Beat Your First Speeding Ticket
It seems almost inevitable that if you've been on the roads for
anytime, that you'll find yourself with a speeding ticket. It's
never pleasant to be pulled over by a police officer and to have
to hand over your driver's license and insurance so that he can
write you up a ticket that's not only going to cost you some
money but a piece of your pride as well.
Regardless of how we choose to look at it, speeding is breaking
the law. For some drivers it's a law that they break over and
over again. However there are a large percentage of people that
go years without a speeding ticket. For that group there is
something they can be doing when they are stopped for speeding
for the first time.
Each and every time a police officer pulls a motorist over for
speeding the person's identification is checked in the computer.
There are numerous reasons this is done, but the reason that
speeding motorist needs to be concerned with is how many tickets
they have gotten for exceeding the posted limit in the past.
This can be a crucial factor in whether the police officer
writes you a ticket or just gives you a warning.
Depending on how fast you were going if this is your first
infraction, the police officer might be inclined to just give
you a warning. Often, that warning can have enough impact on the
motorist that they will heed the advice and not speed again. No
one wants to take the money that they worked hard to earn and
have to hand it over because of a mistake. Many policemen and
women realize this and that's why if you've been driving for
years and have never been ticketed, explaining the merits of
driving within the limit is the only punishment they will feel
that you need.
Another factor that weighs heavily in the officer's decision on
whether to write up the ticket is your demeanor and attitude. If
you don't take the situation seriously, the officer may feel
inclined to go ahead with the citation because he or she doesn't
feel as though you've learned your lesson. Feeling that pinch in
your pocketbook when you write the check to pay for the fine or
hand over the cash to a clerk has much more impact on someone
who doesn't understand the seriousness of speeding. Therefore
it's important for you to show the officer respect, keep your
composure and not admit to the speeding. In this case, the
police officer sees that you're not finding it funny to be
stopped, that you realize that you have broken the law and that
you understand the impact that it has on both your driving
record and your insurance premiums.
If you are pulled over for the first time, remain calm and
listen carefully to the police officer. If he or she does decide
to give you a warning, pay close attention to what they are
saying. They are never obligated to give a warning as opposed to
a ticket for first time offenders, but if you handle the
situation correctly, you might save yourself a few dollars while
at the same time take that warning to heart.