Just because you got pulled over doesn’t mean that you’re going to wind up with a ticket, says Hamburger. “As soon as you realize you’ve caught a traffic cop’s attention, you’re going to want to slow down, stay calm, and think polite thoughts because there’s a right way to talk to a policeman, and a wrong way. The right way is to be unfailingly polite. The wrong way is any other way.”

A few rules of thumb:

• Don’t get out of your car. No matter how long it takes the officer to make his way to your car, just stay put—because whatever you might be feeling when you’re stopped by a cop, you should assume the cop is concerned for his own safety. Being a law enforcement officer is a dangerous job. “Even with a weapon, every traffic stop a police officer makes could be the last,” Hamburger explains.
• Follow instructions to the letter. This shows you’re making an effort cooperate, and it goes a long way to alleviating the police officer’s own worries concerning the stop.
• Don’t confess. Anything you say can be used against you in traffic court. Instead, as politely as possible, talk about how safe of a driver you generally are and how you understand that driving safely is of critical importance. “You have 30 seconds to convey that you’re a safe-driving, law-abiding citizen,” so use it wisely, Hamburger emphasizes. If whatever you did had a safety reason attached to it, let the officer know.
• Ask politely to be released with just a warning. It can’t hurt as long as you don’t flirt or otherwise act smarmy. The key phrase here is “ask politely.”