasian.
Having a screaming baby in my backseat always works for me. Also: not carrying my license. Then I offer to tell them the details, usually they don’t want to go back and type it all in I guess.
So nobody just…doesn’t speed?
So far, I haven’t gotten a speeding ticket. The one time I was pulled over for speeding, I burst into tears (totally involuntarily) and told the officer that I’d never gotten a speeding ticket before and instead, got a ticket for not paying attention to traffic signs. In general I stick to about ten miles above the speed limit or less.
Anna N.: I think you know the answer to that question. I think it’s a rare person who doesn’t go over by at least 5 mph. 90 mph is definitely on the upper bound of recklessness though IMO.
Scalzi: I completely agree with your approach. If you’re going to speed, be prepared to accept the consequences. That’s the risk you take. If you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, then fess up. Trying to pretend that there are no crumbs around your mouth is insulting to everyone involved.
I was on my way to visit some friends in DC when I got pulled over in Newton Falls, OH back in the late ’80s or early ’90s. The cop was a local, complete Barney Fife. I was polite, etc. and he was still a jerk. Years later, I was teaching (traveling science programs) and found myself in Newton Falls. I mentioned the ticket and the principal laughed and said something like, “Oh, yeah, Wilbur. Everyone’s gotten a ticket from him. He’s always an ass.”
Actually, I got pulled over maybe four times (and not in the last 10 years, easily) and never got a warning, just the ticket. In one instance, (70 in a 55 zone where it’s not obvious where the speed limit resumes 70), two of my roommates also got ticketed at the same place. So, if the cops are just out performing municipal highway robbery, I don’t think polite or otherwise will matter.
In the interest of brevity here…
Respectful, courteous and honest.
Been over a decade since I have been ticketed. That is with cruise control not set at the speed limit.
It doesn’t work when your 21. They generally forego the “why were you speeding” for “here” as they hand you the ticket.
The two times I was stopped it worked for me, too.
“I’m sure you’re right. That’s just terrible!.” Shaking head at the dumbness of self doing 45 when I should be doing 30.
“Well don’t do it again!”
And really, it was dumb and I’ve tried to be careful. But there is no cop so far who hasn’t felt vidicated when his observations are approved and accepted. Give the man who’s right his due.
How much time do you save, rushing from red light to red light, and factoring in getting frequently pulled over?
I love the guy who gave me a ticket for not having insurance when he pulled me over because I was nervous and couldn’t find the card immediately. He told me to look for it while he was running my driver’s license and plate, and while I was doing it, he wrote me up for not having insurance, even though I showed him I did!
And I love the cops even more who pull you over for going ten miles above the speed limit on the highway but race past you just because they can (no lights, no siren, no emergency).
Did that once; didn’t totally get me off but got me below the point where it counted against my license…
The one time where I found myself going way too fast there wasn’t a cop around, but I was headed for HOU and subsequently home to my then-fiancee, and Jimmy Buffett’s “Come Monday” was playing on the CD player… I didn’t play that song again for a long time. That was also my last gig ever as a road warrior, for the same reason…. if I was wanting to get home *that badly*, then I didn’t need to be leaving every Monday.
Unfortunately that approach wouldn’t work very well in the UK. The police don’t tend to pull people over for speeding; they have speed cameras dotted all over the country taking pictures as you race by instead.
We all know what really happened. Scalzi flirted with the officer. Surprisingly, he gets away with it too.
9 Vincent
No need to be condescending. Even I go 5 mph over the speed limit (and I would be surprised and incredulous if anyone seriously said they’d been ticketed for going 5 miles over the speed limit).
But nobody here mentioned 5 mph. Everyone is talking 10, 15, 20mph and more.
The last time I was pulled over was something like 25 years ago…for not coming to a complete stop before turning right on red…at a deserted intersection at 3 in the morning. I may have been less than polite.
I have issues with authority and as a young man I got plenty of speeding tickets. Got plenty of warnings too, as I have never been rude to a police officer and always admitted my guilt. When I was a child, one of my uncles flat tracked and had illusions being a race driver. One night he was returning home about 70 miles upriver (Ohio). He was cruising along about 90 when the lights went on. When the officer came up to the window he said in a rather annoyed voice ” the speed limit here is 55″, to which my uncle retorted ” Yeah, and I was doing every bit of it”. I am sure everyone can imagine the results. He got a ticket for doing 110. He was very proud of it.
Speaking from my experience driving in Ohio — it also helps to have Ohio license plates. It seems that most police officers I’ve come into contact with are under the assumption Michiganders are speeding through Ohio attempting to steal corn and soy beans and make it to the border before getting caught.
About 6 years of driving here, and have not yet been pulled over for speeding. My general rule is to top out at 5-8 mph over (8 being more for clear, open highways), but I’ll bump that up further if everyone else on the road is going 15-20 over.
I have (fortunately) yet to be in a driving situation serious enough that I felt significant speeding was needed.
@Paul, 18– Yeah, I was thinking “I bet Scalzi just showed some cleavage.”
I got pulled over once as part of a thing where cops were pulling over a bunch of people for illegally being in a right-turn-only lane and not turning right. (It’s a kind of buses-and-right-turns-only lane along a busy street during certain hours.) I had gotten in thinking my turn was imminent, and was then too lazy to get out.
The cop eventually got to me, said, “Do you know what you did wrong?” and I said, “Yes, this is a right-turn-only lane. I’m sorry, I just messed up.”
He told me I was the first person all day to admit to knowing I was in the lane illegally, and let me off.
Once when I was 16 or 17 I got pulled over for driving too far to the left. It was a residential street that I knew very well with cars parked along the right side, and as a new driver I will still unconfortable gauging how much distance to leave to my right without hitting them.
When the lights came on I pulled over and was very respectful. At some point the officer asked me, “Where do you live?” I pointed to the house across the street. He’d pulled me over in front of my own house. He let me off with a warning.
Generally, fessing up and being genuinely contrite does help. Of course, not speeding excessively helps more.
Expanding on 17 Ed.
… and then you get a polite letter stating that you are “alleged to have committed a speeding offence” and that “this allegation is supported by photographic and/or video evidence”… There is also a nicely-printed FAQ that basically states, pay the fine, accept this many points on your license, no negotiation…
And you know what? I only got one of these in my 18 months in the UK, but I am certainly driving a lot carefully these days because I know that I cannot talk myself out of a ticket…
Then again, I haven’t gotten a ticket in the States in ages. It will be good to be back…
I’d still get fragged if I was nice. It is the way of Chang and tickets.
I got a $289 ticket in CT for speeding. Best part was I had a dummy training shell in the backseat that the cop saw and slowly backed away from, saying “Get the hell out of here!”
Still had to pay the ticket. Damn.
In Sydney, they just pull you over and book you for speeding regardless of whether you’re over the limit or not.
I learned that lesson in high school.
After pulling me over, the cop asked me if I knew why he’d stopped me. “Yes, officer. I just ran that red light back there.” “And why did you do that?” “I’m on my way to night school, and I’m afraid I wasn’t paying close enough attention.” He went back to his cruiser and returned with a slip of paper that I assumed was a ticket. “I’m giving you a warning because you told the truth. If you’d lied about it, I would have just given you the ticket.”
Fair enough, I thought.
City I know of set up the cameras, but the residents didn’t understand that there wasn’t any way to protest the tickets, so the courts were flooded. So TPTB decided it was best to turn off most of the cameras, but not tell anybody.
I’ve gotten tickets, but not for speeding. I stick to 5-10 miles over the limit.
I’ve heard of someone being pulled over once for going 5 miles over the limit – and the person making the claim was reliable. But it was near the end of the month, and they think the officer was probably trying to meet a quota.
The last time I got away with speeding, the roadside experience was bizarre. I was in a rented SUV filled with IKEA furniture. (My car was in the shop. Car accident. The only rental available was an SUV. Coincidentally, I needed furniture.) Since the closest IKEA was 145 miles away, I was in a hurry coming home. (Yes, driving 290 miles round trip for IKEA furniture was silly. It seemed like a good idea at the time.)
Anyway, he pulled me over while I was in the fast lane (following flow of traffic, which I know is not a legal excuse). Thinking about it now, I have no idea why I didn’t just pull over to the left. (Maybe there wasn’t a breakdown lane to my left?) Instead, I executed a series of textbook lane merges to the right so that I could pull over on the right curb. (It’s amazing how well you remember all the rules of traffic when there is a state trooper tailing you.)
After I pulled over I tried to do the polite thing. However, the state trooper kept saying “You shut up and listen to me.” After he yelled at me for a few minutes about the proper speed for each highway lane, he left. I was stunned. (I did drive home more slowly though.)
I don’t expect this experience to ever repeat itself. (However, I also hope never to have the opportunity.)
Michael Canfieldon:
How much time do you save, rushing from red light to red light, and factoring in getting frequently pulled over?
About 7-10 minutes, one way, on the daily commute. There are some stretches where it is clearly not worth it at all, but there are others where going just a bit faster gets you to an intersection a few seconds before the light changes… and there’s 3 minutes of your life back. I could get pulled over once a week and still come out way ahead.
Fortunately, Virginia passed some crazy insane laws last year designed to “generate revenue”. 15 mph over is $3550, plus $100/year if you have 8 points on your license, with an extra $75 for each additional point. This means that I can go 12-14 mph over with impunity. I’ve passed dozens of cops at speed traps who didn’t so much as blink at me. I’m not worth their time.
The real fun bit is that you can get a $1050, 6 point ticket for “failing to give a proper signal”. The points stay on your license for 11 years. I’ve yet to hear of that one being enforced, but if it is, judges cannot reduce or suspend any of these fines in any way.
Lowest speed I’ve seen ticketed was 2 mph over (in North Carolina). I wasn’t the recipient, but I saw the ticket.
For myself, the only two times I’ve been pulled over I was young enough that my experience matched Erik’s: I was polite and truthful; the cop didn’t care.
That’s pretty much exactly what happened last time I got pulled over. I was taking the state highways home from a visit to Texas rather than the interstate, and pretty much blew the doors off a highway patrol car. I flat didn’t see it was a cop until the lights came on. I admitted I was going quite a bit over, saying only that I was anxious to get back home after a long trip. He confirmed on my license that I had an OKC address, took note of the sleeping child in the back seat, and gave me a warning. Two actually, since he also told me about a speed trap a few miles up the road where the speed limit drops 30 mph on a blind curve and the town cops are always waiting.
A friend of my family is a volunteer fireman and once had a great time listening to the scanner. It was a holiday weekend, and there was a guy in a plane, rattling off speeders as he went and sharing them between police departments.
My only time being pulled over– I haven’t been driving that long– left my kind of shaky for a day. I fell afoul of I80’s changing speed limit between the Iowa border and Iowa City and was within bounds for 70, but not 65. The lights slamming on behind me scared the daylights out of me.
Iowa also has a deal where you can look up what tickets people have gotten. I’m in there now, as being pulled over but with no ticket. The master’s students looked up a bunch of professors, including one who had something like six citations on one pullover. “Man, he must have been a bastard to them,” we said.
Never been ticketed for anything “unjustly”. Every ticket was righteous – yeah, I was speeding, and I knew it. So I never bother trying to roadside lawyer the officer. Honesty hasn’t ever gotten me out of the poo, though.
I agree with being honest with cops, although it goes against what I was taught in Driver’s Ed. There was a section in the book about traffic stops, where it talks about things like keeping both hands where the cop can see them, and stuff like that, I can’t remember exactly what, but I’m pretty sure it said that when the cop asks if you know why you were pulled over, you’re supposed to say, “No.”
Well, I haven’t gotten any traffics, have never been pulled over. Now I can’t drive because my eyes aren’t good enough, had to give up my license six years ago.
Didn’t work for me in Banff last week. The mountie barely let me get a word in edgewise before giving me the ticket.
In Canadian dollars, oh, the hurt…
But, well, I hardly ever get pulled over, even though I speed (like crazy) all the time. I suppose I get a ticket about half the time (three times so far).
I’ve never gotten a ticket. I’ve never even been pulled over. I guess I drive too slow (typically I drive about 65 in 55 MPH zones, 72 in 65 MPH zones, and 75 in 70 MPH zones).
Well, being white, honest, and on a BMW R/100 has never gotten me out of a ticket – though a couple of times, it seemed like instead of the felony charge (20mph+ over the limit in VA is a felony reckless driving charge, if I remember correctly – and I did talk to a lawyer about it at the time, before appearing in court), the cop was satisfied in having the Commonwealth Attorney in Warrenton simply have the ticket treated as speeding 22 mph over the speed limit, instead of the 25+ he actually recorded.
And the time I didn’t bother to renew my license between suspensions, and passed a VA state trooper on Rt 66, doing 70+ in a 55 zone? Told him the truth, which was that I could have had a license, as it was not currently suspended at that point, and he said that as long as I brought a valid license to court, the charge would be driving without a license. He also called a friend to ride my bike away (brother of a DC cop), waiting a good 20 minutes or so doing paperwork until the friend arrived. I renewed my license the next day (still had 42 points on it, but the VA DMV regulations are bizarre – trust me), then went to court a few weeks later, showed him the license, and again promptly paid my fine after pleading guilty. Then had my license suspended with 46 points at that point. Interestingly, since I only had motorcycle insurance, my rates never changed over the years I rode in the U.S. And my coverage was always valid, at least in terms of vehicle registration, for the next two years I rode without a license. Without being ticketed.
It would never occur to me that being honest would be a way to avoid a ticket, especially based on my experience. But it is generally a good way to treat the police, at least when dealing with a traffic violation.
I’ve been pulled over exactly once and gotten a ticket exactly once. I tried explaining to the cop that I was sorry I was going 67 in a 55, but A) I normally get on the freeway a few exits later and it’s 65 there and B) I was trying to merge and nobody was letting me. Sadly, he still gave me the ticket, spoiling my perfect record. :(
During college I learned two things selling Bibles in the south as a summer job. First, don’t sell Bibles in the south as a summer job. Despite all the promises of “money for nothing and the chicks for free” you’ll be lucky to break even.
Second, the company actually had a seminar on getting out of a speeding ticket.
Basic cop psychology – there are two types of people – law-abiding citizens and perps. You most definitely need to be classified in the first category and not the second, even when caught speeding.
First never, ever, Ever, EVER drink and drive. If you do then take your lumps you big idiot and be quiet about it and thank God you didn’t kill someone.
OK. Then here is the script for being classified as a law-abiding citizen who was caught speeding.
Pull over. Sit quietly in the car with your hands in view on the steering wheel. Roll down your window.
(Y=you, L=law enforcement)
Y: Hello Officer, what seems to be the problem.
C: Do you know how fast you were going back there?
Y: Yes sir(ma’am), (state your actual speed)
C: And do you know what the speed limit is?
Y: Yes sir(ma’am), (state the speed limit)
Now shut up. Shut up!
Be ready to calmly accept your ticket. You deserve it. You respect law enforcement doing his/her job.
That’s it really. If you are female you may try crying but that has been done to death. Basically you are sober, honest, aware of the driving conditions, and respectful of someone doing his/her job.
There is no guarantee with this but if nothing else this makes things easier for you to move on (make a mistake, admit it, pay for it, learn from it, move on) and it makes it easier for someone just trying to do his/her job.
John Chu in 32:
After I pulled over I tried to do the polite thing. However, the state trooper kept saying “You shut up and listen to me.” After he yelled at me for a few minutes about the proper speed for each highway lane, he left. I was stunned. (I did drive home more slowly though.)
I don’t have a huge amount of experience – pulled over maybe six times, ticketed twice, but in my experience the tickets come short and sweet. If they start chewing you out it usually means a warning with no ticket. I guess they figure the chewing out is your punishment. Besides, if you lip off they can always stop the lecture and still give you the ticket.
It has only half worked for us. We have had them lower the speed we were actually going so that the fine was minimal. Normally we try to stay within reasonable limits so they don’t stop us at all, but now and again, the foot gets heavy…
None of which negates your point. Fessing up is definitely the way to go. More often than not you’ll get just a warning or a reduced fine.
My husband doesn’t speed and has never even gotten pulled over. And he’s 33. (No kidding.)
He will speed up to go around a truck, but then drops back down.
He has gotten to the point now that maybe he’ll do a mile or three over the speed limit, but nothing more. No way, no how.
I, on the other hand, love to go fast, and got my fair share of tickets when I was younger.
This combination actually works out very well for us. He drives on the interstates, and I drive on the beltways. I haven’t gotten a ticket since we started dating, and he doesn’t put us in mortal danger following the speed limit when we visit DC.
Additionally, I watch my speed like a hawk now, because if I get a ticket, I’ll never hear the end of it!
You wouldn’t get a ticket from a Boston cop with that rap… you’d get a beating.
I dodge tickets all the time, but I’m pretty, French, and can cry on cue. A cop might be able to handle one or two of those, but all 3 is too much to ask of a bear.
The only ticket I’ve ever gotten was when I was 17. I was so shocked and appalled at being pulled over in my Dad’s car–and with my crush in the passenger’s seat!–that all I could do was giggle. The cop gave me The Eyebrow and a big, fat ticket.
I’ve been asking for tickets since I was 19. A college professor (criminal justice, of course) advised my class to do so. She said to be polite, not make any sudden movements, and just ask for the ticket you deserve. This might backfire occasionally (if the officer thinks you’re being snarky, perhaps, or is just in a mood), but she insisted most cops are so used to jackasses they just won’t quite know what to do with you, and so will let you go with a warning.
Here is how the conversation really went.
Officer: Did you know you were doing 55mph in an 40mph zone.
Scalzi: Oh I’m sorry officer I wasn’t aware.
Officer: OK, let’s see some ID.
Scalzi: [Gives the officer his Ohio state DL]
Officer: OH MY GOD! ARE YOU THE JOHN SCALZI?! OWNER OF THAT AUSTRALIAN RUGBY TEAM?!?
Scalzi: UMmmmM…..
Officer: Sorry to have detained you Mr. Scalzi. Please proceed home…
I pretty much follow the “polite, respectful, and honest” approach and have never gotten more than a warning. Of course, I also fall into the “clean-cut white male” category, for whom this strategy tends to work a little better.
I was pulled over in Virginia a few years ago. When the officer asked me where I was going, I was able to answer (truthfully!) that I was on my way to my wedding. He gave me a warning. :)
good advice, but I gotta ask the question I’m sure has been posed already in the comments —
9 out of 10 times!?! Just how often *do* you get caught speeding?
(says one caught twice, ticketed once, guilty far more often …)
David @ #6: I once had a screaming kid in the backseat, my wife back there trying to calm him down. Didn’t help. Of course, I was doing 150km/h in an 80 zone. Just happened when I came over a rise, all tense and probably about to slow right back down when I remembered where the hell I was. Too late. The officer did, however, write me up for a much lesser speed.
D
Here in the Netherlands cops don’t stop you for speeding tickets, but you get photographed by speed cameras that neatly and automatically make sure you get your fines in the mail.
When I started working and got my first company car, I chose a flashy red Honda Civic. Young and careless, I drove fast all the time, enjoying the rev sounds of the engine.
This was an expensive habit and resulted in about 1 200euro ticket per month. So when it was time for my second car, I decided it was time to mature and wisen up, so I selected a family type car (as I was actually planning to start a family) with cruise control. Now, as soon as I hit the highway, I drive up to max speed, hit cruise control and steer my way to work. I haven’t had a speeding ticket since.
Basically, if you think about it, the only reason to speed is that it feels good, because the time advantage will in most cases be below 5 minutes. In my opinion when reflecting upon that, it will never weigh up against increased risk, environmental damage and fines.
In twenty years of driving, I’ve been pulled over twice, once for a warning about a dead headlight and once for advice that I should get some sleep. (3:00 AM in upstate New York on day six of a solo road trip that started in Fairbanks, Alaska. I needed that sleep.)
I did once get a speeding ticket (“driving too fast for conditions”) after flailing a lane change and colliding gently with a Jersey barrier. Funny thing was, I was going no more than 20mph at the time. But, conditions were truly awful, slippery beyond my skill to handle at any speed. The cops were nice, used a baton to pry my fender away from my tire so I could clear the roadway, and seemed sheepish about the charge on the ticket.
I am genuinely astonished at people who are always riding the ragged edge of their points. Why not just back it off a notch?
One of my friends was pulled over and hadn’t noticed how fast they’d been going. So the cop was like, “would it surprise you if I said you were going X miles an hour?” And while the driver was trying to figure out the polite way to say something, ‘I don’t think we were going that fast,’ the passenger was unable to keep quiet and burst out with, “That’s ridiculous! When we’re going that fast, the car feels totally different.”
They didn’t get a ticket.
Having a foreign drivers licence is also a good way not to get ticketed. My sister worked for 2 years in N. Carolina – she got a NC drivers licence but also kept her UK licence in the car – I think she got pulled over a couple of times, was polite and apologetic, and produced the UK rather than US licence. No ticket.
In the UK, as previous posters have said, its mainly automated cameras rather than real cops, which is a shame as it *only* catches those who drive above the limit, not those who drive dangerously.
I don’t care about the cameras (I am pretty law abiding, plus if you choose to break the limits getting a fine / points is the risk you take) but I can’t help feeling that it’s bbetter to have real people who can pick up on what is dangerous, and use their discretion when it isn’t..
This is for philbert… I just got a speeding ticket sent to me in the mail from Utrecht.
It is a 61 euro fine. But I was in the back seat and believe someone else was driving. the car was rented by me. Do you have any suggestions? Should I just pay it?
Should I pay it under protest?
SHould I ask for proof?
i think that if u admitt to the cop u were speeding but then tell him why— tell the cop “officer i was paying to much attention to the road and i dint relize how fast i was going! git r done!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, so I was on my way home from school one day and im going down a hill where it’s 25, and somehow I got up to 45? haha Can’t tell you how that happened, but I go another mile down the road from where it was 25, but then changed to 35, then the cop pulls me over. First, I didn’t know he was even pulling ME over, I tried getting over for him to pass, and I got over right before a turn, then he was behind me, and I thought he was trying to turn (cuz there was a viper in front of me, speeding, that turned)so I tried to get out of the cops way, and he followed me, and then I pulled over in a better spot literally 20 feet from where I got over first.
The young cop comes barreling out of his car screaming at the top of his lungs, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!?! TURN OFF YOUR CAR!! PUT IT IN PARK!!” I accidently put it in reverse, b/c I was so flustered that he was yelling at me!
He then proceeded to tell me that I was evading the police and that I was speeding. I respectfully told him that I thought he was trying to turn and I was only trying to get out of his way. He was very rude, and said something about if he wanted to get around me, he would’ve done it a long time ago. idk? I was literally shaking like crazy b/c he yelled so loud! But, then he said he would cut me slack, and gave me a $108 fine, and thats it. No points or anything. I didn’t know if I was speeding or not, but he used a gun, so I just said watever and agreed with him.
sure way to get out of a ticket. be related to a cop! they call it professional courtesy. works 99.9% of the time.
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I get madder and madder reading this bc it’s all random bs. I ALWAYS get ticketed and I am pretty and cry very easily when confronted with authority figures. I am also polite and say, “Wow, I am really sorry.” I tend to be overly honest and obedient, and the reason I sped is usually I simply did not realize I was going that speed! And that;s what I tell the officer. I even feel bad that they have to pull me over when there are more important things to do. And I ALWAYS get ticketed! What is it about me that gives me the raw end of the bargain? And I AM Caucasian, btw. The officer usually says something nice and then leaves me with the awful charges and now I am broke from all the speeding tickets (ok, yeah, I do have a bit of a leadfoot.)