I Got My First Speeding Ticket...

[Dros]

I'm with you -- having also driven for decades and hundreds of thousands of miles myself, as far as I'm concerned, it makes no sense to rationalize breaking the speed limit laws because somebody else on the road might be even more dangerous, and not least of all because you chose to be a scofflaw.

I drive above the speed limit, and as a matter of choice, but I choose to do it as a matter of safety. When the slow lane has become the passing lane for cars going too fast for the flow of the faster lanes, then I feel it is safer to travel with traffic in one of the middle lanes rather than having someone veer over from the fast lane, ride my bumper until a tiny space opens up then dart back, and have that process repeat over and over during a trip.

 

[Mechcozmo]

Were you speeding?

I think you know the answer to that. And I think you know the right thing to do, too.



While I agree that fighting a ticket is O.K. sometimes, going 81 in a 65 zone is pretty hard to argue against. If the judge asked you, "Were you speeding?" would you say "Yes."? Probably, so you don't get convicted of perjury (lying under oath).
Take it as a lesson.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I drive above the speed limit, and as a matter of choice, but I choose to do it as a matter of safety. When the slow lane has become the passing lane for cars going too fast for the flow of the faster lanes, then I feel it is safer to travel with traffic in one of the middle lanes rather than having someone veer over from the fast lane, ride my bumper until a tiny space opens up then dart back, and have that process repeat over and over during a trip.

I have to "speed defensively" sometimes too, in situations similar to what you describe. (Being tailgated in the slow lane while driving the posted limit is especially annoying.) In these cases I make it a rule to not pass more cars than are passing me and to drive no more than five MPH over the limit if I can possibly help it. You're in little danger of being pulled over if you aren't either pushing the traffic or taking advantage of an open road.

Anyway, with the price of gasoline being what it is today, I don't quite understand why anybody would choose to speed on the freeway. It's like volunteering to pay an extra 50 cents a gallon. No thanks.

 

[Nermal]

Glad that I'm 21 and still traffic ticket free. Whew.

Yeah, I'm 22 and ticket-free. I actually sped without realising it while doing my licence test which resulted in an instant fail (I had to resit) but no fine. I was going ~45 in a 30 area.

 

[devilot]

I still say do NOT say guilty or not guilty... plead no contest. Trust me okay? I've known too many people who have spent too many days in courts for too many reasons... If you say 'no contest' you can not be listed as guilty officially on the record--- it just means that you will pay the fine and as it is your first ticket (I'm assuming you're in CA by the way, hee) then you should be able to go to traffic school. Do that.

:edit: **OT alert!** Nermal, I didn't recognize you w/ your new 'tar! I'm a bit saddened, I'm so used to your kitty... which by the way, didn't look like the Garfield Nermal to me.

 

[SamIchi]

Well I asked a bunch of friends and they all said to just plead not guilty, and that's what I did. Thanks for everyone that replied. And I'll remmeber the "No Contest". All my friends said that they didn't even have to deal w/ anythin' and were dismissed, I live in NY.

 

[Doctor Q]

I made up a poem: If your foot was heavy, pay the levy. Do you think I'll win a prize for literature?

Traffic school is a sensible choice. Lots of options (online, offline, entertaining, or "just get it over with"). It should save you money in the long run by keeping the ticket from affecting your insurance rate.

 

[Lacero]

I got the opposite of a speeding ticket.

Imagine my surprise when I went to my car after having spent a week in a drug-induced stupor at a girlfriend's house.

 

[e²Studios]

I still say do NOT say guilty or not guilty... plead no contest. Trust me okay? I've known too many people who have spent too many days in courts for too many reasons... If you say 'no contest' you can not be listed as guilty officially on the record--- it just means that you will pay the fine and as it is your first ticket (I'm assuming you're in CA by the way, hee) then you should be able to go to traffic school. Do that.

:edit: **OT alert!** Nermal, I didn't recognize you w/ your new 'tar! I'm a bit saddened, I'm so used to your kitty... which by the way, didn't look like the Garfield Nermal to me.

I agree with devilot as far as pleading no contest and taking traffic school. Alternately the last ticket i got i plead not guilty, i got shoved in to a room with some assistant to someone (a starting lawyer im sure) and he reduced the penalty fee and gave me traffic school if i plead no contest. Its a crap shoot that way, but if i ever have to do it again (I hope not) i would just plead no contest, pay the fine, and get traffic school. Keep in mind most jurisdictions in California allow you to take traffic school online, and you will pay the county for the privilege to take traffic school AND the traffic school operator in addition to your fine.

Also keep in mind that in California you can only go to traffic school every 18 months (most states have similar rules), so get the lead out of your feet for a while

Ed

 

[SamIchi]

For anyone that wants to know how this ended, I got it reduced to "parked on pavement" and a $85 fine.

 

[applegirl]

This stinks. I was goin 81 in a 65. Well anyways, the officer said that he could lessen the charges, but I forgot what he said after. This is my first ticket and I don't have any points off on my record. Should I plea not guilty?

That depends on a couple of factors. The primary ones are: 1) did you admit to speeding (did the officer ask you if you knew how fast you were going, and did you say "Yes"?)? How did he clock you (VASCAR, which is a time/distance calculation, or by radar)? If you admitted to the officer that you knew that you were speeding and he shows up to court, it will be hard for you to win. If you did not admit it, whether he does or does not show up doesn't really matter.

I only plug sites if I think they're really useful, and in this case I'd say to visit http://www.speedtrap.org. They have some good info for fighting tickets depending on what lengths you're willing to go to...(they advise to ALWAYS fight your first ticket). Best of luck!

Edit: Sincerest apologies for the late reply...I'll leave this info up in case anyone else wants to visit the site. Congrats, SamIchi.

 

[SamIchi]

That depends on a couple of factors. The primary ones are: 1) did you admit to speeding (did the officer ask you if you knew how fast you were going, and did you say "Yes"?)? How did he clock you (VASCAR, which is a time/distance calculation, or by radar)? If you admitted to the officer that you knew that you were speeding and he shows up to court, it will be hard for you to win. If you did not admit it, whether he does or does not show up doesn't really matter.

I only plug sites if I think they're really useful, and in this case I'd say to visit http://www.speedtrap.org. They have some good info for fighting tickets depending on what lengths you're willing to go to...(they advise to ALWAYS fight your first ticket). Best of luck!

Edit: Sincerest apologies for the late reply...I'll leave this info up in case anyone else wants to visit the site. Congrats, SamIchi.

Hehe I was gunna say...

 

[applegirl]

Hehe I was gunna say...

lol, my baddest of bads...it's been a LONG day (no excuse, I know).

 

[mac-er]

This stinks. I was goin 81 in a 65. Well anyways, the officer said that he could lessen the charges, but I forgot what he said after. This is my first ticket and I don't have any points off on my record. Should I plea not guilty? My friend said I should get a lawyer, I don't know if that's neccesary though. Sorry if I sound like a noob, but I've never gotten a speedin' ticket.

Lawyer can get the ticket reduced.
What you don't want is insurance points so your insurance doesn't go up.

A professor at my school did a study that found people with and without lawyers pay about the same amount in fines/court costs at court, but people with lawyers end up paying a lot less in the long run because the ticket doesn't effect their insurance rates.

 

[joker2]

For anyone that wants to know how this ended, I got it reduced to "parked on pavement" and a $85 fine.

Okay, what in the world is a "parked on pavement" ? Does it make it a non-moving violation or what?

 

[ITASOR]

Man, my town's small, we have like 5 police on duty at a time max probably. Whenever I drive, there's a cop behind me, I'm a magnet. They can't stop following me. It stinks. Every time I look I see a cop in the mirror now, whether there is one or not. I guess that's not a bad thing though.

 

[ksz]

I had one speeding ticket 3 or 4 years ago while doing 45 mph in 35 mph zone. It must have been an end of month quota-filling speed trap. Really ticked me off, but who's to argue...45 in 35 is a violation. In order to strike this off my record, I opted to take a one-day traffic class. The instructor was an ex-traffic cop who went over the usual traffic rules (as if we didn't know them; we just elected not to follow them!), but also told us about his many experiences while on active duty. The stories were funny, insightful, relevant, and very well delivered. A very enjoyable day!

But I was not nearly as fortunate after a parking violation in Carmel led to my car being impounded because my Texas registration had long expired after I moved to California and I had not bothered to re-register. Total penalty: $3000.

 

[SamIchi]

Okay, what in the world is a "parked on pavement" ? Does it make it a non-moving violation or what?

Haha I really don't know, but whenever i hear that people got their charge reduced, it's this one. I'm not really sure what it means. Parking on the shoulder?

 

[feakbeak]

You should plead not guilty if you are... well... not guilty. Which you aren't -- not not guilty, that is. Contesting a ticket you know you deserve in the hopes that the officials won't show or somehow mess up, is IMO an abuse of the process and a waste to make the officer attend and testify when they could be doing their real job.

Take it like an adult and take your lumps without complaint. And slow down.

Lawyer - #@%#. Spend $500 to beat a $75 fine? Friend suffers from rectal-cranial insertion.

Ditto

And props to CanadaRAM for the great delivery.

 

[meaculpa20v]

Get a lawyer!? hahahahaha . . . . Since it's your first just go to traffic school, aka pay the ticket but don't get the point. And now with online traffic school, it's a breeze.

This ones seems hard to fight, if you do plea not guilty jsut hope the officer doesn't show, if so then you get off. Otherwise you just get a discount on the fee but still get the point. I know this too well.

 

[beatsme]

speeding & karma

I went to lunch one day, went through the drive-thru. You know the kind where they have the two windows, pay at the first one, food at the second one?

Anyway, I gave my order and pulled up to the first window, and there's nobody there. I wait around for a minute or two, and then I figure "well, they'll just ring me up at the next one." That happens sometimes.

so I get to the second window, and the very pretty girl hands me my food and says "thank you!" So I thought "well...ok then" and just drive off without paying. Saved myself $4.20.

the next day, I'm heading back to work after going to a different drive-thru. I get popped for speeding...37 in a 20. I opted to take the class to save myself the points/insurance bump. The ticket and the class together cost me $134.

karma...

 

[Sun Baked]

Get a lawyer!? hahahahaha . . . . Since it's your first just go to traffic school, aka pay the ticket but don't get the point. And now with online traffic school, it's a breeze.

You are living in the past... with this hairy old posts

Might want to reply to some newer posts than year old posts like you have been.

 

[SamIchi]

Wow.. how did this get it's way back up top?