Question about a speeding ticket...

[meltdown75]

i was just trollin

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: evident

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie

Originally posted by: purbeast0
Where I was pulled over was also was I went up over a hill and was on the down slope which could have caused my speed to increase.

That's what brakes are for.

Anyone who uses brakes going downhill to JUST to avoid speeding in my opinion and could potentially cause an accident and have a whole chain of people getting rear ended. i've seen it several times because most people dont just slow down to the speed limit, they slam it and go significantly less. if you're going down hill it makes the most sense to coast, especially if it's a safe situation. i would like to think that cops are understanding of this type of situation, but with my experience, they will rape you on any technicality to meet their stupid quotas

and op you can probably get your fine reduced just be nice to the judge in court and explain yourself clearly

that makes no sense. controlled braking while going down hill keeps you at or around the speed limit. going the speed limit (or close to it) lowers the damage capacity possibility of an accident, but i doubt there is any real safety justification to just coasting 20 miles over the speed limit.

in az, if you havent attended traffic school in that city in the last 3 years you can do that for no points. the school fee is usually on par with the ticket amount, and no extra court fees added on that i know of. i did traffic school like 3 years ago tho, that could have been added on since then. it really pays off if youre over 15 more than the limit, as the fine doubles but the school costs the same.

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: bobdole369

No. If you go in with that, all the judge will do is adjust it.

eh.... again it depends on the judge. The officer actually has to adjust it and the judge can direct him to do that.

Oh and its a myth that they never show up. All the officers court dates are on the same day - thats his day in court.

i had one of two cops not show up when i contested their ticket. they stopped me in a parking lot, never saw me driving on the road and listed the closest intersection as the location. harassed me for about 45 minutes with searches and bullshit. gave me 1 valid ticket for no mc license and 4 others for bogus charges and told me to not ride my mc on the roads or they would get me then too. i showed up with a fresh mc class on my license, saw one of the cops there but not the other. judge asked where the other cop was and dismissed the ticket on no show.

 

[bobdole369]

hanover - yup our jurisdictions are likely different and your mileage varied Precisely why I don't warrant my words.

I would think so. Around here it's 1-9 over, 10-19 over, 20-29 over, etc that determines the fine and being in the nigher bracket really shoots up the cost.

Florida is 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26+ is reckless driving and arrestable.

1-5 is only valid in a school zone with children present, or a reduced speedlimit construction zone with workers present. Normally 1-5 tickets aren't written here, there is no punishment for it. Weird I know. Also I've never heard of anyone getting a 6-10 or even an 11-15. It probably isn't worth the time for the officer to argue against a defendant that might bring speedo calibration/radar gun calibration into the mix.

There is no shortage of 16+ speeders in this state. There is also no shortage of 16+ underspeeders here too (old people)

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: bobdole369

No. If you go in with that, all the judge will do is adjust it.

eh.... again it depends on the judge. The officer actually has to adjust it and the judge can direct him to do that.

Oh and its a myth that they never show up. All the officers court dates are on the same day - thats his day in court.

It must depend on the area. Here in Socal you can get off pretty easily with this.

 

[compuwiz1]

You were still speeding. I'd just snap a picture of the posted speed limit sign and ask the court if that makes a difference in the amount of the fine. I don't see you getting of on a technicality, so you'll probably need to just take your lumps on this.

 

[imported_Imp]

Originally posted by: evident

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie

Originally posted by: purbeast0
Where I was pulled over was also was I went up over a hill and was on the down slope which could have caused my speed to increase.

That's what brakes are for.

Anyone who uses brakes going downhill to JUST to avoid speeding in my opinion and could potentially cause an accident and have a whole chain of people getting rear ended. i've seen it several times because most people dont just slow down to the speed limit, they slam it and go significantly less. if you're going down hill it makes the most sense to coast, especially if it's a safe situation. i would like to think that cops are understanding of this type of situation, but with my experience, they will rape you on any technicality to meet their stupid quotas

and op you can probably get your fine reduced just be nice to the judge in court and explain yourself clearly

What is "proper" procedure for going down a hill if you want to keep your speed around the limit?

Normally, I would coast, but after almost being nailed in a speed trap a few weeks back, I'm trying to be more careful. Do you ride the brake or jab it ever so often? I know dragging might cause overheating, but wtf then.

 

[TuxDave]

Originally posted by: Imp

What is "proper" procedure for going down a hill if you want to keep your speed around the limit?

Normally, I would coast, but after almost being nailed in a speed trap a few weeks back, I'm trying to be more careful. Do you ride the brake or jab it ever so often? I know dragging might cause overheating, but wtf then.

Depends on the situation, if it's a very long and steep hill, I usually down shift and engine brake all the way down. If it's just a short steep hill, normally coasting is ok but if I see myself picking up too much speed I'll jab it a little. If the slope isn't too bad, then I usually stop trying to maintain speed when I hit near the top of the hill and start coasting the way down and adjusting my speed if it's too fast or slow as I go.

 

[liluqt]

I think in MD, 22mph over would totally be wreckless driving and carries a much more severe penalty.

In your case, I agree with others... plead guilty, respectfully inform the judge of the speed limit mistake, and pray he reduces the points at least. You can always recover your money, but points will hang with you for a while!

My first ticket was from driving downhill, too I had a nice judge, but was confused and upset and plead incorrectly. So I got stuck with my points and fine. My 2nd judge was a jerk, him and the cop both showed up over an hour late and despite me saying it was a medical emergency and pleading guilty, he decided reduce 1 point and jack up my fine Lesson learned!

Good luck with yours though!

 

[mrSHEiK124]

Originally posted by: Imp
What is "proper" procedure for going down a hill if you want to keep your speed around the limit?

Normally, I would coast, but after almost being nailed in a speed trap a few weeks back, I'm trying to be more careful. Do you ride the brake or jab it ever so often? I know dragging might cause overheating, but wtf then.

Turn off OD or down shift.

 

[Linflas]

I would plead Not Guilty since you are in fact not guilty of the offense as charged. At least you leave them the option of finding you not guilty that way and explain exactly why you are not guilty. Would also help for you to have photos of the closest speed limit sign before you reached the location you were ticketed with some landmarks if possible.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: Linflas
I would plead Not Guilty since you are in fact not guilty of the offense as charged. At least you leave them the option of finding you not guilty that way and explain exactly why you are not guilty. Would also help for you to have photos of the closest speed limit sign before you reached the location you were ticketed with some landmarks if possible.

Ooh, the shirt tail lawyer route's gonna pay off big time...in added fines.

Look, the judge has ONE interest, clearing his docket. He has perhaps 50 court cases to adjudge and someone who ties up the proceedings trying to be slick is going to get the book thrown at him. The OP should plead no contest. He will still get to explain about the mistaken speed limit on the ticket.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer

Originally posted by: Linflas
I would plead Not Guilty since you are in fact not guilty of the offense as charged. At least you leave them the option of finding you not guilty that way and explain exactly why you are not guilty. Would also help for you to have photos of the closest speed limit sign before you reached the location you were ticketed with some landmarks if possible.

Ooh, the shirt tail lawyer route's gonna pay off big time...in added fines.

Look, the judge has ONE interest, clearing his docket. He has perhaps 50 court cases to adjudge and someone who ties up the proceedings trying to be slick is going to get the book thrown at him. The OP should plead no contest. He will still get to explain about the mistaken speed limit on the ticket.

I was giving him the same advice I heard a judge give to a defendant in traffic court. No judge worth the title is going to punish someone who respectfully defends themselves in court.

 

[CZroe]

I'm not saying that he should investigate the hill angle, but it seems that a lot of you don't know that some states do have laws governing who can give you a ticket on a hill of a certain grade. these laws are made to prevent corruption at the local level (speed-trap citations as an illegal profit scheme). For example, I believe GA says that if it is on a hill with a grade of 7 or more or within 500ft of the sign for a speed limit decrease, only a State Patrol Officer can ticket you (no city, county, campus, etc law enforcement). The problem is that there are different interpretations of "grading" and the calculations for them, including standards for agriculture, surveying, etc. There is so much gray area that they chose to ignore it all together if they aren't in danger of losing to corruption charges. I was reading some random law stuff online and, IIRC, one of the Carolinas had a very similar law, so I'm sure many other states do too.

 

[Savij]

Originally posted by: liluqt
I think in MD, 22mph over would totally be wreckless driving and carries a much more severe penalty.

In your case, I agree with others... plead guilty, respectfully inform the judge of the speed limit mistake, and pray he reduces the points at least. You can always recover your money, but points will hang with you for a while!

My first ticket was from driving downhill, too I had a nice judge, but was confused and upset and plead incorrectly. So I got stuck with my points and fine. My 2nd judge was a jerk, him and the cop both showed up over an hour late and despite me saying it was a medical emergency and pleading guilty, he decided reduce 1 point and jack up my fine Lesson learned!

Good luck with yours though!

No, do not plead guilty. You plead not guilty to the offense on the ticket. Then, you inform the judge that your speed was written correctly but the 40 should have been 45.

 

[LTC8K6]

Plead guilty to 62 in a 45. They will take that. Talk to the DA?