Debt Free

The traffic ticket is an $8 billion industry in the U.S. That being said, there’s a good chance you’ll get to contribute to it at some point in your driving career. It happens to all of us. You make that turn when you really shouldn’t, or you’re late, so you’re going a bit too fast to pick the kids up from school. All it takes is for one of your city’s finest to notice your indiscretion, and you could be looking at a hefty ticket. It’s not just the ticket, which can cost you upwards of $1,000 in some states. No, you’ll also get to pay elevated insurance rates for years, in addition to the ticket. If you’re trying to get debt free, and reach financial security, you don’t need added bills from your state department of transportation, or city hall. 

You probably have friends that always seem to be driving a bit too fast, or following too closely, yet they never seem to get a ticket. How do they avoid getting a ticket? How indeed? There are two parts to help you avoid getting a ticket. If you happen to be in Illinois, Nevada, New Hampshire, or North Carolina, avoiding a ticket is really important, as these are the states with the top penalties for speeding. (Note: In NH, you can get a ticket for not being 10mph under the posted limit in school zones, watch out!)The first is to avoid attracting the attention of the authorities in the first place. If you don’t get pulled over, even when you probably should have, viola! No ticket! The second part to avoid getting a ticket comes into play if you’re unfortunate enough to get pulled over.

There are strategies you can employ to avoid getting pulled over in the first place.

1 – Don’t look like you deserve a ticket. If you’re stupid enough to have the big, pot leaf bumper sticker, don’t complain if you get a ticket, you dummy. That can also be the case if you’re sporting Grateful Dead stickers, or those from other bands that are known to attract drug using fans. Same holds true if you’ve got “I can’t drive 55” bumper stickers, with all apologies to Mr. Hagar.

One other thing, if your car is a roving junk yard with garbage stacked high on the seats, and bodywork replete with dents and scratches, that won’t help your cause. If you look like the picture of irresponsibility, chances are you’re not going to be the first one the office looks at if you’re in a group of cars going down the freeway at 10 or 15 over. If your car looks like it’s not well taken care of, it makes you look irresponsible. If you’re irresponsible, you probably extend that behavior to your actions behind the wheel, as the cops see it. Are they wrong?

2 – Don’t do anything to attract unnecessary attention. If you grab the bling bling rims, paint flames on your car, install neon underneath, or have the 5” coffee can exhaust tip, you’ll attract attention. Some of it will be from those who you’d rather not get it from, like Officer Friendly. It’s only logical. If you attract more attention, sometimes you’ll get the wrong kind.

3 – Don’t actually do anything to get pulled over for. That’s kind a stupid suggestion, but ultimately an effective one. There are driving situations that’ll get you stopped faster than others. One that’s sure to get you nabbed in short order is weaving in and out of traffic. Check this month’s Car & Driver magazine for state troopers that will verify this. You can often get away with going a bit over the speed limit, if you’re driving otherwise fairly sensibly. The weaving and other aggressive driving is being focused on by law enforcement agencies. They’ll pull you over for such driving almost every time.

Part 2 of the plan to avoid getting a ticket involves what to do if you actually do get pulled over. Sometimes your planning to keep from getting pulled over doesn’t go quite how you planned and you find yourself with an officer asking for your driver’s license. What can you do then to avoid getting a ticket? Soon, I’ll share some ways to keep from getting a ticket when you’re nabbed by the law. Post: How to avoid a traffic ticket if you're pulled over.