2obsessed

Hit 600mi today, ok let's go, redlined 2nd, shifted to 3rd, hello Officer! 55 in a 35. $200 (MA tickets are expensive).
I sat there with the blue lights behind me thinking, wow, this car really does make me feel like a kid again (got pulled over constantly in my younger days).

LED Master

beat deal, are you going to fight it?

Jss1

Thank GOD for radar detectors or I would be sending this from jail.

2obsessed

Yeah, might fight it, at least just to get it reduced.
And it is time to get a radar detector. Been driving pretty normally the last few years, haven't needed it, but this car just tempts you to drive it fast.

daikon38

it seems as though police officers don't use radar detectors as much anymore.
Just my day-to-day driving observation though.

I think they ride on your ass to get a ballpark estimate of how fast you're going, and come up to you for a confession.

Most of the time they just ask you, "Do you know how fast you were going?!" in an accusing tone. And if you say a number greater than his ballpark estimate, then you just screwed yourself. Just keep quiet or say, "I'm not sure officer," and be EXTRA courteous.

I got a ticket not too long ago myself. I was very very very nice to the officer, and attempted the, "could you write this off as a warning?" but to no avail. I was doing 80-90mph for a bit, but he wrote me up for 75+. Radar detector did NOT go off. It seemed as though he did not have hard evidence to go on, so just grabbed a number out of thin air...which happened to be 75.

dcarlinf1

FWIW - A Tennesse state trooper let me off with a warning once because I was honest when he asked "Do you know how fast you were going?". I was going 85 in a 70MPH zone, fessed up to it and was let go with a warning.

Z Factor

That is too bad he didn't let you off with a warning considering it is a new car. The first day I could open up my Vette I was pulled over (open highway with very few cars), and showed the officer that it was a new car and was just getting to know it. He was cool, and let me off with a warning.


PS. I had a detector, but a helicopter hiding behind a mountain clocked me.:wow:

Modeler

Consider yourself VERY lucky. Here in Virginia the detectors are illegal. I got two speeding tickets from stationary speed traps within 6 months of each other.

My Escort saved my butt many times, when I lived in New Mexico. I hate it that I'm unprotected in VA.

Majorhouse

Sorry about the ticket. It happens...

rets

If you're caught by vs car??, it's certain you're speeding. If by radar, you may argue they really spot your car not others. If by laser, should they always check on you twice before pulling you over?

Officers should always have the right speed number on you. It's better to ask him politely and nicely in these kind of circumstances. Nicer & more honest you are, the less penalty you may get, except you think it doesn't matter to go to the courts or pay tickets.

BigBluu

I've read some tips that said you should always answer their questions with another question when pulled over. Never admit to anything.

"Do you know why I pulled you over?"

"No, why did you pull me over?"

Vffr1

Every ticket I ever got I desreved, so I went to school and got them erased...

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time (ala Baretta)

Modeler

You're lucky to have the option to "erase" the tickets. I can go to traffic school all my life and can never get my tickets removed from my record in Virginia (that is until the drop off by themselves after so many years).

Vffr1

I hear ya, I still would've taken the hit.

copter

AND THIS NORMALLY WORKS WHEN I HAND THEM OUT AS WELL......

adam209

*sniff sniff* do i smell bacon? j/p man. i wish we had more of your kind around here. if you speed here, they'll ticket you. last thursday there was an article about how the previous day the chp were doing strict enforcement. woman got a ticket for a 66 in a 65. what b.s.

drw1926

Same thing I've heard. I think that would fall into the "anything you say can and will be used against you..." For all practical purposes, if you admit you are doing 15, 20 over, whatever, you pretty much screwed any chance you might have of fighting it if you want to take it to court.

The part about being courteous is spot-on...nobody wants to deal with a wiseass, be it a state trooper, bank teller, Wal-Mart cashier, etc.

rets

You're kidding, right? Most of ppl know what they're just doing when speeding. I don't think that's the pleasant answer to who is gonna ticket you... except you have better answers for his next question.

Anyone else tries this and save yourself?

copter

So I'm out working the road and get passed by an Integra at well,,, hauling a$$. So I get the Camaro going from 65 and zip through traffic to get a pace on this guy.. I'm behind this guy at 105 and he's still pulling away from me. OK, up to 110 and on with the red and blue.. As I contacted the driver, I greeted him with a good afternoon sir and advised him that I stopped him because of his speed. I asked him if he was aware of how fast he was going. He said he was unsure and was on his way home.. I told him he was in the triple digit range and I returned to issue him a receipt for our little transaction... I walked back to the car to get his signature and he said he was very sorry and was not paying attention...

If he had been going say 85 and admitted it, he might have been given a verbal since I was on my way to another call... However I can't turn my head at a buck ten..

drw1926

I think the bottom line is that not all law enforcement officers think alike. My limited experience (as a former MP in the Army, and doing 6 months of internship with a traffic unit a part of my Criminal Justice degree) taught me that much, if nothing else. The traffic officer I worked with would pretty much let anything under 10 MPH over the limit go, if there were no other infractions involved. But as he put it, once he made up his mind he was going to write the citation, it didn't matter much what the driver said to him. In the same department, there was a motorcycle cop who worked traffic, he was notorious within the department for stopping anything 5 MPH over or higher. There was also a NC State Trooper whose office was located in the same building, I rode with him a couple of times. When I asked him about his approach, he said basically that every situation is unique; he might write a ticket for 5 over one day, and let 20 over the next day go with a warning.

Of course, if you aren't breaking the law in the first place, you don't have to worry about any of this, right?

vtechbrain

I've been lucky and well protected by my escort. Thankfully, in WI points are reinstated after 1 year since I get about 3 tickets/ year! None yet with my new hot wheels though. I think I have the cops hiding areas pretty well mapped out now plus I'm keeping it at 75 unless I have an open straight road where it would be impossible to hide.

clutchcargo

Sorry about your ticket.

Thanks for helping the local coffers.

Where did you get pulled over?

lflorack

Fortunately, I live in NY where radar detectors aren't illegal (yet). So I'm not sure of the answer to this: Wouldn't it be better to get a possible ticket for the detector once in a while rather than more frequent, unprotected speeding tickets without the detector?

Modeler

That's an interesting thought. I'm pretty sure they confiscate the detector, if they catch you using one. That's a significant expense, if you want to use a decent detector. Plus, I'd have to find out whether there are any points assessed for using a detector and how big the fines are.

NathanSilver

Tips and Ideas:

Don't speed--yah, kind of hard NOT to in this sweet 04TL.

If you get stopped, ask for a verbal repremand/warning then proceed to show off your car to the PO (patrol officer).

In states where traffic school is available--It's a "No-Brainer." Take the class.

Myth: In CA, most civillians think 18 months is the magic number--Actually, if you get a "Notice To Appear," say..4 months after your last ticket, appear in front of the local Judge and ask if you can attend traffic scool again. (this will only work so many times), Citations may be invisible to the Insurance Co's, but not the local DJIS (Dept. of Justice Information System).

When mailing in your payment: 1).Have someone with a different last name send the check with the Notice to apper# on it. If you sign a check, that is addmission of guilt. 2). Make the check for the amount plus 1 dollar. Supposedly it clears your fine but throws the bad points part of it, into a cyber "where the hell do I go now" electronic file--points don't make it to the DMV.

Thought about speeding: The insurance companies are what drive the speed limits in CA.
Safety, safety, safety.

If you really need to reach into your bag of tricks:
Check with the local City Hall (where you got cited),
to see if or when that particular stretch of road was "SURVEYED."
If it wasn't, how can they post a REGULATORY (white in CA) speed limit of say..45MPH? Legally, I don't think they can.

Ask the PO if they are writing 100% for that location/date.

I haven't used the "I have successfully completed Emergency Vehicle Operators Course."
"EVOC" didn't even lower my insurance.

Last but not least,
my CA personalized Veteran plates have spared me 2x so far.
I wasn't driving reckless (3 moving violation occuring within site of an Officer), just speeding.

Become a Police Officer and get paid to speed !!!!!!
NathanSilver

Quincy

"In the same department, there was a motorcycle cop who worked traffic, he was notorious within the department for stopping anything 5 MPH over or higher".

Here in New Jersey a Judge will yell at an officer for a 5MPH over ticket for wasting the courts time. 5mph over the speed limit just isn't within the margin of error.

As for those of you in VA where Radar Detectors are illagal. This is an example of an illegal law. Yes they do exist. The FCC allows private citizens the right to monitor frequencys between certain bands IE radio stations for public use. Taking this privelidge away is an infringement on the first ammendment.

In New York they have another illegal law stating if you get caught driving drunk the can seize your car on the spot. This law goes against the 4th ammendment regarding unlawful search and SEIZURE prior to do process ( a trial). I said all that to say if no one in VA fights this law it will continue but who wants to go through all that for a radar detector. Most people will just buy a new one.

Modeler

"Supposedly" is the key word here, because it's just another myth. The points will post just fine regardless of how much over the ticket amount you pay. The system will automatically issue a refund check to you. There's a variation on this myth that states that points/ticket will never post, if you never cash that refund check. Yeah, right!

Also, your point about signing a check is false as well. Sending in the money is the admission of guilt, regardless of whose name is on the check or money order.

NathanSilver

All of my dribbles were just thoughts of a decaying and putred mind.

A lot of myths, some real.

The Veteran plates do help.
Ask the PO for a vebal repremand-on the spot exhoneration.
Asking a judge for traffic school within the wait period.

I personally have not tried the check or overpayment method--my wife would have my ball$.

NathanSilver

Motavar

>>PS. I had a detector, but a helicopter hiding behind a mountain clocked me.<<

Damn! That is pretty bad when a helicopter nails you. Lucky they don't pull that stunt in New Jersey.

NBP04TL4ME

Years ago when Radar detectors were illegal in CT, I heard that the troopers were putting the detectors in front of one of your wheels and letting you go.

NathanSilver

Quincy.

The guy who cited 5MPH >posted limit:

Was he one of those guys that used his sidearm to balance the weight of his shield (the one on his shirt)?

You know, so he didn't walk with a PORT LIST?

Throwing in nautical terms too !!!!
NathanSilver