Oregon State Troopers....are they all ......?

[BoomerD]

Don't speed in Oregon/WA state.. yes they are pricks. Pending certain weather conditions, one can get pulled over for driving the speed limit.

That's the case in most states. The "basic speed law" is always in effect.

V C Section 22350 Basic Speed Law

Basic Speed Law

22350. No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.

 

[jlee]

starts going through a laundry list of absolute bullshit....not using a blinker when passing (she forgot to once), following too closely (complete lie, it was raining so she always kept a good distance), and speeding (we were only over by about 8-10 mph...like everyone else).

Ah, so it wasn't absolute bullshit, hmm? I wonder what other facts have been "massaged" in your story?

He said that her driving was reckless. I then said that if she was driving so recklessly, why the fuck did you wait 13 miles to pull us over? I think the asshole was only trying to wrack up charges. We don't live in Oregon, so of course he knows that we won't be coming back to court to fight it. In the end he gave 3 citations totaling $860 D:

That didn't help her out...just FYI...

 

[child of wonder]

Ah the Highway Patrol.... seems the only reason they exist nowadays is to give people tickets.

 

[Tweak155]

The waiting 13 miles was a valid point, but nonetheless sounds like you did what you were ticketed for.

 

[BoomerD]

It's possible that in the 13 miles that the trooper waited to pull them over, he was running plates, watched how the GF drove in general, and waited for a good/safe place to pull them over.

 

[ahenkel]

I drive over the speed limit in Oregon all the time generally as long as I'm going flow of traffic I'm fine. The one place though I never speed is on highway 22.

 

[zanejohnson]

why did she have to change lanes so much if she was moving at the flow of traffic....to pass people??

hehe

 

[Mr. Lennon]

I'm not saying that my girlfriend is completely innocent. There was no difference between her driving and the people around us. If she was driving recklessly I would have called her out on it. 75 mph in light rain on a straight freeway with little traffic is perfectly safe IMO. I'm just venting because the citations he gave her were extremely excessive.

 

[dan4patriots]

moral of the story - never let a woman drive if you can

 

[BoomerD]

I'm not saying that my girlfriend is completely innocent. There was no difference between her driving and the people around us. If she was driving recklessly I would have called her out on it. 75 mph in light rain on a straight freeway with little traffic is perfectly safe IMO. I'm just venting because the citations he gave her were extremely excessive.

Apparently, the OSP didn't think so...

 

[OnePingOnly]

moral of the story - never let a woman drive if you can

Seconded. OP, that's what you get for letting a female drive.
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I kid (well sorta)!

 

[El Guaraguao]

75 mph in light rain on a straight freeway with little traffic is perfectly safe IMO.

Mr. Lennon, what is the max psi listed on the sidewall of your tires?

 

[Mr. Lennon]

Seconded. OP, that's what you get for letting a female drive.
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I kid (well sorta)!

Haha I'm secretly relieved she was the one driving when he pulled us over. My poor ass couldn't afford those tickets.

 

[Mr. Lennon]

Mr. Lennon, what is the max psi listed on the sidewall of your tires?

No clue, it was a rental.

 

[Exterous]

I'm not saying that my girlfriend is completely innocent.

You already admited she was guilty of not using her blinker to change lanes and speeding. You have confirmed she did indeed break two laws. Is there some sort of special exemption you and/or your girlfriend get that allows you to break laws and not get fined for it?

Don't get me wrong - it sucks and I do similar shit all the time but she broke the law and there are penalties for doing so

 

[Jaskalas]

another reason to add cameras, mic, and a gps sensor to your car.

They can easily refuse to accept the evidence.

 

[EagleKeeper]

I'm not saying that my girlfriend is completely innocent. There was no difference between her driving and the people around us. If she was driving recklessly I would have called her out on it. 75 mph in light rain on a straight freeway with little traffic is perfectly safe IMO. I'm just venting because the citations he gave her were extremely excessive.

The citation costs are set by law, not the trooper.

Your attitude encouraged the trooper to issue tickets for everything that was done wrong.

A little respect would have potentially got her off with one simple ticket.

 

[SandEagle]

They can easily refuse to accept the evidence.

put it on youtube, send it to the news media, plaster the internet with it. they'll learn.

 

[boomhower]

I'm not saying that my girlfriend is completely innocent. There was no difference between her driving and the people around us. If she was driving recklessly I would have called her out on it. 75 mph in light rain on a straight freeway with little traffic is perfectly safe IMO. I'm just venting because the citations he gave her were extremely excessive.

The Trooper doesn't set the fines, he just writes the tickets for the violations. Did he charge her for driving wrecklessly? You admitted she committed the two of the three violations, was wreckless driving the third? The amount of the fines does seem excessive but that's not up to the Trooper.

You can just not pay for it. They can't do anything to you since you don't live in Oregon. Just make sure when you come back to the state, your GF is no longer driving.

Most states have reciprocal agreements where violations are sent back to the drivers home state. Depending on the where the OP is from that may work. The downside is if they go back and the OP is driving and gets stopped there could be an big issue if the GF's name is checked for any reason, she will be going to jail for skipping court.

Ah the Highway Patrol.... seems the only reason they exist nowadays is to give people tickets.

The Highway Patrol does exists to enforce traffic laws, which consists of writing tickets.

 

[jlee]

another reason to add cameras, mic, and a gps sensor to your car.

put it on youtube, send it to the news media, plaster the internet with it. they'll learn.

So, cameras, mic and GPS confirm what was admitted in the OP: that the operator of the vehicle was speeding, and the passenger started swearing at the officer - quite likely increasing the possibility of multiple citations.

That's ok, though - then we can get more videos like this one.

 

[Ancalagon44]

I had issues out of state with oregon cops too. I was in town on business, and headed out towards the coast. I was driving over the mountain doing around 50mph in a rental car. Cop saw me (he was driving the opposite way, and pulled a super dangerous 180 degree turn in the middle of the road and pulled me over. He had a field day when he saw i was out of state. Claimed i was doing 80 in a 50 but he would write it down to 50. I was driving a rental crown vic that was struggling to get past 50 up the mountain. They refused to let me fight the ticket by mail so I was out $200+

So in the US, a cop can give you a ticket at his word? If you challenged it in court, what would happen?

Wow that sucks. Elsewhere in the world, pretty sure you have to have a record from a properly calibrated speed camera.

EDIT:

OP, doesnt matter what everyone else was doing or whether you think are somehow special. Those speed limits are there for a reason. Whether you think that reason is your own safety or the State's pockets, doesnt matter.

How can you expect the cop to let you off if you admit you (or your GF at least) was actually guilty?

 

[jlee]

So in the US, a cop can give you a ticket at his word? If you challenged it in court, what would happen?

Wow that sucks. Elsewhere in the world, pretty sure you have to have a record from a properly calibrated speed camera.

How exactly was speed enforced before cameras were everywhere?

 

[bruceb]

Can't speak for the Oregon police, but in most states, the speed limit is the maximum legally allowed, weather conditions permitting. An officer can always cite you for 'excessive speed for the conditions' if it is rainy, snowy or ice

 

[boomhower]

So in the US, a cop can give you a ticket at his word? If you challenged it in court, what would happen?

Wow that sucks. Elsewhere in the world, pretty sure you have to have a record from a properly calibrated speed camera.

EDIT:

OP, doesnt matter what everyone else was doing or whether you think are somehow special. Those speed limits are there for a reason. Whether you think that reason is your own safety or the State's pockets, doesnt matter.

How can you expect the cop to let you off if you admit you (or your GF at least) was actually guilty?

Cars here have radar guns, but still, it's essentially the cops word. How the radar equipment is regulated varies greatly from state to state. A cops career depends on his character, getting caught lying on the stand once will end it. So generally most don't but of course your going to have some asshats that are stupid, you see them on the news all the time.

Speed cameras are extremely rare but red light cameras are fairly common.

 

[Macamus Prime]

OP; he should have cracked your skull open with his baton.

And, as you all waited for him to call an ambulance, he should have banged your girlfriend on top of your writhing twitching body.