Avoiding Traffic Tickets: How to Stay Out of Trouble

The best way to avoid a ticket is to obey the rules of the road -- but sometimes even innocent drivers are ticketed. Here are a few tips to keep you in the clear.

To butcher a common phrase, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of traffic tickets." In other words, the best way to minimize your chance of receiving a ticket is to scrupulously obey all traffic laws. The most common tickets are for speeding on highways. Here are a few tips for staying out of harm's way.

Make Sure You Can Spot the Police

Highway Patrol officers will often park very near on-ramps, to allow them to quickly get onto the highway to chase or pace a car they think is going too fast. It isn't a bad idea to glance about the area as you approach an on-ramp. After all, your heightened awareness will not only help you avoid a traffic officer, but will also help you be a better and safer driver!

Keep A Low Profile On the Roads

The best way to avoid speeding tickets on highways is to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Try to:

• Stay out of the far-left lane if possible, because that's where officers usually look for the faster drivers.

• Avoid using your headlights in the daytime while barreling down the fast lane -- a sure sign of a speeder who wants slower traffic to get out of his way.

• Avoid unusual car decorations or adornments. Anything out of the ordinary -- such as racing stripes, stickers or jacked-up front or rear wheels -- will call unnecessary and possibly unwanted attention to your driving.

In A Speeder's Guide to Avoiding Tickets (Avon Books, 1991), retired New York Highway Patrolman Sgt. James M. Eagan, gives some insight into how police officer decide to pull someone over. Among the factors officers might consider are the following:

• Bumper stickers and unnecessary window decals. Most bumper stickers -- even those favoring sports teams -- are capable of offending someone. Conversely, the 'support your local police' or 'Police Benevolent Association' bumper stickers are such obvious attempts at getting favorable treatment that they're almost guaranteed to have the opposite effect.

• Personalized license plates. These are okay, but make sure your plate isn't likely to single you out by occupation or other category likely to offend. (One young buck with a 'NEC BRKR' personalized plate on his 4 x 4 truck kept wondering why he got so many tickets!)

• Tinted windows. Police dislike them because they don't make for easy viewing of vehicle occupants. An officer is going to be a little more apprehensive when approaching the vehicle, and less likely to relax and let you off with a warning afterward.

• Radar detectors. Never a good idea!

• Poor vehicle condition. An officer is going to be at least slightly more favorably disposed toward the driver of a neat, well-maintained vehicle than to the driver of a sloppy wreck. (Police seem to get more than their share of verbal abuse from drivers of the latter types of vehicles.) Repair large noticeable dents, replace cracked windows, keep your car presentably painted and keep the interior neat and clean -- including the glove compartment and ashtray in the event the officer looks in there (and many do).

• Worn tires. Replace these. An officer inclined to give only a warning may think otherwise after noticing you were speeding on bald tires.