Out of State Plates - Target for Cops

[PNW Judy]

If you're following road rules, you should be fine. The only traffic ticket I ever got while traveling out of state was well-deserved. Very deserved. In fact, they really cut me a break as it was only for 91mph. I was well into 3 digits on, what I thought anyway, was a deserted stretch of highway. So I was grateful they didn't arrest me and impound my car...as they could have legally done at that speed. I tend to be a lead-food, so maybe I've just been lucky.

I think the biggest ticket risk is in small towns where the highway runs through them. Many people don't slow down enough when going through these places and, for some of them, I think it's the main way they fund their city services. A small town near me, on Hwy 12, is in-famous for such tickets. (Oakville, WA) I know numerous people who have gotten speeding tickets here. And they're all in-state drivers. It's not usually for the speed they're driving through town at, but for speeding up too sign upon leaving town. Don't go 55, or even start speeding up, until AFTER you pass the 55mph road sign.

I should mention that I've actually been pulled over a couple of times when out-of-state for doing things I shouldn't. Ya know, like doing a U-turn where they're not allowed because I'm turned around and lost, quickly crossing lanes of traffic to make a turn that came up on me faster than I anticipated, and other such things. In each case, they chuckled at me being a lost tourist and just gave me a friendly warning. In some cases, they even gave me directions to where I needed to go.