I got my first traffic ticket this week. I guess that’s not bad for a 23 year driving history, but it still fries my toast.
When we lived in the city, we did get a lot of parking tickets, but that’s different. You have to rack up $200 in parking tickets, before you really learn all the obscure laws. For example, it’s okay to double park during alternative of the street parking, but not on a street where there’s a school. That little bit of wisdom cost us $40, but for you, dear blog reader, I pass it on for nothing.
Question of the Day: Have you ever gotten a traffic ticket? Were you able to get out of it? Any advice?
Apt. 11d 
I got out of a ticket once in California. It was such an exercise in giving the cop what they expected! On several occasions I’d tried to get out of a ticket by reasoning with the officer or pleading poverty, etc. (No luck.) But one time I just acted like a complete ditz. Put on the Valley Girl voice and loudly insisted I had done nothing wrong. Would you believe it, the guy fell for it. Let me out of a $250 run-the-red-light ticket.
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I have gotten many tickets, and I have never tried to get out of them, since I was guilty every time.
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I got two speeding tickets when I lived in Durham. I paid the first one (50 in a 35 zone) and went to court on the second one (AAA offered various legal services). I had the ticket dismissed for “improper equipment” and had to pay a higher fine or something. But it didn’t go on my driving record.
I’ve been stopped three times since I moved here to MA, all 3 times in RI. The first time, I was doing 40 in a 25 and I was driving my daughter home from dance class. The cop let me off with a warning.
The next two times I was caught for going through a stop sign at the same exact place. And I was caught by the same exact cop! It was on my way to work, and I was doing the pre-class “prep for my classes in my head” thing and forgot there’s a stop sign there (it’s sort of hidden). Anyway, both times, the cop let me go.
I don’t try to get out of it. I just say as little as possible and look remorseful –which really, I am.
Thanks for asking this question. I couldn’t answer the one about unique things I’ve done because I have led a boring life. 🙂
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“I have gotten many tickets, and I have never tried to get out of them, since I was guilty every time.”
Replace “many” with “two”, and ditto. It doesn’t seem progressive to try and get out of paying a traffic ticket if one is guilty.
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I was once fined $20 for not stopping at a stop sign — on a bicycle. Yes, a bicycle. I was nearly late for a class that I was teaching.Otherwise, a single parking ticket for being 3 minutes late. Otherwise nothing!
Thanks for the Rufus link — I’d hear about it, but hadn’t seen the story. I hope there’ll be a CD.
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Bicyclists are subject to traffic laws, just like cars. As a pedestrian, I have had numerous close calls with bicyclists who were disregarding traffic laws (riding the wrong way on a one-way street, riding on the wrong side of the road, barreling through stop signs, etc. etc.). So kudos to the officer for enforcing the law! You were guilty guilty guilty! 😉
I’ve never gotten a traffic ticket, though I also racked up quite a few parking tickets in the course of discovering the finer points of practicing alternate side of the street parking.
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I’ve gotten lots of tickets. One for running a red light and I think 3 for speeding, which isn’t too bad considering that I drive fast all the time. Thankfully, my tickets have been spread out over my driving career. In California you can go to something called traffic school once every 18 months. You still have to pay the fine and the fee for traffic school the ticket doesn’t get reported to your insurance. In the olden days you had to spend 8 hours in traffic school, but now they have this online deal that takes considerably less time.
My mom has never once gotten a ticket even though she’s been pulled over a few times. She gets extremely belligerent with the cops and they let her go.
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Where I live, if you have never received a speeding ticket before, they will continue your first ticket one year for dismissal, and dismiss it if you don’t get another in a year. Then it never goes on your driving record for insurance purposes, which was the key for me. Call up and say you want to meet with a hearing officer and give it a try.
You can also try showing up for the scheduled hearing and sweet talking the county/district attorney into dropping it. Sometimes works.
Finally, there is some truth to the rumor that if you set it for trial and the cop doesn’t show up, they will dismiss. But that’s way too much bother in my mind.
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Mrs Coulter — eys, I know, I wasn’t complaining, just emphasizing the ridiculousness of it. I have a particular peeve against cyclists who ride on the wrong side of the street. But also against pedestrians who cross against red lights when cyclists have greens (not accusing anyone!).
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I was riding to the barbershop the other day, blithely ignoring stop signs on the side street I was taking, when a driver at the opposing stop sign leaned out of his window and yelled “hey buddy, they go for you too!”
It really cracked me up. As a cyclist, I always obey traffic lights, but play stop signs on lightly-traveled side streets on an ad-hoc basis.
My last pull-over in an actual car — over a decade ago — was for not having my seatbelt buckled.
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I’ve been pulled over 5 times in roughly 25 years. 2 tickets. 3 times I cried. (hangs head in shame). But it worked!
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This is more of preventative action: Put a USMC decal on your car. You will be very surprised as to how many cops are Marines.
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Henry, so you run stop signs, and when drivers complain, it really cracks you up. One of these days there’s going to be a truck coming along as you blithely roll through a stop sign, and REALLY crack you up.
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I got one speeding ticket years and years ago when a primping friend made us impossibly wait for a long distance drive to friends’ wedding. As I zoomed down the highway a trooper stopped us. Seeing two young women (this was 1984) dolled up with wrapped presents in the backseat, he actually bought the “No, I don’t know how fast we were going, officer. I’m just worried about missing our friend Kathy’s wedding.”
Still got a ticket but he dropped it from being for 20 miles above the speed limit to five miles in excess.
And I’ve been good as gold since then. No, really!
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jaywalking ticket in Beer Sheva that cost more than I made at work that day. recent speeding ticket in our neighborhood (42 in 30 mph zone) was the first I’d ever gotten in the States.
should have gotten a ticket in Philadelphia went I backed off of a ramp leading to a bridge going to NJ. I was late for my flight. not sure why he didn’t give me a ticket.
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Got a ticket for speeding in a residential area back when I lived in Monterey. I forget how fast. Maybe 45 or 50 in a 35 zone? Didn’t argue with the cop, cuz I knew he was right, and so he was easy on me and didn’t give me one for also blowing through a stop sign (which is what I thought he had stopped me for).
I figure he actually did me a favor, since that was my regular commute and I hadn’t noticed my speed creeping up over time, and I might’ve eventually hurt somebody without being checked.
I’m typically a slow and cautious driver, so that’s my only one.
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Isn’t it “alternate side of the street parking”?
no real advise on the ticket though. If you’re guilty, pay, If not, fight it and see what happens. Just tell your story. They’ll often reduce the fine (the points are another story).
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