Traffic ticket etiquette

[Crevalle]

Ok, I would just like to know the rules regarding what I can, and cannot say, to a cop after he issues me a ticket. In other words, is there some type of legality governing the "etiquette" after a ticket has been handed over to you? In case you haven't picked-up on it, I'm not happy. I was just given $410 in fines last night alone.

This is a legal question. I'm not supporting a police riot, I would just like to know if a police officer can do more to you (after you get the ticket) based on something you say to him/her.

[DeLorean]

not to my knowledge. They can write you as many tickets as he or she likes if he "has you" on those violations regardless of what you say. by law, he can't just make up random things you didn't do and cite you for that. maybe it would help if we had a little more information? how did the traffic stop go? what were the offence(s)?

[Willy Wonka]

I find it's better if one keeps both hands visible at all times. It tends to lower the level of anxiety. If at the drivers seat, I keep one one the wheel the other on the seat back. If else where either the dash or the seat back. A friend who's a statey says that it's safer that way.
Say what you will, but be prepared to hear it back, in court.

[D. Wolfe]

Common sense and etiquette dictate that you show respect to the officer(no arguing or snide comments), keep hands on wheel and tell the officer if you have to move your hands to reach drivers licence and registration. I suppose that, if aggitated, the officer could "find" additional violations and probably kick the crap out of you if he really felt like it. But I believe that most officers are simply upholding the law and want to make their encounter with a violator as brief and painless as possible.

Just remember, do you have the balls to approach total strangers in their car both day and night to do your job without fear? All for the grand total of less than most fast food managers make?

Give respect to the police and 99.9% of them will reciprocate.

[squishmann]

i say #$^% the police.

just joking. 50% of the cops out there are Okay. the other 50 are jerkoffs.


have the interior lights on and tell them when your about to move. that way you don't get shot 44 times

[lionsgraphics]

lol @ get shot 44 times.

Anyway i'm bored, so here's a nice story that happened to my friend ( i was in the passenger seat ).

i remember my friend tinted his windows and because of it he couldn't open his windows for five days. So on 4th day he gets pulled over. He sees the cop is coming closer to his door, and he opens it. Cop jumped back and put his hand on his gun. My friend said in a very calm tone, sorry sir my windows just been tinted therefore i can't open just my windows. So cop calmed down and asked for registration and ins.. What was funny is that he didn't check the tint (it was a lil' lower than legal %.

Anyway when cop said that he was goin' too fast and started talking about a ticket, my friend didn't say a thing. Once cop started walking to his car to write a ticket, my friend said to cop that, it sucks, cause he never received a ticket, then asked i guess warning is out of the question ?

Cop said that, well let me see (that was very surprising).
After, what seemed like an hour (it was like 5 mins), he came with a warning (he was goin' like 11mph faster than limit).


Now about "etiquette"
All i can say is that you shouldn't take things personally, cause man is just doin' his job, and his job is safety of the roads. So just being nice to them like to any other stranger would be just fine.

Umm Crevale go to the court. $410 is a lot, i guarantee you they'll drop some of it, if not all.


mod edit: languge inappropriate to this site

[Crevalle]

Well, I guess I feel fairly betrayed by the very officers I used to stand up for. In other words, I was always the guy who rolled his eyes at those who called cops "pigs" and so forth. I've never been in trouble with the law, and I'm a straight-shooter. But, despite that, I've been getting absolutely nailed by cops over the past year. It's interesting that Minneapolis is in the middle of a large budget deficit. It's not a coincidence. My father's best friend is a police officer, and he said that they are not given "quotas," because that is illegal. They are told, in a round-about way, that the department needs more revenue. Cops, in my eyes, are simply revenue collectors for the state government.

Anyhow, to explain what happened: I was pulled-over and given a ticket for 1.) speeding 2.) no complete stop at a stop sign 3.) no proof of insurance. I asked the officer if I could check the trunk for my insurance card, and he said no, because he already wrote the ticket. I mentioned that I would really appreciate it if I could, because I would have difficulty going down to the police station during the work week to prove I had insurance. He said, "Listen, I'm not going to stand here and argue with you."

Firstly, I was in a 30mph zone, clocked at 38. Big deal. I did not come to a complete stop, but pretty stinking close. I don't stop, count to ten, and then go. I stop the way all of you most likely do. I mean, who actually comes to an absolute complete stop when no one else is at the intersection? Honestly. I think police officers should spend more time catching true criminals than "worrying about my safety" which is a load. If cops truly cared about my safety, why do they need to hide at speedtraps, etc? If they really cared about our safety, they would park in full view of everyone, acting as a true deterrent to unsafe driving/speeding. That is just my opinion, and keep in mind, I am still very angry.

[sethsev7n]

woah man, $410 dollars is nuts.. you better go to court to fight that.. i have an interesting story realy quick.. i was pulled over for an illegal u-turn once.. i got a warning for that but $530 in fines for not having my license or any papers on me at all . I found them in the back of my car 30 minutes later and was able to clear everything.. that was a bit scary.

Ive gotten pulled over 5 times.. 4 for speeding.. and only once i got a ticket (it was on a highway with a california highway patrol man..ick). Usually if you are completely honest and apologetic they'll let you off.

[M4Gunner]

heres what you do. if you feel you HAVE to insult the guy, make sure you say "i think" before you do it. that way, your just using your 1st ammendment!

[DeLorean]

I feel bad for you Crevalle, it sounds like you just got "one of the bad ones"... they are out there, not much you can do but fight the tickets. a tip! when you get your court date, go change the date as soon as you get it. that way the cop won't show up because the court date won't fit into his schedule anywhere. can't tell you how many times this one has worked for me... ops:

[PaulH]

Ok i feel that after my 6 tickets i should be able to add some insight to this conversation, first and foremost always be as polite as possible to the police officer, as lionsgraphics said, theyre just doing thier job and if you are reasonable with them, they will recipriocate. Second ALWAYS go to court to fight the ticket. 99% of the time you will talk to the officer and he or she will reduce the ticket substantially. Also theres a good possiblity that the cop may not show up at all, especially if you reschedule like DeLorean said. And also if they ask if you know why they pulled you over, never, ever tell them why you think they pulled you over, because that may not be the reason!

Now a quick story, last night i got pulled over, 65 in a 45, and i didnt get a ticket. How you ask? well first off I was polite as always, and second of all, I was in my dads car (9000cs) and he has a base sticker in his car because he is in the Air National Gaurd. The cop saw it and asked whos it was, i said my dad, and he said to slow down and gave my license and reg. back to me! he didnt even run my license! that was it. i was amazed, it was a good night.

Paul

[Crevalle]

Are there bumper stickers that are available for those who contribute to police functions, or are police supporters? Of course, I'd hate to put a bumper sticker on my Saab.

Here's something somewhat related, and pretty intersting: the same friend of my father's (who is a cop of 25 years) said that cops have a "code" between each other when it comes to parking tickets. This guy can park anywhere he wants (most notably downtown), and will never receive a ticket. Why, you ask? Because cops leave empty pads (the ones they write traffic tickets out of) on their dash when they park their car. The traffic cops see this, and ignore the vehicle. This is how cops can avoid giving each other tickets. I've been trying to get one of those pads for years.

[D. Wolfe]

Yea, you feel betrayed and you are still angry......

But, you were speeding, didn't stop, and no proof of insurance....and you got caught

In a nutshell...you are guilty of the three offenses :idea

I would certaintly argue that $410 is a very high fine, and you would be wise to take an attorney with you to argue the fine amount.....or simply pay the amount and learn from the experience :idea

[DeLorean]

D. Wolfe, it really annoys me when you give out the bad advice of "just pay the ticket" this is the absolute worse thing you can do. Even if you take it to court, and flat out lose the case, you can't be assessed more fines. the tickets already include "court costs" and by law these can not be re-applied. you pay court costs no matter if you set foot in the court room or not, so you may as well go to court for the ticket and try to get it reduced. I can tell you this.. If I had just paid every ticket I ever got, I would surely have no license now.

[D. Wolfe]

Two of my greatest joys in life are:

1. Giving out bad advice
2. Annoying DeLorean :wink:

I believe that I was clear that fighting the amount of the fine would be in his best interest. I have yet to see anyone wiggle their way out of a ticket while in court unless the officer does not show..then it's an automatic free walk.

If you are experienced and versed at getting out of tickets, then you should offer some advice as to how to accomplish this.

(my last speeding ticket was ten years ago in Chicago(Cook County)...I was given the opportunity to have the ticket erased from my driving record in 90 days if I pled guilty and paid the fine--"Guilty, Your Honor"

I cannot speak for your state DeLorean, but in Illinois and Indiana, you are given the choice of pleding guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty, the whole issue is immediately set as a court trial(before a judge and sometimes a jury).
There is no negotiation with the court at your hearing and no opportunity to argue your belief of whether or not the charges were fair or correct.

[DeLorean]

even the cases I have lost (I have lost 2), one because I was running really late and it was over before I made it in time, and the other because the judge was bad and in a "I don't want to hear it" type of mood. even that one STILL reduced the ticket (a 110+ mph violation! ) to a 20mph over the limit violation. The ones where the cop does not show, like we all know, instant win. also, to get a jury trial in PA you need to do something really bad traffic wise. not even a drunk driving case gets you that. also, Annoying DeLorean is a sport some at SC seem to like to play! I don't mind it so much if you plead guilty here in PA, there are no benefits what so ever. all you get is increased insurance rates, a nice fine, and points on your license. even if you are found flat out guilty, you can try hard luck cases as to why you can't take the points. Doing this can easily save yourself $1000 in insurance over the 3 years those points would stick on your insurance record. I am not a lawyer by any means, but if you can talk to one who's worked on cases with that judge in that area before, you would be in 3X better shape for the court date. you would know what the judge will and won't go for. this is all assuming you are un lucky, have not changed the court date, and the cop shows up. I mean… there are so many loop holes, it's like a fish net and if you are the smart minnow, you can swim right through one of them.

[D. Wolfe]

Well put DeLorean....I guess each state does have those loopholes to swim thru and you have been pretty successful in finding them.

Like you, the insurance rates and points off your license would concern me the most. Especially if you are a young driver. Everyone speeds,....it takes some luck not to get caught!!!






(annoying you comes from my paternal instinct to voice my years of experience(old guys think they know it all )

[squishmann]

fight the man

i have a court date for 6-18-04

i'm going to change it two weeks ahead of time and have it pushed back another month or two; this way the cop will never show

cops supply a major source of income for local governments

Crevalle, i've received that same B.S. ticket before nobody stops at a stop sign completely. every now and then you get that one person who does, and they're usually lost and are trying to read the street signs.

i guarantee you that if cops where in plain sight on the highways there would be a lot less aggressive drivers. but that would mean less money for the man.

[fabric]

Crevalle- you should attempt to get to court. If you have proof that you were in fact insured at the time you were pulled over, they will dismiss that.

I don't know about the other two, but maybe you'll luck out on the cop not showing. But you will at least take care of the one ticket.

I would be mad about the cop not letting you look for insurance, that would have taken you what, 2 minutes? Maybe tell the judge that when you are there, that he's wasting the judges time too. Maybe that's ill advised, but if you feel like making a point.

38 in a 30 is almost 25% faster than the posted limit, that's the equivalent of 81 in a 65, so I think you need to cool your heels on that one. Sounds like he gave you the stop sign one cause he was in a bad mood, or just a jerk. That sucks, I hate getting rude cops. Their job is to protect and serve - and our taxes pay their salaries. You'd get fired from McDonald's if you acted like some cops.

Most I've dealt with have been courteous and professional, but I've seen more than a few times Chicago cops doing d*ckhead things driving around (like turning on lights to go through a read light or parking where nobody else is allowed). That's irritating.

[valbowski1980]

No quotas! Please. Every time a Cop tells me that, I see their nose grow an inch or two .

Fight the tickets Crevalle. I believe that you should fight every ticket you get. I say this (and CT residents back me up here) because I am constantly tailgated by Staties and it drives me up the walls, that and they pass me doing at least 95 with no lights and not even a turn signal. When you have the power and not to mention a gun, it is easy to abuse it and many do. Not all cops do this but the few who do make the good ones look bad.