Police Reveal 4 Common Ways to Get Pulled Over
Here’s what not to do if you want to avoid that next traffic ticket.
We’ve all seen it — someone changing lanes without signaling. Or a person driving while texting. And, if we’re honest, maybe we’ve even been that person. Nobody’s perfect. But when you’re trying to avoid being pulled over (which most of us are), it helps to know more about those bad driving habits we’ve all been (admittedly) guilty of at some point.
Edmunds.com polled 3 police agencies to get an idea of the most common driving no-no’s that cops encounter.
So, in the ongoing interest of helping us all become model motorists, here’s what Johnny Law had to say:
Speeding
(pulled over because you can’t drive 55 … in a 35 mph zone)
In the Edmunds survey, every cop surveyed listed stopping speeding drivers as a main priority. So why do police officers key in on speeders? Well, issuing speeding tickets has a huge impact on safety. For every 100 extra speeding citations given in a month, there are 14.3 fewer crashes and 5.6 fewer injuries.
Point is, if your need for speed gets the better of you, be prepared to put your money where your lead foot is — a whopping 34 million speeding tickets are handed out each year in the U.S.
Distracted driving
(pulled over because you’re texting, emailing, eating, and driving)
The police officers surveyed say their main reasons for giving distracted-driving tickets include illegal texting and driving or other dangerous cell phone use. And with good reason, too. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a stunning 40 percent of U.S. teens admit to having been in a car while the driver used a cell phone in an endangering way. We don’t know about you, but it seems this phenomenon can’t get enough police intervention.
Equipment violations
(pulled over because those windows are just a bit too dark)
Equipment offenses are easy bait for tickets because they’re so simple to spot. A police officer doesn’t have to make any judgments about the situation. Rather, he or she can simply see that something isn’t up to code and make a move. According to the cops surveyed, the most glaring violation (pun intended) was illegal window tints. Following that were burned-out lights, broken windshields, and expired license plate tags.
Tailgating and improper lane changes
(pulled over because you’re bound to cause an accident)
These 2 violations ranked as equally important on the Edmunds study. Both are reckless maneuvers that cops said they monitor closely. One police officer even qualified exactly what he thinks is considered a dangerous lane change: cutting someone off or moving without looking.
Using the left lane for cruising instead of passing, driving too slowly, and squealing your tires are also high on the list.
Use common sense
When reviewing these offenses, it’s not exactly a surprise that they attract attention. True, you can’t control what other people will do on the road. But you can control yourself. So next time you notice you’re about to fall into one of these habits, think about the repercussions. Safe driving is good for you and everyone else on the road.
Want to learn how these driving no-no’s can impact your car insurance? Check out our moving violations insight center.
Just being a woman is reason enough. Had a sheriff follow me for 7 miles did nothing wrong. Speed was at or under the limit. Pulled me over checked my papers when I asked why he pulled me over he told me I because I was driving suspiciously. No I was driving like a responsible person who doesn't make a lot of money and can not afford a ticket nor time off to go to court to deal with a ticket.
There used to be a probable cause law.If you were following him around for that long you would probably go to jail.I would report him.
"Using the left lane for cruising instead of passing, driving too slowly, and squealing your tires are also high on the list."
Really? I've NEVER seen anyone ticketed for driving too slowly or cruising in the left lane. I'm sure if these people were ticketed more we would see fewer traffic slowdowns and residual accidents.
so whats wrong with cruising in the left lane if you are cruising at the posted speed limit? personnally i don't it, but is there a law against using the left lane?
Yes most places have laws stating the left lane is for passing only…pass and move over slow poke
On a freeway or a multi lane hyway, left lane is considered a passing lane and should be used as such when traffic permits, good for first responders too. If you're not passing, you don't belong there, heavy traffic exception. I hate left lane campers. In Washington state there are laws regarding left lane campers.
YEAH, there's a law…the law of COMMON SENSE, moron! Even Chippies and other cops will tell you (even in traffic school) to stay out of the left lane if you're gonna drive like a blue-haired grannie.
I've never heard of anyone being ticketed for cruising in the left lane, but at least when I lived in LA, I saw cops go after drivers several times where that was obviously the reason why. In every case I noticed, it was someone driving sufficiently slow that they were forcing other traffic to pass them on the right.
Also, when my SIL was in high school, she got pulled over and kicked off the freeway for driving too slow (officer told her she'd be ticketed for obstructing if she failed to get off at the next exit). Apparently the police will pull drivers over for these two, but won't ticket them. Frankly, I'd love to see the cops do a lot more to create pain for drivers who obstruct traffic by driving too slow.
"Well, issuing speeding tickets has a huge impact on safety. For every 100 extra speeding citations given in a month, there are 14.3 fewer crashes and 5.6 fewer injuries"
I have great difficulty believing that. Any research you can cite?
J1-I'm a cop and I'll tell you that the station I work for did an informal study regarding the number of crashes and number of speeding tickets issued. It was determined when officers were issuing more tickets, there was a significant decrease in collisions. However, in my humble opinion, they failed to take into account the possibility that the decrease in collisions could be a result merely from the higher visibility of officers on the road.
I'll mention something else about speeding which is particular to California and something that the general public probably doesn't know. When there is a traffic collision, say, a fender bender, more often than not the actual cause of it was from someone who was distracted and didn't see the car in front of them that was stopped at a light or stop sign. However, we are required to write the cause as unsafe speed for conditions-the "logic" being that if the car in front of you was stopped, the speed limit is zero and even if you were only going one mph and hit that car, it's a speed related crash. So because of this requirement, I think there's an extremely inflated amount of crashes caused by "speed." Which of course "justifies" speeding tickets. I'm curious what other cops think about this.
Personally, my biggest pet peeves are the left lane hogs. I guarantee that you'll get a ticket for that if I pull you over. Unfortunately, I don't work for the highway patrol and I think the tendency amongst most traffic cops is to write speeding tickets because they require virtually no work, unlike actually having to drive around and look for other violations. Just my 2 cents
Thanks for your insight, Anna! It's really helpful to hear from people on the job.
What exactly IS a left lane hog, Anna ?
Stay out of the left lane, unless your passing or paying attention to people behind you. This practis could save you THE FINGER.
I heard in Los Angeles the largest number of tickets are issued for 'following too close." Probably a close cousin to speeding, but that is what I read some time ago!
I wish New York post a highway speed minimum like out west does. I be willing to bet the guy in left lane doing 40 more dangerous then the one doing 75 is. So let's make common sense and post both maximum and minimum speeds on all highways.
Who are any of you kidding? the main reason cops write enormous volumes of tickets is to increase the flow of revenues to the public treasury. Public Safety is just a term they use to conceal and mask the intent of the city fathers who employ them. Their #1 purpose has not been safety for nearly 50 years.