Just got my first speeding ticket

[Stridder44]

Drive safe guys, because believe me, the ticket isn't worth. Learn from my dumb mistake. I had a clean driving record but it was a nice day outside, I had the windows down and the music up, and decided to coast a little down a hill. Unfortunately, this hill was a speed trap. I know I made a mistake, it was completely my own fault, and while I'm usually a smarter driver than that and can see that crap coming a mile away, I just lost my edge at that moment and got caught off guard. I was doing 60 in a 45 zone (a right off the freeway to a down-hill road 45 zone). This was in LA county.

So I'm doing the fine + traffic school. I'll pay it, no biggie right? Well, I figured I'd see a total of $200. $300 max. Damn it was I wrong. The total came to $434. For my first ever ticket. I'm 25 with a (previously) spotless record. I knew California was hurting for money, but my God I didn't realize they'd shaft people this hard.

So take it from me, DON'T SPEED. Or if you must please for the love of God be smart about it. It's not worth the ticket.

 

[.JahJahwarrior.]

I got a ticket last year for running a red flashing light, when I didn't even run it. Cop was around the corner and wasn't in a position to even see the white line. I stopped, but rolled into the intersection slowly, and apparently he thought I didn't even stop at the light.

Hired an attorney who plead nolo contendre even though I asked him to plead not guilty, and provided him with photographs and videos showing how the white line was impossible to see unless you were incredibly close to the intersection.

I ended up paying over $500 but thankfully nothing ended up on my record. Still upsets me-- even if you aren't guilty, you pay out the nose and the state gets your money for making false accusations.

 

[HarryPot]

I ended up paying over $500 but thankfully nothing ended up on my record. Still upsets me-- even if you aren't guilty, you pay out the nose and the state gets your money for making false accusations.

How bad is having that in your record in the USA?

 

[ann713]

Hello fellow Californian! Sorry to hear about that, but yes, its definitely not worth it. I've had 2 warnings for going over the speed limit in the past. In January, I rolled at the red light before making a right turn, the cameras flashed me. Four months later, the ticket isn't here. Would have been a painful $400-500 to endure. I guess I've just been lucky but my luck will run out eventually.

 

[Tomorrow]

So I'm doing the fine + traffic school. I'll pay it, no biggie right? Well, I figured I'd see a total of $200. $300 max. Damn it was I wrong. The total came to $434. For my first ever ticket. I'm 25 with a (previously) spotless record.

If you do traffic school, are they keeping it off your record?

Not to make light of your fine, but $434 is nothing compared to the potential increase in your insurance premiums as a result.

Thanks for posting this. Hopefully others will read and learn from your mistake. Sounds like a tough lesson learned.

How bad is having that in your record in the USA?

From a legal standpoint, it isn't - the real whammy is watching your insurance rates double or triple for anywhere from 3-5 years afterward. One ticket, if you don't get any others, isn't otherwise much of a big deal.

In Texas, if you get too many moving violations over a period of time, the state can deem you an unsafe driver and charge you an extra $300 or so per year to keep your driver's license, until you have three or more years of no accidents or tickets. This happened to my wife a couple of years back, and it was unnecessarily expensive.

 

[.JahJahwarrior.]

Well, I'm living in a city where insurance is already expensive because people here drive like they are literally trying to kill you. Also, I'm under 25. Even with a 100% on my driver test, a perfect driving record (rear ended twice, so my insurance has never dished out a dime to me, and I've given them $1.5K-$2k per year for 7 years), and things like good student discounts, my insurance is ridiculous as a male.

Having that on my record would have made it even more expensive.



What hurts worse than that was being treated like a criminal by a police officer. I did nothing wrong, and paid hundreds to the county. For someone who cares greatly about fairness and justice, the injustice of it all hurts more than the money, and the money hurts enough.

 

[Stridder44]

If you do traffic school, are they keeping it off your record?

Not to make light of your fine, but $434 is nothing compared to the potential increase in your insurance premiums as a result.

Thanks for posting this. Hopefully others will read and learn from your mistake. Sounds like a tough lesson learned.

Absolutely. That's why they offer it, and why I'm doing it. It'd be stupid not to. The small extra you pay is nothing in comparison to the amount you'll be shafted every month in insurance increases. So yeah, it prevents any points from going on your record and prevents your insurance going up at all.

Hello fellow Californian! Sorry to hear about that, but yes, its definitely not worth it. I've had 2 warnings for going over the speed limit in the past. In January, I rolled at the red light before making a right turn, the cameras flashed me. Four months later, the ticket isn't here. Would have been a painful $400-500 to endure. I guess I've just been lucky but my luck will run out eventually.

I figured I would get a warning as well, but this was from a motorcycle cop. I love policemen, but I hate motocycle cops. They don't help anyone. They exist purely to write tickets. They're two-wheeled revenue generators. I'm confident that if it were a regular police car, I would have probably gotten off with a warning. Don't take the risks, they're not worth the retardedly high price you might pay.

 

[codymac]

In Texas, if you get too many moving violations over a period of time, the state can deem you an unsafe driver and charge you an extra $300 or so per year to keep your driver's license, until you have three or more years of no accidents or tickets. This happened to my wife a couple of years back, and it was unnecessarily expensive.

Actually, DPS's "Driver Improvement Bureau" will pull your license if you get too manyin TX. Your wife must have dipped her toe into the water but decided not to dive in.


I'm not sure if you can get the annual fee waived by a judge by I am certain you can get license pull stopped.

 

[MotleyGrrl]

Wow that is a hefty fine! I have had several speeding tickets over the years and always did traffic school... dont ever remember paying more than $150 - I live in Chicago. I rarely even drive 5 over, but it seems they always target me because of the sports cars I drive and what my vanity plates say. How much were you going over the speed limit? It is worth it to go to traffic school though since it doesn't go on your record.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

In Texas, if you get too many moving violations over a period of time, the state can deem you an unsafe driver and charge you an extra $300 or so per year to keep your driver's license, until you have three or more years of no accidents or tickets. This happened to my wife a couple of years back, and it was unnecessarily expensive.

isn't that kind of the point. That cost really forces you to shape up.

I know in Texas there are ways to keep a ticket off your record.
I recieved 3 tickets in a 2 week time span about 5 years ago. It was about 600 in court cost to keep them off my record but it was well worth it.

(2 deferred adjudication and 1 defensive driving) but it was better to keep them off my record than to eat the insurance premiums. Oddly enough about 18 months later I got another speeding ticket and that one turn out to be a good thing because I found out that the City of Lubbock screwed up big time and forgot to remove a ticket off my record so while taking care of that 2nd ticket I got them to clean up their mistake and take the other one off my record.
I was lucky my insurance premiums never went up during that screw up. Hell that 2nd ticket caused my premiums to go down about 10% due to defensive driving which of course I took online and will say I never watch or read a single one of the slides. I just did homework and watch star gate while I had a timer going to tell me when I could click to go on to the next slide. Helped that it was my 3rd time to go threw the stupid program.

 

[Illuminated]

I got caught speeding too...but in PA...

...the cop gave me a warning, and a fine (no points on license), for 100 bucks or so...

 

[OutThere]

I got caught doing 77 in 55 a few years ago, cop knocked it down to 70 in a 55 and I paid $163, which I thought was kind of a rip...glad I don't live in CA! Here in CT you can't do driving school to keep it off you record...however it didn't affect my insurance much though, I'm only paying $200 a year total.

I've got a radar detector and I know where all the cops like to set up shop around here, so usually I'm pretty safe. Damn laser & unfamiliar roads were my demise!

 

[Old Muley]

I got stopped in the Rosendale, Wisconsin speed trap a couple of years ago. Just drivin' along on the 2-lane highway at 55mph and out of the blue there is a 35mph sign. Seriously, you're still out in the country between farm fields and the speed limit drops by 20mph. So Johnny Law pulls me over and tickets me, my first ticket in over 30 years of driving.

Since I knew the reputation of this town, I decided to challenge the ticket. When I spoke with the DA in charge of prosecution for this little burg, he just sighed. While he didn't come right out and say it, he didn't disagree that the placement of speed limit signs on the highways entering this community were capricious. In the end he changed the ticket to a parking violation; I still had to pay the fine, but at least it stays off my driving record.

Now when I travel, I avoid that town. We used to stop their for gas, but never will again.

 

[Synchromesh]

Had my share of speeding tickets. Worst cops I ever had to deal with - New Hampshire, hands down. I hate them with a fire of a thousand suns. There are little towns near the highway that make a living with those tickets and it's near damn impossible to fight them. Last time I got a ticket there I was really tempted to write "I hope you choke on it" on that memo field of the check. Although MA is not that much better but I still maintain that NH is the absolute worst of them all.

 

[mrsir2009]

I figured I would get a warning as well, but this was from a motorcycle cop. I love policemen, but I hate motocycle cops. They don't help anyone. They exist purely to write tickets. They're two-wheeled revenue generators. I'm confident that if it were a regular police car, I would have probably gotten off with a warning. Don't take the risks, they're not worth the retardedly high price you might pay.

+1 on motorcycle cops are *******s. Thank god we don't have any down here in NZ

 

[Melrose]

California's a piece of cake to get off with a speeding ticket. Easy easy.

 

[satcomer]

Get you one better. A few years ago I was pulled over doing 37 mph in a 35 mph zone (10 feet from the end of a 40 mhp zone). I could have taken a day off to fight it but paid the $50 fine instead, it was cheaper (that taking time from work).

 

[LumbermanSVO]

My first ticket was 90 in a 60 with no seat belt and no insurance. That is what happens when an 18 year oldcar guy buys a turbocharged Mustang

My next was a couple days later for no insurance.

A few months later I got stopped for doing 75 in a 55.

A couple days later I got stopped for 45 in a 35.

---------

A few months later I lost my job due to NAFTA, then got a CDL through a worker retraining program, I haven't gotten a ticket since. Learning to drive a big truck changed my driving habits forever. I couldn't get a driving job for years due to my record but now it isn't a problem.

Today I got flipped the bird for doing 61 in a 60 in my semi while in the middle lane of I-5. I was passing slower traffic in the right lane and apparently I wasn't going fast enough for the guy in the Honda Civic who passed me in the Left lane.

I've learned that it is far less stressful to be passed than it is to do the passing.

 

[notjustjay]

Hello fellow Californian! Sorry to hear about that, but yes, its definitely not worth it. I've had 2 warnings for going over the speed limit in the past. In January, I rolled at the red light before making a right turn, the cameras flashed me. Four months later, the ticket isn't here. Would have been a painful $400-500 to endure. I guess I've just been lucky but my luck will run out eventually.

Lucky indeed! A similar thing happened to me, the light turned yellow just as I was getting to the intersection and I thought I could make it. I didn't remember that the intersection had a red light camera until it was too late. I was apparently wrong about making it through because I saw the camera flashes go off in my rear view mirror. I waited for weeks for the ticket, but it never came.

My first speeding incident was shortly after I got my license. I had been hanging out with this girl and that evening had got up the courage to talk about going out, but she turned me down. I was so lost in thought driving home that I didn't even realize I had passed the police car at the intersection doing about 120 km/h in an 80 zone, nor that it took the police about 5 blocks to catch up with me. Luckily when I explained the situation to the female cop, she laughed sympathetically and let me off with a warning. Whew!

 

[(marc)]

Yay for Autobahn!

 

[zioxide]

Drive safe guys, because believe me, the ticket isn't worth. Learn from my dumb mistake. I had a clean driving record but it was a nice day outside, I had the windows down and the music up, and decided to coast a little down a hill. Unfortunately, this hill was a speed trap. I know I made a mistake, it was completely my own fault, and while I'm usually a smarter driver than that and can see that crap coming a mile away, I just lost my edge at that moment and got caught off guard. I was doing 60 in a 45 zone (a right off the freeway to a down-hill road 45 zone). This was in LA county.

So I'm doing the fine + traffic school. I'll pay it, no biggie right? Well, I figured I'd see a total of $200. $300 max. Damn it was I wrong. The total came to $434. For my first ever ticket. I'm 25 with a (previously) spotless record. I knew California was hurting for money, but my God I didn't realize they'd shaft people this hard.

So take it from me, DON'T SPEED. Or if you must please for the love of God be smart about it. It's not worth the ticket.

$434? that is ****ing robbery. in massachusetts 15mph would be a $150 fine. its $100 for the first 10mph, and $10 per mph after that.

needless to say, around here, people don't follow those signs. you can be going 40 in a 30 and some ******* will still follow so close you can't see their bumper. that's when i slow down to 20 though. its ridiculous around here for the fact that people think they are entitled to go however fast they want.

 

[steadysignal]

not looking forward to the insurance increase from an accident...

 

[Rodimus Prime]

Lucky indeed! A similar thing happened to me, the light turned yellow just as I was getting to the intersection and I thought I could make it. I didn't remember that the intersection had a red light camera until it was too late. I was apparently wrong about making it through because I saw the camera flashes go off in my rear view mirror. I waited for weeks for the ticket, but it never came.

My first speeding incident was shortly after I got my license. I had been hanging out with this girl and that evening had got up the courage to talk about going out, but she turned me down. I was so lost in thought driving home that I didn't even realize I had passed the police car at the intersection doing about 120 km/h in an 80 zone, nor that it took the police about 5 blocks to catch up with me. Luckily when I explained the situation to the female cop, she laughed sympathetically and let me off with a warning. Whew!

always nice to get an understanding cop.
My dad has a story that once he got pulled over doing like 20 over the limit and when the cop came up to talk to him he said "Please just give me the ticket. I am late picking up my kid (aka me) and my wife is going to kill me if I do not get their in time"

Cop response was "I understand. I have a kid and wife too. Just slow down" He let him off with a warning.

 

[OutThere]

I got stopped in the Rosendale, Wisconsin speed trap a couple of years ago. Just drivin' along on the 2-lane highway at 55mph and out of the blue there is a 35mph sign. Seriously, you're still out in the country between farm fields and the speed limit drops by 20mph. So Johnny Law pulls me over and tickets me, my first ticket in over 30 years of driving.

Since I knew the reputation of this town, I decided to challenge the ticket. When I spoke with the DA in charge of prosecution for this little burg, he just sighed. While he didn't come right out and say it, he didn't disagree that the placement of speed limit signs on the highways entering this community were capricious. In the end he changed the ticket to a parking violation; I still had to pay the fine, but at least it stays off my driving record.

Now when I travel, I avoid that town. We used to stop their for gas, but never will again.

There is a place like that near where I grew up, that I have unfortunately driven through many, many times. Egremont, MA, pop 1300, is a notorious speed trap. The speed limit in town is 25, a step down from 45 to the north and south, and at certain times of the day it drops to 20 as there is a school zone. Driving through town at any given time, I'd guess there's a 70% chance there is a cop, carefully hidden, running his radar. Apparently the law allows the town to keep most of the ticket revenue, so they make an absolute killing. Cars slink through town almost comically slowly. While I never have been, both of my parents have been pulled over there.

My dad was given a very stern verbal warning ('don't do it again...or else!') for going 27 in a 25 before I was born, and my mom was able to get out of a ticket right after I was born as I was wailing in the back seat. Nowadays if I happen to pass through, I set my cruise control to 25. People with out of state plates are often seen speeding to their doom, already pulled over, or furiously tailgating someone. If they only knew.

 

[yg17]

$434? that is ****ing robbery. in massachusetts 15mph would be a $150 fine. its $100 for the first 10mph, and $10 per mph after that.

needless to say, around here, people don't follow those signs. you can be going 40 in a 30 and some ******* will still follow so close you can't see their bumper. that's when i slow down to 20 though. its ridiculous around here for the fact that people think they are entitled to go however fast they want.

Wow, even that's expensive.

I got busted for 77 in a 60 in St. Louis and the fine was $90.

I later got pulled over for 60 in a 45 and didn't need any more points on my license or an insurance rake hike, so I had that one turned into an expensive $200 parking ticket plus lawyer fees.

One of the problems with living in the suburbs where there's no real crime is that the cops have nothing better to do with their time than set up speed traps. Most of my commute to and from work is within the St. Louis City limits and there are never cops patrolling it because they have actual crime to deal with.