8 ways to lower the odds of being ticketed when police pull you over ? Oh `No "Sorry Officer, I had to get back to the MCF to make a important post" >"Can I `go now ?" Taz gave me a Green MCF Card (lol)


And one tip to help you in traffic court.

By Steve Lehto October 14, 2014 / Photos by Spencer Grant / Getty Images



Ever since I was in high school, police officers of various jurisdictions have made a hobby of pulling me over. "Do you know why I pulled you over?" Of course I do. But since I became an attorney 23 years ago, I've represented hundreds of people for traffic violations in Michigan. When people hear that I do "car cases," they think of me when they get tickets while driving cars. Along the way, I've spoken to countless law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges and can tell you that there are a number of simple things you can do to help you either avoid getting a ticket altogether or lessen the legal harm of the ticket itself.
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Note that I'm not addressing how to fight the ticket itself—that's a topic for another day. Nor am I talking about occasions in which you get pulled over wrongfully. This advice pertains specifically to incidents in which you actually did something to deserve a ticket.
Here's how you deal with it.

1. When the flashing lights come on, pull over to the side of the road as soon as you safely can.Then, pull off to the side as far as you can so that the officer, if possible, can approach your car without having to walk in the lane of traffic. Shut your engine off. It's important that you picture the stop from an officer's point of view. While you do not enjoy this transaction, in most instances, neither does the police officer. They get shot in situations like this and have no idea if you're a drug-smuggling, gun-running, one-man crime wave or simply a middle-aged attorney who writes articles on what to do when you're pulled over by a police officer.

2. Immediately roll your window down all the way. Not halfway, not an inch so you can speak through the crack. All the way. Among other things, it will show that you have nothing to hide.
3. If it's not broad daylight out, immediately turn on your overhead interior light. This lets the officer see if there are people in the back seat, in the passenger seat and, most importantly, you—before he or she gets to the car. You want to put law enforcement at ease as quickly as possible. Police officers notice these things.

4. Put your hands on your steering wheel at 10 and 2. Ideally, the officer will be able to see your hands while standing at the rear bumper of your car.

5. Do not move, do not look around, do not start digging for your paperwork. Once you've completed steps one through four above, DO NOTHING ELSE. Leave your license and registration where they are, because getting them in any manner that gets your body moving may make the officer think you're hiding something or reaching for something dangerous, and neither of those are good. Another reason is that I and others I have spoken with have had law enforcement officers make a comment at this point and then leave. "Did you know your license plate is hanging off with only one screw?" I've also had an officer let me slide: "You ran a red light back there. Pay attention. Good night."

6. Confess nothing. The officer will approach and most likely ask, "Do you know why I pulled you over?" This is the only piece of advice I will give you with which police officers will disagree, but you'll see why. I advise you to not confess. You ran a red light? You were speeding? My advice is to politely say, "No, I'm sorry I don't," and leave it at that. Some people will suggest you ought to say, "Yes, I ran that red light," but I don't know if "honesty" is going to help you any here. I do know that many officers will make a note on the ticket, "Driver admitted he/she ran the red light," and that statement will come back to haunt you later.

7. If the officer asks for your license and registration, explain exactly how you will retrieve them. "I am going to reach into my back pocket and pull out my wallet." "I need to reach into my glovebox to find my registration," and so on. Even if you have made nice-talk with the officer, he or she will remain wary of you reaching underneath yourself or into a dark spot in the car. Announcing your intentions, again, shows that you're doing what you can to put them at ease.

8. If and when the officer leaves to run your information through the system, sit in your car with your hands on the wheel, leave the interior light on, and do nothing else. Do not make phone calls or fiddle with your infotainment center. Do not reorganize your glovebox. Do not decide it is a good time to clean out the loose change under your seat. While the officer may have already made the decision on writing or not writing the ticket, it can only hurt you if you act suspiciously at this point.
Why would doing any of the steps I describe help you avoid a ticket? Police officers have discretion on whether they write a ticket and for what. As we know, an officer COULD decide to throw the book at you and write you up for all kinds of stuff. Or, decide to let you go with a warning. Anything you can do to make the officer's job easier will help nudge the officer in the direction of being lenient. Instead of reckless driving, perhaps you'll be written for careless. Instead of 20 over, maybe 10.

9. If the officer comes back with a ticket, don't argue. Take the ticket, say thank you, and move on. Do not declare, "I'll see you in court!" Signal that you're going re-enter the roadway, do so safely, and go about your business. One of the overriding themes of this and everything that preceded it is that you want to make this traffic stop ordinary. You don't want the officer to remember you. If you decide to fight the ticket, with or without an attorney, you may seek a plea deal of some sort. The officer will likely be consulted.
An officer may be in court on a particular day with a stack of tickets. They probably can't all be tried due to time constraints. Some will get deals, some won't. You know who gets those deals? The harmless tickets where the driver did nothing to stick out in the officer's mind.
I've been to numerous pretrial conferences in which the prosecutor asked the officer if we could cut a deal. The officer looked at the ticket to remember who the person was and then turned the ticket over to see if there were any comments on the back. Comments about the driver swearing at them, talking on a cellphone during the stop, and so on. No comments is good. Even better is when the officer looks puzzled, clearly doesn't remember the stop, and agrees to a deal. I've also seen officers turn the ticket over and get a look of recognition. "Oh, I remember this guy . . ." and then my job just got harder.

READ MORE: More traffic-ticket-avoidance tips <Click (your Choice)

Joe Raedle / Staff / Getty ImagesTo summarize: When pulled over by a police officer

• Pull over quickly and as far as safely possible
• Roll down your window completely
• Turn on your overhead interior light
• Put your hands on the steering wheel at 10 and 2
• Do not admit that you broke the law
• If asked for license and papers, announce your movements beforehand
• Sit still while waiting for the officer to return
• Do not say anything remarkable to the officer at the end of the stop

I'm not saying every ticket written was righteous. I'm also not saying that the foregoing will protect you if your backseat is filled with sawed-off shotguns and bundles of counterfeit currency sitting in plain view. I'm not a magician, Jim. Just an old country lawyer. But if you get pulled over in a run-of-the-mill traffic stop, following this advice will lessen the odds of your being ticketed and, if you still get the ticket, increase the odds that you can get some slack cut on it later should you decide to fight it in court.
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on the MCF 4-Sure

 

 

Space Great advice/post..
Especially nowadays with all the crime, drugs and robberys etc... Whats this planet coming too? Especially for those who live in the vicinity of the Detroit metro area!

I was pulled over around 5 yrs ago...

They were doing road work on south I-75 and it was down to 1 lane...
I had snowmobiles then... I was taking a part for my snowmobile to the dealer (Before they closed) for them to be able to finish fixing mine... and of course once I hit the end of the construction I tromped on it! wouldn't you know it ... a south rockwood cop pulled me over... for exhibition of speed... (Speeding)

Fortunately for me...
as the cop took my info to his car... I called a friend of mine who was a cop in that city as well ... apparently .. he called the chief... who in turned called the cop (I saw him pick up his cell phone in my rear view mirror)
The look on his face.. was priceless! I immediately seen him rip up the ticket... as he returned to me with my paper work.. His face was beet red! He looked at me kinda puzzled wondering im sure who I was and or who I knew...
He then apologized for pulling me over... handed me my paper work and pouted all the way back to his car... as he got in I could read his lips and the language that came out of his mouth wasn't pleasant...

I did manage to say thanks for my paper work and to have a nice day...
Of course he didn't reply...

For me the irony of all this...
The cop was very young... probably in his late 20's early 30's
I would Imagine the next time he pulls over someone older than himself
hes going to think twice about giving them a ticket... For fear he may get another "Phone call" from the chief!

 

Thanks Mod David for your post & experience.
It pays to have connections in the police dept 4-Sure.

I didn't, but my grandfather did, but he didn't call anyone & said that I had to learn a lesson...>I did 4-Sure<

He did know the judge also, but didn't contact him. I did get jail time suspended, but had to do community service. (picking up trash on the beach) > Something I did all the time anyway.

I only spend a brief time in a holding cell, but I sure didn't like it. Now, the points are off my D.L. & my insurance rate is back to normal...Some lessons are just more harder then others.

I've really slowed down > since my teens, but I don' t know `if I could control myself in a new Z07 StingRay

 

I've been pulled several times. Twice for "not having a seatbelt on", although I ALWAYS have my seatbelt on, a couple times for window tint (even though the officers that pulled me didn't have a way to test how dark it was - so why waste my time?). I've been pulled for "exhaust being too loud", although what they really wanted to do was search my car for drugs - which of course I had none. The nail that sticks out gets hammered...

 

 

5 traffic tickets costliest for car insurance

 

About 2006 I am driving home on I-80. It was before Christmas, I had been at one of my dealers and they had an office party, but I didn't indulge in the festivities.
So I am breezing along and the speed limit is 75 I was well over that. I seen the Trooper in the Median and it was too late. They hit the Cherries when I went by, so I pulled over on an Exit ramp that was nearby. I got way over the right side. So I turned the lights on in the car and put my hands on the wheel and 2 Troopers approached one on the drivers side and the other on the passenger side, the guy on the passenger side was there one second and then I heard a noise and he disappeared. The bank was real slick from frosty snow and he went down the bank not sure how far but at least 15 ft. or more. The one that was at my window was laughing so hard he told me to just go and to slow down.
Was a funniest home video moment!

 

Hi `Dale, funny story 4-Sure. Thanks for posting/sharing.
Isn't it just amazing what humor in life can `do >

You should send the slip/falling trooper a thank you card
It's great that you got a break & no ticket 4-Sure