kchao2000

I were driving on Rt1 near by New Brunswick, NJ area last night about 75 MPH @ 55 MPH zone. I saw a car behind me and tailgate me for a while so I decide speed up and switch lane to let him pass me. (Can't see what car behind me 'cuz the auto-dimming mirror.) So... soon as I speed up to 80 MPH, the lights flashed. Sh!t... it's a cop.

I told him that because the tailgate so I tried to speed up and switch lane since there is a car next to me. Well... useless.. After I waited in my car for about 10 minutes, he said since my record was clean, so he give me a break. Gave me a ticket for careless driving.

Does anyone know how much my insurance will go up? (for 2 points?) It is different from speeding ticket, right? Should I go to court? (Since he gave me a break already...)

Thanks for your info!!!

ALFAV6

atleast its better then a speeding ticket..... i would have told him if he didnt tail gate then i wouldn't have drove faster.... but still, sorry to hear about the ticket...

TypeSDragon

Stupid cops! They always tailgate your a$$ to force you to go faster. Sorry to hear about your ticket!

CarFreak

That has happened to me too, but I didn't get pulled over because I had a feeling it was a cop and just waited to go into the next lane. The auto dimming mirror prevents you to distinguish what cars are behind you. I usually turn it off when I'm driving at night and speeding. I would try to fight it because you have nothing to lose. 2 points won't hurt you. Just take defensive driving and it will be gone. Good luck!

Bitium

Yeah I got a couple of those.

TUFF GONG

Dam, I did the same thing when I had my 300ZX. Didn't realize it was a cop (happened a few years back during the transition of the new Crown Vic's from the old, didn't have the new Vic's headlight/parking light pattern in my memory yet). The cop was not understanding at all (what else is new?) Gave me a ticket with a "have a good night" , sarcastic bastard. I kick myself in the ass to this day when I think about it. A speeding ticket and a Twin-Turbo Z don't mix too well

CarFreak

hahah...especially your mustang w/NOS. Hey, you missed the NJ meet.

SergeyM

Might be a no-pointer. Check with motor vehicle department. Looks like hid give you a break.

DJ Iceman

I got one of those "careless driving" tickets in Florida once. It was basically because the cop knew I was speeding but didn't get me with radar/laser. By the time he caught up to try and pace me I had slowed down to the speed limit, so he couldn't technically give me a speeding ticket. It was $120 but I went to driving school to avoid the three points.

tdoh

Man that sucks; can't speak for how tickets are counted over in NJ but I can offer a bit of advice which you may or may not already know:

By the book if you're being tailgated you should almost always never accelerate or pull away from the tailgater behind you just so that you can pull over to let the guy pass. As you found out, it's a pretty good trick for cops to pull. I'm not saying that this is some sort of written rule or law but that is what people tell you in driver's ed and traffic school.

Just my 2 cents worth...

Tony

SoundSpeed

Thats a pretty crappy thing for cops to do, tailgate you to get you to go faster. They must be really desperate to tag somebody.

Bitium

**** that, just brake the hell out of your car This is in the book of law A cop did that **** to me once and I didn't do the full stop, because I thought he was in a hurry, because he was so close to my bumper. He follow me for a couple of blocks until I pulled over and then he puts his windows down and tells me that I didn't do a complete stop. WTF, lost my temper and started telling him WTF is wrong with you, if you are going to give me a ticket then do it, don't be pulling $hit like that on me. I told him that I knew he was behing me and I was nice enough not to fully stop at the stop sign. Then I guess he got tire of hearing all the $hit I was saying and left Fvcker

SoundSpeed

Be careful about what you say to a cop. He might pull out the night stick on your ass next time.

BlackShadow

Laurelcrest

what is that on the back of your seats?! are those tv's?

laurel crest

BLEXV6

In Canada a careless driving charge is big trouble, including a large fine, 6 demerit points and a huge increase in insurance rates. I would fight it. Perhaps careless driving is less severe in the States, based on other posts on this thread.

kchao2000

That scares!! I think in the States is much less severe. The fine for me is $77.00 and two points

I talked with few friends today, they said some insurance companies will accept up to 2 points with no increase. Hopefully that is true.

Well.. I did learn a lesson, when ppl tailgate you, DON'T speed up and switch lane; you should slow down then switch. Also, our cars are too attractive for cops to check it out!!

Thanks guys for all your input!!

Off topic: How was the NJ meet? I couldn't go due to some personal matters. Well.. I guess if I went, then could avoid that stupid ticket huh?! :p

Mike36

Hey guys, I am a tl-s owner and a Virginia trooper. I bought the car for looks rather than power. I certainly don't condone law officers tailgating people however, we do what we do for a reason. We don't just hand out ticket for the hell of it. Case in point, about 967 motorist and 70 pedestrians died in Virginia alone. When you think about the total in the U.S., that's a lot of people. Some of my brother officers died in N.Y. today, and many more will die in the future. And all in the name of trying to keep people like you safe. A friend of mine lost a child because some jerk decided that he wanted to see how fast his car would go. So the next time you feel like bashing a cop, think about the many officers on the streets of N.Y. and D.C. away from their family while you're safe at home with yours. Well I think I've said enough for now, so if you feel like bashing go ahead. There have been several times in my career when I thought my wife might end up a widow, but I'm still here. I'm proud of what I do for my state and my country and no amount of criticism will ever change that.

tgif

Mike36,

Good job and good message.

We should all appreciate all the police officers that are risking their lives and keep us safe. Just think of everyone is here typing message and surfing the TL board. Many police officers are out there keeping bad guys broke in our office and homes.

Keep it up Mike.

DJ Iceman

Mike, no one was bashing the people who serve their country in any capacity. Our country is what it is because of those who sacrifice so much for the rest. But don't you agree that there are better, more important things for police officers to do than bait people into speeding tickets? This has been my biggest complaint for years. It really burns me up to see a cop drive on by a broken down motorist who could use their help, when you see so many people pulled over for relatively unimportant "crimes".