by Joseph Hazelbaker

Created on: February 01, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Practicing law in a college town for many years now, I've had an occasion or two to counsel a client on dealing with all manner of traffic violations, from speeding to DUI. Let's face it: if an officer has initiated the effort to pull you over, you are more likely than not going to get a ticket. As the saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression, and you started off on the wrong foot when you placed it on the accelerator and sped past smokey while he waited behind that billboard.

Having said that, you still have a window of opportunity to reverse your fortunes, both before and after the ticket is written. You may be able to alter that first impression and convince the officer not to issue that ticket. You may have a legitimate excuse recognized by law, also called a substantive "defense". You may have a technical challenge to the manner or method in which you were pulled over. Or, you could win the battle of attrition or succeed in making a sympathetic plea. I'll discuss each of these strategies in more detail below.

MODIFYING THAT FIRST IMPRESSION

Ideally, you want to beat the ticket before it is even written. You've stacked the odds against you having already summoned the officer to the side of your vehicle. But, give these tips a try and you might pull back on to the highway unscathed.

- Pull over as soon as you notice that you have an officer pursuing you;
- As you are pulling over, turn on your interior lights;
- When you reach a safe parking spot, turn off the engine;
- Despite what others say, do not reach for your license or registration, simply pull over with your lights on. Moving around prior to the officer reaching your vehicle can put them on edge or make them suspicious. Also, having your license and registration ready is skipping a step. You don't know if the officer was going to get that far or already had in mind a simple warning. By skipping ahead, you've done part of the officer's job and made it easier for them to give you the ticket;
- Have your window down and your hands on the steering wheel when the officer arrives at your window;
- Greet the officer and be respectful;
- Offer your excuse, if any, when the officer makes a statement about why you were pulled over or asks you for your identification. Start with, "please consider giving me a warning, officer. I just." Be polite, measured and short and sweet;

That is all you can do. The rest, at this point, is out of your hands. Either you get the ticket or you don't. If the officer

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