YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Moderator<br>A/V & Home Theater<br>Elite member
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Got a speeding ticket
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HomeAppraiser
Platinum Member
Over here you have to ?post bail? in the full amount of the ticket in order to plead ?Not Guilty?. I had to do this for a girlfriend when I was younger. We went to court with pictures and maps prepared to argue that the cop must have clocked a truck on the freeway overpass behind us and not her car. We listened to the case in front of hers with a trucking company lawyer questioning a cop about when was the last time he calibrated his equipment, good stuff but the judge did not buy it. The cop who wrote the ticket never showed so the judge slammed the gavel ?Not Guilty? and told us to hurry out before the officer showed up! Got my "bail" money back a week later.
What happened to my wife was an unsuccessfully argument with the judge and a bitter jerk of a cop (20 years and still driving a squad car) that she could not have been going 36 in a 25 because the van would really be listing from side to side through the ?S? curves at that speed and how the hell did this cop catch up to her if she was going that fast. That judge entered a ?No Contest? plea for her where she did not admit guilt but agreed to pay half of the fine. While this did not raise our insurance rates it kept us from being eligible for a lower ?Perfect Drive? rate. If things aren?t going your way in court, bring up your perfect driving record and maybe you can get the fine cut in half. Good Luck.
PS Always ask to see the reading on the radar gun if you are pulled over.
What happened to my wife was an unsuccessfully argument with the judge and a bitter jerk of a cop (20 years and still driving a squad car) that she could not have been going 36 in a 25 because the van would really be listing from side to side through the ?S? curves at that speed and how the hell did this cop catch up to her if she was going that fast. That judge entered a ?No Contest? plea for her where she did not admit guilt but agreed to pay half of the fine. While this did not raise our insurance rates it kept us from being eligible for a lower ?Perfect Drive? rate. If things aren?t going your way in court, bring up your perfect driving record and maybe you can get the fine cut in half. Good Luck.
PS Always ask to see the reading on the radar gun if you are pulled over.
yes, i am real.
78 in a 55, excessive? depending on the conditions, yes it could be. in normal conditions (during the day between 7 am to 10 pm at night, I agree you really shouldnt be speeding that much, but at night when no one is on the road its a whole different story.
Not all states are so lenient to give you 5-10 mph of breathing room. our state is cracking down more for sure on small speeding, and wisconsin will pull you over if you go 2 mph over the limit.
I suppose you could say speeders are impatient (id prefer to use a different word to avoid the negative connotation), but impatience is not always a bad thing. An 'impatient' ambulance safely going 100 mph on the highway is completely fine by me. an 'impatient' driver safely going 80 on an empty highway is fine by me.
No I dont follow too closely or cut others off.
I never use a radar detector. your right, it probably could have saved me from both the tickets ive encountered.
i think Im done with speeding for good now. The next time a cop pulls me over, will probably be because I'm doing 5 under the speed limit, and pissing him off accidentally by doing so, lol.
a divided highway none the less, and the roads were dry, no ice.
mugs
Lifer
It doesn't sound like you were driving unsafely, but I don't think you'll ever see an ambulance driving 100 mph. 🙂
Around here they can barely do the speed limit because of all of the retards who don't yield to them (newsflash, you're supposed to yield on BOTH sides of the road)
Or it could give you a false sense of confidence. The thing about radar detectors is, they detect radar and not radar guns. 😉 If the cop is sitting there with his gun turned off, you'll keep driving along at 90 mph as he flips it on and nails you. And if it detects laser, he probably already got you.
My experience with a radar detector is that it was really good at detecting highway construction signs.
ha, no kidding! this other day a police car with its siren and lights on was stuck behind a car for about 20 seconds. ANd it was like the car didnt know what to do, they kept cutting the police off by accident when the cop car tried to go around them, LOL. finally the car figured it out and pulled over in the shoulder.
It was funny to watch, but the officer must have been really pissed off I would have imagined.
Not bad, 20 over and above can be a misdemeanor here in NY.
there are some parts on the highway where there are streets and lights and stuff, but the stretch that i was on used exits for the last 5 miles of stretch, and was essentially a freeway.
I'm not sure if this matters much or not, but I'll say it:
the part of the road where i was caught was 2 lanes. (4 total if you count the opposing lanes on the other side of the divider.)
there were three cars in the right lane doing about 65, and I was going to pass them.
the cop caught me as i was speeding up to pass these cars. he then pulled out of where his trap was, and chased after me.
If it is perfectly safe for the conditions you should petition to the city council to have the speed limit changed and review records of the transportation department to consider why they think it's dangerous to go over 55 MPH.
However, until the law is changed, you still must abide by the rules of the road. Don't like it? Don't drive. Don't want to follow the rules? Pay the fines associated with breaking them.
I've had speeding tickets before and I know from experience that the only reason you are pissed is because you seem to think that it's everyone's fault but yours that you got the ticket. You think that the city has somehow singled you out and wronged you because you have to pay a fine that equates to a day or two of work for you. You're pissed that your insurance MIGHT go up, you're pissed that the cop didn't just give you a warning, you're pissed that you can't go back in time and change a damn thing. You think that the cop is an asshole for patrolling an empty road and for wasting his time on you.
BIG DEAL. You broke the law. That's all there is to it. The law existed well before you travelled on the road. Sure, you can TRY and fight it, but if the cop shows up (and there's a good chance he will) are you going to walk away thinking only "well, I gave it my best shot, oh well!"... No. You aren't. You're just going to get more pissed that he's right and you're wrong.
However, until the law is changed, you still must abide by the rules of the road. Don't like it? Don't drive. Don't want to follow the rules? Pay the fines associated with breaking them.
I've had speeding tickets before and I know from experience that the only reason you are pissed is because you seem to think that it's everyone's fault but yours that you got the ticket. You think that the city has somehow singled you out and wronged you because you have to pay a fine that equates to a day or two of work for you. You're pissed that your insurance MIGHT go up, you're pissed that the cop didn't just give you a warning, you're pissed that you can't go back in time and change a damn thing. You think that the cop is an asshole for patrolling an empty road and for wasting his time on you.
BIG DEAL. You broke the law. That's all there is to it. The law existed well before you travelled on the road. Sure, you can TRY and fight it, but if the cop shows up (and there's a good chance he will) are you going to walk away thinking only "well, I gave it my best shot, oh well!"... No. You aren't. You're just going to get more pissed that he's right and you're wrong.
I think the person that I am the most pissed at right now is myself, and the fact that I dont seem to obey speed limits and in the end it costs me money and if it happens enough it could cost me my license. (and if i really speed, it could cost lives, but i dont drive faster than i feel safe doing)
I also didnt appreciate the cops candor towards me (asking my where I was going at that time at not, not believing me, and repeatedly asking why my car smelled like marijuana when no one has ever smoked in it (in the 3 years that ive owned the car)
Nor do I appreciate those who support the current 55 mph limit on this road.
But mainly I'm pissed at myself. I question whether or not I will be able to drive without breaking the speed limit, and I'm starting to realize how lucky I am that this is the first time I was caught in the last 3 years.
Yeah, showing up in court might be cool, because at least I would get to hear the cops full story (where he pulled out from), (whether or not he thought I was dangerous or if he was just doing this to enforce a law), etc.
But ya, I might just get more pissed off, especially if I ended up with more monetary costs from aranging the court thing. Or if the cop decided to take it a step further and accuse me of reckless driving. Could he still do that?
I got an 83 in a 55 @ 5 points, plead not guilty, and got it reduced to 65 in a 55 with 2 points.
It all depends on the judge, the officer, and your previous record. In my case, I didnt have any previous speeding tickets, the officer cut a deal with me before the judge came in. Your best bet is to plead not guilty, go to the hearing, and put yourself at the judges mercy. Take all responsibility.
edit: oh, and no the cop cant add charges on like reckless driving. It really isnt much of a court procedure. You will be in and out within 5 minutes. Its just the judge, the officer, and you. Mine took less than 30 seconds. Just be as polite as possible, dont try to deny anything you actually did.
Even if you think the officer is a dick, chances are he wont remember anything more than what is written on the ticket about you, so be as nice as you can to him.
It all depends on the judge, the officer, and your previous record. In my case, I didnt have any previous speeding tickets, the officer cut a deal with me before the judge came in. Your best bet is to plead not guilty, go to the hearing, and put yourself at the judges mercy. Take all responsibility.
edit: oh, and no the cop cant add charges on like reckless driving. It really isnt much of a court procedure. You will be in and out within 5 minutes. Its just the judge, the officer, and you. Mine took less than 30 seconds. Just be as polite as possible, dont try to deny anything you actually did.
Even if you think the officer is a dick, chances are he wont remember anything more than what is written on the ticket about you, so be as nice as you can to him.
Shadowknight
Diamond Member
Been there, twice. I've never drunk alcohol or done any drugs. Back when I was an idiot in high school, I went 10 miles over the speed limit reguarly (not that any of the cops ever cared in that town). One night I was going 65 in a 55 zone and missed the 45 sign. So instead of 10 miles over I was 20, and didn't realize it. The cop that pulled me over couldn't accept that I had just missed the sign, and hence was going faster than I intended, He asked me over and over again if I had been drinking or doing drugs. I finally snapped and tried to force him to search the car, insisting REPEATEDLY. He refused, and let me off with a warning. Back in college, late at night, I was in a 25 zone, no other cars around, I was going the right speed but one of my shoe strings was laced too tight so I undid the laces a bit while driving. I swerved for a couple of seconds, but otherwise I was going exactly the speed limit with perfect control over the vehicle when it became particuarly twisted and curvy. Despite showing extreme control over the vehicle except when it was STRAIGHT, a cop pulled me over and gave me a sobriety test despite my explaination. While I think him pulling me over for 2 seconds of swerving, was dumb, fine, whatever. But he claimed he smelled alcohol on me. Never drank, made a point of NEVER being around people that did drink, at that time, the last time I was in a room with my brother who was having a beer at the time, was 3 years before.
I don't have a problem with cops pulling people over for saftey's sake, just to make sure someone isn't drunk/high/whatever, but if you're going to say you're going to take my word that I haven't been doing drugs/alcohol, don't ask me the same questions 5 times in a row, or make up lies that I smell like alcohol to justify giving me the sobriety test.
thehstrybean
Diamond Member
just plead guilty and go to drivers ed...
You do realize that the cop is trying to buy time to check for signs of being impared. Whether he smelled alcohol or not, he probably just couldn't be certain simply having a conversation with you.
How many people to you think admit that they are drunk when pulled over for drunk driving without being intimidated into it?
Would you prefer all cops to ask people, take their word for it, then be on their way?
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