People who get pulled over for a traffic violation often hope to avoid any actual consequences. Certain types of people, in particular, may think that they can talk their way out of traffic tickets. For example, historically, adult white men often report being able to talk their way out of tickets, with as many as 20% of white men claiming to have done so and avoided all citations entirely.
Despite how many people talk about getting out of tickets and how officers may seem receptive to someone’s input during a traffic stop, trying to talk one’s way out of a citation can do more harm than good.
Officers want to keep people talking
The more someone says to a police officer, the easier it may be for that officer to claim they believe that individual engaged in criminal activity. Details including someone’s personal habits or what they were doing right before they got in the vehicle won’t have any bearing on whether or not a traffic infraction results in a ticket in most cases. However, those details could give a police officer reason to search a vehicle or continue questioning someone.
In some cases, those eager to avoid a ticket might even make statements that seem like they want to bribe the officer, which could lead to secondary accusations. Using one’s charisma and verbal prowess to avoid a citation likely won’t lead to success. In scenarios where there is a compelling reason that the officer should not write the ticket, it may be possible to fight the ticket in court instead of trying to prove one’s point while stopped on the side of the road.
The less that people share with a police officer and the less time they spend engaged with one, the lower their chances of getting arrested for some frivolous or minor reason. Instead of trying to avoid a ticket during a traffic stop when an officer can and will use anything someone says to build a case against them, it may be a better approach to fight the ticket after the officer issues one.