How to Save Money without Paying Traffic Tickets

I was blocked by traffic police few days ago. Did I get a traffic summon? Yes and No. YES because the police officer said the summon will arrive in my mail box in two months time. NO because I still have to wait two months to verify the YES. More about this story later when I shared with you how I got away from traffic offenses. Before you are stopped by a police for traffic offense, here are some tips on how to keep your cash money safe in your pocket.

Avoid breaking traffic rules – this is obvious. If you don’t want a traffic tickets, just don’t make any offense. Eventually, I still broke it sometimes. What to do? I am driving the 8th generation Honda Civic. You will never realize that you are speeding unless you always keep your eyes on the digital speedometer. If you can keep your eyes on it, you will most probably see this number only: (don’t drive while taking photo)
Smile, silent, and don’t offer – fellow Malaysians know that there are many sleepy traffic polices. When they are sleepy, they need coffee. Coffee is expensive;you can go to Starbuck to verify the price. Being under-paid for a very long time, they will ask your help to donate some coffee money. If you think that you can save summon ticket by offering coffee money, you are definitely wrong! That’s called bribery, not a wise money saving move. From my past experience including the recent one, I always use this strategy. Let me share the stories with you.

1. Traffic offense No.1 – In year 2005, I made a right turn which is prohibited at a T-junction. A “sleepy” police officer came out from nowhere and stopped my car. I smiled, showed him my driving license and identity card. Then silent. He asked,”Do you know what is your offense?”. I answered yes and silent. He continued,” This will cost you $100 you know?”. I answered “oh…”. Then silent. He finally let me go by saying,”I see, you are not local folks. I’ll let you go. Drive safely next time.” because the address in my identity card shows Kedah, not Penang.
   Traffic offense No.2 – In year 2006, I made a U-turn at a traffic light. A police officer stopped my car and his colleague came up to me. I was bringing some friends from Johor to have lunch near Penang Mega Mall. I still use the same technic: short answer, smile, silent and the most important thing, don’t offer! He hinted that they are doing Raya (festive) operation, the summon is the maximum rate. Anyway, I was released again without ticket issued. Reason he gave: Don’t want to spoil my visitors’ mood.
   Traffic offense No.3 – This happened just a few days ago. The police officer said that I exceeded the speed limit. My speed at the time of offense is 88km/hour. Still the same strategy: smile, silent and don’t offer. He let me choose whether to receive the summon on the spot or wait for the letter. I asked how long does it take for the summon to arrive in my mail box. He said two months. Ok, I will wait. If I got the summon later, I will write another follow up post regarding this.

If a summon is inevitable, appeal for discount – Finally, if the above strategies don’t work for you, you can still appeal for discount at the police head quarter. I got a 30% discount for one of my previous summon.

Conclusion, never ever bride a police officer, you might end up paying more. Don’t act for sympathy. Don’t beg the police to give you a chance. Don’t give yourself excuse that you can’t afford the summon. That’s cheap and so wrong! Just smile, keep quite and DON”T EVER OFFER to BRIBE!

Click the “share this” button to email this post to your friend who ever did bribe a police officer.

Not sure if you got a summon? You can check it online or SMS 32728 with the correct text message.

Technorati Tags: save money, traffic ticket, traffic summon, bribe, bribery

More money saving tips:

Save housing loan interest by refinancing

Get your discount at Bukit Merah waterpark

Saving money by Shopping online