I got my first speeding ticket the other day. The cop claims he got me doing 75mph in a 60mph zone. I was definitely speeding but not faster than the flow of traffic on a major highway in TX. Anyways, I guess my car, an 05 AM TL, attracted him out of the gaggle of Oldsmobiles and Ford pick up trucks. I'm not even sure how this was possible since his car was facing in the same direction of the flow of traffic and there were a slew of cars around me.

It's a $170 fine and probably a couple of points on the licence. I just got two letters from local attorney's requesting to appear in court on my behalf. Question is should I go myself or let these jokers handle it for me? And if I go what the hell can I say for some leniency or not having any points on the licence? I know some of you guys have a plethora of knowledge and could probably give good advice .

P.S., I thought that my internal copdar was good, I guess now I need a radar detector.

Thanks

 

Here come all the "armchair" Lawyers....

Best bet is to talk to the Attorney representing the state and ask him to bargain with you since you have no points. You will need to do it prior to going in front of the judge. Hopefully, some other guys will know more than I...

 

i agree with jmbnova...

plea with the prosecutor... an attorney who is popular in that local court can help to bargain for you and most likey you will have to just pay a higher fine with no points... avoid the points!

first offense and not doubling the limit etc, so you have a good shot. i have had a lot of experience with this in the past unfortunately. to be honest, many times its the luck of the draw- depends on the judge you get and what he decides if it comes down to that. hopefully you can come to terms with the prosecutor.

best of luck.

 

I just learned a new trick in my hometown - go to the local D.A.'s office and talk to someone. In the backwoods north of New Orleans, St. Tammany Parish, the assistant D.A.'s will generally reduce it to a seatbelt fine if you have a fairly clean driving record.

Appearance and attitude have a lot to do with their willingness to help. Show up in suit or otherwise professional looking outfit and ask for help, don't bitch about what you didn't do, or the cop's mistakes.

Good Luck!

gurney

 

he probably got your speed by "pacing" - no radar detector and detect that!

Pacing is going at the same rate of speed as you (most of the time hiding in your blind spot) and reading off their calibrated speedometer.

 

I will let the attorney handle your case.....trust me its worth paying them and they can make wonders in court, these guys are good they can even change your original speeding charge to a lesser one ex. defective equipment (had the experience also) and pay a lesser fine not only that it didn't affect my insurance.

G/L

 

If this isnt something that doesnt belongs in RAMBLINGS.....I dont know what does!


A bit off topic bro!

 

every state is different some let you plea to lower speed/ offense some do not you will need an attorney good luck and slow down

 

I get myself a lawyer to represent me everytime, even if it costs me more money.

couple reasons... to me my time is valuable. If I have a lawyer I go first and don't have to wait in court with all the other pond scum, then second the lawyer will get me a better deal than I could ever get without. I will not waste my time in traffic school, I'd rather chew glass.

Lawyering up is the only way to go.

 

What the heck does this thread have to do with the TL? NOT ANOTHER "I GOT A TICKET THREAD" Geez guys.....

 

 

He probably got the ticket while driving his TL

 

Im sure he did... (Im knocking on wood just in case... I dont want one....) we have all said that it is way too easy to speed in a TL... its true... but you just have to be careful.. i think he has a good plan of action though based upon some of the recomendations already posted...

Let us know what happens!

 

All he had to do was end his story with something along the lines of "I think the speedometer in my TL is defective, because I got a speeding ticket and I NEVER speed. What do you guys think?" Although it would have been a complete lie, that would have warranted this thread staying in this 3G TL forum, right?

 

ok....so now we are sharing each and every thing that happens in our TL as "forum-worthy"? I mean...I picked a big greener the othe day while driving my TL.....that does not mean a damn thread has to be started about it>

seems to be not real valuable to anybody and not really TL specific?



BTW....I got a ticket.....do you see a thread about it? lol Its life man!

 

If you don't agree with his post why even come and read it. You can tell by the subject what its about.

 

Here we go!

 

Thanks for the advise. Sounds like I should talk to an attorney. The 3G TL is so deceptively powerful and smooth that going 75-80mph feels like 55-60mph. I am now really paranoid and drive granny style. Anyways the court date is next week. I'll keep who ever is interested posted.

 

Mike, are you a witch hunt today? I swear I've seen 4-5 threads in which you've commented it should be locked.

As for another "I Got a Ticket" thread...yeah, it's probably the 30th one...none of them got locked, so why would you think this one would? The only reason it will get locked is if the flamewar starts (I see HiTEC is ready).



As for the ticket, talk to people you know locally and find out how things play out in your area...in my county (with a clean record) you could probably get that down to 5 over; two counties over, it would be reduced to some lame violation (like gurneyeagle mentioned); down east...who knows? Every state/county has their own way of handling these things, and how they are handled locally will determine what you should do (lawyer, pay it, fight it yourself, etc.)

 

You betcha! Nothing better than a good war on a Wednesday afternoon.

 

No Chilly...it was actually only two? And one was an advertisement?
Fanning the flames wont work this time... gonna have to be somebody else...

As for the ticket....plead not guilty man....cops never show up in court! If its your first ticket....dont worry about it. I collect em like graffiti...or used to anyway. Rare occurance now. Dont sweat the small stuff in life like tickets....too many other bigger probs you will run into! Just watch your speed....its all you can do.....and pick your mements.

As for "I was going with the regular flow of traffic", ya, that part sux...and yes...it was prob the looks of your car that made him pick you out among the others. This will happen from time to time....and the way it was explained to me was....hey Mike....if everybody else drove off the cliff....would that make it a smart thing to do? Or.....if everybody walked out the door smoking pot, would that suddenly make it legal? Nope? And they can call you on it.

Look at it this way....only the good looking ones get picked, right? Well...you had to good looking car! You got picked. This is one time that it works kind of opposite! Or....you could have been the easiest one for him to get to. What I am saying though is because you were going with the flow...doesnt make it illegal. Not guilty or get an atty is the way to go. Being you first...prob not gonna really effect you either way...so I might just go have a go at it yourself just to see what/how the system works?

 

as far as talking to the prosecutor, i don't know what states those guys are from, but in most states, speeding is not a crime....its a civil infraction, i.e. the prosecutor's office is simply not involved

as far as going to court to beg for no points -- even if you are successful, this doesn't necessarily mean your insurance won't go up. many states create an incentive to drivers to take the defensive driving course following citation by not allowing insurance to raise your premium, but this only applies if you take the course. check your state laws, you may be able to take the course online or by checking out a blockbuster video.

as far as cop not showing up to court, i'd say maybe 1 in 10. in a small rural county, i'd say 1 in 100.

finally, does the 3g tl have drl's? if so, i'd recommend disabling them.....that may be why the trooper picked you out of a crowd.

 

In Illinois where I live, there is typically an assistant states attorney that kind of runs the show and prosecutes the case on behalf of the state or county. When I've gone to court, my lawyer usually disappears into a back room before the court starts and comes to an agreement with the asst-states attorney. The asst-states attorney usually makes recomendations to the judge (which whatever he recommends is typically the outcome). It's typically best to hire a lawyer to defend you who is friends or worked with the county states attorney's office in the past. Like you said it probably works differently depending on the state or even county.

 

Whatever happened to people actually being responsible for their own actions?

It always amazes me when one of these threads start. The thread starter always begins with, "I was speeding but..."

You play. You pay. Simple as that.

Everybody always trying to get out of something...

 

MB - Not sure if you've tried this recently in Marion County but there's a new breed of traffic court judges now. What would have been a $150 ticket and points is now turning into $500+ fine along with court costs and the points if you choose to contest and waste the courts time by hoping the cop won't show up to court. Plus, the officers that I know tell me they get paid for overtime for attending any court dates set where the driver is contesting.

 

First ticket you should be able to get off without any problems. Just say you were sorry and ask for lienency or something.

 

No...not for a number of years.....been ticket free for a while....then just paid....this last one that happened - now will go and fight as it was a bogus ticket for being on the side of the road of Corporation Drive talking on my cell phone at 11:30 at night? Wrote me up from local ord # 9-21-8-24 - Stopping without Resonable Safety? If you look it up....it really does not apply? I was already stopped when the guy even pulled past.....? This refers more to somebody slamming on their brakes unnecessarily while driving on the roadway? Not to mention the HUGE local push a year back or so ago about pulling over when talking on your cell phone? We wont even get into the fact it was an off-duty IPD officer in the middle of Marion County? Dude was just a jerk....have hired atty though...dont plan to go down without a fight! No kidding man...it was like REVERSE descrimination with this dude. He pulled up all yelling on his PA....then seemed pissed as hell that I wasnt drunk....not to mention the dude was a COMPLETE smartass from start to go. Actually threw the ticket at me....lol! O'well? And corporation drive is like in an industrial park....and the lanes are like 2 cars wide each!!

 

geez... responsible????? you are talking about responsible here now???

Let me ask you this question I read off somewhere else...

"Have you ever, knowingly or unknowingly, exceeded the speed limit on the highway? Have you reported this crime and submitted yourself to the police, even if you were not caught at the scene? Do you think you can weasel out of it because nobody knew? Being a righteous and honest person that you are, you should have reported all your speeding crimes and paid your fines right away? Or are you the same dishonest and weaseling individual that you accused me of?"

So, you are saying he pays just because he got caught, but you don't have to if you don't get caught?

Tell me how your logic works? You are amazing ME man...

 

at least one poster has it right...

it doesnt matter who speeds, you got busted and you are responsible for your own driving. not the car or anyone else is to blame here and really no big deal until you make it one by trying to weasel out of it. the little dial in front of your face shows your speed. might try paying attention to your driving. first speeding ticket? sure, get a lawyer...hehe

 

eh... who's blaming on who??? nobody is blaming anything....

you should know.. speeding itself is not illegal.. you need to consider the situation and environment and etc...

you can drive 15 mph above speed limit and be legally justified depending on the case... which could be the OP's case

 

Like I've said time and time before on this forum: You play. You pay. Simple as that.

If you're pulled over for a moving violation, I'm all up for fighting it if you weren't breaking the law; however, when a person openly admits to speeding and then quickly follows it with "but", I just think you've played the game and you should pay.

At an ever-increasing rate, people in this country are pointing fingers in any direction but their own when they break the law and get caught.

BTW, you have any original thoughts of your own or do you just get your ideas off of some other website?

 

Since when is speeding legal? Now I'm really confused...

 

An industrial park? Wow, I could see him stopping just to ensure you were ok or didn't need assistance, but to stop and then give you a ticket?!? It would be different if you were parked alongside of a major highway and perhaps hindering traffic flow or something.

Good luck with that, MB!!

 

yea... study the law... speeding can be justified

 

Fanning the flames? Huh? You got me pegged wrong this time, I'm afraid...



JABOO - as you can see from the many responses here, things vary by location (cops show/don't show, special traffic courts, reduced charges, fines instead of points, etc.)...this is why I said find out what goes on in your local area and proceed as necessary from there. People can only speak to what happens where they are (I know exactly how to handle a ticket like yours here)...rules and customs are different from place to place.

 

normally you don't get pulled over if you weren't breaking the law... duh.. but can it be justified??? yes

what's the difference for you if it's my opinions or someone else's thoughts? as long as i prove you wrong, that's good enough

 

Seriously, Mr. Attorney, why not give me the details since you've "studied the law".

Don't give me any BS about driving downhill and you let off the gas pedal and your vehicle continues to build speed and thus resulting in speeding either.

 

lol.. i will stop here on this thread... but that was the funniest BS i've ever heard hahahahahahahah you crack me up

anyways, i didn't start to make a fight or anything... and don't wanna be banned ya kno?

if you really wanna know how to be justified for speeding, do your own search

 

taken from http://www.spf.gov.sg/tp/exhibition/others_4.html

Speeding can be fatal

There seems to be a belief amongst some motorists that speeding is justifiable. Not only is it against the traffic rules, it can cause others the loss of their lives, and in some cases, even that of the speeding motorist himself. Speeding also endangers other road users like pedestrians particularly the elderly and the very young who have virtually no protection against inconsiderate motorists. Motorists must learn to exercise care and attention, especially at residential areas where there are many pedestrians.


Think before you speed

Some motorists tend to be lax towards speeding because of the comfort in cars which may isolate a driver from the sensation of speed and make him believe that he is travelling slower than he really is.

Speeding is dangerous because many of us think it isn’t. Think before you speed. The driver of a speeding vehicle has far less time to react to a hazardous situation or to correct a misjudgment. Other road users will also have less time to react to a speeding vehicle. The greater the speed, the less the margin for the motorist and road users. Within a split second, a vehicle can become a lethal weapon.


by the way...looking for excuses....this ones kind of funny....http://madtbone.tripod.com/police_excuse_2.htm

 

Next time you get pulled over for speeding, just inform the cop that speeding is "justified". I'm sure he'll agree with you and walk back to his car.

Do I agree with the current speed limits established in various states? No. In fact, here in my home state of Indiana, we recently bumped the speed limit on most of our highways from 60-65 mph to 70 mph. However, there are numerous other areas of the country where I feel that an increased speed limit is justifiable. However, until those states change those set speed limits, you're going to have a damn hard time justifying exceeding those speed limits to any cop or judge.