We don't suggest that you stick your head out the window to look for Highway Patrol aircraft, or point your side-view mirror upward. Still, if you can do so safely, there's nothing wrong with being alert for any small Cessna-type airplane flying parallel to the highway, either ahead of you in your direction or coming toward you from the other direction, especially on highways with mile markers.

Keep A Low Profile On the Roads

The best way to avoid speeding tickets on highways is to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Try to:

• Stay out of the far-left lane if possible, because that's where officers usually look for the faster drivers.

• Avoid using your headlights in the daytime while barreling down the fast lane -- a sure sign of a speeder who wants slower traffic to get out of his way.

• Avoid unusual car decorations or adornments. Anything out of the ordinary -- such as racing stripes, stickers or jacked-up front or rear wheels -- will call unnecessary and possibly unwanted attention to your driving.

In A Speeder's Guide to Avoiding Tickets (Avon Books, 1991), retired New York Highway Patrolman Sgt. James M. Eagan, gives some insight into how police officer decide to pull someone over. Among the factors officers might consider are the following:

• Bumper stickers and unnecessary window decals. Most bumper stickers -- even those favoring sports teams -- are capable of offending someone. Conversely, the 'support your local police' or 'Police Benevolent Association' bumper stickers are such obvious attempts at getting favorable treatment that they're almost guaranteed to have the opposite effect.

• Personalized license plates. These are okay, but make sure your plate isn't likely to single you out by occupation or other category likely to offend. (One young buck with a 'NEC BRKR' personalized plate on his 4 x 4 truck kept wondering why he got so many tickets!)

• Tinted windows. Police hate them because they don't make for easy viewing of vehicle occupants. An officer is going to be a little more apprehensive when approaching the vehicle, and less likely to relax and let you off with a warning afterward.

• Radar detectors. Police will often issue a ticket once they see a radar detector, even though they otherwise might have let you off with a warning.

• Poor vehicle condition. An officer is going to be at least slightly more favorably disposed toward the driver of a neat, well-maintained vehicle than to the driver of a sloppy wreck. (Police seem to get more than their share of verbal abuse from drivers of the latter types of vehicles.) Repair large noticeable dents, replace cracked windows, keep your car presentably painted and keep the interior neat and clean -- including the glove compartment and ashtray in the event the officer looks in there (and many do).

• Worn tires. Replace these. An officer inclined to give only a warning may think otherwise after noticing you were speeding on bald tires.