Legal News

15-Sep-2022

Traffic Violations: Most Efficient Ways To Avoid Ticket

Everyone has their fair share of traffic violations. Whether it’s forgetting to turn on your headlights or not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, we’ve all broken the law at some point. Getting caught will inconvenience you and cost you cash, but that’s not the end of the world. With these tips, you can get out of most tickets with ease. Violations often involve obscure or arbitrary rules that can differ from one jurisdiction to another. Many traffic laws are designed mainly as a way for law enforcement officers to check whether drivers are sober, licensed, and safe operators of their vehicles, not as a way to generate revenue and criminalize routine driving behaviors. In other words: They weren’t built with sinister intentions; rather, they were born from well-meaning intentions that went awry somewhere along the way over time.

1. Stay informed and use your ears.

The first thing you should do when you notice someone is tailgating you is to check your speedometer. If you are going too fast for the conditions of the road (too fast for the weather or too much traffic), then you need to slow down. This will allow you to maintain a safe distance between you and the car behind you. If you are going at the correct speed, then you can take one of two actions. As long as you are not driving in a dangerous situation, you can let the tailgater pass you. This can be a little bit annoying, but it is a sign that the person behind you respects your right to be on the road.

If you are in a situation where giving way to the tailgater would put you in danger, then you need to let them know that you see them. You can do this by tapping your brake lights or by putting on your turn signal. If you’re going too fast, you need to slow down. If you’re going under the speed limit, then you just need to find a way to get out of the way. If your car breaks down in the middle of a busy stretch of road with no shoulder, or if you’re in bumper-to-bumper traffic on a highway where there’s no reasonable way to get out of the way, you need to turn on your hazard lights and be very careful about your surroundings. If you hear sirens, pull over as soon as it’s safe to do so. If you hear sirens getting closer and closer, try to pull over as soon as it’s safe to do so.

2. Carefully choose where you’re going.

Remember: You have the right to remain silent. If you’ve been pulled over, though, you might be tempted to start talking — especially if you’re unaware of your rights. Make sure to pull over in a safe place and stay aware of your surroundings (see above). If you’ve been pulled over for something like driving too quickly for the conditions or not coming to a full stop at a stop sign, ask the officer if you can take care of it right then and there instead of getting a ticket. In most cases, they’ll take you up on that offer. If you’ve been pulled over because you’ve broken a law, first and foremost, stay calm. Try your best to remember that the officer is there because they are trying to keep you and everyone else on the road safe. Stay informed and aware of your surroundings, and you’ll greatly reduce the likelihood of being pulled over.

3. Ask for a warning instead of a ticket.

If you’ve been pulled over and you’ve done nothing wrong, you can request that the officer give you a warning instead of a ticket. If the officer is convinced that you’re genuinely sorry for whatever you did and that you’re committed to not doing it again, there’s a good chance that you’ll get off with just a warning. If you’ve been pulled over for speeding, you’ll have an even better chance of getting off with just a warning if you can convince the officer that you drive over that stretch of road every day. If you’ve been pulled over for a more serious violation like turning without a signal or driving with expired tags, you still might be able to get a warning if you can convince the officer that you’re a safe driver.

4. Negotiate the fine.

This will only work if you’ve been ticketed for a minor violation. If you’ve been ticketed for speeding, though, you probably won’t be able to negotiate the fine. Ask the officer if they can write you a lesser ticket. If the officer agrees, you’ll probably be able to get the ticket dismissed later on. Let’s say that you’ve been ticketed for running a red light. The fine for that is usually somewhere between $170 and $200. Ask the officer if they can write you a lesser ticket for something like failure to stop at a red light, which has a fine of about $100. If the officer agrees to write you a lesser ticket, you’ll still have a mark on your record, but it won’t be as severe.

5. Use your statutory rights as a defense.

If you’re being charged with a serious violation like driving under the influence (DUI), you’ll probably need to hire a lawyer who specializes in traffic defense to help you out. For other violations, though, you can defend yourself by reading up on the relevant section of your state’s vehicle code. Make sure to read ahead and read carefully, as many traffic violations are written in a very specific way. Let’s say that you’re being charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk. The relevant section in your state’s vehicle code says that you’re supposed to “stop as necessary to yield to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk.” You can defend yourself by noting that the code does not state that “stop as necessary” means that you must come to a complete stop. Alternatively, you can note that the crosswalk was blocked or that the pedestrian was not crossing the road at a crosswalk. In other words, you can use the wording of the law against the prosecution.

Conclusion

Everyone has their fair share of traffic violations, and most of us have been caught doing something illegal behind the wheel at some point in our lives. While the majority of traffic laws exist to keep people safe, they can be tough to enforce, and it can be easy to accidentally break one. If you’re ticketed for a traffic violation, you may be concerned about the impact it will have on your insurance rates. Fortunately, most traffic violations don’t increase your rates, and depending on the violation, you may not see any change at all. While you might get away with it the first time, it’s important to know how these violations affect your car insurance rates.

The best way to avoid a rate increase is to avoid getting traffic violations in the first place. Traffic violations can affect your car insurance rates in a couple of different ways. First, if it is a serious violation like reckless driving or driving under the influence, your car insurance provider may drop you from their policy altogether. Second, if it is a minor violation, like a traffic citation, your car insurance provider may increase your car insurance rate, sometimes significantly. Getting caught might be inconvenient, but it doesn’t have to be the end of the world. With these tips, you can easily get out of most tickets with ease.