... drive above speed limit without blue lights and siren on ?

I got a ticket yesterday going from my dropzone back home. I was on rt 128 around
boston which at that point was 4 lane highway. There was K9 unit Fold Explorer on
second lane and there was lots traffic backing up behind it because everyone
was afraid to pass him. the traffic was going 65 in 55 zone. I was on the left lane
and it took me 3 minutes to pass him. I wanted to get out of the traffic and get out of the
left lane. The second I changed lanes and got in front of him, the lights went off
and few wonderful moments later I had a 70 in 55 zone ticket ..

I can get my lawyer and get rid of the ticket, but it's going to cost me quite a bit And
since I believe it's illegal for a cop to go over speed limit without blue lights, I think
I should be able to get off the ticket in the court, since "he was under 55" and it took
me 3 minutes to pass him, then I was going pretty much the same speed.

should i go for it with my story or should i not tempt it and get a lawyer ??

 

in reality, it's illegal for you to do anything over 55. However, the cop could say that he was following you and observing your speed, at which point, when you passed him, you were going faster than him and he pulled you over.

It's pretty funny, when I was out in San Diego, there was a cop right behind me, so I slowed down, I think I was doing like 85 on a 65mph road. He passed me when I slowed down to 65 and there was just us 2 on the road. Then traffic behind us caught up to us and every lane was full. Everyone wanted to pass the cop but no one dared to. People would tailgate one another and change lanes hoping to get side by side with the cop. When the cop left the highway, everyone got up to 95 so that they could make up for the time that they were behind the cop.

Good luck.

 

i don't think you can fight that, basically you were speeding and thats all that will matter to a court.

 

i don't think i was speeding. i was going his speed. and he, being a good officer, was observing speed limit. otherwise it's the biggest hypocrisy ever.

 

I was on the mass pike and I recall pulling away from a toll booth and merging into traffic.

Now I had a 350 v8 in the day and I hit the gas and was winding it up to get over into the left lane to get past the slow pokes. Now as I was doing 70 and still moving. I was in a 74 monte carlo which had some nice blind spots. As I was moving over there was a cruiser in the left lane that I could not see and well I moved in front of him.. He was very close behind.

Of course I was pulled over for crossing lanes and almost striking the cruiser. I was not pulled over for speeding. I was still accelerating and I wanted to tell the cop that if he is going to be doing 80 he should have lights and a siren on!!!

it might be easier to pay the 100 fine and what is it 1 point on you license in mass. which is what maybe 40 bucks? How much will the lawyer charge you?

If you go in to court by yourself the chances are they will reduce it to 50 right away. I have seen that happen a lot.

 

unfortunately it's not really go tickets work. i got 15 over speed limit which was $150 and 2 points in MASS. which will result in increased insurance premium for 5 years (over $2000 overall). lawyer will cost me $400-$600 to get rid of the ticket completely, which is a lot, but much cheaper then keeping the ticket.

the question for me at this point is either got to court by myself or with a lawyer ...

 

There are some times where, so long as the cop car's speedo is certified... They can follow you lockstep to assess your speed... If that is how he "got you" you should make sure the calibration on his speedo is up to date, as well as his training and certification to use such "equipment." They're bound to be missing some of the paperwork... Ergo... You're off.

Otherwise, my man, as far as I understand, there is NO WAY to ticket you for speeding... He has no idea how fast your going... If his speedo isn't calibrated, you can argue that you want it tested to prove you were indeed speeding. (At least cause them a lil grief for your $$$) Radar wouldn't work... No to laser... I'm sure you didn't go over VASCAR lines... Ergo... He has no provideable proof you were speeding. (Unless the chopper got you!)

Normally, they would get you for reckless driving, a much more "feel" kinda offense that doesn't require proof. My

 

I'd say go to court and fight the ticket, with luck the officer will not show up ( most don't get paid for going to court) and maybe you will walk out there free...

Good luck....

 

Cops can do whatever they want for the most part. One thing I'd never do is cut in front of a cop, whether he's speeding, driving the speed limit, or driving slow.

from my experience, stateys usually do 80-90 in the left lane anyway.

 

my point is that even if his speedo is calibrated and certified, the difference between his and my speed was less then a mile per hour. which would fall within calibration/reading error for speedo. if it's true that "he was going speed limit", there should be a case for my ticket. he didn't get me by radar, he was traveling along my side and since he "was observed the limit", so did I.


shit, i was staying away from tickets for more then 2 years now

 

they can do whatever they want, but it's different from being legal or not. and that's what i want to use in the court. the court should assume that the cops observe the rules themselves, otherwise if that's not given, how the court can trust the cop's words in first place ? why not just shoot me on the side of the road ?

 

Cops can drive however they want. The judge won't care that the cop was speeding...besides, the cop's not the one with the ticket, you are.

I've seen people pass a cop by going 5 over on the interstate (without being pulled), but not me...Rule #1: NEVER pass a cop. The only time you should pass a cop is if he's going slower than the speed limit (usually due to morons going below the limit in front of him out of fear)...and then you pass going only the speed limit.

Since you were already going 10 over, if you wanted to get over, you should've slowed down and gotten over behind him. Pay your lawyer and learn a valuable, if costly, lesson.

 

When it comes to court, they always take the cops word, dont matter
what was actualy going on, etc, if he wants to give you a ticket, the judge
will just figure there was a good reason for him/her to do so.

What you need to do is plead not guilty and talk with the prosicutor,
and have the ticket reduced to no points, talking on a cell phone or not wearing
a seatbelt are the favorites.

NJ is big on this, as the town gets to keep most of the fine money, with speeding
and other point tickets, they have to send a lot to the state.
Since the republicans got in, they cut state aid, the state cuts municipal
aid, and the townships make up the money in not guily fines.
I went to court in my town (for my son) and in the first 30 minutes
they batched a lot of guilty plea's with fines averageing around $400.00 per
person, in 1/2 hour they made roughly $30,000.00, 75 people at $400.00
each, plus the ones that did not plead down.
They likely cleared $50,000.00, court is 1 day every week.....

Brett

 

File a citizen's arrest.

Unfortunately he was a jackass and there's nothing you can do.

I'd fight it but all you're going to do is zap the points - you'll get a non-moving violation.

 

When I was a freshman in college, my friend and I took a roadtrip from UCONN up to UNH, which included traveling on the mass pike. Right when we got on the pike from 84-eastbound, a green mustang with limo tints on it pulled out on the highway. My friend and I have a tradition of making sure we check out Mustang drivers due to past roadtrips, and I remember she kept saying, "The tints are too dark, I can't see anything." It was a holiday weekend and traffic was pretty heavy. I was driving my Cherokee with my Thule racks on top (even more wind resistance than just driving a block on wheels). I'm not your typical girl driver (my job in college was driving a 35' bus - don't worry, I drove the bus MUCH differently than my car), and so when the Mustang would repeatedly get in front of me and then slow down 10mph (dropping below the speed limit) without using brakes, I decided that the driver was a hazard to me slowing down so quickly without notice while traveling at highway speeds, so I'm going to lose them. So I did through a series of skilled (and safe) passes and got the needle on my 85mph speedometer to hit the pin.

Needless to say, I got to the toll (which was a good 10 miles away) and saw the Mustang go past me into the ezpass lane. As we got closer, I could see the lights flashing in the tail lights of the mustang and the lovely state trooper standing on the side of the road. My friend says, "Just pretend that you don't see him, what is he going to do, point at you?" I knew that was EXACTLY what he was going to do (he was like RoboCop). I got a $290 ticket for "estimated speeds of up to 90" (which I'm guessing is what he had to do to catch up to me) and "weaving through traffic" (which I was not doing). I should have fought it but I didn't have my car up at school all the time and I definitely would have gotten something taken off of it since he had a camera in his car and I don't think estimating speed by how much it took to catch up with me is accurate since he wasn't next to me. Not to mention following me for 10 miles to try to get more bad things on me.

I agree, I was speeding, thus breaking the law. You were speeding, thus breaking the law. But I've also noticed that if the highway traffic is moving at a certain pace, most cops leave everyone alone rather than singling someone out. In your situation, by passing him, you singled yourself out. I'd go the lawyer route, since like you said - $600 is expensive now, but your insurance will be more expensive in the long run. Good luck

Moral of the story: Don't speed in Mass...and watch out for those damn green mustangs.

 

Cops lie...they'll say anything in court and the judge will believe them. It's frustrating, but that's just how it is.

 

/me hangs head... Sad, but true...

Has anyone noticed that some of the kids from high school... We all knew them. Kinda average, barely even thought about college... A lil slow... Yeah, a decent number of them... COPS now... LOL.

I mean there's some awesome cops out there and they do a lot of shit work... But you gotta wonder sometimes...

 

i will more then happy with this outcome !

that's the point. he would have to lie and say he was going speed limit. making his ticket to look not very valid. if he doesn't lie and admits he was going over limit with
no lights, that will make the ticket invalid as well, since evidences obtained illegally are not legal either ! thus my inclination to go to court by myself ...

he could say he had his lights on and going 70 mph, but i don't think the judge would believe i was such a moron to pass a cop with blue lights !

 

They don't have to have their lights on to speed...he was responding to a non-emergency call...proof? His word, which in court, is greater than yours.

But all of that is irrelevant...regardless of what he was doing, you were speeding. As I said before, you're the one with the ticket, not him. His speeding is moot, he clocked you going 70...now, a 15 over ticket (with clean record) will be reduced to a BS charge, but you're not going to have it just thrown out because he was going 65.

 

non-emergency calls do not require speeding. they HAVE to have lights on if they speed and endanger everyone else on the road. and it has to be emergency call for that.

i know we are talking about technicalities here, and that's what i need. i admit. i did go over speed limit . i agree that i'm at fault. and i know that and it's not what i'm asking here. if you'd like we can discuss the moral side of this story in different topic.

 

The fact that he was breaking the law, doesn't make it right for you to break the law. That is what the court will arguee.

Get a lawer and take care of it. Get over it, it is probably not your last ticket. Learn your expensive lesson and move on.

Good luck, Mark.

 

In this case, I would say no, you can't use the defense that "Well, the cop was speeding too!" The court will not question the cops speed at all. You are the one in question.

 

Oh, my God, it's illegal for cops to speed?


Cops in my hometown race their Z06 and Z28 cars.

 

Not in MO. They set up second court date and call the officer and he gets paid for it. I've been there...

 

Diver...I am training to go into the FBI and in doing so worked with 4 different crime units/highway patrol police organizations including state police/county police/local police...The bottom line is no matter what "technicalities" where in play, its his word against yours. Ive seen so many people attempt to fight tickets on technicalities far more substantial then the ones in play here and lose time and time again...it may not be fair but its reality. My best advice for you(and that of a cop Im currently working with) is to tlak to the officer who gave you the ticket ahead of time and try to work out a plea bargain...that or plead not guilty and talk to him before court...in my experiences this will help you get it reduced...the harder you fight it, the worse off for you, trust me

 

Out here, cops do not have to go the speed limit and frequently don't. I've been on a ride along with a state trooper and he told me that: (1) they generally don't use their lights when responding to emergencies because so many drivers are idiots, the lights make things worse rather than better; and (2) even when not responding to emergencies, when on patrol they frequently speed to move from pack to pack in traffic, looking for drunks or reckless drivers (doesn't do any good to stay with the same pack of cars where, as pointed out above, everyone slows down to match the speed).

Also, out here, most cops DO get paid to go to court, but they still hate it, so the subpoena and the "hope they don't show up" is still a good strategy.

 

that's an opposite of what i want to say, i'm saying he was not breaking the law at all. and neither was i. i'm not trying to say - he was going over and it's ok that i did as well.


yeah, maybe i'll get a lawyer and get over it

 

Yeah, but you also wrote that you were doing 65 or more in the 55 speed limit. It is breaking the law. Therefore seeing the cop breaking the law/ speeding did not make it right for you to break the law. Bottom line is, you are at question for doing 70 in 55.

You may sweat for a month or so and get all upset, and probably lose (your word vs. cop's) or just hire a lawer, have him take care of it and get over it.

Don't loose too much sleep over it. It is just life.

 

My rule is never pass a cop if he is going over the speed limit. However, if he is going under the speed limit, then I will pass him, but only doing the speed limit.

 

In reality, I agree with you. Cops can pretty much do whatever they want. I've even been told that police cars are noty subject to the same motor vehicle laws as you and I are. (Ever wonder why they don't have 'real' license plates?)

Anyway, I've gotten a ticket from a cop who says he clocked me with his radar gun. I know for a fact he didn't but it doesn't matter. He says he did. In the OP's case, he passed a cop who was already going over the speed limit. Just know that the cops can go whatever speed they want and you can't.

In this case, he can either keep the ticket or pay his lawyer. These are really his only choices.

 

No. Unless you know a damn good lawyer that can fight the case for you and win (which like you said will cost you a pretty penny.) You're pretty much out of luck! You see, all traffic cops are dicks, all of them ( I don't care who argues ) They think they're the shit, I've seen them on NJTP driving over 90mph without siren. Once I saw a cop doing the S motion right on the NJTP exit 8 at 15mph and backed up the entire traffic. I couldn't believe what I saw, I saw it being the 3rd car back in the lane.

Here is to all the traffic cops out there
"Don't hate because most of us make more money than you and have weekends off"
"My salary is 3x more than you can ever image of making"

TRAFFIC COPS = LOSERS

 

Its apparent that youve never been to long island unless you make 3x 150,000 in which case I doubt youd be driving a TL

 

I grasp what you're saying but fail to see how your argument would work in court.

If the cop was going the limit, and you passed him, you had to be exceeding the limit to do so, regardless of how long it took for you to pass him. Even if he was speeding, by passing him, that simply proves you were going even faster than he was and probably reinforces the accuracy of 70 in a 55 he busted you for.

From the judges perspective the law was broken, the degree is irrelevant. Your argument is essentially an admission of guilt.

The speedometer error argument seldom works because most cops bake that into their stop. They give enough allowance to be sure the speed is outside that margin.

Traffic may have been moving 65 and the cop was ignoring other cars going the same speed, but by passing him you called attention to yourself and, since you were over the limit more than anyone else, you drew the short straw.

Was the cop busting the law, yes. Is there a lack of justice in that, yes. But, you're the one going before the judge, not him. $hiite happens.

 

As the lottery ads say, "If you don't play, you can't win." Make this fine public servant prove it up in court and thrash him with a competent attorney. More than half of the traffic enforcement cases here in Austin get dumped after the officer fails to testify at trial because he is sleeping, on duty, or in court on a more serious charge. I don't usually do ticket cases anymore but have more folks succeed simply by setting their cases for trial and forcing the government to prove the case. My $200 worth.

 

Don't get on their bad side, it will make any future problems a pain to deal with. YOu went above the limit, and thus were ticketed. Whether or not the cop was breaking the law is not up for question. Not worth the time and money, you only live once. Suck it up and pay the ticket.

 

We had a saying in the Air Force that a cop was just a cook that knew how to shoot, and a cook was a cop that couldn't. Those were the 2 jobs they offered to people that scored lowest on the ASVAB test. Well, that and they allowed the Army recruiter to come in and try to sign them up.

You gotta love a society that jacks up good hard working people just to earn revenue off of ticket income ( like the taxes we pay aren't enough) but ignores all the crack heads selling on street corners because all they do is clog the jails and don't have any money anyway to post bail.

 

why do you think a lawyer can get you out of the ticket? just b/c prosecutors there will let it go simply for showing up w/ a lawyer?

 

No, but they'll frequently know the tricks/court rules/procedural steps necessary to get you out of it. Expensive, yes, but compared to increased insurance rates over a number of years, perhaps a worthwhile investment.

Lot of cop-hatred in this thread, seems a little excessive. Are a lot of cops jerks? Yeah. Are a lot of them the dumb guy from high school on a power trip? Yeah. But keep a little perspective. A lot of them are smart, good, public servants who have to wonder what sort of drug-using lunatic is going to be behind the wheel at the traffic stop they just made. These guys are working crappy hours, trying to keep drunks off the road so you don't get the late night phone call that your sister has been killed. A friend from college is a smart guy, now in the DEA, but for a number of years a state trooper. While not on the scale of the folks off in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, in terms of risk and sacrifice, I can't help wonder what it was like to be his wife every time he left for work, wondering what he was going to run into and if he was going to come home.

BTW, I suspect most of them are smart enough to pick up on the "Traffic Cops=Losers" attitude even if you're trying to fake being nice. And I can guaranty that ain't gonna help when you do get pulled over.

 

i'm a former prosecutor and you're not getting out of that ticket unless you find a prosecutor that will let it slide. it's a matter of luck, but your odds increase by getting an attny. at least that's how i'm reading the facts of the ticket, i may be missing something.

 

Go to court and fight it if you can, as others said maybe u get lucky and he doesn't
show.

But I gotta say, that takes some big balls to actually pass the cop...especially since he was already goin 10 mph over the posted limit. I will pass a cop if they are slower than posted limit or driving the exact limit on the interstate <<< in this case I would do what u did and pass very slowly. It is kinda antagonizing them though.

GL though....alot of cops don't want to go to court, specially if u can find out what days he has off.