How To Talk To The Police When Stopped For A Traffic Violation

When I first started police work about 10 years ago, I would never of guessed in a million years I would see what I see daily. I'm not talking about the stuff that everyone associates with police work, like murder scenes, accidents, gangs, etc., those are a given. I'm talking about traffic stops specifically, and how you're talked to as an officer on these stops at times.

Let me explain. Here's a situation I was in one time where I was working a school zone area. We had received numerous complaints from the school that people were constantly speeding up and down the road. Of course, there were children in the area so it was somewhat serious. Let me also add, my general rule as an individual officer is (and every officer is different), is stopping for 15 MPH over, and issuing the ticket for 5 MPH over. I think that's more then fair, and most people are happy to hear that. But there's always that one guy or girl that wants to give you a hard time as a police officer.

I can remember stopping a guy that was going 19 over (54 MPH in a 35 MPH zone). The guy was very polite until I came back with the ticket for 5 over. That's when all hell broke lose. He started yelling at me, and even tried getting out of his car (I pushed it back shut and told him to deal with it in court, not here). Literally, for about 4 minutes, I listened to him yelling at me telling me he was having a bad day and that he didn't deserve a ticket because of that. He was yelling so loud that he was spitting as he was talking. If you were driving by, you might think he was having a seizure or something (this example is a little more extreme then most).

The whole time, I'm trying to be nice explaining that its only for 5 over; that other people were cited for the same amount; etc. But he didn't care (one thing you learn after working the streets for awhile is no matter how much you talk, how convincing, how much proof, etc. you have, some people DO NOT want to hear what you're saying).

Long story short, I finally got mad and told him to wait in his car. I went back to my cruiser for a moment and put the ticket back to the original amount of 19 MPH over (as the ticket was never actually issued since he refused to take it originally). When I returned, I listened for about 10 seconds, and tossed the ticket in his car since he wouldn't take it, and walked away. There was no point in standing there as he had his mind made up.

The whole point to this is all I wanted to do was issue the ticket while at the same time giving him a break. But some people don't want breaks. I can't tell you how many people I've dealt with that are rude and disrespectful during a stop. I don't mind people asking me why I stopped them, or even explaining why they did what they did; that's all fine, but yelling at me isn't going to help.

So I've put together some examples of things NOT to do to help yourself on a traffic stop:

1. Be respectful just as you would when talking to a friend or family member. You don't have to kiss up, but you should try to be professional and polite when talking to the officer. Its important to remember that officers take in a lot everyday, and their patience starts to wear thin.

2. Don't yell out immediately "Why did you stop me!" I can't tell you many times this actually happens. I even get a lot of "Why the f**k did you stop me?" It still amazes me. Obviously this will not help you at all.

3. Showing off in front of your friends in the car is not good. For instance, ignoring the officer while he's standing there, keeping your radio turned up loud, looking away, etc.

4. Blatant lying. Probably 7 out of every 10 people I stop tell me they didn't do what I just saw them do. If you're going to do this, at least be a little bit convincing. For example, I've had people tell me far fetched versions of coming to a complete stop at a stop sign for instance, when they went through it so fast I've had to look up to make sure the sign was still posted. I can tell you from personal experience, the people that are honest with me, apologize, and tell me the reason (i.e. I'm running late for work, I apologize) will usually get the breaks. My personal attitude is since its been my experience that since I feel that most are being dishonest with me, why not reward the ones that are honest.

5. Fake tears. If an experienced officer suspects that you are crying purposely to get out of a ticket, you will almost always get the ticket and no break.

6. Telling the officer things like "You don't have anything better to do with your time?" and "You mean to tell me this is more important then catching a bank robber?" These statements are all too often used, and will not help you at all.

These are just a few things you can do to help yourself when getting pulled over. Just remember, these officers are just doing their jobs. The more resistance you give them in doing their jobs, the more resistance you're likely to get yourself. If you're convinced you did nothing wrong, don't argue with the officer; handle it in court. Explaining your case to a judge or magistrate in a calm, professional and logical manner will go much farther then arguing or giving the officer a hard time in the street.

Traffic ticket Pennsylvania 7 Tips to Beat your Traffic Ticket!   

How To Talk To The Police When Stopped For A Traffic Violation

When I first started police work about 10 years ago, I would never of guessed in a million years I would see what I see daily. I'm not talking about the stuff that everyone associates with police work, like murder scenes, accidents, gangs, etc., those are a given. I'm talking about traffic stops specifically, and how you're talked to as an officer on these stops at times.

Let me explain. Here's a situation I was in one time where I was working a school zone area. We had received numerous complaints from the school that people were constantly speeding up and down the road. Of course, there were children in the area so it was somewhat serious. Let me also add, my general rule as an individual officer is (and every officer is different), is stopping for 15 MPH over, and issuing the ticket for 5 MPH over. I think that's more then fair, and most people are happy to hear that. But there's always that one guy or girl that wants to give you a hard time as a police officer.

I can remember stopping a guy that was going 19 over (54 MPH in a 35 MPH zone). The guy was very polite until I came back with the ticket for 5 over. That's when all hell broke lose. He started yelling at me, and even tried getting out of his car (I pushed it back shut and told him to deal with it in court, not here). Literally, for about 4 minutes, I listened to him yelling at me telling me he was having a bad day and that he didn't deserve a ticket because of that. He was yelling so loud that he was spitting as he was talking. If you were driving by, you might think he was having a seizure or something (this example is a little more extreme then most).

The whole time, I'm trying to be nice explaining that its only for 5 over; that other people were cited for the same amount; etc. But he didn't care (one thing you learn after working the streets for awhile is no matter how much you talk, how convincing, how much proof, etc. you have, some people DO NOT want to hear what you're saying).

Long story short, I finally got mad and told him to wait in his car. I went back to my cruiser for a moment and put the ticket back to the original amount of 19 MPH over (as the ticket was never actually issued since he refused to take it originally). When I returned, I listened for about 10 seconds, and tossed the ticket in his car since he wouldn't take it, and walked away. There was no point in standing there as he had his mind made up.

The whole point to this is all I wanted to do was issue the ticket while at the same time giving him a break. But some people don't want breaks. I can't tell you how many people I've dealt with that are rude and disrespectful during a stop. I don't mind people asking me why I stopped them, or even explaining why they did what they did; that's all fine, but yelling at me isn't going to help.

So I've put together some examples of things NOT to do to help yourself on a traffic stop:

1. Be respectful just as you would when talking to a friend or family member. You don't have to kiss up, but you should try to be professional and polite when talking to the officer. Its important to remember that officers take in a lot everyday, and their patience starts to wear thin.

2. Don't yell out immediately "Why did you stop me!" I can't tell you many times this actually happens. I even get a lot of "Why the f**k did you stop me?" It still amazes me. Obviously this will not help you at all.

3. Showing off in front of your friends in the car is not good. For instance, ignoring the officer while he's standing there, keeping your radio turned up loud, looking away, etc.

4. Blatant lying. Probably 7 out of every 10 people I stop tell me they didn't do what I just saw them do. If you're going to do this, at least be a little bit convincing. For example, I've had people tell me far fetched versions of coming to a complete stop at a stop sign for instance, when they went through it so fast I've had to look up to make sure the sign was still posted. I can tell you from personal experience, the people that are honest with me, apologize, and tell me the reason (i.e. I'm running late for work, I apologize) will usually get the breaks. My personal attitude is since its been my experience that since I feel that most are being dishonest with me, why not reward the ones that are honest.

5. Fake tears. If an experienced officer suspects that you are crying purposely to get out of a ticket, you will almost always get the ticket and no break.

6. Telling the officer things like "You don't have anything better to do with your time?" and "You mean to tell me this is more important then catching a bank robber?" These statements are all too often used, and will not help you at all.

These are just a few things you can do to help yourself when getting pulled over. Just remember, these officers are just doing their jobs. The more resistance you give them in doing their jobs, the more resistance you're likely to get yourself. If you're convinced you did nothing wrong, don't argue with the officer; handle it in court. Explaining your case to a judge or magistrate in a calm, professional and logical manner will go much farther then arguing or giving the officer a hard time in the street.

Traffic ticket Pennsylvania 7 Tips to Beat your Traffic Ticket!   

How To Talk To The Police When Stopped For A Traffic Violation

When I first started police work about 10 years ago, I would never of guessed in a million years I would see what I see daily. I'm not talking about the stuff that everyone associates with police work, like murder scenes, accidents, gangs, etc., those are a given. I'm talking about traffic stops specifically, and how you're talked to as an officer on these stops at times.

Let me explain. Here's a situation I was in one time where I was working a school zone area. We had received numerous complaints from the school that people were constantly speeding up and down the road. Of course, there were children in the area so it was somewhat serious. Let me also add, my general rule as an individual officer is (and every officer is different), is stopping for 15 MPH over, and issuing the ticket for 5 MPH over. I think that's more then fair, and most people are happy to hear that. But there's always that one guy or girl that wants to give you a hard time as a police officer.

I can remember stopping a guy that was going 19 over (54 MPH in a 35 MPH zone). The guy was very polite until I came back with the ticket for 5 over. That's when all hell broke lose. He started yelling at me, and even tried getting out of his car (I pushed it back shut and told him to deal with it in court, not here). Literally, for about 4 minutes, I listened to him yelling at me telling me he was having a bad day and that he didn't deserve a ticket because of that. He was yelling so loud that he was spitting as he was talking. If you were driving by, you might think he was having a seizure or something (this example is a little more extreme then most).

The whole time, I'm trying to be nice explaining that its only for 5 over; that other people were cited for the same amount; etc. But he didn't care (one thing you learn after working the streets for awhile is no matter how much you talk, how convincing, how much proof, etc. you have, some people DO NOT want to hear what you're saying).

Long story short, I finally got mad and told him to wait in his car. I went back to my cruiser for a moment and put the ticket back to the original amount of 19 MPH over (as the ticket was never actually issued since he refused to take it originally). When I returned, I listened for about 10 seconds, and tossed the ticket in his car since he wouldn't take it, and walked away. There was no point in standing there as he had his mind made up.

The whole point to this is all I wanted to do was issue the ticket while at the same time giving him a break. But some people don't want breaks. I can't tell you how many people I've dealt with that are rude and disrespectful during a stop. I don't mind people asking me why I stopped them, or even explaining why they did what they did; that's all fine, but yelling at me isn't going to help.

So I've put together some examples of things NOT to do to help yourself on a traffic stop:

1. Be respectful just as you would when talking to a friend or family member. You don't have to kiss up, but you should try to be professional and polite when talking to the officer. Its important to remember that officers take in a lot everyday, and their patience starts to wear thin.

2. Don't yell out immediately "Why did you stop me!" I can't tell you many times this actually happens. I even get a lot of "Why the f**k did you stop me?" It still amazes me. Obviously this will not help you at all.

3. Showing off in front of your friends in the car is not good. For instance, ignoring the officer while he's standing there, keeping your radio turned up loud, looking away, etc.

4. Blatant lying. Probably 7 out of every 10 people I stop tell me they didn't do what I just saw them do. If you're going to do this, at least be a little bit convincing. For example, I've had people tell me far fetched versions of coming to a complete stop at a stop sign for instance, when they went through it so fast I've had to look up to make sure the sign was still posted. I can tell you from personal experience, the people that are honest with me, apologize, and tell me the reason (i.e. I'm running late for work, I apologize) will usually get the breaks. My personal attitude is since its been my experience that since I feel that most are being dishonest with me, why not reward the ones that are honest.

5. Fake tears. If an experienced officer suspects that you are crying purposely to get out of a ticket, you will almost always get the ticket and no break.

6. Telling the officer things like "You don't have anything better to do with your time?" and "You mean to tell me this is more important then catching a bank robber?" These statements are all too often used, and will not help you at all.

These are just a few things you can do to help yourself when getting pulled over. Just remember, these officers are just doing their jobs. The more resistance you give them in doing their jobs, the more resistance you're likely to get yourself. If you're convinced you did nothing wrong, don't argue with the officer; handle it in court. Explaining your case to a judge or magistrate in a calm, professional and logical manner will go much farther then arguing or giving the officer a hard time in the street.

Traffic ticket Pennsylvania 7 Tips to Beat your Traffic Ticket!   

Traffic ticket Pennsylvania 7 Tips to Beat your Traffic Ticket!

More and more traffic tickets are handed out nowadays and it seems that most of them are just written for revenue. Estimates are that over 115,000 speeding tickets are written every day, and there's nothing wrong of course with the original idea behind this tickets: to make the road safer for us all, but a lot of of the traffic tickets could be considered 'unfair'. Most people will have different opinions about what's being unfair, but we should all agree that a lot of the small tickets are a pain in the ass. The average ticket is about $150, which is still quite a lot of money of course, but the long time effects are far worse:

Insurance rate increases, sometimes even cancellations, loss of license points, loss of your license, problems getting to your work, and you might even end up with problems supporting yourself, and more important, your family. Most people don't realize this, until it's too late... 96% of the people who get fined just think "damn a speeding ticket, but what the hell..", .and just end up paying the ticket, admitting guilt, as it's just easier or they do not know of any methods to fight and beat a traffic ticket. Time to change that! Let me introduce you to some general methods and tricks to fight and beat your traffic tickets:

1. Do not immediately think and assume you're guilty!

As I already stated above: the impact and consequences of a small ticket can be far worse than you would expect. By just paying the ticket you automatically plead you're guilty,.. while it's often possible to get away with just a warning or a lower fine.

2. Be polite to the officer.

Yes that might be a bit hard sometimes, but just being polite might be enough to turn a ticket into a warning. So when an officer tries to stop you: pull over, turn of your engine, put your keys on the dashboard, stay in the vehicle and keep your hands on the steering wheel where the officer can see them. Most of the time this will make the officer feel a bit safer and more comfortable.

3. -Ask- for a warning.

You should ask for a warning if the officer hasn't written out any ticket yet. A great percentage of all traffic stops end up with just a warning, yet most officers won't explicitly ask if you want one. So take the initiative and politely ask if you could get just a warning. Don't come up with excuses, don't beg, and explain the officer something like you're always trying to drive as safe as possible and you're sure a warning would be enough as a reminder.

4. Don't answer all questions.

You're trying to avoid pleading guilty and the officer might ask questions like: "Do you know how fast you were going?", "Do you know why I stopped you?". The officer is doing his work and collecting evidence against you, so you should try to avoid citations. Instead of honestly answering "I was driving a bit too fast", just answer something like "I don't know, why did you stop me?". You could also use the basic speed law here (only applies to a few states) and state that you were driving at a safe and reasonable speed for the current conditions.

5. Question the evidence.

If it seems there's no other way out, you could try questioning the evidence. You need some basic knowledge of your local vehicle laws to question the evidence, but here are some tips to get you started: Ask for proof of the calibration of the speedometer when the officer paced you. Speed traps are forbidden in some states, you could trap the officer by asking how long they have the speed trap set up. And some laws applying to Pennsylvania you might be interested in:

* "A speed limit is not legally effective unless there's a sign every half mile." [3362 (b)(1)]

* "A 65 mph speed limit is not legally effective unless there's a sign after each interchange on the highway." [3362 (b)(2)]

* "You can't be cited in Pennsylvania for traveling less than 10 miles over the speed limit if the limit is less than 55 mph." [3368 (c)(4)]

* "If the limit is 55 or more, you can't be cited for traveling less than 6 miles over the limit." [3368 (c)(4)] (Source: berksweb)

The point here is that if you can convince the officer that his evidence is illegal he will know the ticket won't stand a chance in court and will probably let you go with a warning.

6. Go to court and get continuances.

You should try to delay the proceedings as much as possible as this increases the chance of the officer not showing up, which will result in your ticket being dismissed. Getting continuances shouldn't be too hard, and are often given for being busy with work, being sick, being out of town, etc.

7. Be prepared to fight your ticket in court.

You should always be prepared when going to court. Preparing this requires some basic knowledge about the local laws but it certainly doesn't have to be very difficult, nor expensive. Effectively covering these techniques would cost me a few pages, but luckily there are already a few good ebooks around on this topic. (Check my website below for some good tips.)

Most of the fined people just accept their ticket, and some of them end up in serious trouble just because of some low fines. So I hope you'll be able to benefit from what you've read here someday. Feel free to spread the link to this article, and help the 96% of the people who don't know how to fight their traffic tickets.

Drive safely & go beat that ticket!

Michael Randal

Traffic ticket Pennsylvania 7 Tips to Beat your Traffic Ticket!   

How To Talk To The Police When Stopped For A Traffic Violation

When I first started police work about 10 years ago, I would never of guessed in a million years I would see what I see daily. I'm not talking about the stuff that everyone associates with police work, like murder scenes, accidents, gangs, etc., those are a given. I'm talking about traffic stops specifically, and how you're talked to as an officer on these stops at times.

Let me explain. Here's a situation I was in one time where I was working a school zone area. We had received numerous complaints from the school that people were constantly speeding up and down the road. Of course, there were children in the area so it was somewhat serious. Let me also add, my general rule as an individual officer is (and every officer is different), is stopping for 15 MPH over, and issuing the ticket for 5 MPH over. I think that's more then fair, and most people are happy to hear that. But there's always that one guy or girl that wants to give you a hard time as a police officer.

I can remember stopping a guy that was going 19 over (54 MPH in a 35 MPH zone). The guy was very polite until I came back with the ticket for 5 over. That's when all hell broke lose. He started yelling at me, and even tried getting out of his car (I pushed it back shut and told him to deal with it in court, not here). Literally, for about 4 minutes, I listened to him yelling at me telling me he was having a bad day and that he didn't deserve a ticket because of that. He was yelling so loud that he was spitting as he was talking. If you were driving by, you might think he was having a seizure or something (this example is a little more extreme then most).

The whole time, I'm trying to be nice explaining that its only for 5 over; that other people were cited for the same amount; etc. But he didn't care (one thing you learn after working the streets for awhile is no matter how much you talk, how convincing, how much proof, etc. you have, some people DO NOT want to hear what you're saying).

Long story short, I finally got mad and told him to wait in his car. I went back to my cruiser for a moment and put the ticket back to the original amount of 19 MPH over (as the ticket was never actually issued since he refused to take it originally). When I returned, I listened for about 10 seconds, and tossed the ticket in his car since he wouldn't take it, and walked away. There was no point in standing there as he had his mind made up.

The whole point to this is all I wanted to do was issue the ticket while at the same time giving him a break. But some people don't want breaks. I can't tell you how many people I've dealt with that are rude and disrespectful during a stop. I don't mind people asking me why I stopped them, or even explaining why they did what they did; that's all fine, but yelling at me isn't going to help.

So I've put together some examples of things NOT to do to help yourself on a traffic stop:

1. Be respectful just as you would when talking to a friend or family member. You don't have to kiss up, but you should try to be professional and polite when talking to the officer. Its important to remember that officers take in a lot everyday, and their patience starts to wear thin.

2. Don't yell out immediately "Why did you stop me!" I can't tell you many times this actually happens. I even get a lot of "Why the f**k did you stop me?" It still amazes me. Obviously this will not help you at all.

3. Showing off in front of your friends in the car is not good. For instance, ignoring the officer while he's standing there, keeping your radio turned up loud, looking away, etc.

4. Blatant lying. Probably 7 out of every 10 people I stop tell me they didn't do what I just saw them do. If you're going to do this, at least be a little bit convincing. For example, I've had people tell me far fetched versions of coming to a complete stop at a stop sign for instance, when they went through it so fast I've had to look up to make sure the sign was still posted. I can tell you from personal experience, the people that are honest with me, apologize, and tell me the reason (i.e. I'm running late for work, I apologize) will usually get the breaks. My personal attitude is since its been my experience that since I feel that most are being dishonest with me, why not reward the ones that are honest.

5. Fake tears. If an experienced officer suspects that you are crying purposely to get out of a ticket, you will almost always get the ticket and no break.

6. Telling the officer things like "You don't have anything better to do with your time?" and "You mean to tell me this is more important then catching a bank robber?" These statements are all too often used, and will not help you at all.

These are just a few things you can do to help yourself when getting pulled over. Just remember, these officers are just doing their jobs. The more resistance you give them in doing their jobs, the more resistance you're likely to get yourself. If you're convinced you did nothing wrong, don't argue with the officer; handle it in court. Explaining your case to a judge or magistrate in a calm, professional and logical manner will go much farther then arguing or giving the officer a hard time in the street.

Traffic ticket Pennsylvania 7 Tips to Beat your Traffic Ticket!   

How To Talk To The Police When Stopped For A Traffic Violation

When I first started police work about 10 years ago, I would never of guessed in a million years I would see what I see daily. I'm not talking about the stuff that everyone associates with police work, like murder scenes, accidents, gangs, etc., those are a given. I'm talking about traffic stops specifically, and how you're talked to as an officer on these stops at times.

Let me explain. Here's a situation I was in one time where I was working a school zone area. We had received numerous complaints from the school that people were constantly speeding up and down the road. Of course, there were children in the area so it was somewhat serious. Let me also add, my general rule as an individual officer is (and every officer is different), is stopping for 15 MPH over, and issuing the ticket for 5 MPH over. I think that's more then fair, and most people are happy to hear that. But there's always that one guy or girl that wants to give you a hard time as a police officer.

I can remember stopping a guy that was going 19 over (54 MPH in a 35 MPH zone). The guy was very polite until I came back with the ticket for 5 over. That's when all hell broke lose. He started yelling at me, and even tried getting out of his car (I pushed it back shut and told him to deal with it in court, not here). Literally, for about 4 minutes, I listened to him yelling at me telling me he was having a bad day and that he didn't deserve a ticket because of that. He was yelling so loud that he was spitting as he was talking. If you were driving by, you might think he was having a seizure or something (this example is a little more extreme then most).

The whole time, I'm trying to be nice explaining that its only for 5 over; that other people were cited for the same amount; etc. But he didn't care (one thing you learn after working the streets for awhile is no matter how much you talk, how convincing, how much proof, etc. you have, some people DO NOT want to hear what you're saying).

Long story short, I finally got mad and told him to wait in his car. I went back to my cruiser for a moment and put the ticket back to the original amount of 19 MPH over (as the ticket was never actually issued since he refused to take it originally). When I returned, I listened for about 10 seconds, and tossed the ticket in his car since he wouldn't take it, and walked away. There was no point in standing there as he had his mind made up.

The whole point to this is all I wanted to do was issue the ticket while at the same time giving him a break. But some people don't want breaks. I can't tell you how many people I've dealt with that are rude and disrespectful during a stop. I don't mind people asking me why I stopped them, or even explaining why they did what they did; that's all fine, but yelling at me isn't going to help.

So I've put together some examples of things NOT to do to help yourself on a traffic stop:

1. Be respectful just as you would when talking to a friend or family member. You don't have to kiss up, but you should try to be professional and polite when talking to the officer. Its important to remember that officers take in a lot everyday, and their patience starts to wear thin.

2. Don't yell out immediately "Why did you stop me!" I can't tell you many times this actually happens. I even get a lot of "Why the f**k did you stop me?" It still amazes me. Obviously this will not help you at all.

3. Showing off in front of your friends in the car is not good. For instance, ignoring the officer while he's standing there, keeping your radio turned up loud, looking away, etc.

4. Blatant lying. Probably 7 out of every 10 people I stop tell me they didn't do what I just saw them do. If you're going to do this, at least be a little bit convincing. For example, I've had people tell me far fetched versions of coming to a complete stop at a stop sign for instance, when they went through it so fast I've had to look up to make sure the sign was still posted. I can tell you from personal experience, the people that are honest with me, apologize, and tell me the reason (i.e. I'm running late for work, I apologize) will usually get the breaks. My personal attitude is since its been my experience that since I feel that most are being dishonest with me, why not reward the ones that are honest.

5. Fake tears. If an experienced officer suspects that you are crying purposely to get out of a ticket, you will almost always get the ticket and no break.

6. Telling the officer things like "You don't have anything better to do with your time?" and "You mean to tell me this is more important then catching a bank robber?" These statements are all too often used, and will not help you at all.

These are just a few things you can do to help yourself when getting pulled over. Just remember, these officers are just doing their jobs. The more resistance you give them in doing their jobs, the more resistance you're likely to get yourself. If you're convinced you did nothing wrong, don't argue with the officer; handle it in court. Explaining your case to a judge or magistrate in a calm, professional and logical manner will go much farther then arguing or giving the officer a hard time in the street.

Traffic ticket Pennsylvania 7 Tips to Beat your Traffic Ticket!