Guest post from Rosemarie of The Busy Budgeter
Disclaimer: This is an opinion article about saving money and should not be taken as legal advice. Please consult an attorney for legal advice.
As a personal finance blogger who has spent the last 9 years working as a police officer, I’m in a unique position to shed some light on how you can save money on traffic tickets. This is also a good guide to refer to if you have a teenage driver who has received a traffic ticket.
The most important thing to realize, whether it be you in this situation or someone that you’re trying to help, is that everyone makes mistakes. Getting a ticket doesn’t make you a bad driver or a bad person. No one is perfect. Rules exist for a reason though, and tickets do need to be issued to ensure that our roads are safe.
I get asked constantly how to “get out of” a ticket. While there is no surefire way to “get out of” a ticket, I thought this would be a good post to give you the best shot of having a ticket end in a favorable decision for you.
It’s important to note, that this advice is for minor traffic tickets. I’m not covering serious offenses, misdemeanors, felonies, driving while intoxicated, and any offense that carries the possibility of jail time with this guide.
Your best chance at minimizing the financial impact of a traffic ticket is by following these 5 tips:
#1: Follow the rules.
The easiest way to avoid ever getting a ticket is to abide by all traffic laws. It’s an almost foolproof plan!
Pay attention to the rules of the road, wear your seat belt and take the laws seriously. Never drink and drive. Put your phone down while you drive.
I can tell you in all seriousness, that a traffic ticket is not the worst thing that can happen if you violate the law. At the end of the day, we want everyone to arrive alive at their destination.
#2: Be polite.
If and when you are pulled over, try to understand that the officer or trooper is simply doing his or her job. Just like in many jobs, law enforcement officers have a little bit of discretion.
Most likely, if you are being pulled over for a violation, you will get a ticket. However, there is a small chance that you can avoid the ticket by being polite and courteous to the officer.
On the opposite side of this, there is a better chance that you will receive a ticket if you are rude and angry. If you feel that you were pulled over in error, this doesn’t mean that you have to admit to something that you don’t feel you did.
You should just communicate in a way that shows respect and courtesy. The time to argue is not on the side of the road.
#3: Go to court.
There are a few rare instances where going to court may not make sense. For instance, if the ticket is a pre-payable (a “non-moving violation” with a low fine amount that doesn’t carry any points on your license) you may want to pre-pay if it would cost you money to get the day off of work to attend court. In almost all other situations though, you should attend court.
This gives you a chance to show the judge that you’re taking the ticket seriously and gives you an opportunity to speak in your defense. In 9 years, I’ve never seen someone penalized for coming to court, and I’ve seen countless cases of people given a break for coming to court.
Dress appropriately (clean jeans and a nice shirt are fine). Make sure to treat the judge with just as much respect as you did the officer.
#4: Accept responsibility.
As long as you believe that you did commit the violation you were charged with, and you don’t plan on getting an attorney (who may not want you to admit fault if it’s a case he/she is representing you in), I would recommend honesty in this situation.
Apologize for the mistake, bring proof of a good prior driving record, and show that you’re taking the ticket seriously.
If speed was a factor in your ticket, get your speedometer calibrated from a local auto shop. Often if your speedometer was incorrect, that can help you in court.
Under no circumstances, should you ever admit fault in a situation that you believe you were not at fault in.
#5: Ask for the outcome you hope to have.
Don’t be afraid to ask for the outcome that you would like. An outright dismissal of the charges may be unlikely, but reducing the traffic ticket to a non-moving violation, asking to attend traffic school in lieu of a conviction, or asking to have the fine waived are all possibilities.
With a good prior driving record, and following the first four steps, getting an outcome like this is very possible. If a favorable outcome doesn’t happen under these circumstances, there probably isn’t anything else that you could have done.
If you’re looking at a serious violation, like a misdemeanor or any violation that has the possibility of jail time, consider consulting an attorney to determine the best course of action.
Have you ever had a traffic ticket? What was the outcome?
Rosemarie Groner is a formerly stressed, overworked and exhausted mom who loves blogging almost as much as she loves brownies. She writes at The Busy Budgeter about how she used the free Ultimate Money Saving Workbook to reduce their spending enough to be able to quit her job, stay home with her kids and then found way to make up her salary at home. She’s still working on the cure for exhaustion.
Denise says
If you really want to get out of a ticket, wear scrubs. ? I got two tickets before I became a nurse, and the two times I was pulled over since I’ve been a nurse I got nothing but a courteous “have a good night at work.” Obviously I’m not saying to impersonate a health professional; just pointing out that there’s huge professional courtesy extended to nurses by cops. (Oddly I’ve heard it’s not the same for doctors. I heard of one pulled over bc he was speeding on his way to the cath lab to save someone having a major heart attack, and he still got a ticket! I wasn’t there obviously but this is also a doctor known for being polite.)
Becky says
I have received a couple tickets for minor violations in my almost 20 years of driving. I did what I could to resolve the issue (when applicable) and went to the court date both times. The 1st time, in our city jurisdiction, they literally were willing to dismiss the ticket or minimize it to something that didn’t show up on your insurance for everyone that showed up. The 2nd time, in our county jurisdiction, they were willing to cut the fine in half and minimize the ticket to an offense that doesn’t show up on your insurance for everyone who showed up. There were very few people who had to explain themselves for anything. They were literally waiting to reduce the situation greatly for everyone that just showed up. Of course it won’t necessarily be the same everywhere, but I think you have a good chance of saving a great deal of money by showing up at the court date rather than just paying the ticket.
Joe says
I have many friends who are officers and I listen closely to what they say. They may not come right out and say it, but they don’t like rudeness, people who are overly chatty (trying to talk their way out of the ticket) and especially people who make stupid excuses or deny guilt. The last time I was pulled over, the officer approached, I gave him the polite, yet guilty, look, quickly handed him all of my documentation, he asked me if I knew how fast I was going and I said that I wasn’t sure, but I know it was over the speed limit. I apologized and told him I have no reason or excuse. He issued a warning and that was it.
Julie Hall says
How can I get a copy of my record to take to court?
Rosemarie Groner says
Hi Julie! Contact your local DMV to ask for a print out of your driving record. Most likely you will have to appear in person but some states will let you have it mailed. Good luck!
Amber S. says
My husband is a police officer, and from stories he has told me,
I completely agree with these suggestions:
-He can decide whether or not to give a ticket, so politeness is important.
-He almost always gives a ticket if the person has no insurance. That is really dangerous for other drivers on the road, like me and my daughter, if we got hit by them.
-A lot of cars that don’t have insurance look kinda junky…. so I would say that the appearance of your car matters a little. Don’t catch the patroller’s eye by having a junky car AND making a traffic error. 🙂
Monica says
I have always requested a trial by jury (that is your constitutional right) and then to avoid going to trial a prosecutor has always offered me some sort of deal. Once I ran a red light and they reduced it to a no seatbelt (even though I had my seatbelt on). And another time I turned right on red and couldn’t find my registration (so I got a ticket for both) and they waived the moving violation and just asked me to pay for not having my registration. It is important to remember that if you do end up going to trial and you lose, you will have to pay court costs as well! So I just recommend requesting a trial and then negotiating with the prosecutor. The worst they can say is no.
Meredith says
I am going to agree with respecting the officer. My husband got pulled over a few months ago while we were on a sports trip home in a different town. I had just told my husband that the speed limit was 60. He sped up and not 5 minutes later, there was a cop behind us. Apparently we were approaching a small town and it had decreased to 50…we had no idea and just must have missed it. When the officer approached, he asked if he knew what he was doing. My husband said, “did the speed limit happen to change and I missed it? We saw 60 mph at the gas station a few minutes ago.” He laughed and said, yup, you must have just missed it. After a few minutes, my husband got a warning. He accepted responsibility and was nice to the officer. That helped more than anything.
If you have to go to court, I have had a lot of friends tell me they plead “no contest” which doesn’t blame either side and lessens the price of the ticket.
Vee says
I have been pulled over twice, I was polite and choose to go to court. I plead guilty both times. The first time, my fine was reduced, and I was given 4 months to pay off a $60 ticket, because I was going through financial difficulty. The next time the Judge dismissed the charge and only made me pay the court costs.
It is a disruption in my schedule to go to court, but each time it worked in my favor.
Susan says
I got pulled over once for expired tags. I swear my then-2-yo got me out of got out of a ticket. We were on our way to a her ballet recital, and she was in the back seat, all buckled in, wearing her ballet costume complete with a tutu. What’s cuter than toddler ballerina? When the officer came to the window, she smiled big and waved “Hi peaceman! hi peaceman!” He chuckled, waved back to her, and let me off with only instruction to take care of that paperwork.
I would also add the advice to always have your paperwork current and in your vehicle. Another time I was stopped for speeding, and my proof-of-insurance was expired. I had valid insurance, but apparently I’d neglected to put the new document in the car. In my state, officers are required to issue citations for lack of proof of insurance, but it will be waived if you go to the courthouse with proof that you had insurance at the time the ticket was issued. So, I did that and didn’t need to pay the fine. But it was a hassle. Better to have had my paperwork in order in the first place.
Michelle says
I think one of the biggest frustrations about getting a ticket can be the raised insurance costs following the ticket. I went to court after a moving violation in an area I had never driven in before. The officer had no mercy even though I was polite and gave me the full ticket. I decided to appeal and went to court just to see if they would have mercy on me, since I am typically a safe driver with a clean record. I didn’t even go in front of a judge; it was more a one-on-one hearing with a clerk. As soon as I said something to the effect of, “I just don’t want my insurance to go up for several years for this one mistake, when I’m typically a careful driver”, she immediately told me that in our state you can pay the price of the ticket plus a little extra so that it doesn’t go on your record. That puts you in a probationary period for a year, and as long as you have no further moving violations in that years’ time, it will go off your record and stay off your record permanently. I decided to take the gamble and be a super driver for the next year and for just under $300 I was able to pay the ticket cost and keep that moving violation off my record and save an enormous amount of extra insurance costs. (I believe our insurance would have gone up for at least 3 years, if I hadn’t chosen to go the probationary route.) Moral of the story, check out options in your state because paying for a ticket is one thing, but paying for insurance increase just adds insult to injury!
Paula says
I’m actually in the middle of appealing a ticket. I was pulled over for ostensibly not stopping for a red light. The light had turned yellow just as I was reaching the stop line. I would have had to stop immediately and even then would have been stopped past the stop line and partially in the intersection. Also, there was a car behind me, so I felt it not safe to stop quick. The light was still yellow as I proceeded and only turned red as I was getting out of the intersection.
I was pulled over and the officer explained that I had gone through the red light. I was polite, but did say that it had just turned yellow as I reached the stop line and didn’t feel safe stopping short. He said I should have been going slower. I knew for a fact that I was below the speed limit as I had checked only a few moments before, because I know there are often officers in this area. I opened my mouth to question it, but before I even could he said that I wasn’t speeding and he wouldn’t be citing me for that.
After running my license and registration he came back with a ticket for me. He saw that I was upset and said he had no choice as he was assigned to that traffic assignment and was supposed to give out tickets. And since I had a clean record I could appeal and it would probably be waived, so there was not harm.
However, that has not been the case so far. I went for my appeal and explained my side of the story. The magistrate was barely even listening to me. As soon as I stopped talking, she said I had two choices. She could take off one of the violations – the failure to stop at a red light which was the more expensive violation and pay the fine for failure to slow, or I could appeal further to a judge for a $50 fee. I am still appealing because the failure to slow violation is still a moving violation and will affect my insurance rate. Unfortunately in my case, the magistrate had already decided before I even got in the room what she was deciding, and my testimony was irrelevant to her. If the officer had only cited the failure to stop for the red light, I believe the entire ticket would have been reduced to a warning. But because there was a second cheaper violation, that allowed her to throw me a bone and offer me a reduction, but still have me owing money and incurring points on my insurance.
I know everybody says they didn’t actually do what they were cited for, but I really did not drive through a red light. I’m generally fastidious about following traffic rules, even though I see blatant violations all around me – people speeding by me like I’m not moving, my light turning green and I have to wait while 2 or 3 cars go through the red light on the cross street before I can go. It would be nice to think that following the rules mattered, but apparently that’s not always the case.
Barb says
I was pulled over for speeding on a stretch of a road that went from 40 to 25 almost immediately. This was my first time on the area, out of state, and I never saw the “reduce speed” warning. I was actually reducing my speed when he stopped me at 32mph. I tried to explain, very polite, to no avail. When I went to court, because it involved 4 points on my license, the court was packed. As I made conversation waiting for my turn, guess what: 6 women around me were stopped at the same road, by the same officer! They dismissed the points, in my case, but I had to pay almost $200 in total. Makes you think about profiling in some areas, ugh.
Allison says
My DS is temporarily living out of state and was pulled over recently for texting and driving. He was very respectful to the officer and admitted he had been using his phone (in his hand) as a GPS. He was issued a ticket for texting and driving. He went to court just this week and after the officer told his side of the story my son was asked if he had any question, to which he responded “no, the officer told it exactly how it was”. My son did have phone records showing he had not been texting OR talking on the phone the time he had been on the road. The judge (and the officer) commented how respectful and polite my son was and in the end all charges and fines were dropped.
My DD a few years back was answering questions from an officer about an accident she was in as a passenger. When she answered one of the questions she said, “yes sir”. He paused and made a comment about how respectful she was. I think in these days it is not common for young people to be polite and respectful to those in authority and it takes the authority by surprise. There is a lot of anger and hate towards authority and it is sweet music to their ears when due respect is given, especially by our young people.
Guest says
Momma, you’re raising them right! I pray my children will be polite and respectful people throughout their lives.
Jessica says
My husband went to court over a speeding ticket… he got the ticket on the same day that we woke up to find we had been burglarized (our attached garage… lawn mower, ipods and all his tools were stolen). In court, the officer did actually go as well and my husband had done some legal research… the officer had pulled two cars over that day, the driver ahead of my husband and my husband. My husband’s argument was related to the fact that the officer could not have watched two separate cars speed at the same time. The other driver didn’t go to court and the judge agreed with my husband. About 10 years ago, he had another ticket… on the interstate in a rural area, he was coming back from a job interview and it was my birthday. He went to court there but did not get off on that one. Our insurance went up for 2 years due to the ticket.
Allison says
If you’re pulled over far from home and can’t attend court, it may be worth asking if out-of-area traffic school is an option. Some courts will let you either take a class online or take a class in your area to keep it off your driving record.
Teresa S says
going to court is not always a option. Where we live they have court during the day only. Meaning you have to take off work. Then you go, and you have to plead guilty or non, then come back another day to talk to atterney, and then finally another day for a court case. That’s three days off work. So not worth the effort. They know they will get the fee because few people can afford to take 3 days off for the $150-250 tickets.
Amie says
I’ve been driving for 20 years. Honestly, I’ve been pulled over 5-6 times, if not more, and I was at fault each time. I wasn’t deliberately trying to violate the rules. I owned up to my mistake each time and apologized. I’ve received a few written warnings, but I’ve never gotten a ticket. My husband jokes that the pretty ladies never get tickets, but I really think it is because of being honest and respectful.
Jennifer says
Dd was driving down the Interstate and let her speed get away from her. It’s something we all have done, but for her, it was going to cost her $224 and 4 points on her license. I am a firm believer in facing things head on and even though she had the money to pay it and wanted to skip court, I made her go anyway.
It was 40 miles away, but we went. She went in to meet with the Judge and explained the situation humbly and said that she had learned her lesson. He accepted her story and even told her that the officer who stopped her had a reputation for stopping people even when they exceeded the speed limit just a bit.
She was lucky – he reduced the fine to $100 and threw out the points part. It paid off as that would have raised our insurance, to say the least.
Ashley Penn says
Yes! So many people would avoid tickets or get lesser charges if they were just respectful to the officer.
I don’t drive (long story) but hubby’s been pulled over about 4 times that I can remember our entire lives. He’s gotten off with a warning each time.
The scariest one was when we got pulled over on vacation driving through Arkansas. The officer caught us speeding, but we had never seen the speed limit sign change, so we were still going the previously posted speed. We explained very politely that we were from out of town, had been driving for an extended period (12 hours) and were unfamiliar with the area, and so didn’t notice the sign change. The officer’s demeanor changed almost instantly. It appears he had been expecting us to put up a fight, but when we admitted that we had been speeding (though unintentionally), he thanked us for our honesty and wished us godspeed to our hotel. He DID tell us to slow down and pay more attention to the signs, though. 😛 Naturally, I kept my eyes peeled for every single speed limit sign after that!
Julie@frugallyblonde says
Love your tips! I have been pulled over a couple of times. Each time it wasn’t for speeding, but for a headlight or taillight burned out. I was polite and apologetic for the problem. Both times they just nicely asked me to get it fixed right away. I have found that police are just trying to keep everyone safe. They aren’t pulling you over to upset you, just to help you fix your problem.