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Tips for "Good Behavior" When Getting a Traffic Ticket

Traffic tickets are the bane of many drivers' existence. It seems sometimes that there are too many rules of the road to follow. Many people simply pay for a speeding ticket or other moving violation ticket and try to put it in the past. However, in some situations you may feel like you have been unfairly charged with a traffic law violation. If you get a traffic ticket, and you want to fight it, here are some tips for how to handle yourself both during the traffic stop and afterward in traffic court.

During the Stop: Don't Aggravate the Officer or Raise Suspicions.

• If you see a police car following you with its lights or siren on, or you see a police officer gesturing to you, pull over to shoulder as soon as possible. Make sure you use your turn signal when pulling over. Move to the right shoulder and stop in a manner so that the officer will not have to stand in the road to approach your car. Turn on your emergency hazards after you have come to a full stop.
• If you have any items that should not be in your car, but which are in plain view, do not try to hide them from the police as they are pulling you over or approaching your car.Example: You have an open bottle of beer in your car while you are driving, and are pulled over by the police. Do not attempt to hide the bottle under the front seat or throw it out the window. Police are trained to watch for any furtive activity coming from your car. If they see you attempting to hide something, they will have license to search your entire car.
• Roll your window all of the way down and keep your hands where the police officer can see them, such as on the steering wheel.
• Be courteous to the police officer. Answer his or her questions and provide any requested documentation, such as your driver's license and car registration. However, do not start rummaging around in your purse, pockets, or glove compartment for these items until the police officer asks to see them. When you do reach for these items, explain to the officer what you are doing. Do not give a police officer reason to be suspicious of you.Example: If a police officer approaches your car and says, "License and registration please, ma'am," try saying something like, "Certainly, officer. I just have to get them out of the glove compartment for you." An explanation like this will help allay any fears that the officer might have that you are reaching for a weapon.
• Stay in your car. While a stopping police officer has the right to ask you to step out of your car, do not do so unless and until you are asked to. If you jump out of your car as the police officer is approaching or is standing next to your car, you will likely give him reason to suspect that you are trying to flee or attack.
• Do not demand the police officer to tell you, when they first approach the car, why you have been pulled over before cooperating with them. Let the police officer run the show. Provide requested documents and information. Eventually, if not right away, he will tell you why you have been stopped. Refusing to cooperate can only increase your troubles.Example: As soon the officer approaches your car, you blurt out, "I'm sorry I was speeding. I don't know what I was thinking!" This is the wrong thing to say for two reasons. First, you have "admitted," by saying you are sorry, that you knew you were speeding. The officer, if he remembers you saying that, can use it later in court as an indication of your knowledge of the violation. Also, you should have allowed the officer the opportunity to tell you why you were being pulled over. Perhaps he only noticed one of your tires looked flat, or your bumper was hanging off, and wanted to alert you to the situation. There is no guarantee that he knew that you were speeding, but you just gave him the opportunity to give you a ticket.
• If the officer asks you an open question, such as, "Do you know how fast you were going?" keep your answer short and simple. A "yes" or "no" will suffice. If you don't know the answer to a question, just say "I don't know." Don't lie or make up excuses (unless your wife is in the backseat giving birth to your first child!). Don't be a smart aleck.
• If the officer tells you "his version" of the story, don't get into a fight with him even if you disagree. If the officer says, "I clocked you going 75 in a 55 mile per hour zone," don't say, "No way was I going that fast," or "This is baloney." Instead, try to remain nonchalant and say "I see," or "Okay." Or, don't say anything at all. If you remain silent, that does not mean that you are guilty.
• Remember, the louder, more belligerent or more obnoxious you are, the more likely the officer is to have a clear memory of your encounter. If however, you are patient and polite through the whole process, the officer is more likely to chalk it up to a "routine" stop and may not have such a fresh recollection of your case once your court date rolls around.

After the Stop: Prepare Your Defenses

• After the police officer has left the scene, you can begin work on preparing your defenses to the traffic ticket. If you have been accused of violating a speeding law, check the speed zone for the area you are in. Sometimes, officers make mistakes and you actually may not have broken the law. If you have been stopped for another reason, such as a failure to yield or to stop completely when required, familiarize yourself with the area and the location of any traffic signs. Having a clear picture of the scene in your mind will serve you later in traffic court.
• The case against you for your traffic violation will likely be brought in municipal court or a "traffic court." Contact the court beforehand and ask for a copy of any rules that they may have governing court procedure.
• Ask to be told who your judge will be and, if possible, observe that judge in court prior to your trial. If the judge appears to be considerate and patient with people contesting tickets, your confidence in handling the matter yourself may be bolstered. However, if the judge is rude or a stickler for legal details, you may want to consider having an attorney accompany you to court to provide assistance.Note: For major traffic violations, such as leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, and vehicular manslaughter you should seriously consider having an attorney represent you.
• If the officer has taken any notes concerning your stop, ask for a copy of them. In many states, you are entitled to these notes. Review them prior to your traffic court trial. You will likely have to make a specific request in writing for the notes, or you may be able to make a formal request for the notes at your arraignment, if you have been arrested. Make the request in writing to both the local prosecutor's office and the police agency that ticketed you.Note: If your request for a copy of the notes is ignored, contact the traffic court where your case will be held and ask them to arrange a "pre-trial motion." At this motion hearing, you can argue for the release of the notes and ask that the court order the police or prosecutor's office to provide them to you. Keep trying to get the notes, even if you fail the first time.
• Once you have, finally perhaps, received a copy of the officer's notes you must review them thoroughly. If the notes are sparse, you may be able to try to challenge the officer's memory at trial. Police officers give out hundreds and hundreds of tickets. Without detailed notes about your particular case, it is possible that the officer may confuse or mix facts of your case with facts from another case.Note: Review your traffic ticket thoroughly, too. Make sure that it has accurate information on it. For example, if you drive a green Chevy Blazer, and the ticket is for a blue Ford Explorer you have a strong argument that the police officer either didn't know what he was doing, or that he gave you the wrong ticket.
• Be prepared to challenge the police officer's recollection of events, including your lane position, the weather conditions, the presence or absence of other cars, and the visibility of road signage. There is no written rule which states that a police officer's version of events must be accepted over yours, particularly where the violation you were charged with involves some element of subjectivity, such as whether you were maintaining a safe distance from the car in front of you.Note: It will be harder to successfully challenge an officer's objective observations, such as whether you ran a red light, but it can still be done. This is particularly true if you can provide information that casts doubt on the officer's ability to fully see what you were doing.
  
  
  
  Example: You have been cited for running a red light. The officer who ticketed you was parked on the other side of the street behind a large semi. Arguing that the officer was not at a vantage point where he could clearly see what you were doing may be beneficial to your defense.
• Don't be afraid to argue that you made an honest mistake. Saying something like, "I forgot that it was a one-way street there" obviously won't cut it even though you made a mistake. However, if you can truthfully say, "I went the wrong way on the street because it was my first time driving in that area, the one-way sign had been knocked down by some construction workers in the area, and there were no other cars around to tip me off that I was heading the wrong way until it was too late" you might have a better chance of evading the ticket. Not all mistakes will be forgiven, obviously, but making the argument may be worth a try in your particular case.
• Describe your actions and the reasons for them, particularly if there is a legal justification for what you did. For example, if you had to pull over in a "no stopping" area of a highway because you believed you were having a heart-attack, the court will likely give you leeway and may thank you for pulling over, rather than endangering other drivers. You may also be able to successfully argue in your defense if you had to break the law in order to protect yourself from harm. For instance, if you were nearing a deserted intersection, and a strange man approached your car trying to force his way in, you can argue that you had no choice but to gun your engine through the intersection, blowing through the stop sign, in order to avoid being attacked by the stranger.
• Practice what you are going to say in court to both the judge and the police officer ahead of time. Have fresh, clean copies of any documents, photographs, or exhibits that you would like the court to review and consider. Prepare a list of questions to ask the police officer ahead of time so that you don't forget anything on your big day in court.

Copyright © 2004 FindLaw. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Original article found here @ FindLaw.com

 
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good advice... needee a post like so, to know how to handle ourselves

 
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forgot the most important thing, NEVER ADMIT TO SPEEDING. I did whilst trying to get off with a warning, bam out comes the book.

 
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everything you need to know fighting a ticket and not getting on in the first place when pulled over is on http://www.ticketassassin.com/



That site has saved me 3 times now.

 
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doesnt matter if you admit to it or not, the decision has been made before the officer steps out of his cruiser.

 
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another tip, if you wanna score some brownie points with the cop, take your keys outta the ignition and leave em on the dash board. this gives the cop extra peice of mind that your not going anywhere.

 
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The single most important thing is to make sure the officer feels safe. All other issues, your side of the story, and your behavior is secondary to taht. traffic stops are probably the most dangerous thing an officer does on a routine basis, and if you understand and respect that, you will get a lot farther.

in addition to above posts (very good post.. should be sticky) how about remembering, when he pulls you over, if you are near an off ramp, how about hand signals that you intend to stop after the off ramp on the shoulder instead of on the side of the freeway.

If at all possible, stop under a streetlight so that the officer has even more light to see what you are doing.

Passengers: Lets play a game called shut the hell up and keep your hands on the top of the front seats where they can be seen.

Note to bass heads: Turn that **** off so the officer can hear and speak clearly. having loud music is another reason that you wouldnt be able to drive safely by not being able to hear the ambulance coming up behind you or a horn warning you of something... plus its disrespectful to the officer, and we don't want that. It is also another reason to remember you if you decide to fight a ticket. Ditto for cell phones et al. they go off, and if you are on the phone in the car, use a hands free device. if you get pulled over while on the phone... see above. unsafe image == needs to be hit with a ticket in the eves of the officer.

Also, be sure, ABSOLUTELY sure that before the oficer runs your information and walks back to his car, you give him your side of the story in a polite manner. once he comes back or has started filling out the ticket, it's too late. Heck, if you were going more than a litle bit over, like kyle said, the decision has already been made whether to give you a ticket or not.