The conventional wisdom for when you’re pulled over by a traffic cop is to not admit anything. You’re always told to deny knowledge. “Sorry, officer, I don’t know how fast I was going.” I’ve never been able to do that convincingly, so I usually try to just be deferential and apologetic. It doesn’t really work, but it’s better than having the cop kick out my tail light and give me another citation.
This morning, I was pulled over on the I-8 on-ramp in Naugatuck. The officer asked me if I knew why I was stopped. I wasn’t sure, but I had a pretty good idea. “Because I didn’t fully stop at the stop sign?” “Yup.” I got a written warning, and he told me that it was because I owned up to what I had done. If I had argued (and I bet traffic cops see a lot of that) or said I didn’t know, he said he would have given me a ticket for violation of §14-301(c). (Well, he didn’t cite the penal code section, but it was implied.) I’m glad that my wuss-ness saved me a ticket.