Not me.
I love to drive fast. Maybe it’s something genetic I got from my racecar driving grandfather – or my other grandfather, an airplane pilot – but I feel the need for speed a little too often. There is little good to say about the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, but one thing I thoroughly enjoyed was the fact that I could drive as fast as I wanted. Once I was doing well over 90 in a 50 and a cop passed me like I was standing still. We were the only two drivers on the highway. Naturally this post (via Lifehacker) on speeding ticket myths interested me, even though it’s been several years since I actually got a ticket. But neither mentioned my method of getting out of a speeding ticket.
Oh, I know, the best way not to get a speeding ticket is not to speed. And I’ve actually gotten a lot better about it. But not all the time. So on the rare occasion I get pulled over, what works for me is to use the word “Sir” a lot, keep my hands on the wheel when he approaches the car, have my drivers license, registration and insurance ready to hand over so I’m not digging around while he waits. In general I am polite and respectful, I admit I was speeding, volunteer that it was wrong, and never offer an excuse. If they ask what my hurry is, in keeping with the old joke, I tell him I was rushing here in order to meet him and thank him for doing such a great job. Nine times out of ten, they let me off with a warning, and if I do get a ticket, they usually write it for a lower amount – it’s been a long time since I got a dreaded “15 over the limit” ticket.
In short, niceness works. Maybe not every time, but a whole lot of the time. And when it doesn’t, there’s still no point in in getting mad or giving the cop a hard time for doing his job. For every time I’ve been stopped in my life I must have sped a hundred times and got away with it. With those odds, why complain?
When I have gotten tickets, twice I’ve gone to court with them. Or, rather, sent a lawyer to court on my behalf, which was really nice – I didn’t even have to go. Too pricey, you say? Well, that all depends on your new car insurance rate x 12 months a year x how many years? It might be a very worthwhile investment. One got it dismissed entirely and the other got it knocked back to about a hundred dollars. I call that Epic Win.
The Wintery Knight loves to speed also. I used to speed more when I was younger – around 90 in 65 and 70 mph zones at night between cities.
Your “best way” to get out of a ticket is just what you said. Say “Sir”, keep your hands on the wheel, give your documents in the glove box. Do not be impatient!!!! And when you pull out with your warning, it is important to DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT until he goes away! Don’t go one mile per hour over the limit.
Wintery Knight´s last blog post..How government forces private firms out of business with predatory pricing
Most speed limits actually violate federal law, and usually state law as well — because the state laws at least pretend to conform to federal standards. If you violate an invalid restriction, you aren’t actually breaking the law.
The state almost never performs an engineering survey. For your court trial date, subpoena the department of transportation and get them to bring the engineering survey. They won’t have one.
They’re supposed to perform the survey because that shows them the safest / most efficient speed limit for the road. Without a survey, any speed limit is arbitrary and tyrannical — and most of them are.
The MUTCD recommends as a general rule, that the government impose a speed limit that would only impede the fastest 15% of drivers:
And like I said, many states build similar provisions into their statutes. For example, if you get a ticket for 55 mph or less (or 70 on an interstate) you might bring up this following point:
But even if state law allows the state to impose an arbitrarily low limit without a survey, such as 70 mph on an interstate, that statute still violates federal regulation.
I’ve been meaning to try this argument in court the next time the pigs get me. Haven’t gotten an opportunity yet.