We often write about how to handle yourself during contact with a law enforcement officer (LEO) during a traffic stop, but a better option is not having any contact with them at all. LEO's only have so many resources, if you don't present a target they will go after someone else. Here are a few simple things you can avoid that will make yourself less of a target:
1. Don't Speed - This one seems obvious, but people do it all the time. It is the number one reason people are pulled over and gives the cops a legitimate excuse to find other things to nail you on. There is very little upside to speeding due to the fact you just can't travel fast enough to make up much time; let me give you an example:
Say you are trying to get to a location 50 miles away (much longer than the average drive). At 65 miles per hour, the legal limit, it would take you 46 minutes to reach your destination. If you go 10 miles an hour over the limit to 75 miles an hour you make it a grand total of 6 minutes sooner! Clearly, there is big risk of being caught for a meager 6 minute reward. Of course, on a shorter trip the gains will be less. Obviously, it is much better to leave 6 minutes earlier than to risk a ticket, insurance premiums, and LEO contact.
2. Don't Buy Gaudy Vehicle Add-ons - Ground effects, fancy rims, loud mufflers all make a car stand out in a crowd and easy for a LEO to target. Not all of this is profiling; when all the traffic is speeding how will a cop pick which one to pull over? By nailing the car he can easily identify. Don't be that guy. Let someone else have the "cool" looking car and the tickets and LEO attention that goes with it.
3. No Dark Window Tint - This makes it look like you are hiding something. In New Jersey and other states excessive levels of tint are illegal. Cops there are known for pulling over tinted cars and not letting them leave until they peel off the tint.
4. Lose the Bumper Stickers - Bob Marley, The Grateful Dead, and Cypress Hill make great music, but they make for awful bumper stickers. Fairly or not, a cop will suspect anyone with certain bumper stickers to be young and possible holding drugs. Even political bumper stickers can give a cop reason to nail you. Keep these off your car.
5. Keep Your car in Good Repair - Having a blinker or headlight out results in a heavy ticket and gives cops the opportunity to slap you with more violations. At least once a month you should check all the lights on your car to ensure they are in working order.
6. Get Rid of Your Radar Detector - If you aren't speeding anyway why would you need one (see #1)? If you get pulled over and don't have a radar detector you might get off. If you have one, you will get a ticket every time. For someone who speeds constantly it might be worth having one, but for most people its not worth it.
Following these basic rules will make it much less likely you will be pulled over. Inevitably it will happen, and when it does make sure you keep these tips in mind.
Great article. Being a former cop, I can say this posting is right on. #5 should be headlight out, not headline. ;)
I know so many people always complaining about how cops are always harassing them. I'm 35 years old and have been pulled over 3 times in my life. Deserved it all three times. Never been questioned on the street, never had cops at my door. Best way to avoid the law? As Jim Carrey said in "Liar, Liar" - "Stop breaking the law, a***ole!". Works every time.
Re point 4: 'Even political bumper stickers can give a cop a reason to nail you'. I thought this was the sort of prejudice that the police are supposed to prevent. A cop 'nailing' you for a statement of your political beliefs is state-sanctioned political repression.
I get really bothered about people who speed, just as much as I do about slowpokes (the ones in the far left lane going slower than the ones on the right) What are they trying to prove; that they have faster cars, or is it just that they're in a hurry... Speeding is not necessary, it endangers others and can be avoided, leave earlier, plan ahead, etc.
typo fixed. Thanks Brian ;)
As a former traffic cop I endorse the points above. While on patrol we are constantly looking for that one thing which makes a stop worthwhile. We don't want to stop someone who has all their documents in order and hasn't done anything wrong. No, we look for those telltale signs that something might be wrong, then the stop will be worthwhile (ie. a case of some sort!)
When I was younger and dumber, I had many bumper stickers on my car. One of them said something about Cops eating donuts, which they never appreciated when I got pulled over.
I have been pulled over in my small suburb town and when the cop pulled me over he said, I suppose half jokingly, "I pulled you over because I saw your bumper sticker and I'm a Bush man, a real American." He let out a big belly laugh and slapped me with a ticket for 35 in a 30! Really?
What about cell phones? I was on my cell phone the other day, about to pull out into traffic, when a police car drove by, and he was on HIS cell phone! I pulled out into traffic, drove a little bit, and then, looked in my rear view mirror, and there was ANOTHER police car behind me! I hung up that phone real quick. What about if people have expired tags? What happens?
[...] The Top 6 Ways Not To Get Pulled Over [...]
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A few comments from a lawyer.I do not practice low-level criminal defense law (such as traffic infractions) at all. Occasionally, I consult on high profile criminal matters, usually on difficult appellate issues. Generally, however, I practice international corporate law.But, I am often consulted socially by folks who have received traffic citations, some meritorious, some not. Regardless of the merit of the charge, my first - and most important - question is, "Were you courteous to the LEO?" If the answer is "yes," it is often possible to achieve remarkable outcomes even in difficult cases. If the answer is along the lines of, "That A-hole told me...," there probably isn't much that can be done.Re: Radar Detectors. Radar detectors are useless as protection against serious speeding infractions. Current police radar is simply too sensitive and too short-range. By the time your radar detector goes off, you will not have enough time to significantly reduce your speed before the police radar locks. If you speed, get a CB radio. [Get one anyway. More on that below.]Radar detectors will, however, protect you from nuisance tickets (rolling through a stop sign, failure to signal, etc.). The problem is, of course, that you have to pay attention to the signals and there are many false signals.Re: Dark window tint. Many states, not just the People's Democratic Republic of New Jersey (the western-most, Middle Eastern state ruled by a group of one-eyed Shiites), have laws against dark window tint. Frankly, I doubt these laws would survive a constitutional challenge. [Even New Jersey would hesitate before enacting a statute prohibiting drapes on the living room windows to make it harder for people to engage in questionable activities in their homes. OK, maybe New Jersey wouldn't. It did, after all, enact a law criminalizing the preparation of "runny" scrambled eggs, and over-filling the gas tank on your lawnmower is a serious felony there ($25,000 fine; up to 5 years imprisonment if I recall correctly).] If an LEO lacks probable cause, he shouldn't be looking in your window anyway.But, look at the window tint from the LEO's point of view. If you stop a vehicle and you cannot see what the occupants inside are doing, you are going to be apprehensive. I've never heard of anyone being stopped solely for having excessive window tint. I have heard of LEOs requiring removal of the window tint during legitimate stops for other infractions. This is easily avoided. If you're stopped, roll down the windows, turn on the dome light (at night), and keep your hands where the LEO can see them. Make it easy for the LEO to see into the car. Once you are the subject of a legitimate stop, the LEO has a personal safety interest in looking in the vehicle.I have window tint. I've been stopped several times, but no LEO made an issue of the windows because I always make sure - purely as a matter of courtesy - that the LEO had an unobstructed view into the vehicle. If, however, you run into a real jerk of an officer, POLITELY explain that you use a CB radio when traveling long distances and you are disgusted with what you hear truckers saying about female teenage passengers and attractive women drivers and passengers. Ask him if he would like other drivers talking about his wife or daughter the way you heard truckers talk about yours. Explain that's why you got the windows tinted. [In fact, in my case that was one of my two primary motivations (the other being a personal security concern based on my work in nasty places that requires dealing with very bad people).]The CB radio. If you have a lead foot and just can't seem to control it, your only hope is a CB radio. If you pay attention, you'll know the location of every patrol car miles in advance. But, even if you don't speed, a CB radio has benefits. While a minority of truckers are jerks, the majority are professionals. You can often quickly get traffic advice or "local help" to find your way. And, if you're in imminent trouble or danger, you'll get a quicker response from the CB than from a cell phone.Just a few thoughts from a verbose lawyer.
I've known cops and they have all admitted that they do pull people over for some of the reasons that you mention. If you're polite and don't mouth off, you might get by with just a warning. On the plus side, pulling people over for minor violations has led to the arrest of some very violent criminals. Great article.
I have 0% window tint on my car because I was tired of being harassed at red lights and anytime a car was next to me. I have been pulled over about 5 times and I finally got a ticket for them. Everytime I try to explain to the officer that I have them that dark because of constant harassment by creeps they just say ya ok and let me go with a warning. I feel like they just don't understand. I'm 25 yrs old with a normal car that just has tints and iim not someone that has tints cuz they look cool. But i feel like i get treated like those punk kids that trick out their cars. I was wondering if anyone knew of any ways that would allow me to keep them on and not receive a ticket? Any suggestions would be really helpful.
how much tint can i have on my window in order to not have a cop pull me over lake county, illinois
How long can your registration be expired before being pulled over? My tags expired 2 weeks ago so I haven't driven my car. I start a new job in 2 days and am afraid to drive my car. All the money I saved went to my cats vet bill and I don't know what to do. Please help, this has caused me many tears already and I never break the law.
This is a dumb blog, radar detector DO WORK unless the cop has a laser! If they are not against the law in your state, USE IT. Yes I agree you shouldn't speed. If you want bumper stickers on your car, you live in america, put them all over your car if you want to. Dont let this schmuck tell you what you do, only a retard cop will pull you over for that. I agree with one thing, dont speed. this blog sounds like too much propaganda. If this was a real attorney writing this, they don't care, they want your business.
Yea, i'm feelin' the steps not to get pulled over but uhh I myself live in a quaint lil' town named Morganton. The police harrass each and every one of us. They have no kind of life which means they try to find the little bit they can to "nail" us! racial discrimination mostly. But hey I know some of yall are like "yea..watever that's just you being paronoid" No, no sweeite! I'm stateing the God's honest truth! And people wonder why some of us out here don't like the police! Hell I use to date one! I'm not being predgidist against them.
This post is in response to Bill Vincent. How lucky for you being a man that you have not experienced the same harrassment as me. I drive a red mustang and as an attractive 22 year old female I have been stopped over forty times since I started driving six years ago. I have been subjected to 4, yes FOUR breathalizer tests. No DUI, DWI, Accidents EVER. The majority of my stops have resulted in verbal warning and written warnings. I do not speed as I get pulled over going under the limit, but please tell me how this is warranted! I lived in New York part time for the last 4 years and never got pulled over. The second I am in Maryland I am getting stopped. Today I got pulled over for my passenger not wearing her seatbelt, SHE WAS! Just another waste of my taxpayer dollars, you would think that instead of patrolling for seatbelts and bullshit an officer could spend their time solving crimes or preventing them, much like NY's FINEST.
I believe that you're right with all of the things that you've pointed out. However, I don't agree with you on the bumper stickers. However gaudy and horrible my bumper stickers are, they are just that...bumper stickers. If I am pulled over, and was speeding or doing something that I wasn't supposed to be doing, then fine. I deserve to get a citation.However, I'm not going to keep a bumper sticker off of my car because someone wants to police my thoughts. I know that it's going to happen anyway, and I accept that. On the other hand, that's not right, and it isn't American.