Ten Ways to Avoid Speeding Tickets

How to avoid getting caught speeding –  the best way is to not get the ticket in the first place.

Ten Tips to Avoid Speeding Tickets

Cartoon of police officer stopping a speeding car
  • Don’t be the lead vehicle
  • Stay out of the passing lane
  • Look ahead while driving
  • Watch your speed on hills
  • Pay attention, look ahead
  • Watch ramps on highways for police
  • Use your cruise control
  • Stay within 15km of the limit
  • Get out and talk
  • Be polite

Avoiding Speeding Tickets

Yes, it’s obvious but if you set a mental picture to follow the speed limit, you may avoid receiving the ticket in the first place.  In reality everyone speeds at least a little bit from time to time.

The good news is that police officers rarely issue tickets for speeding near the speed limit. For example, if you drive within 10km/h of the speed limit, it’s unlikely that you will be stopped for speeding.

Be aware of the speed limit, if you don’t see a sign, within the city the speed limit is always 50 km/h and in the country it’s 80km/h.

1. Don’t Be the Lead Vehicle

The police target the traffic coming towards them, looking for speeding vehicles.

If you’re the first car and you’re speeding, your vehicle will be the first vehicle whose speed is measured and most likely to be stopped.

If you know you’re speeding, try to get another faster car in front of you, so that they get stopped not you.

2. Stay out of the Passing Lane

Many times the police target the passing lane because that’s where the faster vehicles are driving.

Try to stay in the curb lane as much as possible. If you’re on the highway many times the police just target the fast lane, because its dangerous for them to go across lanes trying to get you stopped.



A police officer never has to issue the ticket, whether or not to issue a ticket is always within the officer’s discretion…



3. Look Ahead when Driving

Pay attention to your driving and look ahead.

When you think you might be driving above the speed limit, look ahead as far as you can. Be suspicious of vehicles parked on the sides of the roadways on highway, that might be radar.

Typically the police are targeting vehicles around the 500 to 300 metres away from the radar, if you can keep a look out around this distance you can avoid most speed traps.

4. Watch Your Speed on Hills

Watch your speed going up or down hills.

You can avoid many speeding tickets by slowing as you crest a hill or watching your speed going down hill. Some unscrupulous officers will sit at the bottom of a hill knowing that the vehicle naturally accelerates going down.

Also, you can’t always see a police vehicle stopped behind a hill, slow down and watch your speed on hills.



5. Pay attention to your driving and look ahead.

When you think you might be driving above the speed limit look as far as you can down the road. Be suspicious of police vehicles parked on the sides of the roadways on highway.

Typically the police are targeting vehicles around the 300 metre mark if you can keep a look out around this distance you can avoid most speed traps.

6. Watch Ramps onto Highways

While traveling on the highways, watch as you come up to “on ramps”. The police like to sit on the ramps because it can give them a higher elevation to look down onto the highway and it’s a safe spot to sit. The down side for the officer is that most of the time the radar or laser can only look forward or ahead of the police car. You have to pass the police car or ramp before the officer can target your vehicle.

As you drive on multi lane highways watch the ramps for police vehicles and you should be able to slow down before the officer can record you speeding.

7. Use your cruise control

If you set the cruise control at or near the limit you avoid going over the speed limit inadvertently.  Planning your time so you don’t need to speed and being aware of your driving can keep you out of trouble.

8. Keep your Speed within 15km/h of the Limit

Although not always the case, most police officers set a buffer of about 15km to 20km as an acceptable amount over the speed limit. After going past this amount police officers feel you’ve been given a grace and should be stopped for speeding. you leave yourself open to being caught and given a speeding ticket.



9. Get out and start talking!

If you say nothing then you’re going to get the ticket.

The more you talk to the officer and explain what happened or if you have an excuse or story to tell, the higher the chance that the officer will let you off with a warning.

10. Be Polite

If you do talk to the officer, be polite.

You will gain nothing by being rude or disrespectful to the officer. Sometimes if you are polite and admit where you went wrong the police officer will give a warning rather than a speeding ticket.

The officer never has to issue the ticket, whether or not to ticket a driver is always within the officer’s discretion.