Talking your way out of a traffic ticket...

[sygazelle]

Have you ever been pulled over for a traffic offense and talked your way out of getting a ticket?


Were you guilty?

What did you say to get by with just a warning?

[Suds]

I usually just hand my license and proof of insurance over as LEO walks up.
Some times a warning, most times they say I was slower than what I was driving.

Having a radar detector and know how to use it has saved me 99% of the time.

[Llarry]

My magic savior is my military identification card. Not 100% but works most of the time. I hand over my license and ID card.

[billnchristy]

My most egregious was on the way home from Jackonsville FL. I found a route that was practically all backroads all the way to Atlanta with maybe a 20mi stint on the interstate.

I was driving my wife's Prius because gas mileage and was literally doing 90 in a 55, I know because right before the cop came around the corner I looked down and thought "Oh shit, I should slow down" so when we passed it was probably 80-85. I saw brake lights immediately and just cruised waiting for him to catch up.

It was a 2 lane, twisty (for Florida) road so I pulled to the shoulder as much as possible.

When he came up I asked him if he would rather go to the passenger side for his safety and he said "No, they'll hit my car first"

After that he grilled me about why I was on that road and I explained that traffic sucks and when I'm going home I'd rather have a chill ride.

He asked about firearms and I told him there was one in the console and asked if he needed to see it, he said "Just don't reach for it and we'll be good"

I was super polite and sir'd him as much as possible. He told me to take it easy and have a good trip.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by Llarry

My magic savior is my military identification card. Not 100% but works most of the time. I hand over my license and ID card.

Never has worked for me. I think I just look like I have a punchable face.

[Oldgixxer]

No tickets in the last 20yrs,helped that a family member was NYPD Chief and his get out of jail cards held weight

[Lady Jane]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

1...Have you ever been pulled over for a traffic offense and talked your way out of getting a ticket?

2...Were you guilty?

3...What did you say to get by with just a warning?

1... Yes.
2... Yes.
3... Not given out my secrets.

[///MPhatic]

I've had over 50 traffic tickets in my years of driving sports cars, and I can say that I've been polite to all but 1 of the cops (he was a complete asshole and a liar, I let it get to me, and I made it worse, 100% advise against it).

It all just depends. All you can do is all you can do.

- keep your car, and yourself clean
- don't carry a weapon of any sort in your car
- don't carry drugs of any sort (alcohol too) in your car
- don't carry anything of any suspicious nature in your car
- pull over as quickly as possible, and as far out of traffic as possible
- have your window down and your papers handy (but not ready) when the officer gets to your window
- if it's dark out, have every light in your cabin on
- tell the truth, not with a smirk or a smile, just the truth
- do everything the officer asks you to do immediately, give them that control

A lot of my tickets were made possible by my penchant for having a flashy, recognizable car, so it was easy money for the state when I was a kid. I had a bright red MR-2 that said Rockett on the license plate. 42 in a 35 was common. Stopping at the stop sign instead of before as well. Improper backing, driving through a parking lot or doing a u-turn to avoid a stoplight, C&I for squealing tires, exhibition driving for accelerating too quickly, I've had them all, and all of them were made possible because of loud, flashy cars. It is what it is.

*I've never drank or done drugs, so all my tickets were for hooning or speeding (usually with very little to no traffic), not being an idiot.

[Samurai of 2day]

Originally Posted by c1pher

Never has worked for me. I think I just look like I have a punchable face.

My military ID usually works for me, as well.
Trick is to not flaunt it with a sense of entitlement. Expecting preferential treatment may trigger the opposite.
I just set my wallet up so that if I'm pulled over and preparing to hand over license / registration, my military ID is positioned well to be noticed as the first visible form of credentials, along with all the other actions as either rolling down all windows, removing helmet, etc; usually ends with receiving a warning instead of being ticketed.

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Samurai of 2day

My military ID usually works for me, as well.
Trick is to not flaunt it with a sense of entitlement. Expecting preferential treatment may trigger the opposite.
I just set my wallet up so that if I'm pulled over and preparing to hand over license / registration, my military ID is positioned well to be noticed as the first visible form of credentials, along with all the other actions as either rolling down all windows, removing helmet, etc; usually ends with receiving a warning instead of being ticketed.

Good post. I was clueless about the military ID thing until I was pulled over by a motorcycle cop for speeding. Flustered, I handed him my retired military ID by mistake instead of my driver's license. As he walked away, he noticed and called me by my rank. I said "Oh, sorry officer -- I gave you the wrong card" and pulled out my DL. He said not to bother, handed back my ID card and told me to slow it down. (I am of course always non-confrontational and polite at all times.)

[Maynard]

I use the tried-and-true line, works like a charm:
"I'm a law abiding citizen and I pay your salary - go find some real crime to fight!"

But seriously - polite and hands in sight.

[unluky]

It's one of the perks of being old. My GF has NEVER had a ticket in her life outside of a wreck she had. I have been pulled over more times in my life than I care to admit, always had a heavy foot. But somewhere in my 40's I started getting that "old man" discount. I have been with her for 5 years now and I have been pulled over about once a year with her and she always freaks out and I never get a ticket. I'm nice, I smile, I admit to it immediately, turn on my interior lights at night, put my hands on the top of my steering wheel fanned out with my window down and car off. I would hate walking up on a dark car at nite, so I make sure they can see me. I mean - I'm not going 100 and get off, but 10-12 and I am usually in the clear. Probably have not gotten one in 10 years now? Or close to it???

This will sound like BS, but it is 100% true. I had a 90 300ZXTT Stage 4 I sold about 6 years ago. I decided to go to the movies one nite by myself and took it. Weekday movie and it let out at like 930 or so. Smallish town of 22,000 so it was quiet. I was turning onto the main drag thru town that takes me home and opened her up a little and slide around the corner. Not a full drift, but my tail in was in the other lane a little and this car was NOT quiet. Also had tinted windows. As I am mid drift - I see a cop sitting in a Mazzio's parking lot looking right at me 50 feet away. I started laughing and knew I was done. He pulls out and I go up the road and pull into a lot before he even catches me. When he walks up to the car he look in and then does a double take and says "Hey! How old are you???" I laugh and say "old enough to know better" and we both laugh and he says "I expected to see a kid in here! We have had complains, so we are watching that stretch of the road." Asks what I was doing and what movie I saw probably to make sure I was not drunk and went back to the car. He came back and held out my license and said "You are clean, so get out of here......us old guys deserve to have a little fun now and then" and cut me loose. I was shocked. Deserved that ticket 100% and would have thanked him even if he gave me one.

Being old does not have a ton of advantages, but that is one of them.

When I was young, I was within a couple of points of losing my license.......twice. No discounts back then.

[unluky]

Originally Posted by ///MPhatic

I've had over 50 traffic tickets in my years of driving sports cars, and I can say that I've been polite to all but 1 of the cops (he was a complete asshole and a liar, I let it get to me, and I made it worse, 100% advise against it).

It all just depends. All you can do is all you can do.

- keep your car, and yourself clean
- don't carry a weapon of any sort in your car
- don't carry drugs of any sort (alcohol too) in your car
- don't carry anything of any suspicious nature in your car
- pull over as quickly as possible, and as far out of traffic as possible
- have your window down and your papers handy (but not ready) when the officer gets to your window
- if it's dark out, have every light in your cabin on
- tell the truth, not with a smirk or a smile, just the truth
- do everything the officer asks you to do immediately, give them that control

A lot of my tickets were made possible by my penchant for having a flashy, recognizable car, so it was easy money for the state when I was a kid. I had a bright red MR-2 that said Rockett on the license plate. 42 in a 35 was common. Stopping at the stop sign instead of before as well. Improper backing, driving through a parking lot or doing a u-turn to avoid a stoplight, C&I for squealing tires, exhibition driving for accelerating too quickly, I've had them all, and all of them were made possible because of loud, flashy cars. It is what it is.

*I've never drank or done drugs, so all my tickets were for hooning or speeding (usually with very little to no traffic), not being an idiot.

I think the weapon thing might be a regional thing? We used to have our CCW marking on our DL (not anymore, separate license now and constitutional carry state) but I had a several cops say "are you packing now?" and I say yes of course and they'd ask what I was carrying and we'd get into gun talk. I could see this being different in major cities though. In my area - it is not frowned upon most of the time.

Everything else I agree with 100%. Make their jobs easier, safer, and more fun and the odds will be more in your favor. They are just doing their jobs. I don't get people who argue. You were breaking the law, you know it, take it like a man when you finally get pinched.

[GOLFFRR]

I was stuck behind this guy for miles, as soon as it went to two lanes he turns into vin diesel (typical right? they always speed up in the passing areas) so I gunned it and passed him as soon as I was barely pass him sure enough a HWY chp passed the other way. I knew he was going to turn around, so I just pulled over and waited. He pulled up, walked up and within two seconds he recognized me, he played the week prior in the member guest tourney we had at my club where I won with my guest haha he said I recognized you from the tourney last week, I was partner with so and so. I knew his partner very well obv.

long story short he let me go and I got lucky. Small world sometimes

but honestly I think its a crap shoot if you get out of a ticket or not TBH. I think there could be some things that could help with your odds if you follow them but at the end of the day, most of the time you will get a ticket if you break the law.

[c1pher]

Originally Posted by Samurai of 2day

My military ID usually works for me, as well.
Trick is to not flaunt it with a sense of entitlement. Expecting preferential treatment may trigger the opposite.
I just set my wallet up so that if I'm pulled over and preparing to hand over license / registration, my military ID is positioned well to be noticed as the first visible form of credentials, along with all the other actions as either rolling down all windows, removing helmet, etc; usually ends with receiving a warning instead of being ticketed.

I think now in VA it's redundant to also provide military ID since your license says "veteran" on it.

[antgenn]

Yes, a few times. The last was on PA turnpike driving over 80 in 65 in the right lane. Officer asked me if I was in a hurry and my answer was yes, I need to get to the customer ASAP to fix the problem and get back home to catch a flight late at night. My travel was about 2 hours each way. I also kind of complained about both left lanes were blocked by the traffic below speed limit. He let me go and warned about the next trap. He did not lie, it was there.

[celsdogg]

I've been pulled over or nearly pulled over more than I'd like to admit. Being prior military helped in almost every case. It pisses my wife off to no end.

These days, I have military tags on everything except her car. So many times I've had a cop pull up to my bumper after some ill behavior on my part. At that point, I begin to behave. After awhile, they usually peel off and leave me alone.

Two instances in recent history: merging from a spur on to a beltway, I punched it to about 90. As soon as I got into the left lane, I see the blue and red lights. The beltway has huge left shoulders, so I pull off to that side very close to the highway divider. Young cop squeezes between the wall and my F22 to my already open window. Nicely told me to slow it down and wished me a good day then gave me instructions on how he was going to help us merge back into the fast lane.

Another time I crested a hill and saw a cop on the shoulder in our minivan. As soon as I passed him, his lights lit up. Pulled over right away. Told me he got me going almost 15 over. Then asked about my military tags and where I had been. He took my documents and came back with just a warning. Then we sat there for 15 minutes talking about our times in the military. He was in the AF and the same time I was in country he was also as the SGM (or whatever the AF call it) of one of the Air bases. He was def of the E9 type and I was happy to get out of there with just a warning.

[Samurai of 2day]

Originally Posted by c1pher

I think now in VA it's redundant to also provide military ID since your license says "veteran" on it.

Good point! I believe many states are offering veteran labeled driver's licenses nowadays.
I'm sure it helps in some / many cases, but it's probably safe to assume having an active duty military ID carries just a bit more weight, lol.
Still, neither one of these can be considered "bulletproof" since in every case involving a traffic stop, the human factor from all parties involved will determine the outcome said interaction.

[UncleWede]

The time I got off, I was headed to the Ren-Fair. '70 Cougar, 351C. I drove that thing like a maniac at times.
I had BLASTED around some traffic on 2-lane roads in twistys. Then I was lead car and within 10-15 of the posted limit when I pass a marked cruiser. She pulls me over and comes to the passenger window, where my buddy is sitting dressed as a druid. She takes my documents and I hear my buddy lift his hood and start in with "this is not the droid you want"
She came back, I'm trying so hard to keep a straight face. She handed me my docs and said slow down.
If she had been waiting 2-3 curves sooner, I might not have made it to the Fair that day.

Another time, heading up 101 above Santa Barbara. Driving my gf to her brothers house, in my parents' car. Flow+ probably, but he picks me out. Being insulin-dependent, I had my syringe and bottle in the center console. We had quite the discussion that it was indeed insulin. He ran my docs, came back with a fix-it ticket for tires. Said something along the lines of tires will cost at least as much as a ticket, don't want to punch you too hard.

Last time, I was doing exactly what the radar said, in a huge pack heading south on 15. I lifted, everyone else punched the brakes and their nose dove. He picked me. My youngest son and 2 SIL in with me. He came to window, said he clocked me at <radar matched Waze> and walked back to his car with my docs. Returned, I gave him my autograph, we were on our way. No other discussion involved.

[Alfisti]

"G'day officer, how's it goin' mate?"

"Aw sorry mate, didn't mean to speed mate, still focused on being the right side of the bloody road mate, no harm no foul right mate"

"How bloody cold is it mate, jesus H bit chilly over here eh, hard to focus on the old speedo"

If it's a women i'm free and easy, fall for it every time.

[erickonphoenix]

I feel the only times I've gotten a warning was when the officer probably didn't have my speed he just estimated it. I got a rare warning from a typically very strict Bellaire PD that just happened to come up an on ramp when I was passing him well into the 90's (mph).

Other than that I just be as polite as possible, don't admit to anything and email the lawyer the details asap so he can try and set the court date in front of a friendly judge.

That said, I haven't been pulled over for anything in five years. (knocks on wood)

[zx10guy]

I've been let off with warnings a number of time. What I find is to stay respectful and not to admit anything upfront. Let the officer tell you why he/she pulled you over. It doesn't work all the time but for me it has more times than not. It also helps to have a clean driving record.

There was a stretch of about 3 to 4 months were I was pulled over 3 times and given warnings for all 3. The one that surprised me the most was the State Trooper. Thought for sure I was going to get a ticket doing 79 in a 55 which was slower than the 85 I was doing before I got clocked.

But the ultimate in getting off with a warning was my friend. I have every faith he was being 100% truthful when he told me about his encounter with AZ State Troopers. He was on his motorcycle flying down the highway. He gets to a section of road and sees a bunch of cars lined across with their lights going. He realizes it was for him as it was a roadblock. He pulls over, shuts off the bike, and takes his helmet and gloves off. Cops approach him with guns drawn. After some discussion as to what is going and and why they were after him, the one cop goes back to his cruiser. A bit later he comes back and hands him a warning. Tells him to slow it down. And as he walks away, the cop stops and tells him he has a message from the aerial unit above. He said the officers up there has never seen such a polite speeder as my friend as he wasn't cutting people off and such as he was going over 100+MPH.

My friend says he has the warning framed in his office to memorialize the event. LOL.