I don't know who is reading this article that needs this little life lesson, but get ready, because it might be you. I wouldn't want you to miss out on this crucial bit of information.

It seems that some people are under the impression that, just because they SEE a police officer, they need to slam on the brakes. False.

If you're not going over the speed limit, there's no need to slam on the brakes. Why? Because you're not breaking the law. You're not going to get pulled over and issued a ticket because you're following the speed limit.

Go with me on this one: Let's say the speed limit is 70 MPH. You're currently traveling at 70 MPH. You drive past a police officer. What do you do?

YOU CONTINUE ON AT 70 MPH!

There are a few reasons for this.

  1. You're following the law already, and there's no need to change what you're doing.
  2. If you slam on the brakes, you make yourself look guilty and bring more attention to yourself than if you had continued on about your business.
  3. You run the risk of that driver behind you winding up in your backseat, because they were also doing 70 MPH. However, when you changed - immediately - to 25 MPH, they probably weren't able to make that change quite as quickly. Thus, also bringing more undo attention to you.

So, what have we learned? Well, basically, we've learned that if we're already following the speed limit, there's no need to freak out just because we saw a police officer.

Ah, extra tip: If you ARE speeding, and you see a police officer, it's probably already too late to apply those brakes.

Tune in next time as we discuss, "Turn Signals: They're Not Extinct Yet!"

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