Most of us have already gotten at least a speeding ticket and for those of you that didn't, these tips will help your record stay "clean". Many of these pointers are basically just common sense stuff but some of them are actually pretty interesting and helpful. I wanna thank for this cool guide to "generic" from bimmerforums.com
- If far ahead of you, drivers are throwing on their breaks for what seems like little to no reason; it may mean that there is a cop/speed trap. People put on the breaks even if they aren’t speeding, just a natural reaction.
- Always drive in the right lane when possible. You should be doing that anyway, but if not, remember pass on the left, drive on the right. Its obvious that you’re a speeder if your just always in the left lane.
- “Authorized Vehicle Only” turn areas in the median of highways are obvious spots for cops to gun you, they usually are every mile or so, so keep an eye out for them. Also a large amount of speed traps are located at the bottom of long hills to catch you not paying attention to your speedo.
- One thing to keep in mind when trying to figure out if a cop car is behind you is that the parking lights are on the inside of the headlights. This of course is only pretty much true for crown vicks/police interceptors. The headlight arrangement is pretty unique. Of course light bars are always a dead give away as well, but can be hard to see from a distance.
- No, it’s not a cop car if one of its headlights is out. And as far as I can tell, no police force uses non-American cars. Of course there are exceptions to this, but thats mostly when a car is a repo, gift, etc so i don't count them
- If people in the opposing direction of traffic are flashing you for what seems to be no reason, it means there's a cop up ahead. (or of course your bright HIDs are blinding them because you haven't taken the time to adjust them… or maybe there is something dangerous up ahead)
- If you see a cop who's sitting still radarring people and you are speeding, don't hit your brakes: you've just admitted guilt. The same is not true if a cop is driving and/or not necessarily looking out for speeders (unless he is right behind you).
- Do not speed in construction zones or crowded residential streets!!!
- Do not go more than 15 over the speed limit on the highway, 7 or so over on surface streets. You may still get a ticket doing 15 or 7 over, respectively, but your chances are greatly reduced compared to if you're doing, say, 20/12 over, respectively.
- Obey all warning and advisory signs for impending curves and hills; a cop can nail you for reckless driving if you're doing significantly faster than an advisory sign suggests you go around a bend, etc.
- Keep an eye on the speed of tractor trailers. If they are cruising fast, it is usually safe. If they are cruising right around the limit, be careful of police. They will broadcast locations of traps to one another as they are spotted coming up the highway from opposite directions.
- The best way I avoid speeding tickets when cruising is by carrying a hand-held CB radio. They're about $100 bucks but will save you a lot. I personally think they're quite neat and have a whip antenna on the back of my Camry.. Truckers will advise when and where they see a cop and where they often sit, if you just ask. I usually do not travel into other cities without a CB just because it's such a good way to communicate with people who know the area well. Most truckers also give directions. There is no license required to own or operate a CB, either.
- Watch out for cops hiding out on the side of the road under highway overpasses. Also, watch your speed when getting to a point in the road where up ahead, the road bends and your line of sight is limited. You have less time to react to a cop measuring speeds, and he is more likely to have the radar on you than any cars in front of you.
- if a road has no shoulders, or they are too narrow, then you have low risk to be pulled, because safety.
