A sight nobody wants to see in the mirrors
Well there goes my low insurance rates. Are my tags expired? Are those old parking tickets paid? What is the Officer going to find? Why was I even pulled over?
There are many questions that race through your head the second you see the red and blue lights flash behind you. Everything from “I know I didn’t do anything wrong” to “Don’t they have anything better to do” comes to mind for most people, but in the end, it’s the job of officers to promote safety on the road, and vehicle compliance. Just passing them off as goose stepping Nazi’s isn’t taking into account that you did in fact do something wrong to get pulled over.
Want to make the exchange as easy as possible? Follow these few steps to put the Officer at ease, and hopefully you’ll just get off with a warning.
- Slow down, signal to the right, and pull over at the first safe location. The lane you’re in isn’t a good spot, but the parking lot next to it is. If you are having a hard time finding a spot that seems safe, the Officer will usually direct you.
- Turn your car off, place the key on the dashboard, roll down the windows, turn on the interior lights on, and keep your hands on the wheel. Doing this lets the Officer see that you have nothing to hide, and that you don’t pose a threat. Keeping them at ease is key to having a better interaction. Don’t put your hands on the roof of the car though; you’re not a gang banger from L.A.
- When they ask for your license, state “I’m reaching into my back pocket/purse for my wallet.” A little extreme? Sure, but it lets the Officer know where your hands are going. Making them nervous makes them place their hands on their guns, and having a high caliber handgun pointed at you isn’t a fun way to spend a day.
- Do not open your mouth to offer excuses, and don’t debate with them. If they asked why do you think I stopped you, tell them that no, you do not in fact know, but you would like to. Do not offer up excuses in defense of their claims. They’ve heard them all, and then some. Remember too, their job is to enforce the law, but the majority of the time, if they can educate you about the law, they’ll warn you rather than cite you.
- Never ask “puh puh please can I get a warning?” *wink wink* You’ll never get a warning by asking. Thank the Officer for educating you about the law, and they might be nice to you. Call it placating, but the goal here is to get out of the ticket.
Number one thing to remember is to calm down. If you got pulled over, you violated the law, but chances are, if you haven’t done anything too terrible, you’ll get a warning. If you feel they made a mistake, bite the bullet, and go to court. The side of the road isn’t the time to fight, but court might be.
If you do decide to go to court, take notes on what happened. Where you were driving from, where you were going, what you were accused of, what time of day it was, and where you got pulled over. You want to have a retort to the Officer, as trust me, they have notes of exactly what happened, so you want to be prepared.
Follow this guide, and you might be able to avoid a few tickets. Here at KarFarm, we recommend driving in a manner that doesn’t get you pulled over, but worst come to worst, it’s best to smile, put the Officer at ease, and hope for the best.
-KF
