How to Avoid Getting a Ticket When Caught Speeding

Whether you were confidently cruising along at 90 mph on a highway that is only 55 mph or if you were creeping along at 22 mph downhill in a 15 mph school zone, you were still speeding. In either situation, you're possibly going to look up into your rearview mirror to see those flashing lights that only mean one thing, pull over. There is no perfect formula, but there are some things you can do that might help you avoid a ticket.

Instructions

1. Be respectful. Always be polite. No matter how aggravated you are over the situation, do not be rude. You want the law enforcement official to see your side of things eventually. This won't happen if you automatically make him dislike you.

2. Act stupid. There are two theories to this thought. You can either act like you had no idea you were going the speed you were or you can say you didn't realize the speed limit was what it was in that particular location. Even though you were still breaking the law, a police officer or highway patrol trooper will sometimes give you a bit of leniency if you appear sincere about not intentionally doing something wrong. However, if you were traveling 90mph, it's unlikely this step will work because it's pretty evident you knew you were speeding, and you knew the speed limit there wasn't even remotely close to 90mph.

3. Cooperate. When the officer asks for your license and proof of insurance, get it out as quickly as possible. Don't hesitate in giving it to him.

4. Apologize. Sometimes it's hard to say you're sorry, but in this case it's really going to benefit you. Again, if the law enforcement officer believes you're sincere, he may just elect to give you a warning. By giving you a warning citation, he thinks you will have learned your lesson. So, when you apologize, do it in such a way that it's believable.

5. Make up an excuse. After apologizing and acting like you didn't realize just how fast you were going, tell the officer why you were going fast or why you didn't have your mind on your speedometer. It may be an honest excuse, or if you were just speeding for the sake of speeding, you may have to fabricate an excuse quickly. If this is the case, make sure it's realistic and a legitimate reason to speed. For instance, being late for a manicure appointment wouldn't be a legitimate excuse. But, traveling fast to make it to the hospital to see a sick or dying friend might be.

6. Plead. If all else fails, use this step. If you've gotten through the other steps unsuccessfully, this is probably not an option. However, if you've succeeded in making the law enforcement officer like you, he might be more sympathetic and choose to give you a warning citation, instead. This step could include all out pleading with the officer to not give you a ticket, or if you've had a lot of bad luck lately, you could go into a bit of it and ask for a warning.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you have your proof of insurance information in your glove compartment or other location in your vehicle to make it easy to provide it when asked.

• Always make sure all lights on your vehicle are in proper working condition. This is something that can draw attention to you even more when you're speeding, and give an officer a definite reason to pull you over and ticket you.