You might think you know the rules of the road, but misinformation can spread like wildfire. From getting out of a ticket to making excuses for speeding, it’s time to clear up some traffic misconceptions once and for all.
Myth: Your Ticket Is Automatically Dropped If the Officer Doesn’t Show Up to Court
This may be one of the most widespread ticket myths out there, likely because the truth is so complicated. The idea is that you contest your ticket in court instead of paying it, then the officer that gave you the ticket will supposedly be too busy doing other things to bother showing up to your court hearing. If they don’t show, you automatically win and get your ticket dropped.
Unfortunately, that’s not always how it works. We checked with Derek Bambauer, Professor of Law at the University of Arizona, and he suggested that the law here varies in different states and jurisdictions. In many states, like Massachusetts, the citing officer doesn’t have to show up to your initial hearing at all, and only has to appear if you appeal that initial hearing. In that situation, you would have a hard time getting your ticket dropped unless you had some seriously compelling evidence.
Technically, this strategy could work in some jurisdictions, but Bambauer explains that it’s probably not ideal, even if the officer doesn’t show up:
In some jurisdictions, failure to appear can result in the ticket being dismissed—but the magistrate/judge/other official overseeing the hearing may re-schedule it as well.
It’s a gamble at best
, since officers usually show up in jurisdictions where that’s required.
(Emphasis added.) If the judge decides to reschedule, the officer will probably show up the next time around, and you have to spend more time in court. In addition, Kat Saks at dmv.org suggests that in some states, the presiding judge might still try the case regardless of whether the officer shows up. Overall, you probably shouldn’t try to challenge a ticket unless you feel like you have an actual reason to.
If you really want to try your luck, however, attorney Le Trinh at FindLaw recommends trying to reschedule the hearing yourself. Officers will try to schedule all of their hearings on the same day, so if you can get a hearing on a different day, it might increase your chances of them being a no-show. Just make sure you check your state and local laws before you go gambling.
Myth: “Radar Inaccuracy” Is a Good Defense for Traffic Tickets
While it is true that radar guns and other similar devices can fail, the odds are stacked against you if you try to make their inaccuracies your defense. Jen Lamboy, at dmv.org, explains that a judge will likely request proof that the radar was inaccurate, and simply stating that the radar didn’t match your speedometer isn’t enough. At that point it’s your word against the radar gun’s, and that won’t get you very far. Professor Bambauer agrees:
...generally this defense won’t work. Some states accept a trained officer’s estimate of your speed; some require only yearly certification or testing; and some courts accept technical violations in things like certificates. It’s hard to prove that radar is inaccurate, and even that may not get the ticket overturned.
The best you could do is suggest that the officer’s equipment hasn’t been re-calibrated recently. For that, you’d need to see the officers calibration records and that would probably involve hiring a traffic attorney. You still may not even win, and at that point, you have to decide what will cost you less.
Myth: Not Signing a Ticket and Other Clerical Mistakes Will Get You Off the Hook
First off, always sign your ticket. As web site Flex Your Rights explains, your signature is only a confirmation that you received it, and has nothing to do with admitting your guilt. Some people also assume that if you don’t sign your ticket, you can claim that you never received it. This won’t work either because if you try to challenge that, it’s just your word versus the citing officer’s records, and the officer has plenty of evidence that they pulled you over and wrote the ticket.
Second, simple clerical mistakes on a ticket won’t change anything. Judges consider simple mistakes on tickets to be exactly that: simple mistakes. So you’re not off the hook if they misspell your name, write down the wrong license plate number, or say you got the ticket at a different time. The ticket gets entered into the officer’s computer almost immediately, so there’s no point in pretending it never happened. Professor Bambauer made it clear that the ticket is valid as soon as the officer cites you and your consent is unnecessary.
Myth: Matching the “Flow of Traffic” and Passing Are Valid Excuses for Speeding
While driving too slow in traffic can be a hazard, the general concept of “going with the flow” of traffic isn’t going to get you out of a speeding ticket. Professor Bambauer explains that “everyone was doing it” is never a good excuse. Of course, Bambauer also points out that police forces can’t and shouldn’t go after every offender they see, but they might pick one speeder to make an example of.
Essentially, go with the flow at your own risk, but don’t expect to be let off the hook if you end up pulling the short straw. Even briefly passing another car won’t fly as an excuse either. Maybe the car in front of you is going just a little slower than you’d like, but to pass them you know you’ll have to go over the speed limit. As William Van Tassel, AAA’s National Manager of Driver Training, points out, you’re not allowed to exceed the speed limit for any reason—even if it’s just for a moment. Professor Bambauer calls posted speed limits “bright-line rules”:
This means they’re simple and clear. If the limit is 55, as soon as you’re going 56, you’re potentially liable—whether you’re passing, distracted, or rushing to the hospital. The police may decide not to enforce the violation, but you’re at risk.
In fact, when it comes to getting pulled over, it’s generally a bad idea to give any type of excuse for speeding anyway. Aaron Quinn, the communications director for the National Motorists Association, explains that giving a reason to why you were speeding is an open admission that you were speeding:
Never admit to speeding in the process of talking. I would say just to be polite with the officer. Reasoning with the officer is something that might help you out if you actually are on your way to the hospital. You can try talking, just don’t admit guilt.
Speeding is speeding, no matter the reason. So the only time making excuses might work is if you have an emergency-related excuse. Things like rushing to the hospital if someone has a very deep cut that requires the emergency room, for example. Still, there’s no guarantee it will work, so know what you’re getting into when you try to make the emergency excuse.
Myth: You’re More Likely to Get a Ticket at the End of the Month Due to Ticket Quotas
People often say you’re more likely to get a ticket at the end of the month because law enforcement officers have certain quotas they have to hit every month. While many police departments in the U.S. don’t set any quotas at all, some may still have minimums set in place to make sure that officers are actually out there doing their job. Professor Bambauer gives an example:
Tucson Police Department officers have quotas, but they’re absurdly low. Some police forces have none at all. And some, like TPD, consider how many tickets an officer writes when evaluating her for promotion.
So in a way, yes, quotas can be real, but officers probably aren’t rushing to meet them at the end of the month. At Quora, retired police detective and criminal justice professor Roger Curtiss explains that “quota” is actually a dirty word in law enforcement:
It is instead called a minimum performance standard which can vary amongst departments. I worked in a department where it was 10 & 10. Ten movers / ten parkers a month.
Assuming other departments have a somewhat similar standard as the “10 & 10” rule, that’s less than a ticket a day for a full-time traffic enforcement officer. So the concept of most officers scrambling to meet such a low quota in a month’s final days doesn’t hold a lot of water. However, Curtiss also pointed out that internal affairs can change those policies quickly:
Another department made it 10 movers (crash citations did not count) but the chief preferred if you wrote no parking tickets as he received more complaints from those than from anything else. I also worked briefly in a very small department which had no business tax base but did have a small section of a freeway running through it. So the police department was basically funded from traffic citation revenue. You weren’t paid directly by the number of tickets you wrote, but it was tacitly understood that if that revenue stream was to dry up the department would face personnel cutbacks.
So there might be some places where you’re more likely to get a traffic ticket, but it probably has nothing to do with a mad dash for citations at the end of the month. All of that said, there’s no real way to predict when your chances go up. You’re best bet is to just follow the traffic laws to the best of your ability, regardless of what day of the month it is (or what you’re driving).
Myth: Traffic Tickets Don’t Transfer to Other States
Try as you might, you can’t run away from your traffic tickets—at least in most states. A whopping 44 out of 50 states are members of the Non-Resident Violator Compact, and 45 states are members of the Driver’s License Compact, which means they all share ticket data (and even some non-member states will share data too).Shared ticket and driver’s license data means there’s no place to hide, so points and fines will follow you everywhere.
Professor Bambauer does note, however, that very small infractions might get lost in the process:
...a number of states will enforce out-of-state violations only if they meet some minimal threshold, or if the offense is also a violation under the home state’s laws. In short: it’s complex, and your mileage may vary.
For example, if your home state doesn’t have a careless driving law, but you get a ticket in another state for careless driving, there’s a good chance it won’t transfer over if you challenge it in court. Generally, though, you’re not going to want to throw that ticket away. If the charge can transfer, ignoring a ticket from another state can still lead to the suspension of your license and other punishments. In the end, don’t ever assume you’re in the clear, and either pay your ticket or seek appropriate legal counsel.
Myth: It’s Illegal to Drive Barefoot
For some reason, a lot of people believe that it’s illegal to drive without your shoes on, but this is also a major misconception. As Mike Churck, a Michigan State Police Sergeant, points out, there is no state law that says you can’t drive barefoot:
That’s the textbook traffic myth that’s out there. I guess to be honest I don’t know what the safety concern would be. I don’t know why there’d be a law against it.
That being said, not all types of vehicles in some states will let you air out your stinky feet. There is a law against it in Alabama—if you’re on a motorcycle. Otherwise, kick your kicks off all you want. Professor Bambauer does, however, caution that there’s a chance that driving barefoot could potentially fall under other laws:
I couldn’t find any other state that expressly bans driving barefoot. BUT, many states have all-purpose reckless driving or driving to endanger statutes, and one could be ticketed or arrested if, in the judgment of the officer, one’s barefoot driving violated these laws.
See, Maine
.
So if you want to take your shoes off when you drive, take them off before you start driving so you’re not distracted. Also, make sure your shoes aren’t sitting down by your feet where they can get kicked under the brake pedal accidentally. Driving barefoot isn’t against the law, but you don’t want your shoes to be the cause of any problems.
Myth: You Can Keep a Ticket Off Your Record by Paying a Little Extra
It’s hard to say where this urban legend came from—or whether it actually worked at one point—but it’s one of the more ridiculous myths out there. According to Edmunds, it basically works like this: you get a speeding ticket; pay the fine in the mail, but add a little extra to the cost of the ticket (from a penny to a few extra dollars); then you wait to get sent your refund for the extra amount you paid.
Supposedly, if you never cash the refund check, the ticket will never finish processing and never show up on your record. Professor Bambauer expresses how ridiculous this myth is:
This seems like the biggest whopper. If you pay more, if you’re fortunate, you’ll get a refund of the overpayment in time. The ticket goes on one’s record (and generally increases one’s insurance premiums) as soon as it’s entered into the system.
Sorry, no processing loophole or limbo of any kind you can try and mess with. It sure seems a bit silly that people thought this trick was possible in the first place, but if you’re desperate to get out of a ticket, you might be willing to believe anything.
Illustration by Sam Woolley.