Speeding ticket; Ouch

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Originally Posted By: miden851
I recently got caught doing 88mph in 70mph speed limit on the local interstate;


I'll forgive you if you were driving a Delorean...


There really is no excuse for speeding outside of an emergency situation.
 
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I haven't gotten a speeding ticket (yet) in 12 years of driving. I mainly just keep up with the speed of traffic. If you drive faster than the flow of traffic, expect to get stopped. Things like loud exhaust will also draw more attention.
 
Originally Posted By: Smokescreen
There really is no excuse for speeding outside of an emergency situation.


There may not be an excuse, but it sure isn't going to stop me from doing 37 in a 35 zone anytime soon.

I am such a risk taker.

BC.
 
Originally Posted By: itguy08
Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
These are unjust laws and would NEVER be convicted if you could have a trial of your peers.

Illegal is Illegal. I guess you could try to claim double jeopardy, or entrapment.


This. It's rarely about "safety" but more about revenue and since limits are generally set too low it's easy picking. I'm surprised we let them get away with it.


If it was really about only revenue, they would have an army of cars out on the highway with each officer giving tickets from start of shift to end. This would be easy to do since close to 100% of cars on the road regularly exceed the speed limit.

The tickets they do give, are often for many miles over the speed limit where additional penalties are incurred, plus often enough a dose of reckless driving to further up the penalty. IMO the way it works is the officers wait until they see someone speeding excessively and driving somewhat recklessly before they light them up. If the driver is arrogant and argumentative, they are likely to receive the maximum amount of tickets and fines. If cooperative, the driver will come out better.

I believe that the officers pull over drivers who the officers truly think are dangerous and offend the officer's opinion of what is unsafe on the roads. The fact that these kind of drivers can get multiple tickets and more expensive ones is a plus for the municipality.

OTOH, for revenue they could have officers stationed at red light and stop signs. No one, and I mean no one comes to a complete stop at the stop signs by me. And running the intersection after the light turns red probably happens a few hundred times a day at the stop lights by me.
 
Why do people try and fight tickets, and waste court time and taxpayers money, on something they know they were doing.

Man up, pay your fine, and go on with your life.
 
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
Why do people try and fight tickets, and waste court time and taxpayers money, on something they know they were doing.

Man up, pay your fine, and go on with your life.


+1, because they're weasels.
smile.gif
 
Once, rush hour, average speed of my regular journey was under 20mph, even by motorbike and plenty of filtering. As a result I never used to look at my speedo. One day there was no traffic for miles, the 4th speed camera I passed through flashed, 38 in a 30 road. DOH !
 
You've had 10 major traffic violations (meaning you've had 10 tickets), and you decided to take this to court and not pay the $165?

You decided to open yourself up to a review by a judge who you were wanting mercy from? LOL

If you got caught for +80 MPH on 985, you must have been flying. I suspect you got caught up past Flowery Branch. If you were going that fast, you were probably weaving in and out of traffic, that road is never light and we all know there's always folks in the left and right lanes scattered about.
 
FWIW, I believe there's a not-so-well-known law in GA that a speeding ticket can't be written for less than 7 MPH over the limit.
 
Back in 1971, I was pulled over for doing 95mph in a 40 zone. This happened in a Northern suburb of Chicago. Gave the Officer my license and sat quietly in the car. He let me off with a stern warning after I popped the hood for a quick look. '71 Mach I, 429 Cobra Jet.
 
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
Why do people try and fight tickets, and waste court time and taxpayers money, on something they know they were doing.

Man up, pay your lawyer, and go on with your life.

FTFY. I can recall paying court costs each time as well... So it's a waste of what now?

The system exists. Why not use it to your advantage instead of being a victim?
 
That ticket, It's worth every penny!

I drive 12K-15K per year, as does my wife. Adding 10MPH to my average speed reduces the time spent driving by 45 hours. I earn a whole bunch more than $300 in 45 hours.
 
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Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
Why do people try and fight tickets, and waste court time and taxpayers money, on something they know they were doing.

Man up, pay your lawyer, and go on with your life.

FTFY. I can recall paying court costs each time as well... So it's a waste of what now?

The system exists. Why not use it to your advantage instead of being a victim?


Exactly!

I thought about it again, and I've only fought one ticket that I was at fault for. One was wrong and two more were absurd, in context. A couple of examples are when I was pulled over twice (two different times) for being in the intersection while my light was yellow. Both were given by cops who were sitting without sight of my light, and based their decision on the fact that their their light turned green before I was fully through the intersection. This is common when the intersection is long and/or the speed you're going at is slower than the designer of the intersection's lights anticipated (not all have a second + delay between red and green.)

1. In the morning, there's a cop who sits at the off-ramp from I-95 and waits for someone to run a yellow light to pull them over. There are gross violators, wherein you'll see 2-3 cars ride each other's bumpers, NASCAR-style, so as not to have to stop; the last car or two is usually behind the white line (i.e., not in the intersection) when the light turns red. That's not what I'm talking about.

In this instance, it's also absurd, because, at 0500, I can probably count on two hands the number of cars I've seen going the perpendicular directions over the past ten years. Nothing is open or operating, except for my employer. 3rd shift ends well after 0500; they would be the only ones leaving.

2. I'll keep this one shorter. I filmed the intersection from my perspective, the police officers, and in between where you could make out both his and my light. I then printed out a blown-up picture of the intersection from Google, showing the distance scale. I had calculations to support that driving even slightly over the 25 MPH speed limit would result in my rear bumper still being technically in the intersection, from the police officers perspective (the intersection was offset and not in a cross shape). Traffic was light to moderate and I was doing probably 20 MPH through the intersection. The light turned yellow while I was well into the intersection and when I was pulled over, I assumed it was because of my tint or for some other reason. When he told me a ran a red light, I inadvertently laughed at the absurdity, which didn't help.

3. The one I was at fault for, was 0330, on my way to work. We had just had a major snow storm and the roads were clear, but still slick in areas. I stopped at an empty T-intersection, where I could see to my left 3 blocks down. I saw an SUV coming up on me kinda hot, so I made the decision to run the red light just as the SUV was getting alarmingly close. Turns out that SUV was 5-O. I had a 7.5 hr exam that determined the fate of my job that morning, and the guy held me, because I didn't have an updated insurance card in the glove compartment. I pulled up my USAA page and showed him an electronic version, but he said it wasn't good enough. He said I needed someone to pick me up and he would need to have the car towed.

Luckily, another police officer happened to be driving by and stopped. He sleepily wandered over and leaned against my A pillar and asked what was up. He then gave the other cop a hard time, saying I had an electronic version, which was fine. He further pointed out that I had base stickers and a CAC, and that one needed updated registration and insurance to have those. Granted, I my insurance could have lapsed during that period, but that argument is what finally made the other guy back off.

So, instead of showing up 3 hrs early for my exam to get some last minute cramming in, I showed up with only a couple of hrs to spare, including the time I took to calm down a bit. If I'm being honest, that incident might have helped me. I could not sleep at all that night due to nerves, and was extremely fatigued by the time the exam started. I feel as if the stop got my heart going and let me at least start the exam with a fully clear mind, even without coffee! I guess I should thank that jerk! :p

//

For all of my warnings/tickets, whether warranted or not, I was driving a Subaru STI. The only exception, I believe, is the second example above, in which I was driving a Civic (with tint).

I got rid of the STI more than four years ago and haven't had a single issue since. I drive exactly the same way I always have, though the Forester and Legacy look and sound a lot less aggressive. and garner almost no attention from anyone, including cops.
 
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Always fight the ticket, always. Last one I fought was continued 3 times becasue the officer did not show up, it turns out he never planned on showing up and it got dismissed. They just rely on you blindly paying their dues.
 
Originally Posted By: Lapham3
I've had about 5 tickets in over 50 years. All on the open road by radar or A/C overhead and all well deserved on cruise control at 8-10 mph over the limit.


You can get ticketed for driving 8MPH over the limit???
 
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Originally Posted By: Lapham3
I've had about 5 tickets in over 50 years. All on the open road by radar or A/C overhead and all well deserved on cruise control at 8-10 mph over the limit.


You can get ticketed for driving 8MPH over the limit???


They can ticket you for 1mph over the limit. Just isn't worth their time to do so. My dad was a Pa State Trooper and he would not pull anyone over unless they were doing 15mph over the limit. He figured it was obvious they were speeding and if they wanted to go to court then fine, all the more they would have to pay or spend their time doing.
 
Lets see here...I happen to be a cop magnet...I am overly polite EVERY time I am pulled over.

First ticket was for 7 over in a 35 in a large expansive four lane without another car on the road in the middle of the afternoon - I was 18?

Next ticket was for 2 over in a 35 on a two lane road with no driveways or turn offs for well over a mile - I was about 20 and riding a sports bike. When the officer walked away, I said "Thank you Sir", he turned around and said "don't thank me, son".

Next ticket was for excessive acceleration...I had just put a new engine in my chevy cavalier with a stick, and must have got grease on the clutch. I was about two blocks into my first test drive, and struggling with the friction zone of the clutch because of this. I "squawked" the front left just a bit leaving a stop sign...that was enough...I was about 20 or 21 years old

Next ticket was for having a frame around my license plate again about 20 or 21 - same red Chevy Cavalier

Next ticket was for going the speed limit pulling into a town south of Canton, OH. It was raining, and my radio was up a little loud. Got a ticket for "too fast for conditions" was about 23 years old driving a blue Nissan Sentra

Next was pulling into my hometown...speed limit drops from 55 to 45 at the top of a hill, and I usually just click the cruise off at the bottom and sail into the speed zone right at 5 over, well this time a cop was sitting at the top of the bridge, and 5 over was too much...so yup, another 5 over ticket was about 31 or 32 years old driving a silver Saturn Vue

Next was about 3:50am headed to the gym to lift before work...stop sign to get onto the highway, and I rolled through it, clear line of sight in all directions for miles, and there was clearly no other cars on the road, except the officer sitting in a totally dark car in a speed trap location. Guess he was bored and decided I needed a stop sign ticket. This was a white Bonneville about age 33

Next ticket was for tinted windows in a used Audi I had just bought...when talking to me he noticed I had not mounted my front license plate...got that too was about 34 years old driving a Red Audi A3

I am now 39...suppose I am due for another ridiculous ticket.
 
Then there is the parking ticket fiasco in front of my parents house when I turned about 18.

I had to park on the road...single lane driveway long enough for only three cars. First snow after my sister got her license...

I got a ticket for parking on the road during the snow.
Next snow I got a ticket for parking across the sidewalk in my own driveway
Next snow I parked in the grass "parking" area between the sidewalk and street...yup, another ticket.
 
I was driving on I80 in ILL to get to my hospitalized father. I was called by the hospital that father was going in for surgery that had a 50/50 chance of survival. Speed limit those days was 50 or 55 MPH and I was moving 115 by the Saab speedometer. I saw the police antenna in the weeds and hit the brakes hard and passed him at ~ 75. I told him about the run to the Hospital 150 miles away. He called the hospital to confirm but, still gave me a tick for 60MPH = $50. You don't speed in ROCK ISLAND county back in the day. Ed
 
I got a speeding ticket for 20 mph over and was able to go to "traffic school" to keep it off my record. But it still cost me the full fine ($207). Figured I'd rather pay the $207 to keep my record clean vs getting the fine cut down in court and have the ticket on my record.
 
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