No matter how careful you are on the road, there’s always a chance that you could end up being pulled over by the police. Perhaps it’s because you had a long day at work and you forgot to signal when you were moving into a new lane, or maybe it’s because your foot has been resting a little too heavily on the accelerator pedal for the last 5 kilometers.
Regardless of why you’re being pulled over, it’s important to make sure that you know how to react calmly, and carefully, to reduce your chances of ending up with a fine, or a trip to jail. Although being addressed by the police can be a nerve-wracking experience, if you can handle the moment well, then you should be able to get back to your journey with as little pain and discomfort as possible.
Step 1: Indicate
The first thing to do is make sure that the police know they’ve got your attention. Turn on your indicators, and look for a safe place on the road that you can pull over to and stop the car. Remember that your aim should be to stop as quickly as possible, without putting yourself or anyone else in danger.
Step 2: Stay in Your Vehicle
This is an area where a lot of people face problems when they’re pulled over by the police. They assume that because the officer in question is coming to speak to them, they should get out of their vehicle and try to be polite. However, the best thing you can do is stay inside your vehicle until the police officer tells you to get out. If it’s dark, you might want to turn on your interior lights, so you can look at each other face to face.
Step 3: Be Calm and Courteous
There will probably be a million different thoughts running through your head when you’re waiting for the police officer to approach you and explain why you’ve been stopped. It’s important to try and calm your nerves and remind yourself that you’re speaking to a man or woman of the law. This means that you should be polite, and courteous, even if you think that you haven’t done anything wrong, or you’re unhappy with the way things are going.
Step 4: Don’t Argue
It’s tempting to try and argue your case or give a reason for why something happened when you’re getting into trouble. We often convince ourselves that we can argue our way out of a bad situation, but this is almost never the case when it comes to handling the law. Instead of trying to make the police officer see things your way, make sure that you apologise for whatever you were doing and let the officer know it will never happen again. If you’re polite enough, then you may get away with a warning.
Step 5: Be Safe as You Re-Enter Traffic
Finally, when you’re coming back onto the road after your conversation with the law enforcement representative, make sure that you don’t let your emotions get the best of you. Even if things didn’t go your way and you ended up with a ticket, you should be calm and cautious when merging back into traffic. The last thing you want is to end up in more trouble because you acted rashly due to your anger or embarrassment.
