A woman in Florida found out the tough way that when a police officer stops your car and begins writing a ticket, it might not be wise to attempt to ‘bribe’ your way out of it.

This might seem like common sense to defensive drivers, but not everyone is a defensive driver.

According to Florida police they pulled over a car for failing to yield to merging traffic and sideswiping another vehicle. As they were discussing the situation with the driver of the car, the female passenger began making overtures of persuasion. Specifically, she offered the police officers $100 each (there were two of them present) if they would not write any tickets and just let the couple go. Instead of getting a deal from the police officers, they arrested the driver on a charge of reckless driving, and took the female passenger into custody for attempted bribery of a police officer. A felony.

The best advice if you are pulled over by police is to be polite, be patient and take your medicine. The police officer is there to enforce the law. If you have violated the law you have to pay the price. If you disagree with the facts presented by the officer there is no point in arguing with them in the street. All you have to do is accept your citation, collect your evidence and be prepared to meet them in court. Once before a judge you can present you evidence and defend yourself against the ticket.

Arguing with a police officer is simply no way to wiggle out of a ticket. And offering them a “gift” of any kind in exchange for letting you out of a ticket is only going to get you into more trouble. Period.