wtf... arrested for a "visual determination" of my speed?!

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: jemcam

Originally posted by: ScottSwingleComputers
Yay, theres some cops, lets go 90 in a 65!

I don't get your question. You admitted to speeding excessively and now you don't understand why?

You're going to lose this one, mark my words. You may not have been going as fast as they're saying, but to go at least 20-25 mph over the speed limit in front of cops and then have the balls to complain about getting busted is really, really stupid, but not as stupid as going that fast on a crowded freeway. I'll bet you were wearing flip flops, a t-shirt, and shorts while you were doing this too. :disgust:

Damn, I just noticed you're from Georgia too. I always saw more people pulled over in Georgia than any other state. I used to drive through there frequently and based on their rigorous enforcement of the speed limit, I was always a gentlman driver as soon as I crossed the state line.

I think you are putting too much weight on the fact that he was speeding. Sure, he was speeding, but the cops are themselves comitting a crime by blatantly lying about his actual speed (unless it was their first day, they damn sure can tell the difference between 90 and 120). Should he get a $350 ticket? Yeah, maybe.

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
They have no radar readings, no laser readings, no stopwatch/vascar printouts. The incident with the "dangerous swerving" happened more than a mile away. I don't think they have anything. You're going to get raped on the impound though

I'd do everything possible to try to get your bike out of impound as soon as possible and bring a camera with you as your bike may not have been shown the best of care by the impound people...

bike was impounded by a good tow company. I got it out the next day (saturday) with no additional miles on it and in perfect condition (thankfully..) although the old man that owns/runs it told me I should have ran from them, lol

 

[Linflas]

Hopefully you did not say to them what you said in your original post. If you actually admitted to them that you went over the speed limit then you screwed yourself. The other motorist not reacting properly excuse will not necessarily work either since they will say that no matter what you should have been following far enough back to be able to react. If it were me I would definitely go to court and let a judge decide it. If nothing else you have a good shot of getting it lowered down to something more reasonable than 100 in a 65.

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: Czar

Originally posted by: mcvickj

Originally posted by: zixxer
I'm trying to find what my next step is (I need to find a lawyer I supposed)..

~6pm friday afternoon I was in the middle lane on the interstate speed limit 65), right before my exit. There are two (maybe three) cops on the side of the road in the process of searching someone's car.. The idiot in front of me, at the last second, slammed on his brakes (when he saw the cop, maybe 200-300ft before them) and I swerved into the left lane. I was going about 65 (the same or slightly faster than traffic) and accelerated to 85 or *maybe* 90. (traffic was coming up behind us pretty quickly, and I didn't want to get caught up in it.)

I get off on my exit, and all of the sudden there are two cops FLYING down the exit ramp. I really didn't think they were there for me, and pulled over to the side. The jumped out, handcuffed me, and one of them told me he 'visually determined' I was going at least 120mph. I was like WTF I saw you guys from a mile away, I was going with traffic, and tried to explain what happened. They lowered it to 100 in a 65, also gave me a ticket for improper lane change (to avoid the idiot slamming on his brakes) impounded my bike and took me to jail. WTGDF? They said that they saw me coming up and that I 'took off' when I saw them pull out. They said they were "nice" in not charging me with evading or reckless driving.

I have 1 prior (13 over) and that's it.

Right here is where this whole problem started and could have been avoided. I have no problems with the sudden lane change. Sounds like it was necessary. But you made a choice to speed in order to save your self some time in not getting caught up in some traffic.

Getting hand cuffed and tossed in jail certainly seems over the top. Sounds like the officer was having a bad day and was looking to take it out on someone.

exactly

check my edit, I wasn't speeding for no reason. If I were in my truck then F everyone else, they can rear end me. Getting hit from behind my some moron on a cellphone while on a bike can get you killed.

 

[acemcmac]

Originally posted by: zixxer

Originally posted by: acemcmac
They have no radar readings, no laser readings, no stopwatch/vascar printouts. The incident with the "dangerous swerving" happened more than a mile away. I don't think they have anything. You're going to get raped on the impound though

I'd do everything possible to try to get your bike out of impound as soon as possible and bring a camera with you as your bike may not have been shown the best of care by the impound people...

bike was impounded by a good tow company. I got it out the next day (saturday) with no additional miles on it and in perfect condition (thankfully..) although the old man that owns/runs it told me I should have ran from them, lol

Awesome. 95% of my concern about the situation just melted away. That's really great to hear

 

[BDawg]

Originally posted by: zixxer

Originally posted by: acemcmac
They have no radar readings, no laser readings, no stopwatch/vascar printouts. The incident with the "dangerous swerving" happened more than a mile away. I don't think they have anything. You're going to get raped on the impound though

I'd do everything possible to try to get your bike out of impound as soon as possible and bring a camera with you as your bike may not have been shown the best of care by the impound people...

bike was impounded by a good tow company. I got it out the next day (saturday) with no additional miles on it and in perfect condition (thankfully..) although the old man that owns/runs it told me I should have ran from them, lol

Yeah, that's smart. Tack an avoiding arrest onto whatever you got.

At least in NC, visual determination is court acceptable.

 

[thehstrybean]

You should have run. Was it a county, city cop or a state trooper. Troopers in TN usually don't give a sh!t, as do county cops. City cops here are the ones with the anal probes...

 

[Gunslinger08]

Originally posted by: acemcmac
They have no radar readings, no laser readings, no stopwatch/vascar printouts. The incident with the "dangerous swerving" happened more than a mile away. I don't think they have anything.

I agree. Just fight it in court and you'll win or atleast have it dropped to something much less costly.

 

[Whisper]

Originally posted by: zixxer

Originally posted by: Czar

Originally posted by: mcvickj

Originally posted by: zixxer
I'm trying to find what my next step is (I need to find a lawyer I supposed)..

~6pm friday afternoon I was in the middle lane on the interstate speed limit 65), right before my exit. There are two (maybe three) cops on the side of the road in the process of searching someone's car.. The idiot in front of me, at the last second, slammed on his brakes (when he saw the cop, maybe 200-300ft before them) and I swerved into the left lane. I was going about 65 (the same or slightly faster than traffic) and accelerated to 85 or *maybe* 90. (traffic was coming up behind us pretty quickly, and I didn't want to get caught up in it.)

I get off on my exit, and all of the sudden there are two cops FLYING down the exit ramp. I really didn't think they were there for me, and pulled over to the side. The jumped out, handcuffed me, and one of them told me he 'visually determined' I was going at least 120mph. I was like WTF I saw you guys from a mile away, I was going with traffic, and tried to explain what happened. They lowered it to 100 in a 65, also gave me a ticket for improper lane change (to avoid the idiot slamming on his brakes) impounded my bike and took me to jail. WTGDF? They said that they saw me coming up and that I 'took off' when I saw them pull out. They said they were "nice" in not charging me with evading or reckless driving.

I have 1 prior (13 over) and that's it.

Right here is where this whole problem started and could have been avoided. I have no problems with the sudden lane change. Sounds like it was necessary. But you made a choice to speed in order to save your self some time in not getting caught up in some traffic.

Getting hand cuffed and tossed in jail certainly seems over the top. Sounds like the officer was having a bad day and was looking to take it out on someone.

exactly

check my edit, I wasn't speeding for no reason. If I were in my truck then F everyone else, they can rear end me. Getting hit from behind my some moron on a cellphone while on a bike can get you killed.

Agreed. Being from Atlanta, I understand how the speed "limits" work over there. For everyone who hasn't visited fairly recently, Georgia as a whole really does have more widespread disregard for speed limits than any other state I've been to; 10 over is the norm, and especially if you're around the city itself, you'll still be getting passed by 3/4 of the drivers who are traveling at ~85-90mph in a 55mph zone (which, btw, is set artificially low I would imagine).

I'd definitely find a lawyer and take this one to court. I've been pulled over once on my motorcycle in Georgia, and was given a warning because the situation was similar to yours. The officer and his later-arriving back-up told (not asked) me that 1) I would have been going faster if I'd had the chance, and 2) I was going to kill myself somehow.

Not that I have anything at all against police officers in Georgia (or anywhere else), but there really does seem to be quite a bit of prejudice against sport bike riders.

 

[acemcmac]

Originally posted by: joshsquall

Originally posted by: acemcmac
They have no radar readings, no laser readings, no stopwatch/vascar printouts. The incident with the "dangerous swerving" happened more than a mile away. I don't think they have anything.

I agree. Just fight it in court and you'll win or atleast have it dropped to something much less costly.

Trial by affidavit is the best way to go IMHO. I drug out a 100mph speeding case once for 18 months and eventually had it dropped into obscurity. The cop never even pulled me over. He pulled a gun on me in a convenience store and went apesh!t about how fast he had to go to catch up with me

a year later, the DA was practically begging me to just shut up and let it go

 

[crystal]

Originally posted by: zixxer
I'm trying to find what my next step is (I need to find a lawyer I supposed)..

~6pm friday afternoon I was in the middle lane on the interstate speed limit 65), right before my exit. There are two (maybe three) cops on the side of the road in the process of searching someone's car.. The idiot in front of me, at the last second, slammed on his brakes (when he saw the cop, maybe 200-300ft before them) and I swerved into the left lane. I was going about 65 (the same or slightly faster than traffic) and accelerated to 85 or *maybe* 90. (traffic was coming up behind us pretty quickly, and I didn't want to get caught up in it.)

I get off on my exit, and all of the sudden there are two cops FLYING down the exit ramp. I really didn't think they were there for me, and pulled over to the side. The jumped out, handcuffed me, and one of them told me he 'visually determined' I was going at least 120mph. I was like WTF I saw you guys from a mile away, I was going with traffic, and tried to explain what happened. They lowered it to 100 in a 65, also gave me a ticket for improper lane change (to avoid the idiot slamming on his brakes) impounded my bike and took me to jail. WTGDF? They said that they saw me coming up and that I 'took off' when I saw them pull out. They said they were "nice" in not charging me with evading or reckless driving.

I have 1 prior (13 over) and that's it.


EDIT:

This in in Georgia

EDIT 2:

I was on a motorcycle, the normal speed of traffic is ~85. The people in the two right lanes were slamming on their brakes and slowing to ~65 while the people behind me were not paying attention and still going 85. I changed into the left lane and sped up as fast as the people approaching me from behind. This is atlanta traffic, if you are going 10 over you'll get run over.

So did the people that slow down to 65 got run over by those behind you?

 

[Tobolo]

Contact the district attorney and see what he has to say about it. If he throws it out then yea! If not, you had better get an attortney.

GA District Att

Oh and QUIT SPEEDING!!!!

I'm from just south of Atlanta and I know how it is. But if you want to do the speed limit you can.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: ScottSwingleComputers

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: Czar

Originally posted by: acemcmac

Originally posted by: Czar
I dont get it why you had to go faster?

but in court I dont see why any of this can hold against you, they have no evidence to back them up

When people start slamming their brakes around me, I'll do ANYTHING to get around them.

I don't want to be anywhere near people like that.

slow down, change lanes at about the same speed you were driving

just dont see the reason for speeding away from a assumed bad driver, only makes you a bad driver as well. He was already slowing down anyways, no need to go faster.

THE PEOPLE IN THE FAST LANE WERE GOING FASTER THAN HIS PREVIOUS SPEED. THAT IS WHY IT IS CALLED THE FAST LANE. HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN HIT BY SOME B!TCH ON HER CELL PHONE IF HE DIDN'T SPEED UP TO MATCH THE FAST LANE TRAFFIC.

Hopefully that takes care of the "why did you speed up" posts.

Its not called a fast lane. Its speed limit is 65, the same as all the other lanes.
Thanks for trying though.

yes and we all live in a fairyland utopia ...

be realistic not an idiot.

 

[zixxer]

Originally posted by: Tobolo
Contact the district attorney and see what he has to say about it. If he throws it out then yea! If not, you had better get an attortney.

GA District Att

Oh and QUIT SPEEDING!!!!

I'm from just south of Atlanta and I know how it is. But if you want to do the speed limit you can.

I understand the quit speeding comments - in my truck I go the speed limit or possible 5 over if passing. On a motorcycle you have to go the speed of traffic. A 'fender bender' doesn't exist on a bike, if someone rearends/bumps you it's normally serious.


the real issue, at least here in atlanta, is the cops ignore people going 15 over.. they basically have a system where they can pull over anyone they want (call it profiling or whatever you want) since EVERYONE is going at least 10-15 over the limit

 

[sswingle]

Originally posted by: purbeast0

Originally posted by: ScottSwingleComputers

Originally posted by: mercanucaribe

Originally posted by: Czar

Originally posted by: acemcmac

Originally posted by: Czar
I dont get it why you had to go faster?

but in court I dont see why any of this can hold against you, they have no evidence to back them up

When people start slamming their brakes around me, I'll do ANYTHING to get around them.

I don't want to be anywhere near people like that.

slow down, change lanes at about the same speed you were driving

just dont see the reason for speeding away from a assumed bad driver, only makes you a bad driver as well. He was already slowing down anyways, no need to go faster.

THE PEOPLE IN THE FAST LANE WERE GOING FASTER THAN HIS PREVIOUS SPEED. THAT IS WHY IT IS CALLED THE FAST LANE. HE MIGHT HAVE BEEN HIT BY SOME B!TCH ON HER CELL PHONE IF HE DIDN'T SPEED UP TO MATCH THE FAST LANE TRAFFIC.

Hopefully that takes care of the "why did you speed up" posts.

Its not called a fast lane. Its speed limit is 65, the same as all the other lanes.
Thanks for trying though.

yes and we all live in a fairyland utopia ...

be realistic not an idiot.

Oh, ok. So I am the idiot, but you are the one that got handcuffed and your bike impounded.

Speed all you want. I do 80 in a 65 almost my entire drive to work, but not with cops around.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Your situation is a little different than the one I encountered between Knoxville and Nashville, TN yesterday.

So, I'm driving along at around 80mph and so is everyone else. This crotch rocket blows by all of us and just cruises along the interstate in between all of the cars. I guess he pulled off at some exit because around 30 minutes later he came blasting by us again. It was instantaneous so I'm sure it was going at least 100. 10-15 minutes after he passed the second time I had the joy of seeing that punk pulled over on the side of the road.

Sadly, it did not look as if that idiot was going to jail. Where's the justice?

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Fingolfin269
Your situation is a little different than the one I encountered between Knoxville and Nashville, TN yesterday.

So, I'm driving along at around 80mph and so is everyone else. This crotch rocket blows by all of us and just cruises along the interstate in between all of the cars. I guess he pulled off at some exit because around 30 minutes later he came blasting by us again. It was instantaneous so I'm sure it was going at least 100. 10-15 minutes after he passed the second time I had the joy of seeing that punk pulled over on the side of the road.

Sadly, it did not look as if that idiot was going to jail. Where's the justice?

Sounds like they are enjoying making money off of him.

More free liquor at the bar for the end of year Police Christmas party.

 

[amdhunter]

A friend of mines beat a speeding ticket because the Police Officer "lowered" the speed from 85 to 65 (just an example, not actual speed.)

Supposedly, this is an admission that the Police officer could not determine the actual speed and was just "guessing." I'd fight the ticket.

 

[xgsound]

If you plead guilty to driveing over 100MPH you can never take it back, so don't. It will cost plenty for the fine and that's just the beginning. A revoked license, possible jail time, driving school at your expence, and outragous insurance rates (if you can get insurance) will follow.

It will be cheaper to get a good lawyer now. Let the lawyer do the talking. Your best defense will be you were avoiding an accident and the fact that they overtook you at the exit. Since they overtook you so quickly, how could you have been going 100MPH? The officer has been the victim of observational error due to differences in vehicle size and acceleration differences. Since you didn't get rear-ended obviously you sucessfully avoided the accident.


Jim

 

[BlancoNino]

Take it to court and tell the cops to bring evidence of going 100mph.

 

[ch33zw1z]

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

 

[Injury]

Step 1) Get a lawyer.

Step 2) Stop exceeding speed limits if you don't want tickets. The "Everyone was doing it" excuse doesn't change the law, and on a motorcycle you're like a big bullseye for cops and their egos. (For reference, the left lane is a PASSING lane ONLY, not a "High Speed" lane... you have no right to exceed the limits in that lane)

Step 3) Stop taking advice from ATOT when it comes to legal matters.

 

[Mokmo418]

The only legal advice that should be taken seriously on ATOT is the following:

Get a lawyer. Period.

The rest is worthless as most of us are not from Georgia (in the other georgia, in former USSR, a a few hundred roubles would have spared a lot of troubles )
In my part of the world, they wouldn't have dispatched cars busy on a search for a speeder bike, the roads are in such bad shape he wouldn't last long.

 

[shoRunner]

Originally posted by: zixxer
I'm trying to find what my next step is (I need to find a lawyer I supposed)..

~6pm friday afternoon I was in the middle lane on the interstate speed limit 65), right before my exit. There are two (maybe three) cops on the side of the road in the process of searching someone's car.. The idiot in front of me, at the last second, slammed on his brakes (when he saw the cop, maybe 200-300ft before them) and I swerved into the left lane. I was going about 65 (the same or slightly faster than traffic) and accelerated to 85 or *maybe* 90. (traffic was coming up behind us pretty quickly, and I didn't want to get caught up in it.)

I get off on my exit, and all of the sudden there are two cops FLYING down the exit ramp. I really didn't think they were there for me, and pulled over to the side. The jumped out, handcuffed me, and one of them told me he 'visually determined' I was going at least 120mph. I was like WTF I saw you guys from a mile away, I was going with traffic, and tried to explain what happened. They lowered it to 100 in a 65, also gave me a ticket for improper lane change (to avoid the idiot slamming on his brakes) impounded my bike and took me to jail. WTGDF? They said that they saw me coming up and that I 'took off' when I saw them pull out. They said they were "nice" in not charging me with evading or reckless driving.

I have 1 prior (13 over) and that's it.


EDIT:

This in in Georgia

EDIT 2:

I was on a motorcycle, the normal speed of traffic is ~85. The people in the two right lanes were slamming on their brakes and slowing to ~65 while the people behind me were not paying attention and still going 85. I changed into the left lane and sped up as fast as the people approaching me from behind. This is atlanta traffic, if you are going 10 over you'll get run over.

Hopefully you didn't say "no i wasn't doing 120mph, i was doing 90mph." If you didn't do something dumb like that then you'll be fine, since while cops can pull you over using a "visual estimation of speed" no court will uphold it, if you fight it. I too was pulled over by this method (in GA), and took it to court and had it dropped. You don't necessarily have to have an lawyer, as I just spoke to the prosecutor about my ticket and he dropped it. You should go to the court on the date listed, and see if the prosecutor is out and available. Sometimes there will be no prosecutor on the initial court date so you will just have to plead not guilty and come back with a lawyer.

 

[Genx87]

Hard to say if you have a case.

A. You were too close to the guy in front of you if you had to slam on your brakes and swerve into another lane.
B. By your own admission you were doing well over the speed limit so you are guilty even if they didnt get a radar clock on you.
C. I dont have sympathy for motorcyclists. 98% of them are aholes who break every known traffic law and then complain nobody see's them as their poor decisions run other people off the road.