I have been pulled over about ten times in my driving lifetime. All but one of those times was for speeding. However, I have only been ticketed three times. I have often wondered why some officers chose not to cite me while others ticketed me with no hesitation. This led me to do a little research into the matter. Nothing scientific, mind you, just a casual bit of inquiry. What I found is that there seems to be a few constant behaviors that can increase your chances of NOT being ticketed. No guarantees, of course, but hey, they can’t hurt your cause either!
Remember These Three Things:
- Be Polite
- Show Respect For The Officers and Their Safety
- Don’t Admit To Anything
Be Polite
This is obvious, just don’t be a punk. Seriously. Even if you are having a bad day. Even if you feel the stop is unwarranted. Just be polite. Chrissy Stockton at thoughtcatalog.com warns against saying things like “‘My tax dollars pay your salary’ and ‘don’t you have anything better to do’ and ‘shouldn’t you be out catching real criminals?'” Avoid anything like that. A decent attitude goes a long way with a cop. You may still get a ticket, but if an officer is going to be lenient or forgiving, it will probably be based on how you behave. If you do get a ticket in Springfield, consider hiring a traffic ticket attorney.
Respect For Officers and Their Safety
This tip popped up almost as often as ‘be polite.’ The basics are: have your license and other paperwork handy and up to date. Take off your hat and sunglasses. Don’t be on the phone. Roll your window down a third of the way and have your hands on the wheel at ten and two when the officer approaches your car. Stuart Rutledge at Lifehacker.com tells us that “The whole point of this is to take any unnecessary tension out of the encounter.” Great advice. And then refer back to tip #1… be polite.
Don’t Admit To Anything
This tip becomes very important should you get a ticket at the stop and try to avoid paying it later at court. If the officer asks you why you were pulled over, you should say something like “No ma’am/sir, I do not know why” (politely, of course..) Over at Wikihow.com we are warned, “keep in mind that honesty is the best policy especially when you prefer to get off with merely a warning…on the other hand, if you do get the ticket and decide to contest it, remember that any admission you make can be held against you later.” Another example of this if you are pulled over for speeding would be when asked if you knew how fast you were going, you could say, “I don’t know, I thought I was going with the flow of the traffic” which admits no guilt and may give you something to work with in court. Remember that in Springfield you can hire a traffic ticket attorney to assist you in court.
When I think back to the tickets I got, I know I was always polite and helpful, which probably spared me more of them. Two of my tickets were issued by State Troopers who are notorious for issuing tickets no matter what. The other time I just was out of luck. Hopefully these tips will help me (and you!) beat a ticket if needed. But if not, know that there are great traffic ticket attorneys in Springfield to help! Good luck and safe driving!