Some people seem to be magnets for tickets. Whether it’s speeding traffic tickets, red light camera tickets or some other type of traffic ticket, there are some people who get them again and again. Sometimes, they even get them from the same law enforcement officers over and over again. This leads many of them to the belief that they are being targeted for tickets by law enforcement. Whether that is true or not is debatable. It is often difficult to tell what is targeting by law enforcement and what is simply a matter of getting a lot of traffic tickets because the drivers make it easy for officers to give them the tickets. If you find yourself getting a lot of traffic tickets, here are some pointers about how you can stop getting them.

Stop doing the things that lead to the tickets. If you get tickets for the same thing over and over again, then it should be obvious that you need to stop doing whatever it is that you are doing that leads to the tickets. For example, if you get a lot of Broward speeding tickets, then stop speeding in Broward County. Be cautious in Broward and don’t give the officers a reason for writing the tickets. Also, consider where you drive. If you keep getting tickets on Hollywood Blvd. or University Drive, than take Pines Blvd. or Pine Island Road instead. If you travel through a school zone on the way to work, go a different way to work.

Pay attention to where you get the tickets. Some people get repeated traffic tickets in the same neighborhood. This might be the result of the neighborhood being a common place for traffic officers to set up speeding traps or it might be the result of the local officers targeting a particular driver. Either way, if you get tickets in the same neighborhood, be careful in that neighborhood. If possible, avoid the area. If that is not possible, then do not do anything in the area that can give officers an excuse to write a ticket.

Fix your car. Many tickets are a result of officers targeting a vehicle because there is something wrong with the vehicle. A car that has a busted headlight will get stopped over and over again until the headlight is fixed. The driver might not even get a ticket for the headlight, but once the stop has been made, the driver will usually end up getting a ticket for something else. Also, don’t drive a red car or a sports car. If you do, you better be extra careful since you will be targeted by the cops. Yes, cops profile and give tickets accordingly. Also, cops a jealous. They work for $30,000 a year and your kid drives a BMW. Or worse, you drive a Mercedes Benz. They hate you and do the only thing they can to get back at you for their own lack of success, they give out traffic tickets. It makes them feel important. Thus, if you drive a fancy car, be extra nice and let the cop feel like you are weak and sorry.

Be polite. The easiest way to get targeted by law enforcement officers for traffic tickets is to be a jerk to them. Every time that an officer you are rude to sees you driving, the officer will remember you and look to stop you for something. You can avoid many repeat tickets by simply being nice to officers when you are stopped, even if it is the last thing that you want to do. See above for more reasons.

Hire an attorney. Instead of getting a reputation for being an easy target for tickets, hire an attorney to fight any that you get. If officers know you and know that they might have to appear in court to defend every ticket that they write you, they are less likely to stop you and give you a ticket for minor violations. It will not be worth the officers’ time. However, if you pay every ticket they write, the officers have no reason not to keep giving them to you. Give our office a call when you get your next ticket and let us show you how effective we can be at stopping traffic ticket targeting.