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Comment by wyclif | Hacker News Reader

Upvoted. Never, ever, talk to the cops.

Upvoted too because I preach this to friends/family regularly for serious issues/offenses. However I've talked my way out of around 9 out of 12 speeding fines in various states by being nice and kissing a bit of ass during the last decade.

Cops are people too and when they walk up to your window after pulling you over, they may actually be scared. And you know fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to your suffering in traffic court.

So the next cop who pulls you over, wind down your window before he gets there, get your drivers license out so you don't have to fish your pockets, put your hands on the wheel so he can see you're not going to blow his brains out and if it's not more than 20 miles over the limit, try admitting guilt and being nice. You might be surprised.

This is excellent advice. The cop that arrests you and pulls you in for questioning is confident and in a position of control. The cop that stops you on the street or in your car is dealing with an unknown potentially dangerous situation.

Both are cops. But they are entirely different people.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you are not supposed to fish for anything after you are pulled over. Just keep your hands on the wheel. If the officer sees you leaning over trying to find something after you're pulled over he/she could see that as suspicious behavior.

Just to reiterate, it really hurts to see so many people saying "have your ID ready". From the very moment an officer pulls you over they will be anxiously watching your every move, hoping you're not the next one that attempts to pull a gun on them.

Reaching for anything when pulled over is the absolute worst thing you can do to an officer no matter how innocuous you may think you seem.

Please, just keep your hands on the wheel until they're at the window.

Well, that's in the US. Fortunately, a lot of people live in countries where you can do whatever when stopped and the officer will never suspect you are trying to pull a gun on them, or pull a gun on you.

That's because, in those countries, it NEVER happens (i.e for someone pulled over to shoot the cop). So you can go get your ID or whatever, and then you have a chat, and they maybe give you a fine for speeding or whatever.

The cops here don't even carry guns on their person. If you draw one on them, they will retreat to a safe distance, get out the guns from the trunk of the radio car, and keep an eye on you until the cavalry arrives.

"I've talked my way out of around 9 out of 12 speeding fines"

Wow you must be really good at that. In all my life I never managed to talk myself out of a ticket once I was stopped by the police.

I've avoided 9 out of the past 10 with a simple strategy of pulling over as soon as I feel like a cop might be following be (ideally before the lights come on), turning the dome light on in my car, rolling down the window, putting my hands on the wheels and admitting that I "assume" the cop was going to pull me over "because I was probably speeding".

This is not your best strategy if:

(a) You are driving on a suspended license

(b) You or anyone in your car have anything in the car to hide

I bring this up because, for me at least, there's no skill involved in "talking my way out of a ticket". There's no magic words, and it doesn't involve charm, just a little mindfulness.

I have been pulled over 3 times and gotten 2 warnings (one written, one not) and a ticket for not having my insurance card on me (that was later dismissed). The first time I was going 75 in a 55, the second time I was going 45 in 30 and the third time I was going 65 in a 55.

The 65 in a 55 I pulled over as soon as I saw him slow down to turn around, the rest of the time I just admitted I was probably going too fast. Again, nothing special just mindfulness.

This is very true. The main difference is that these are not criminal charges - unlike what the professor says in the video, this is something the officer can and and often will let you get away with if you evoke enough empathy.

The important thing to keep in mind of course is that with a speeding ticket, at worse you'll have to pay a few bucks for something you maybe even didn't do. This is as opposed to spending a few years in jail for a crime you did not commit...

I agree with everything here except the admitting guilt part. Don't EVER confess to anything to a law enforcement agent, especially if surprise surprise, you're actually guilty, even for something as minor as a traffic ticket.

If you're caught speeding, suck it up and take the ticket.

I live in a large city where speed traps are common. Good luck talking your way out of speeding tickets in those circumstances. Here warnings are very, very uncommon.

Worth noting that this is in the UK, where there isn't an absolute right to remain silent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_silence_in_England_and...

That's advice if taken literally is horrible. Never talk to the cops if accused of a SERIOUS crime, always get some sort of legal council. If however you get pulled over for running a stop sign or some other traffic violation/small offense and you know the cop saw you, don't insult their intelligence. Judge the situation I've gotten out of every traffic ticket by being polite and honest. I'll usually try and apologize as soon as the cop walks over "i'm sorry officer i don't know what i was thinking going that fast" i've caught cops off guard saying stuff like that, they will usually reply "uh so you know why i pulled you over" a simple "yes" and an ashamed look will work wonders. Also use your judgment, if the weather is bad always have your license and paperwork ready before the cop walks over, "I know you're just doing your job i didnt wanna make you wait in the rain" has gotten me out of a few speeding tickets too. ;)

As stated above though, if you're accused of something serious just keep your mouth shut.

The difference is, a trafic cop doesn't want to arrest you. They don't want to book anyone, but their boss told them to go balance the books by fleecing drivers. If you make their job easier, they might let you off with a warning.

A cop who's investigating a real crime wants to get a conviction. And they aren't in a position to do plea bargaining (like a traffic cop), that's the DA's job (then the judge's, if it gets that far). It's not a terrible idea to negotiate with the DA and judge, but you need a lawyer to help you do it.

If it's possible you may be on the hook for something more serious than a traffic ticket, clam up; your implied admission of having done anything in traffic can harm you.

There have been a number of miscarriages of justice in the UK.

It's important to remember that there is not right to silence here, and Judges can make inferences based on a person's silence during police question.

Better advice is to ask for a solicitor, and say calmly that you'll only talk when you have legal representation.

If you're innocent it's important to give a minimal account (with legal representation) of your actions, because not doing so could lead to a false conviction.

Judges can make inferences based on a person's silence during police question.

Judges can do that here, too. No constitution can stop them from making inferences.

But a Judge in England can say that s/he is taking the defendant's refusal to answer questions in a police station, or a refusal to testify, as evidence of guilt.

A US judge saying that would leave the case open to appeal.

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