I just use an old Jedi trick from my youth. I wave my hand and say “these are not the $20 you are looking for”
I recently made a left turn in front of a cop which was apparently classified as “jumping the light”. He immediately hit his lights and pulled me over. He walks up to my window and says, “Do you. No, we’re not going to talk about it. You’re getting a ticket. Give me your license”.
ETA: My girlfriend once made a left on a red arrow on a stub street. A cop pulls up next to me riding shotgun, so I roll down the window. He says, “Can you show me how you made that illegal left turn back there?” I really wanted to say, "No, that would be illegal, Officer! 
".
What makes you so sure he would’t give me the ticket anyway? I would like to see some statistics regarding what percentage of traffic stops beginning with the question, “Do you know why I stopped you”, result in a citations. My WAG is damn near all of them, and you guys who think you are going to talk a cop out of giving you a ticket are deluding yourselves. Not all, but most.
The only time I was ever actually asked this question was when I literally had no idea why I had been pulled over, so I answered, very humbly and sincerely, “Actually, no, I have no idea.” Turned out my tags had expired. I assumed they expired at my birthday, but they actually expired on the anniversary of me leasing my vehicle. Whoops.
Every other time I was pulled over was for speeding, and every time the question asked was “Do you know how fast you were going?” to which I have always replied “I’m sorry, I wasn’t really paying attention. How fast was I going?” The one time that was actually true – it was a long drive and I had blanked out, and it took me a few minutes to even notice the cop car, lights on, behind me – I got off with a warning.
“Do you know why I pulled you over?”
“Because my car is the same make, model, year, and color as the one driven by that maniac who passed me a little while ago!”
In my experience, the officer never asks me anything. He tells me. “Good evening, I clocked you doing 80. May I see you license and proof of insurance please?” Well, that latter part is a question, but you know what I mean. The “do you know why” thing seems like a cliché to me, and it definitely would stuck in my head had I ever been asked such.
Yeah, i noticed that different approach between Australia and the US.
I got pulled over in the States for the very first time a couple of months ago. I was driving through a sleepy little hamlet in Vermont, and suddenly there were lights and sirens behind me. I pulled over, and while i waited for the cop to come to the window, i said to my traveling companions, “Was there a Stop sign i missed or something?”, because i honestly didn’t know what i was being stopped for. The only other possibility was speeding, but i thought i had been travelling slowly.
Anyway, cop came to the window and said, “Good afternoon, sir. Do you know why i pulled you over?”
I answered, “Actually, i was just trying to work that out. Was i going too fast?”
He confirmed that i had, indeed, been over the limit, and i apologized, saying that i must have been going faster than i thought.
The speed limit often drops very suddenly coming into those little towns, and usually i’m very conscious of it, but i must have missed the sign or something. Anyway, he ran my information and let me off with a warning.
There is no correct answer. As this thread proves there are plenty of wrong answers. One thing that you shouldn’t do is start off your side of the conversation with “Why did you pull me over?” (usually with a very accusatory look and tone of voice) Especially if you have yet to comply with the request for your credentials. He will let you know soon enough.
Oh, none of that. This is affluent, white suburban/rural Massachusetts. The only ethnic types around here are kept in a zoo so that the children can be acclimated to them in a safe setting. I have a beautiful commute to work but the largest town I pass through seems to have an unusually aggressive yet friendly police department. I have had 4 police stops in three years there but no tickets.
Most stops are your standard deal where the police just run my plates and check for a criminal record as well as previous tickets. Having no record and no recorded tickets seems to make the police there very reluctant to write a “first” ticket so the cycle feeds itself.
After the fiasco with my registration problem, I was dismayed to see the blue lights flashing in my rear-view mirror yet again. I knew I was going to be in trouble if it was the same officer that stuck his neck out for me days earlier.
Now I knew the following was theoretically possible but I had never encountered it in real life. The officer that stepped out of the car was truly attractive by any measure. Late twenties, dark brown hair, and fuck me eyes. The ladies on Cops have never measured up to this one. As she walked up to the window as asked “Did I do something wrong officer?” and she gave me the scoop as we locked eyes for a perfect 1.8 second contact. More information was transmitted during that time then could ever be in an hour of conversation.
I was careful not to even glance at her supple breast because I knew that was an instant trap. Even though my SUV was turned off, I could sworn that there was an odd kind of 70’s music coming from the speakers. Alas, we were in a busy area and it was never meant to be. She gave me a written warning which was probably a clue for me to find her number but I am married unfortunately.
My little brother is a police officer. I think the key is to just treat them with respect, address them as officer, and not to make stupid jokes or be overtly hostile or defensive. That is what all people want on their jobs and the police are no different. The difference is that they have guns and a wide range of things that they could potentially do to you if you start being a dick. It is amazing how many people can’t grasp that concept.
I could give dozens of things to not say, but I’ve had about a 50% success rate just admitting that I did indeed know why. “Because my girlfriend doesn’t understand the difference between left and right when she’s giving me directions” is pretty good for bad lane changes and sudden left or right turns (if the cop is male and your obviously ditsy girlfriend is in the car with you at the time).
“I have no idea, officer” has never, in my experience, been followed by “Well, off you go then!”
I’ve been pulled over in the US twice, and I had some success with something along the lines of “No, officer, but I suspect I did something utterly idiotic.”
In one instance, I was speeding (45 in a 30 zone), and I was earnestly told that it wasn’t exactly idiotic, but I really ought to ride more carefully. I agreed, we talked bikes for a bit, then went our separate ways.
The other time, I was told that revving like a madman through traffic was pretty damn idiotic. To which I could earnestly reply that he must’ve had me confused with someone else, because I just had the bike out from a complete overhaul including valve adjustment and I wasn’t revving anything anywhere for the first few hundred miles and I could show him the receipt and… (insert an additional 90 secs or so of embarrassing stream-of-consciousness protestations of innocence here…) He agreed that it probably was somebody else (it was), and so we talked bikes for a bit, then went our separate ways.
During a citizen’s police academy program, Shayna and I were given the very good advice that while it’s sometimes hard to talk your way out of a ticket, it’s never hard to talk your way into one.
I ended up beating the rap. That sewer project had been going on forever, and the judge who heard the case had to drive through it multiple times a day, and when I explained that I wasn’t avoiding the red light, but the construction he dropped the charge. I still had the splint on my finger, and that may have helped too,
When I get pulled over in Japan, I speak English as fast as I can, while smiling and nodding. It’s worked so for. . .
I got pulled over once in California and honestly didn’t know. The officer pointed out that I had made a right turn in front of an elderly pedestrian in the crosswalk, but just gave me a warning after seeing with my out-of-state drivers license.
I used to work security on campus while going to school, and knew the campus police. One of the guys would have a concealed tape recorder so that when people would admit to speeding then he could use that if they contested it.
As I wrote above, it not unusual for me to forget to get my inspection sticker renewed and such. Sometime this happens during a blitz, when apparently all the local police are trying to write up a lot of tickets. On at least three occasions, I got stopped a second time in less than a day or two. On all three occasions, I chose to be as honest as possible, but also to make a strong case for leniency, with as much respect as I could possibly muster up:
*Sir, do you know why I pulled you over?
Is it because of my expired sticker?
Yes, sir.
Officer, I don’t know exactly what the rules are, and I don’t want to tell you how to do your job, but I just got ticketed for this in [name of town] this morning. I know I should have renewed it on time, and I’m really sorry.*
Then I show him the ticket, and all three times he let me off with a stern lecture.
“Do you know why I pulled you over?”
“Because I’ve got a dead hooker in the trunk?”
Just say “I like your gun”, then go all T-X on him.
The correct answer is there is no correct answer. It all depends on the officer’s mood, your infraction, etc. I’ve gone the “don’t admit anything” route and gotten a ticket. I’ve gone the “yes, I was speeding route” and been let off with a warning (I think I threw the officer off-guard with my admission). There doesn’t seem to be any “correct” way of answering this question other than not being purposefully confrontational.
Usually thats a clue that at least in Ontario he is seeking to educate you. Normally I get the license, registration and insurance spiel , followed by the actual ticket. With the educational route, its been either a warning or a ticket thats been reduced for some reason or other.
Declan
Well, I don’t have any official statistics, but I’ve been pulled over maybe 10 times in my ten years of driving (mostly for speeding–I know; slow the fuck down), and have only gotten two tickets. My husband has a similar record. I never assume that I’m going to get a ticket–if you’re as nice and polite as possible toward the cop, your chances of getting off are obviously going to be much better. Not 100%, but better. Being a smart-ass is never your best option.
“Do you know why I pulled you over?”
Male officer = No, sir.
Female officer = No, officer. (I know women that don’t like 'mam)
What is he going to say…“NUH UH…YES YOU DID!”