Watch: 3 Techniques To Get Out of a Traffic Ticket Guaranteed Not To Work
At one point or another, most drivers will experience being pulled over by a police officer. It’s not a fun experience, no matter what the reason for the stop, but many people make the interaction even more stressful with their behavior.
There are a few standard recommendations that most drivers are aware of: pull to the side of the road when it’s safe (and use your blinker!), get your papers and driver’s license ready, keep your hands visible and don’t dart around, communicate respectfully and don’t make a scene.
Some people want to challenge the police officer who comes up to their vehicle. Asking questions such as why you were pulled over isn’t really an issue — it’s how the questions are framed that can escalate a situation.
A video recently shared by The Daily Caller highlighted three embarrassing incidents where people used unsuccessful “tactics” during a traffic stop.
The first long clip features an unnamed news anchor who claimed she only had one drink, but either she was fibbing or she naturally oozes lazy sass.
“I have had one drink,” she said. “It was a vodka drink.”
As the cop continued to question her, she addressed someone off-screen, casually saying, “Watch out, they may shoot you, even though you’re not black.”
“OK, that was a very racist comment,” the officer commented, to which she agreed.
Not quite done with the jabs yet, she proclaimed that she has a master’s degree, and then asked him, “What do you have?”
Though he tried to proceed with the script, she was adamant on the point, so he responded, “Bachelor’s in science, thank you very much.”
“There we go! Hey, high-five. We’re on the same page,” she said, not receiving a high-five in response, which led to another verbal jab. “It’s OK, maybe when we lose our hair we lose the ability to high-five.”
Moments later she could be heard sobbing and insisting that she’s a “model citizen.”
The next failure started out reasonably enough but quickly spiraled into what many viewed as a fake breakdown.
“I work for the county government,” the woman who had been pulled over explained. “Um, I’m a county legislator. You’re not going to give me a ticket, are you?”
“Uh, I haven’t, I haven’t decided yet,” the cop replied. At that, she launched into her sad story, saying she was a “broke public servant” as she handed over her paperwork.
When the cop came back to her car, she was hyperventilating and shouting, so the officer asked if she needed medical attention. In a quick one-two punch, she proclaimed that she has PTSD and also that she was going to protest the ticket in court, followed by several feverish yells.
“Are you going to listen to me?” the officer asked. It’s not clear whether he was giving her a ticket, but she seemed to think he was.
“Yes, I will listen to you and you’re not going to let me go even though I’m a county legislator! And I always do everything right and I follow the law!”
While true PTSD is no joke and there’s certainly a chance that someone could have a nervous breakdown in a stressful encounter, this didn’t appear to be such a case.
The third scene shows what appears to be a helicopter mom attempting to get her son out of trouble. The young man stood to the side, coffee cup in hand, smirking as his mom confronted the two police officers.
“You’re just here as the ride, right?” one cop asked her. But oh no, she was not just there as the ride — she was there to set things right.
“No, I’m not,” she said. “I’m here as a concerned citizen and friend of the mayor. … I take full responsibility for them. And what is the reason they were pulled over?”
The officers sidestepped the question, explaining that the driver was over 18 and had been giving all the necessary information, and if she would like it she could ask her son. She protested, trying to bully the officers into telling her too, but they had had enough.
Toward the end, she shooed away the other people, including her son, and tried again to get more information out of the two cops. She explained that she is a commissioner, and when the cop addressed her as “miss,” she corrected him and asked him to address her as “commissioner.”
But it didn’t work. The last thing she could hurl their way was to tell them, “I’m very disappointed in the way the two of you are acting.”
Take a note from these “model citizens” and don’t follow in their footsteps if you want to avoid causing even more trouble with the law.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
