Avoid Speed Tickets
The answer to this question or rather, solution, should be blatantly obvious to the majority of motorists. Nonetheless, there will always be newbie drivers as well as those who just never learn. Take a few tips from someone who's 'earned' their fair share of speeding tickets.
-You'd think that the obvious rule-Do Not Speed-could go unsaid. Not so. Many habitually speeding motorists never learn from their first or second ticket; they continue to push the speed limit to whatever they fathom they can get away with. Example: The motorists shooting down the freeway at 80 mph-when the limit is 70. No empathy whatsoever is felt for the speed demons who get caught.
-If you're going to have a lead foot, try to keep it no more than 5 mph over the posted limit. Cops who pull people over for going, say, 43 in a 45 (which is rare), simply need a life and a new hobby. 'Nuff said.
-Watch for speed traps on the interstate, particulary at joints like emergency-crossing medians, parts of the freeway where opposing lanes are hidden by trees or very tall grass (yours truly has fallen for that one), exits and off-ramps, and in plain sight just over the top of a hill (again, guilty).
-Invest in a radar/laser detector. Don't go for a cheap one/secondhand one either. Just as computers and software are evolving at warp-speed, so are the technologies used in radar/laser guns used by coppers. More importantly, make sure it's legal in your state.
-Are you a speed junkie and looking to buy a new/used car? Avoid at all costs bright, even slightly bright, red cars as well as any vehicle with showy fluorescent or 'hey look at my badass' colors and/or themes. Just as they attract attention from other drivers, they'll catch the watchful eye of the law equally.
-Here's another caveat that should be obvious (but sadly, too often isn't): don't drive while intoxicated (forget the 'legal' limit. More than 2 beers and forget driving altogether), don't drive under any meds that make you drowsy, and certainly do not drive while under the influence of any illegal drugs (yes hippies, that one is for you too).
-It's a rule of thumb that cops tend to begin issue speeding tickets out more aggressively near the end of the month. However, this doesn't neccessarily apply to every metropolitan area's PD/sherriff's department; in some cities, quotas are rarely, if ever, used and cops pull everyone over for the smallest of reasons. In many rural areas and small, more affluent suburbs, cops are usually extremely eager to pull anything on four wheels over.
-Do not drive with your bright lights on (or those blinding, gawd-awful Xeon lights) at night if you insist on driving faster than allowed.
-Naturally, speeding to keep up with the pace of traffic gives you much more cover. This doesn't mean speed with reckless abandon-weaving in and out of traffic like many a jackass does. Stay in the right-most lane as much as possible.
-Here's the list of typical cruisers to keep an eye out for: Unmarked Crown Victoria's with stock-ish looks wheels, any other Crown Vic that looks relatively new, Chevy Impalas, Dodge Chargers, Chevy Caprices (yes, they still exist, although they're rarely seen anymore), Chevy Tahoes/Suburbans (practically the same thing), Ford Expeditions, and many more. Experience tells me that almost all, if not all, cops drive American cars (i.e. a Chevy, Ford, or Chrysler product) even when the car isn't marked.
Drive safe and get help, if necessary, for that lead foot.
