Tonight, at an intersection a quarter mile from my house, I decided to engage a last gen Mustang in a sprint across the intersection. I knew I had nothing for the guy but merely wanted to reminisce about the beautiful sound of a wide open V8.

A few hundred feet past the intersection, two lanes funnel down to one, and a few hundred feet past that is my right turn to go home. The mustang already had a car length on me when I got out of the gas on the other side of the intersection and I just coasted from there.

After I had made the turn to go home, the view in my mirror was a rapidly approaching squad car and shortly afterwards, red and blue lights.

I pulled over, gave him what he wanted and sat patiently knowing I'd been caught. I felt worse for my neigbors who had red & blue strobes in their windows at 11:30 on a Sunday night.

The office came back and handed my license and information back to me. I cooperatively autographed his "Notice to appear" and proceeded to put everything away. Until he told me to gather my belongings because they were going to impound my car for thirty days.

Now I face several hundreds of dollars in fines, impound fees and lack of CL-s for the next month.

So now here I am. A week shy of 31, married with a kid and a decent full time job transportationless because of an immature judgement. 4 seconds of fun aren't worth this.

To be continued...

 

I know how you feel my friend..DUI right here

 

sorry about ur luck. learn and live right?

 

Get a lawyer, get your car back, and don't get caught next time!

 

Ok what was the infraction? & how fast were you going? Cause your car couldn't have been speeding that much if it's only 1/4 mile.

 

you must fight the temptation!!!!

 

not sure what state he is in and what the laws are, but here in NY it doesn't matter how fast you were going, you can get a 'speed contest' (which is in his thread title), which is actually a misdemeanor.

like i said, get a lawyer, i've been through the same thing and i got off everything without any points, just fines and community service.

 

exactly, get a lawyer, and he can surely help sort some things out, such as getting your car back and reducing fines, and penalties....did the mustang get screwed also?

 

That is horrible, how fast were you going?

 

i feel so bad for you....i cant even imagine my car getting impounded especially for something like that...cops must be harsh over there....

some of the stories i read on acurazine make me think South Carolina has the most lenient cops around...i've been pulled 10 times, and gotten away every time(warning), and i used to drive like a maniac in high school....i've settled down a bit now after my first year in college, but i've been pulled because of stupid races, speeding for no reason, passing illegally, yellow light runnings, taking my jeep off road making my own ways through traffic, all this dumb shit, and i've gotten off, it kinda makes me glad i live here...lol otherwise im not supposed to have my license right now, especially for that 90mph in a 35mph...

 

I'm in Citrus Heights, Ca - a suburb of Sacramento. Within the last two years or so, there have been enough teenagers racing and killing themselves (and/or other people) the local PD's have banded together to put a stop to such heinous behavior.

According to the officer last night the ticket isn't about the speed (even though it says 55+ on in the "Speed Approx" box.)

I haven't had a ticket in 5 years and the last speeding ticket i had was ten years ago and for 35 in a 30.

I'm not saying I don't deserve a ticket for something, but what I did last night was hardly a "speed contest." We're talking maybe 400 feet total under power and I coasted to my turn. Exhibition of speed - sure, Speeding - maybe 45 in a 35 but it wasn't a speed contest by any means.

Now, 12 hours later, it looks like i'll be driving a 1987 El Camino for the next month. I'm not worried about the points, how bad were the fines?

 

that does seem a little harsh. one of my friends just got a ticket for "drag racing" when he was just messin around with som1 he knew. but it was just a $100 fine and be on your way.

 

like someone said, live and learn. but then again, you are well old enough to know better. i too am guilty of having this kind of fun from time to time. so i guess it's only wrong if you get caught.

 

Citrus height, i was just there, were you neer sunrise? those cops are dicks out there. all those teenagers killing them selfs in there "highly" modified hondas. of course the mustange didn't get the ticket because it is an american car. damn pigs. now instead of racial profiling we get car profiling. I also learned the hardway around there my dad had his office off of sunrise boulevard and i got pulled over in his parking lot in front of his office. god was that a load of crap it was for my licensce plate light being burned out. or thats all he could come up with. sacramento, elk grove, folsom, orangevale cops are all the same you just have to look out for the sacramento county sheriffs they are the worst. good luck and i will probably see you in court.

Mrproul

 

Lawyer cost me $1,000 and I paid about $250-$300 in fines + community service. But I walked away with 0 points and nothing on my record except for some equipment violations. Speed Contest here = misdemeanor = jail time. I think the money I paid was well worth it.

 

If he doesent have it on the radar, get that lawyer and fight the case youl save a lot of money in the end.

 

I called the Citrus Heights police department and asked them what I could do to help my process along and maybe get my car out of prison. They told me I had to file for a hearing and that the officer that normally handles it is out on vacation this week and a different Officer every day will be handling the case. He should review the form this morning and if he calls i'm going to try and convince him that i wasn't participating but merely abetting. The difference is my car doesn't need to be impounded and the maximum fine is $500. I'm looking at over $1500 just for 30 days of impound fees right now.

And while I agree with MrProul to an extent, I don't have a problem with admitting that I did fracture a law and will own up to it. I have respect for our Police Department and the job they do. It isn't an easy one. While it isn't fair that on occasion a typically law abiding citizen is the "dog" they kick after a bad day, I still broke a law.

To be continued some more...

 

Good Luck on this whole situation, I'd be destroyed if that happened to me.

 

for a married man with children, this is a nightmare. i can't imagine what the wife is saying...

 

Don't forget that on top of the fees you will pay if you do not fight it, you will be paying for it the next few years via insurance increase.

 

Sorry to hear man, at least he didnt smash up your car. From what Ive seen on the news here in SoCal, most of the cops are extremely harsh when it comes to any form of "street racing". One of their recent methods was to impound your car, and then have it smashed right in front of your eyes, a bit extreme if you ask me, but hopefully it will at least work. Im not sure how it is up in NorCal, but Im pretty sure its not much less. You just had bad luck and timing that night, and even at age 31 (which is still a young age btw) youll get the itch for a lil R&R with your car. Good luck and be safe

 

They'll crush the car if they catch stolen parts in it, not because of street racing itself. From my understanding, there has been roughly 46 deaths for street racing in Cali in the past 6 years. (read an article somewhere, and was also posted here in the ramblings section). In my opinion, they should do something about the 6,700 deaths due to alcohol related reasons (both statistics were for California alone). But that's another topic.

Anyways, I got caught street racing back in high school in SoCal. It was a $800 ticket. 5 days in jail (paid to do community service instead for 5 days), paid the impound fees (got the car out in 2 weeks only because it was under my parents name at the time (They handed me the title to the car right after that). 2 years probation, and of course, the infamous points on my records. Most insurance companies laugh at me. But the good ol' hole in the walls never fail to insure me for a darn low price.

 

Sorry to hear that, regardless I know that mostly all of us have been guilty of something like this even if we weren't caught at the time. In los angeles in some instances they can seize your car and sell it. Good luck with your case and I hope you get your car back before the 30 days.

 

I suppose........heres the link for the video, for any of you SoCal'ers who live in Ontario, better watch out

http://cbs2.com/video/?id=42005@kcbs.dayport.com&cid=71

I just love how rebelious that Hoang dood is

 

Haven't seen that video, thanks

 

Ya know, that is the first thing my dad said too. "They could crush your car!" Like hell they could. AND I called my dad a hypocrit. I asked him how many times he raced his 63 corvette conv't or his 70 camaro. Shut him up in a hurry.

So...

A traffic citation attorney called me back. They want $750 for representation without any guarantee and i'll still have to pay any fines AND impound fees. Doesn't sound like its worth the money to me. I am more interested in not paying the impound fees than the points on my record or the fines attached to the citation. However (since in the last 24 hours i've become real cozy with the traffic laws) if the case is dismissed then i'm not liable for the impound fees. I didn't like the answers the lady from that particular office was giving me so i'm going to hunt one down that knows how to do this.

to be continued...again.

 

Crucial man, only time will tell what happens. Keep us updated.

 

Want my lawyer? He'll drop you in a heartbeat...good lawyers will look at the ticket to see if there is anything wrong with what was written on it, and will look at the notes the officer wrote in the database...if there are any misconseptions between the two they will definately drop the case easily.

 

wtf.....thats so fucked up.....

 

I appreciate the offer but can't afford to blow money on a lawyer AND have to pay my fines at the end. If you have a contact that's willing to give a free consultation, then absolutely. I'm not having much luck on my own.

 

I um actually did the same thing on Friday night against a 93 cobra. Only difference is I didnt get caught and I handed his ass to him. Dont mean to rub it in your face at all man. In fact, Im only sharing this because the whole rest of my night I was feeling regret for doing what I had did. I would be in the same boat as you right now had I been busted. I just got my license back after having it suspended and this is the first thing I do when I bring my car out. Stupid!!! Its really hard to resist temptation.

Im sorry about your car and everything in general.

 

I know right

 

my car was impounded 30 days after running from cops. it cost lil under 1500 towing. the fucked up the top carelessly placing the hazard lights on top. suprised nothing was stolen.

 

you can try and get the car out. i forgot all details, but unless the cop stated it has to be in for 30 days. you can pull it out, and even if it states it has to be in 30 days, try anyways because sometimes they dont realize. thats what i heard from my insurance specialist uncle.


btw where are you from? lucky your car is not getting compacted like a soda can. you risk that out here in cali now, i dont know details of law, but it has been performed.

any know bout t his law so far, and where it is effective?

 

23109.2.(a) Whenever a peace office determines that a person was engaged in a motorvehicle speed contest, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 23109, the peace officer may immediately arrest and take in to custody that person and may cause the removal and seizure of the motor vehicl used in that contest in accordance with Chapter 10. A motor vehicle so seized may be impounded for not more than 30 days.

I doesn't have to be impounded, nor did it have to be impounded for the full 30 days. The arresting office was in a bad mood and treated me like i'd been drug running or something. The secondary officer seemed to balance him out but by then it was too late because the citation was written and the towing company called.

I don't run the risk of jail time or getting my car crushed, those are punishments for extreme cases. I can't imagine having to pay more than the minimum fine of $355 and the impound costs. According to the video that was posted earlier, crushing the cars is a penalty for cars that have stolen transmissions and engines specifically to modify a car.

 

Yeh, Street racing is a compounding problem.

Ahh, Priceless

 

If your car stays in for 30 days impound fees alone will be $500-$700 and a speed contest ticket is a major violation in California unlike regular speeding the fine is going to be another $500 to $1000.

 

Directly from www.dmv.ca.gov:

23109. (a) A person shall not engage in a motor vehicle speed contest on a highway. As used in this section, a motor vehicle speed contest includes a motor vehicle race against another vehicle, a clock, or other timing device. For purposes of this section, an event in which the time to cover a prescribed route of more than 20 miles is measured, but where the vehicle does not exceed the speed limits, is not a speed contest.

(b) A person shall not aid or abet in any motor vehicle speed contest on any highway.

(c) A person shall not engage in ( )1 a motor vehicle exhibition of speed on a highway, and ( )2 a person shall not aid or abet in a motor vehicle exhibition of speed on any highway.


It goes on to say:

(e) (1) A person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 24 hours nor more than 90 days or by a fine of not less than three hundred fifty-five dollars ($355) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. That person shall also be required to perform 40 hours of community service. The court may order the privilege to operate a motor vehicle suspended for 90 days to six months, as provided in paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352. The person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle may be restricted for 90 days to six months to necessary travel to and from that person’s place of employment and, if driving a motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the person’s employment, restricted to driving in that person’s scope of employment. This subdivision does not interfere with the court’s power to grant probation in a suitable case.

 

What DMV doesn't say in that description is that different counties in California add on other fees to their traffic fines so those are just the starting points. So if the county you live in doesn't assess any additional court fees above that you will pay somewhere in between $355-$1000 if they do assess extra fees like L.A. County does then count on it being higher. That doesn't even address any of the impound fees those are separate.

 

do some research on Pre Paid Legal. i'm an associate with them, it wont help this time because its pre existing but it will deffinately help for the future. 16.99 a month and it covers you and your family. Its kept tons of points off my record. but ya you should look into it or pm me if you have any questions. GL man