Be careful out there.

Two goals in a traffic stop

Be very careful around police officers. Most are good people. But in 2006, three Portland, Oregon cops allegedly beat a man to death (his ribs were broken in 27 places.) Nobody lost his job over the "incident."

This July in Fullerton, California, six officers reportedly did the same thing. It took almost a month for the department to put the cops involved on administrative leave. As the father of the Fullerton victim noted, if I'd killed a man like that, I'd be so far behind bars, you couldn't find me.

In 2010, the US Department of Justice brought 52 criminal civil rights cases against cops--the most in the ten years they've been keeping track.

You have 2 goals in a traffic stop:

(1) not saying anything the officer can use against you in court

(2) getting away (alive) as quickly as possible.

It's not who you know--it's who you are

Glancing out the window of a New York restaurant, singer Aretha Franklin noticed her car being given a parking ticket. Rushing out, she was able to trade a song (and autographed envelope) for no ticket.

In New Jersey, TV star Mike Sorrentino (Jersey Shore) got out of a ticket after giving the cop an autograph. The officer may face discipline for letting Sorrentino go.


You think you've got problems?

One woman has a 30 years old phone number. Then the courthouse added a phone number--one digit off from hers. She's fielding hundreds of misdialed calls. When she put a message on the answering machine saying she's not the court, people left messages anyway.


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Name, rank, and serial number if you get stopped

One newly elected council member gets pulled over and promises the cop he will disband the police department. That went over big. He got a ticket. Plus the officer put the conversation in his notes, which made it into the newspaper.

Unless something odd happens, you can't win on the road. It's name, rank and serial time. Be polite, admit nothing. Doing anything more will hamper your attempt to beat a traffic ticket.

Sometimes though .... I had a friend who was a highway patrol sergeant. He was riding along when an officer pulled a car over. Walking up my friend noticed a dog in the backseat. He fed the driver a line from a Pink Panther movie.

The driver came back with the right response. No ticket.

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Some guy writes you should never ask for a continuance when trying to beat a traffic ticket, read the law, or ask to see what the other side has (audio or video, for example). Apparently you're supposed to show up in court and wait for inspiration. Not a recommended technique!

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The Delaware driver was texting while driving, had a suspended license and no insurance. The passenger reportedly had 21.8 grams of marijuana. The cop pulled the car over for the texting and discovered the rest.

Just a thought but maybe with that kind of baggage, a hands-free call would have been better.

A passenger on another traffic stop was unhappy and sassing the cop. He was even more ticked off when the officer found the cocaine. If it were me and I had contraband, I'd play Joe Citizen when I was stopped.

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Houston is planning a traffic warrant amnesty. If you don't settle up, they're planning to start knocking on doors. Usually, people with traffic warrants are only caught at traffic
stops.

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Washington state has tightened the penalty when a car kills or injures a pedestrian or person on a bicycle. The maximum fine will be $5,000 and a 90-day license suspension.

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Fighting traffic ticket done right: How to Beat a Traffic Ticket: The Six Steps Guide. Available for just 99 cents from Kindle or Nook. Or instant PDF download

Image courtesy of bigjom