How did you get out of a traffic ticket?

[yasha]

One early Saturday morning I drove out of my complex where I made a right turn on a red light where there was a sign saying "no turn on red." As soon as a made the turn I saw officer friendly sitting in his car waiting for @ssholes like me to turn on red. The very second I saw him there I went on "how to get out of this" auto-pilot. I quickly started pumping my brakes and jerking my car. I stopped, put my hazards on and then got out of my car and started fooking with my break pedal like there was something wrong. He put his lights on and drove his car up to my car. He got out and asked me what's wrong. I said that the piece of plastic that covers my pedal slipped off! He asked for my liscense and went to his car to run a check on me. He came back and told me to be carefull on turn on red turns. I guess he either saw that I have a clean driving record and let me off because of that or he just didn't want to argue my lame, but possible excuse. He let me go after that.

 

[Colt45]

i didnt get out of one.. they busted me up.

 

[Platypus]

I gave the officer a few free starbucks coupons and he let me go for doing 40 in a 30

 

[Locutus of Board]

<< How did you get out of a traffic ticket? >>


I drove lawfully, and never received one.

 

[MichaelD]

You've never had a single moving violation ticket? BAH. I don't believe that.

 

[tasslex]

All I ever do is turn the lights on in the car, put both hands on the wheel, move very slow, listen carefully, and talk very respectfully to the nice police officer. I try and put their minds at ease, then I think they're less likely to bust my balls. That and I look like the most non-abrasive, non-offensive, non-law breaking white boy I've ever met.

 

[randomlinh]

question is, how long/often does he drive

 

[yasha]

Not one that I got caught on before

 

[astriy]

I was going to work at 3 o'clock in the morning once (part time inventory gig), doing like 65 in a 45. Well when i got pulled over he asked me all the standard, do you know how fast you were going, what's the speed limit stuff. I said yes I know I was going 65 in a 45. He asked me why, I said - because if I'm late one more time my boss will beat me. He just laughed and let me go. Probably helped that i looked like crap, since I just got up and haven't taken a shower and had my company shirt on inside out. I guess he felt sorry for me going to work a 3.

 

[MichaelD]

I have a car and a sportbike. I've found it almost impossible to talk my way out of speeding ticket in the car, but on the bike it's different.

Sport bike riders have a reputation for &quot;running&quot; and down here, there's lots of open highways to run on. Most cops know that the chances of catching the bike are nil, but most of the time if they see you pull over, get off, turn the bike off, take off your helmet, they're so happy you stopped (they didn't have to work and you didn't endanger the public) they let me off with a warning.

I've been pulled over for doing 88 in a 50. Country road, no one out there but me...and the cop. He let me go. Same road, I was doing 145 in a 50. B4 you say NETHING. It's a 3 mile stretch of flat, perfectly paved road with NO intersecting streets. The only thing I could possibly hit is a deer (God forbid). Cop was parked on side of road...in ditch...didn't see him. Didn't stop either. By the time he got off the shoulder and onto the road, I was at least 3/4 mile away. Just kept going. Took the first left, right and rode around for about 15 minutes. Hmm? Wasn't me Sir...I was passed by a black bike...he was movin' too.

 

[monk3y]

My gf's done some pretty bad stuff and she's gotten caught twice but she's NEVER gotten a ticket. She merged INTO another driver once and she was caught speeding at 100 in a 55 zone. I tend not to understand it but all she does is cry and say she was really sorry and that getting the ticket would ruin her life, etc. etc. I think it's pretty rediculous but anyway.

 

[dhslammer]

If you are away from home then ask the officer for a change of county seat. It is up to the officer's discretion, but if s/he agrees it means that the case will be heard in your county seat, not the county seat where the ticket is issued. The officer will then have to travel to your town to appear, and will likely not bother.

Another way is if the officer puts vacation dates on the citation. Even if the date s/he arrives back from vacation is before the appear date you can request to excercise your right to a speedy trial and try to get the court date set in the time the officer will be on vacation. Officer doesnt appear the case is thrown out.

There are a ton of ways to get out these are a couple common ones but practically every ticket has an out but depends largely on the particular circumstances of each ticket.

 

[dhslammer]

oh yah and never admit guilt either directly or indirectly because they will ask you trick questions like &quot;Are you in a hurry?&quot; or &quot;Do you know how fast you were going?&quot;

 

[db]

(cough...)

 

[lepper boy]

I have talked with a few cops that are good friends. and if the officer has a good reason for not showing up in court, that doesn't mean that you are going to get off... but if they have a totally lame excuse, like the forgot or there dumb, it's a differnet story..

 

[kcklla]

I have gotten out of two tickets, one going 23 over and the other going 18 over. The only reason I think I got out of the first one was because it was the day after prom and I was tired and he was nice. The second one I have no idea. I was on my way to my Girlfriends house and out of no wher I see this motorcycle cop, I go by he turnes his lights on and I pull over, I was friendly and didnt try any of the &quot;how to get out of a ticket&quot; crap and I think that was it. He jsut told me to be careful and sent me on my way, didnt even runa check on me.

 

[LuckyTaxi]

buy them donuts

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

Hmm... interesting point, dhslammer.

When a cop asks you typical speeding questions, what are you supposed to say?

&quot;Yes, sir, I was driving so fast I couldn't read the speed limit signs.&quot;

&quot;Sound barrior. Schmound barrier.&quot;

 

[LAUST]

Delete

 

[Rage187]

I am always honest..

I once was travelling down the local interstate, there was cop in the right lane stuck behind a car going pretty slow, so I passed him on the left figuring he would get in behind me and eventually go around.. I tdidn't work out like that, I never got five feet in front of the other car before the officer threw on his lights and pulled me over..

he walked up and just looked at me for a good 10 seconds, I look at him and said I'm very sorry, that was pretty disrespectful of me and I feel pretty damn stupid about it..

He nodded look at my license, smiled and said I should not pass a marked car again..

He let me go after about 10 minutes of lecturing me, but it was better than paying a ticket and a higher insurance rate.


Moral of the story: Honesty will get you much farther, then trying to get it out of it..

 

[rlism]

I peeled out of a stoplight when a cop was right behind me. Cop lights came on instantly, I pulled over. Cop came up to my window, and like an idiot I said, &quot;Uh... my foot slipped off the clutch?&quot; My passenger, this cute asian girl, started laughing at me. I just sat there feelin' my face turn all red. The cop cracked this big smile and walked back to his car with my drivers license. Girl says, &quot;don't worry, watch.&quot; Cop came back, let me off with a warning tellin' me to stop trying to impress the girls.

If you think that was stupid, I've also cut off a cop, and I've run a red light which almost caused a cop to broadside me. These three incidents... one ticket: running a red light.

 

[rlism]

Oh... another incident, I was riding shotgun in my friend's Porsche, he pulled some crazy maneuver trying to make it to the freeway exit after the lanes had already divided. He saw the cop already on the off-ramp put on his breaks, so he stopped in middle of the 'island' between the freeway and the off-ramp and turned on his hazards. Cop, with his car nearly stopped on the offramp by now, took a couple looks back, then drove off thinking something was really wrong with the car.

 

[BoberFett]

I haven't gotten a ticket for 7 years. I've gotten out of two 45+ in a 30 by remaining calm, almost nonchalant. Apologize for speeding, say you didn't realize you were going that fast, calmly hand over your license. Act like a nice person, you've got a decent chance of being let off.

 

[goodoptics]

<< I guess he either saw that I have a clean driving record and let me off because of that or he just didn't want to argue my lame, but possible excuse. He let me go after that. >>

It was your lucky day.

 

[NesuD]

In a sleet storm I got caught in a rut that pulled me off the road onto the shoulder no problem there unfortunately the shoulder ended and turned into a concrete bridge rail. in the resulting crash i broke my neck and my car dropped 15 feet into a riverbed. So there i am in the trauma unit partially paralyzed in shock and suffering from hypothermia and in walks a state trooper and hands my wife a ticket for failure to drive according to conditions. Three months later when i was becoming mobile once again i demanded a hearing with a state police mediator about the ticket. when i met with him i said look It had been sleeting for 7 hrs and the county had failed to touch the roads which was downright criminal. I wasn't speeding in fact i was driving well under the speed limit and had witnesses to prove it. I told him the ticket was completely unnecessary since no one but me was involved and i had totaled my car broke my neck and had to endure several months of physical therapy before i would regain full use of my left arm. I then said if he insisted on pursuing the ticket then why not take a few wacks at me with a rubber hose while he was at it. I mean if you want to pile it on really pile it on. He started laughing so hard at that he almost fell out of his chair and then told me that he was dimissing the ticket and to drive carefully.