Getting pulled over while you’re driving is definitely one of the worst things ever – -the dropping feeling you get in your stomach, being blinded by the flashing lights on the police car, getting really self conscious about all the other drivers looking at you (even though you know no one can see you)… it’s definitely not a fun experience.
But for most misdemeanor traffic offenses — like traffic tickets for speeding, for example, or even getting a cell phone ticket — it’s fairly to beat your ticket later on, as long as you avoid these things:
- Don’t argue with the cop. It’s easy to get a little too worked up and emotional right after you get pulled over, and it seems like your best option might be to argue your way out of a ticket before the cop even writes it. Sometimes this might work — but usually it won’t. In fact, you might even get a more serious charge for being argumentative. Instead, accept the ticket politely and wait until you receive a notice about the charge… and then you can work on getting out of your ticket.
- But don’t admit your guilt either. Another common mistake is to flat-out admit to the cop “Yes I was speeding 20 MPH over the limit.” Although it’s important that you remain polite, you aren’t necessarily required to answer every question with tons of details. Giving too much information about how broke the law will only make it harder to get out of traffic tickets and fines later on.
- Don’t pay the fine you receive in the mail. The DMV will try to bully you into paying up ASAP by sending multiple letters telling you that you owe money for a traffic violation. Most people just pay the fine to make sure that they don’t get in even more trouble while they’re getting ready to get out of a traffic ticket in court. But a large majority of people don’t realize that if you pay the fines for traffic tickets, you’re automatically admitting your guilt — making it impossible to beat your ticket.
So now it’s your turn to contribute — what mistakes do you think people tend to make when they receive traffic violations? What advice would you give to someone to help them get out of a ticket? Be sure to share your thoughts with us in the comments section!