Best (and Worst)
Traffic Ticket Excuses
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"Sorry Officer, but ... "
We asked AOL users to share the best (and worst) excuses they have ever used to try and get out of traffic tickets. Some of their responses were doozies!
Click through our gallery as we highlight some of the funniest, strangest and most original excuses shared. But remember, if you don't speed, you won't have to be so creative yourself!
First Slide: Excuse No. 1 -
It Was a True Story, Once ...
AOL user newclient says:
"This works 90% of the time. It was a true story when my dad first used it. He has been using it ever since. He was pulled over for speeding and said he was very sorry, but he got held up and was very late picking up his daughter. He said he's worried about her and doesn't want her waiting all alone. The officer said he understood and to be more aware of the time in the future.
I modified this story to say that my parents were unable to pick up my little sister and called me to pick her up."
Next: Excuse No. 2 -
David Rogowski, AOL
The Box in the Backseat
AOL user Thecoachroy says:
"My wife didn't care for long drives on the interstate when she traveled on business alone. So she would put a box of tampons (visible) in the backseat. Whenever she was stopped for speeding, she would act jumpy, exasperated and irate. When questioned as to why she was driving so fast -- usually 90 mph -- she would point to the box of tampons in the backseat. No male officer ever ticketed her!!"
Next: Excuse No. 3 -
My Car Doesn't Go That Fast
AOL user A Smile Dr says:
"When I was in college, I had 'stayed over' my date's house too late and was zipping home in the wee hours of the morning. A police officer pulled me over citing that I was driving over 85 mph. I told him that I was sorry, but I was very tired from being up studying all night and was trying to get home to bed. Besides, my old Toyota couldn't possibly go 85 mph because the speedometer only goes up to 75! The officer put his head through the window to verify what I said and confirmed it. He let me go, saying: 'Get some sleep!'"
Next: Excuse No. 4 -
Talking to Myself
AOL user Maryconsulting says:
"As I was speeding, a state trooper pulled me over. When he told me how fast I was going I told him I had been talking to myself. He looked puzzled. I said I was mad at my husband and was practicing what I was going to say to him. I guess the madder I got the faster I got. He closed his ticket book and said, 'I'll let you finish your conversation, just keep it under the speed limit.' Works every time."
Next: Excuse No. 5 -
David Rogowski, AOL
Help, It's Melting!
AOL user IIIFirSdoNIII says:
"The best excuse I've heard was this: An officer asked my grandma why she was in a hurry and she said she had ice cream in the back and didn't want it to melt. So, he let her go."
Next: Excuse No. 6 -
David Rogowski, AOL
Faster Than a Fly
AOL user ARMANDOA6 says:
"I was working the highway on a Sunday afternoon and I pulled over a van with two occupants that was speeding. I asked what the emergency was and the driver responds that he was trying to get a fly out (of the van) and he figured that if he opened the windows and sped that it would work."
Next: Excuse No. 7 -
Chasing the Guy Ahead
AOL user NcStud210 says:
"This excuse works: I was trying to catch up to the guy in front of me so that I could read his license plate because he threw a beer bottle at my car. Try it!"
Next: Excuse No. 8 -
David Rogowski, AOL
I Bet You'll Give Me a Ticket
AOL user MPH Mike says:
"I got pulled over in a small town in east Texas several years ago. The officer seemed like he had a sense of humor or I would not have done what I did. When he asked for my license, I pulled my money clip out, which had my license in it as well as several twenties and fifties, that he could see. I made the comment that I bet $50 that he was going to give me a ticket. He just smiled, and said, 'You just lost. Where is my $50?' I was glad to give it to him."
Next: Excuse No. 9 -
David Rogowski, AOL
Gotta Love a Gear Head
AOL user Belair216 says:
"A few years ago when I was young and dumb, I had just gotten off from work and was speeding home (about 55 mph in a 30 mph construction zone). I was pulled over and ... after (the officer) told me how fast I was going I told him that I had just put some new rear-end gears in my truck and my speedometer wasn't working right. All he said was to take it easy going home and get it fixed asap. No ticket."
Next: Excuse No. 10 -
The Fast and the Furious
AOL user PapaDrom says:
"I was speeding home on a back road with a friend and got pulled over. The cop asked me why I was driving so fast, and I just blurted out excitedly: 'I just saw 'The Fast and the Furious' at the movies and it inspired me! Did you see it yet? It was AWESOME!' He laughed and said he wanted to see that one. He gave me back my license and told me to take it easy. My friend thought for sure I was screwed. Just be honest! It's a good policy."
Next: Excuse No. 11 -
M&M's and a Smile
AOL user kdaldridge says:
"My excuse: 'I was eating my M&M's and spilled them. I didn't realize I was going faster than the speed limit.'
The highway patrolman accepted my offer of my green M&M's with a smile and "Go on your way."
Next: Excuse No. 12 -
David Rogowski, AOL
Catch That Bus!
AOL user XByker says:
"My wife commuted from the Jersey Shore to Philadelphia, and had a 6:30 AM appointment, I drove her to the bus station and we missed her bus barely. We were right behind the departing bus and had to get to the last departure bus stop before that bus! We were doing maybe 60 in a 25 mph zone, and were both shouting LOUDLY. We were pulled over and when I opened the window for the officer, my wife and I let out a volley of shouts. The officer was so startled he shouted, 'OK, OK, go, go!'"
Next: Excuse No. 13 -
David Rogowski, AOL
New Driver's Brave Question
AOL user SilverTongued07 says:
"I was going 85 mph in a 55-zone on I-40. I had just gotten my license a couple of weeks before. I still had my driver's manual in the glovebox. By the time the officer had pulled me over, I had grabbed it. I looked up 'DMV officers' and noticed they mostly deal with 18-wheelers. I gave him my driver's license & registration and asked if I could show him something. I showed him the (manual) and asked: 'Where's my other 14 wheels?' He laughed so hard. He told me to slow down and let me off with a verbal warning.
Next: Excuse No. 14 -
When It's Got to Be There ...
AOL user TRIAGESHOP says:
"We had been trying to get pregnant for a while and were seeing a specialist. Enroute there I was taking a little-used side road that was 25 mph. The cop clocked us at 94 in a 25. We were only about 3 minutes from the doctor's office at the hospital. When we explained we only had a few minutes to get this 'sample' to the office, not only did he let us go, but he even waved us through the red light. Yep, really happened."
Next: Excuse No. 15 -
An Excuse for Southerners
AOL user TRIAGESHOP says:
"In Boone County, Mo., my aunt was clocked doing 80 mph in a 45. She told the cop she was frying chicken and had left the frying pan on. It worked, but I doubt it would work in the north."
Next: Excuse No. 16 -
I Need a Sugar Fix, Fast!
AOL user Ryan00civic says:
"If you're out in the countryside, my favorite excuse is that I'm diabetic and I'm trying to get to a store to get a Gatorade or candy bar. The best part is usually they will have candy or donuts and let you have some. If he thinks I'm lying I have a card that states: I have diabetes. I am not intoxicated. If i am unconscious or my behavior is peculiar, I may be having a reaction associated with diabetes or its treatment. I've never tried to use it within city limits because there are stores every 20 feet."
Next: What's Your Best Excuse? -
What's Your Best Excuse?
Do you have a better excuse? Post your true story of how you successfully (or unsuccessfully) tried to get out of getting a traffic ticket.
· Post: Share Your Best Excuse
(Featured user posts are excerpts from this board. Some posts may have been edited for space constraints or grammatical errors. These edits do not affect the content of the original post.)
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Recent Comments
Seanharding76 12:36:22 PM Jul 09 2009
WTF, David do you just make this shit up and than simply type it?
Gmzewski 12:59:46 PM Jul 20 2008
The judge even dismissed the case and cancelled my fine!
Gmzewski 12:57:40 PM Jul 20 2008
Got a speeding ticket in California, handed to me by a young smiling CHP cop who told me to have a nice day! I told the traffic-court judge next time I get pulled over, I dont want Eric Estrada, I want Broderick Crawford! The whole courtroom laughed and agreed with me!
Scotchirish70 04:08:49 AM Jul 16 2008
Badlands...I soo agree with you. I am 100% positive I'd be dead had I not been wearing mine in a couple of crashes. When my left arm was torn out of the socket because the rest of my body was strapped down and stopped by the impact...I quickly learned that what isn't strapped down will keep going 65 mph when the car makes an instant stop. Deal with the whiplash, heads and windshields make terrible acquaintences.
BADLAND352 09:35:55 AM Jul 10 2008
Seat belts (Death) ?? Very rare cases. Never sat in a wrecked car that I thought seat belts would have killed some one, but sure sat in a lot where if the driver and passenger would have survived if they would have been belted in instead of thrown out or crushed by their own vehicle. In most rollovers you will notice the victims are thrown ahead of the vehicle or ejected under the vehicle durning the process. Give me seat belts and air bags anytime.
Pmp2559 04:07:09 AM Jul 10 2008
Be sure not to try these on your own if they aren't even reasonable alot of them sound like a ticket to jail. Just drive sensible and safe you won't get pulled over in the first place.
EveningBuck 07:16:22 AM May 28 2008
try any excuse with a Virginia State Trooper and you not only get a ticket, you get a ticket for any defective part you got. Has it ever been realized, the Officer also needs to be ticketed? He was speeding to catch you. The same laws should apply to them, if they have a headlight out, they should be ticketed for it.
Brooklynsmom1006 11:24:11 PM May 27 2008
i was 7months pregnant and got pulled over right around the corner from my house, before the cop got a chance to say anything, i blurted out please, i live right down the street can you follow me to my house to give me the ticket, I'm about to pee myself. He looked at my pregnant belly and told me to hurry home!
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