There’s a ton of advice on how to handle police traffic stops. You can find multiple trending videos of drivers being downright rude to the investigating officer, shouting that they are invoking the fifth amendment or something. Attorney Andrew Flusche says the truth is it’s unwise to be impolite to the police. But he warns that most drivers go too far, and are downright friendly. And this could get you in trouble.

So how friendly is too friendly? Simply put, you shouldn’t talk too much. If you overshare–volunteering information the investigating officer can’t demand–you aren’t protecting your rights and you’re setting yourself up for trouble. Here are some examples:

If a police officers asks “Do you know why I pulled you over?” the worst thing you can say is, “Dunno. Could be because I was speeding, or I was weaving in and out of my lane. But you have to forgive me, I’m a little bit drunk.”

You may think that fessing up will get you brownie points. But the truth is that you’ve just confessed to knowingly breaking the law. And that could make your eventual charges even worse. This is why if an officer says, “I smell marijuana. I’ll find it anyway, so you might as well tell me where it is” you want to say you don’t consent to any searches. This way, even if they were to search your vehicle and find an illicit substance, they would next have to prove you knew it was there.

These are extreme examples. What if the same officer asks whether you’ve had anything to drink today? Let’s say you had a beer at an afternoon barbecue hours ago. You know you are under the 0.08% BAC limit, so you feel it would be friendliest to tell the officer about your day. You’re likely being too friendly. By admitting you’ve had something to drink, you’re giving the officer a reason to open an investigation. A traffic stop for failing to signal could become something much more complicated.

How do you answer? According to Flusche you should politely say, “I’m invoking my right to remain silent.”

Again, you can find countless videos of traffic stop “gurus” raising their voice to tell the police they won’t answer any questions. They get angry and explain at length what their rights are. Flusche has reviewed some of these videos and argues that it’s unwise to escalate the situation. You could also be giving away evidence of alcohol on your breath or that you’re slurring your words–just by talking too much.

Your best option is to be polite but succinct. And above all, protect your rights. It may feel rude. But the mistake many drivers make is confusing a traffic stop with a social interaction. Flusche likes to remind motorists that a police pulling you over is at work, doing their job. The least you can do is to answer professionalism with professionalism.

See Flusche’s recommended answers to common traffic stop questions in the video below: