Q: If you've ever needed to know how to get out of a speeding ticket, we at 'The Infrastructurist' have you covered. Recent research shows that getting out of your ticket, or at least having the fine reduced, may be as easy as apologizing.
- Amber Greviskes, Brooklyn, N.Y.
A: OK, this isn't a question from a regular motorist. In fact, it's not really a question at all; it's a promotional email, and Amber, a New York-area writer and editor, is shining the headlights on an academic study by professors Martin Day and Michael Ross of the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and on Eric Jaffe's May article on the study in the online journal "The Infrastructurist," where she's an editor. (The story can be found at infrastructurist.com)
Still, I found the topic so intriguing I just couldn't let it slide off the road.
Professor Ross was good enough to provide a copy of the study, published in the American Psychological Association's "Law and Human Behavior." Citing federal statistics showing that 55 percent of all traffic stops are made for excessive speed, the psychologists evaluated how the reactions of motorists affected whether they got a speeding ticket or were let off with a warning, and if cited, how their behavior affected the amount of the fine.
Previous research, the authors say, shows that "observers' judgments of transgressors are influenced by what they say about their offenses." That would predict that police, who are people after all, can be influenced by what speeding motorists say and how they behave, which seems logical.
And it proved to be true, by and large, in the Day/Ross study, which examined four basic types of responses evaluated in other studies, and applied them to their own research on motorists pulled over for speeding: Concessions, which are apologies that include statements of remorse and admissions of responsibility ("I'm sorry, I was wrong to be going so fast"); excuses, which acknowledge wrongdoing but offer explanations that seek to decrease personal accountability ("I'm really tired"); justifications, which shirk responsibility by depicting the action as appropriate ("I had to speed up to avoid an accident"), and denials, which reject responsibility by contesting the action ("No way was I speeding!").
Day and Ross and their researchers added another category: Silence, marked by the drivers who "said nothing to the officer or responded with only sounds or unintelligible utterances" such as "uhhhhh." (Doesn't sound like the best of strategies to me, but about 8 percent of study respondents used it.)
Survey responses from motorists in the United States and Canada yielded very similar results, though there were a few distinctions.
A general trend applies to both study segments: "Expressions of remorse were associated with a reduction in ticket costs and a greater likelihood of receiving a warning rather than a fine," the authors conclude. "Although the reduction in ticket costs was most apparent for more severe offenses" - that is, the greater the degree of excessive speed and thus the higher the fine, the more reduced the fine - "apologies for less severe offenses had no obvious drawbacks."
This is not foolproof, of course; nobody's promising a way to "get out of" a speeding ticket. "It is important to note that most drivers do not get off scot-free by apologizing," the study notes. But it sustains what might be considered a logical assumption, though one not shared, or at least practiced, by everyone: Admitting guilt and apologizing with remorse offer the best chance at a warning, or at least a lesser fine. In both the U.S. and Canada, the study says, "As hypothesized, apologies, in the form of statements of remorse (e.g., "I'm sorry"), were associated with reduced speeding fines and lower likelihoods of receiving tickets."
That doesn't surprise me, but this does: While 43 percent of Canadians and 36 percent of Americans offered apologies, the responses of 46 percent in both countries fell into the category of excuses. Note that Americans were less inclined to apologize. Does that say something about us, or is it just an aberration in an academic study, rigorous though it is? Americans also were twice as likely to deny they were speeding, 4.8 percent to 2.3 percent, though the actual numbers were small - 25 denials to 12, respectively. The study evaluated responses from 530 Canadians and 536 Americans.
"The association between expressions of remorse and the increased likelihood of receiving a warning suggests that police officers regard the apologies as at least somewhat genuine," the study notes. Way more genuine than excuse or denial, I would think.
By sheer luck, I've never been pulled over for speeding. But even before reading the study, I would have recommended acceptance and apology over excuses or denial, just as a matter of reason. I assume most cops have heard all the lame excuses a Hummer's worth of times. Cooperation is key.
And make like 1950s singer Brenda Lee: "I'm sorry, so sorry … "
Road Warrior appears Mondays and Fridays, and the Warrior blogs at mcall.com. Email questions about roadways, traffic and transportation, with your name and the municipality where you live, to hartzell@mcall.com , or write to Road Warrior, Box 1260, Allentown, PA 18105-1260.
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