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Liberty Lake police Sgt. Ray Bourgeois writes a speeding ticket recently for a man he says was driving 43 mph in a school zone.
Please tell me if you have occasion to use this advice. I really need to know if it works, but I’m concerned about option two: “Drive around with something really weird in your car.”
It’s the holidays, we’re coming off a brutal recession, and the last thing any of us needs is a speeding ticket. And yet someone reading this — I hope not the person writing this — is going to get a speeding ticket in the next week or so. According to the National Motorists Association, between 25 million and 50 million speeding tickets are issued every year. So with that in mind, and since plenty of people get pulled over on their way to and from work, we’re offering some suggestions for talking your way out of a ticket.
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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hmoffsuite on December 30 at 3:37 p.m.
I don’t ever speed, other than I usually go about 4mph over the limit. Haven’t had a speeding ticket in 30 years. The reason that I don’t speed is so that I don’t have to worry about having to talk my way out of a ticket. That sort of logic kinda grows on ya’, as you get older. :~)
Cindy_H on December 30 at 3:55 p.m.
Not. Helping.
Fixer on December 30 at 4:03 p.m.
Keeping one’s mouth shut is a really good idea. The officer can (and will) include your statements in his or her written report especially if those statements are incriminating.
I’ve never talked my way out of a ticket but, of the three speeding tickets I’ve received in the last ten years, I’ve beaten two of them in court.
Charlie on December 30 at 6:38 p.m.
You could say after the officer asks the usual question, “Do you know why I stopped you.” Because you knew I had donuts in the car could be your answer.
Eyes & Ears on January 01 at 9:39 a.m.
Its pretty rare I write a ticket to the elderly. I respect them for already putting in their time. Also, if I stop a woman and she starts crying, she normally gets a warning.
However, if I stop someone and when asked if they knew how fast they were going, or if they know what the speed limit is and their reply is “I don’t know” thats is a sure way to earn one.