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Physicist Uses Math to Beat Traffic Ticket

physicscentral.com

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Re: Physicist Uses Math to Beat Traffic Ticket

#41

Post by vacri »

nopassrecover wrote: post #40
vacri wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It may not always be a good idea, but for me, when I get pulled over, I get out of the car immediately. In my 20s I was pulled over so many times for 'random' car checks that were really about bored policemen passing time, that I started to get out of the car first to upset the dynamic. It helps that I'm really tall, but it's worth it for the look on their face when it turns from 'bored paternalism' to 'we might have…

Absolute worst idea. This counts as an act of escalation (it counts as a threat to police safety) and is likely to end up with a definite ticket and potentially a handcuffed trip to the station if you don't get back in your car fast when ordered. Particularly if you're physically imposing you run the risk of a panicked officer pulling their weapon..

To quote myself: being free to move isn't about posing a physical threat. I'm not standing over them, and rarely approach them directly - it's not like I'm panicking the officer.

As for the 'handcuffed trip to the station', that's never happened to me, and I've done it close to a dozen times. I've also never ended up with a ticket while doing this.

What kind of backward country do you live in where you're not free to move around police officers if you're not actually being arrested and you're not threatening them?

Re: Physicist Uses Math to Beat Traffic Ticket

#42

Post by DerKommissar »

vacri wrote: post #41
nopassrecover wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absolute worst idea. This counts as an act of escalation (it counts as a threat to police safety) and is likely to end up with a definite ticket and potentially a handcuffed trip to the station if you don't get back in your car fast when ordered. Particularly if you're physically imposing you run the risk of a panicked officer pulling their weapon..

To quote myself: being free to move isn't about posing a physical threat . I'm not standing over them, and rarely approach them directly - it's not like I'm panicking the officer. As for the 'handcuffed trip to the station', that's never happened to me, and I've done it close to a dozen times. I've also never ended up with a ticket while doing this. What kind of backward country do you live in where you're not free t…

The problem is one of statistics.

Whenever they pull someone over, which is often, they have to judge what you're going to do. For them, the chances of you doing something crazy like speeding off, pulling a gun, etc. is not insignificant. That's what they're thinking about when they're walking up to your car. They've been trained about what things to look for. And getting out of your car is the way many violent interactions begin.

If you just get out of your car and act nice, I doubt it could really be a problem. It's just a dicey thing to do, making any sort of act that could be perceived as aggressive towards an officer.

Re: Physicist Uses Math to Beat Traffic Ticket

#43

Post by throwaway1979 »

I have a question about avg ticket costs. My first (and so far, only) ticket was in LA for crossing a solid HOV line. The ticket itself was 80-100. However, they added a ton of fees to it (the best one I remember was a fee for courthouse improvement but there were fees by the county of LA and the city of LA). All-in-all, the grand total was around 400. Is this just a California thing? I don't see how people can eat in that state when a ticket costs this much.

Re: Physicist Uses Math to Beat Traffic Ticket

#47

Post by whackberry »

rdl wrote: post #33
joshmlewis wrote: post #16

Yeah, that took some dedication, and because we aren't all as dedicated or physicist here are some practical tips I've learned: 1. When an officer asks how fast you were going, never say anything over the speed limit or that's automatic guilt. Just decline to know or tell. A lot of people say within a +5-10mph range over the speed limit because they think that is "ok", but in fact anything over the speed limit is spe…

The #1 thing I do when stopped is go out of my way to 1) prioritize officer safety and 2) avoid generating probable cause for a vehicle search. i.e. pull over in a place which is safe for both vehicles and for the officer on foot, keep hands visible all the time, turn on dome light, put keys on dashboard, and be polite. Also I tend to announce any moves, like "my wallet is in my back pocket, reaching for it with my l…

> my wallet is in my back pocket, reaching for it with my left hand

If I were a officer and someone narrated what they're doing like that I'd immediately find it suspicious. Just say you're gonna get your wallet, cops aren't all completely stupid.

"I'm reaching for my wallet with my left hand sir" sounds retarded.

Re: Physicist Uses Math to Beat Traffic Ticket

#48

Post by rhizome »

joshmlewis wrote: post #16

Yeah, that took some dedication, and because we aren't all as dedicated or physicist here are some practical tips I've learned: 1. When an officer asks how fast you were going, never say anything over the speed limit or that's automatic guilt. Just decline to know or tell. A lot of people say within a +5-10mph range over the speed limit because they think that is "ok", but in fact anything over the speed limit is spe…

For #1: "Why were you going so fast?"
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