When stopped for speeding and the officer asks, “Do you know why I stopped you?” Should you say, "yes I was going 65 in a 45", or just clam up and say very little?

 You may suspect that you’re being stopped for speeding but how do you know that the officer observed your speed, and didn’t observe anything else. The only correct response to that question is “you know, I’m not really sure”.

Officers are trained to ask open ended questions, this gets you talking and is important to the officer for several reasons. Talking keeps you at ease, you may inadvertently admit to something the officer isn’t aware of, and talking gives the officer time to: observe your actions, and to observe what else is potentially going on in your vehicle. If you want to know more about that, look up “verbal defense and influence”, it’s a handy skill to have.

When an officer asks a question like this, it is immediately apparent to everyone that they’re fishing for information for one reason or another. Generally, the standard question an officer will ask is “Is there any reason you were traveling at 65 in a 45 this evening?”

1. There are thousands of reasons an officer could stop you. Just because you were speeding doesn’t mean that they’re stopping you for that. Perhaps you have a headlight out?
2. Radar isn’t fool proof. Many times an officer will get a reading, but there are several potential vehicles.
   I’ve seen this a few times: The officer clocks “A” vehicle traveling at 98 in a 75. There are 4 potential vehicles and the officer is unsure which vehicle was actually traveling at 98 - without being sure, he can’t cite the driver but he can conduct a stop. He stops one vehicle, the driver admits to 85, and the officer cites the driver for 85.
   Radar will often give a lower reading. When the DA is considering your plea for a citation (58 in a 45), they’re not going to give you very much if you’ve admitted to traveling faster than the citation is written.
3. Traffic stops are recorded. While hearsay is inadmissible in court, a recording of you saying that you were traveling at a specific speed in a specific speed zone is and will be used against you by the prosecution if you were to fight the ticket.

Regarding fishing: Someone else posted about a red light infraction. Red lights are difficult to prove, in many cases for a citation to stand in court the officer must witness that your light in your lane for your direction was in fact red when you crossed the line. If they aren’t directly behind you, then there is no way they can witness this. Often the first question they’ll ask you is an attempt for you to admit that you ran the light. Now they have all the proof they need to cite you.

In these situations, if the officer can’t prove an infraction occurred they’ll come back to the vehicle and say “I’m going to cut you a break today (insert some reason why they feel sorry for you). So I’m just going to give you a written warning. (insert short lecture on why you shouldn’t do what they can’t prove you did).” The officer knows full well they don’t have enough proof to write a citation, but by ‘cutting you a break’ an officer is helping to “build community trust”.

Finally, how do you know you were traveling at 65. Do you have a calibrated speedometer in your vehicle? You also can’t be 100% sure that you were in a 45 zone, perhaps you missed a sign and it’s a 20 school zone. You certainly wouldn’t want to tell an officer you were traveling 45mph over in a school zone.

Be courteous but don’t openly admit to something, and definitely don’t openly admit to something that you aren’t 100% sure you actually did. From a legal standpoint, don’t admit to anything unless your lawyer has instructed you to do so.

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