ladyluck

This weekend I got my FIRST "speeding" ticket.

I’ve been driving for 4 years and WE all speed a little I’ve been driving through the same route everyday so I KNOW the speed limit (35) going down the hill curving a little to reach the light. The car in front me I noticed the lady was on her phone, in San Diego or maybe all of California (not sure) its Hands Free now. Well I was thinking to myself this lady is going to get pulled over for not being hands free and surely enough she did and soon after I saw a cop car behind me after she got pulled over. I didn’t think AT ALL the cop was pulling me over and I drive a Cadillac and its pretty low so I couldn’t tell he had his light on ME! I thought he pulled around to help the other cop car. NOPE it was on me, I pulled over and the same questions you always hear, “you know why I pulled you over?” I said NO cuz I really didn’t know what I did! He said I was “speeding” I just looked at him and said ok? I don’t agree with that. He said I’ll be right back, after giving him my driver’s license and registration. Which by the way was my DADS car :/ *ouch* I was shaking from what I would hear when I got home…ok ok long story short. I asked the officer at what speed he got me. He said 55 on a 35 area. I said “may I see the speed gun you marked me at?” he said “no” gave me my tickets and left. Was it wrong for me to ask? Should i have asked?

Any thoughts??

Prngr44

I'm pretty sure you're within your right to ask to see the gun and the fact that he didn't show it to you probably means he was lying figuring he hopes you'll just pay the ticket and be done with it.

I'm not sure what the law is in CA, but in MO & IL, if they say they got you using radar and you ask to see it, they have to show you.

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raimin

You can ask, it's up to the officer to letyou to see it, based on safe or unsafe conditions. Does it say on the ticket radar or laser? He could also base your speed while tailing you, so he doesn't have a reading. If you are planning on fighting the ticket, bring that up in court that you asked, and he denied you the request.

renovation

good luck in court. what that ticket going to cost if you just mail it in ? i just gave the state of michigan $120 for a 5 over speeding ticket. i understand and the cop said so that seeing i was going 5 over on the freeway its no points on my license. but im sure my auto insurance wont feel the same way if they run me at renewal time

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MrGreg

5 over? Wow. Or were you really going faster and the cop lowered the ticketed speed?

If I got a ticket for only going 5 over I would be pissed.

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renovation

i was pissed and it was only 5 over. took with a grain of salt do. as i know i have gone a bunch of times and not been pop doing a whole lot faster. like 90 plus in ohio and had a ohio state trooper hit his horn and tip his hat at me as he speed pass me. i slowed down and seen why he let me off. they used the tire spikes (chains ) to stop a car just a couple of miles up from were i was.

Jeffbx

Wow, that was lucky! Ohio is one of the states where they take the speed limit very seriously, especially near the MI border.

Ladyluck, you should definitely fight the ticket. Worst case you still have to pay, but there's a chance they'll let you off, especially since it's your first offense.

DarkFury

Actually that applies to all of their borders...

Many a time, I've seen 3 cruisers in the median about 10 miles from the Ohio/Indiana border of Interstate 70... just waiting for "prey".

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Cheesypuff

oh yeah...when we were driving through ohio, they pulled us over for not using our blinkers!!! then again, we had CA plates on our car, prolly just wanted to pull us over cuz we were out of state. lolol

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WhiskeyPapa

Actually "we" don't. For some reason, driving the exact speed limit is one of my quirks. Some people have to make sure their shirts are ironed, some people won't leave the house unless they check to see if the stove is off - twice, some people eat everything on their plate counter-clockwise. My personal quirk is driving the exact speed limit. Actually, the quirk is following all traffic laws to the letter, like not passing a turning vehicle on the right, not going before the driver on the right at an unmarked intersection (even when he's trying to wave me through), using turn signals even when there's no other car within five miles, etc.

It's not like I'm super-righteous and don't break any other rules, it's just while driving...

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renovation

WhiskeyPapa - you should follow my father inlaw sometime . if your not bold you soon will be . he has been given warning tickets for doing the speed limit in midday traffic. he was the reason for a traffic back up .on a Alanta,GA freeway . they have no idea what 55 or 70 mph is there .

DarkFury

Honestly, although I applaud your efforts to obey all of the rules of the road, I can still see where doing so in certain situations can make for a more dangerous scenario.

Personally, I follow the flow of traffic with a ton of common sense. Last thing I want is for someone to put their grille into my backside on the freeway (and trust me... there are some interstates where folks will do just that.)

Driving defensively and keeping yourself a cushion (even at the expense of breaking the law by going past the rated speed limit) can be much safer than blind obedience to the law. Now granted, "Johnny Law is probably out there just waiting for you to do so... but for much of the time I've seen them out there, they are even worse offenders of that same law running well over the limit with no lights or sirens running.

Honestly, in some cases, I still feel as the posted limit is more of a gimmick/speed trap versus a true safety feature.

nate el bueno

Still a ticket virgin
However, I do have a friend who was followed for a mile or so, and then given 4 or 5 tickets for speeding, not using his blinker, rolling through a stop sign, and I can't remember what else. He said there's some law where they can follow you for a certain distance or certain number of turns, and then nail you.

On the other hand, being in the armed forces apparently is your "ticket out of a ticket". I've known people that have gotten out of everything...DUIs, you name it. Not that I condone it.

chrissy

Not really nate.

I know a plenty of people who haven't gotten out of anything flashing a Mil ID or even being in uniform.

DUI's are taken fairly seriously in the military. I know a couple guys who got lucky and only lost a stripe and driving privilages. The not so lucky get kicked out with no questions asked. It's up to the base and the commander, but they really stick to what policy they have in place.

Jeffbx

Especially areas where it's artificially low. You know what I mean - it's 55 for miles & then suddenly drops to 35 for about a quarter mile & then picks right back up again, but not until after you get your ticket. Stuff like that should be illegal, but they just call it a 'safety precaution' and continue to rob people.

Paymaster

Ladyluck- by putting "speeding" in quotes, you seem to be implying that you were not speeding... but at no point in your post do you actually state what speed you were going.

If you were actually speeding, pay your ticket, and learn your lesson. Don't bog down the courts and consume our taxpayer money fighting a ticket you deserve.

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WhiskeyPapa

It's not much of an issue here in rural Minnesota!

DarkFury

That explains alot...

Try that in a dense urban situation and you'll see a big difference.

Markel

I was driving back to Minneapolis on a 2-lane state highway when I saw a state cop on the other side of the road. I just happened to be driving a Jaguar (Hertz rental that my business associate got for the price of a mid-sized by ordering the NeverLost system). I saw the cop do a quick flip and come up behind me with lights flashing (and commented to my associate that I couldn't believe that he was pulling me over because I was doing barely over the speed limit when I passed him). He came up, took the info, and told me to "watch my speed because the limit was 55". I seriously doubt that he even had clocked me, because he never said anything about how fast I was going.

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johnnymk

I drive as fast as I can get away with. But lately, with the price of gas, I have been slowing down and accelerating very lightly.

attgig

it's been over 3 years since my last ticket. =)

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nate el bueno

I know the military takes it seriously, but a lot of times it doesn't get that far. I know that no one is over the law, but if I were a cop and pulled someone over for speeding say, 10 over, and saw that they were in the military, I would feel bad to ticket them. I know that would be wrong on my part, but I respect the armed forces and what they do, which would make it hard. Again though, if I were a cop and pulled someone over and they blew and failed the test, I would treat it like any other person, regardless of who they are.

As far as getting pulled over myself, I have come pretty close
I was at a friends house 20 minutes away or so in an area I'd never visited. One of my friends who lives just down the block from me was there too, but we had driven in separate cars. We assumed we could find our way back to a major road, but were soon lost, so we tried to turn around to find this guys house again. Since I have THE WORST sense of direction in the world, I let the other girl lead. we were on our phones since we were trying to figure out what was going on, when I saw a cop behind me. Not wanting to scream, "PULL ME OVER!!" I didn't slam on the breaks, but just let off the accelerator and then told the girl on the phone to slow down. We were probably doing the typical 5-8 over. Then the cop pulls in front of me and flashes his lights, pulling her over instead. It turns out she had a light out, and that was the only reason he tagged her instead of me (she told me he said this to her). I'm lucky he didn't ticket us both.

As far as Whiskeypapa's driving, I am with you there. To my knowledge, the only traffic law I ever violate is speeding. I guess it's kind of hypocritical for me to judge other for the violations they have as well, but the one that really eurks (don't know how to spell that!) me is when people can't turn into the correct lane. People in oncoming traffic should be able to turn right at the exact time you are turning left if there are 2 lanes. Because people think it's necessary for them to make wide sweeping turns though, only one person can turn at a time. I think it would really help traffic if this could be followed.

Jihforce

I've been ticketed twice. Once for speeding and once for an illegal lane merge. There was one other incident I was able to talk myself out of. I basically made a right turn and went all the way out to the far left lane a bit too fast. I did the whole "I will never do it again, I promise" routine and it worked. The funny thing is, I never did it again.

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