[Jeff]

The great majority of people who receive speeding tickets actually deserve them, mainly because most of them are driving like idiots to begin with. I have nothing against the officers who give out the tickets, because they can't determine whether we are good or bad drivers just by pulling us over and having a chat.

Now with that said, for those of us who are careful attentive drivers, there are some occasions where we receive speeding tickets, whether we were actually speeding or not. I could go off on a tangent discussing how I feel about speeding tickets but that would take a lot of typing.

I've had a few run-ins with the fuzz in the past, and found that courtesy and respect go a long way. Cops can tell when you are feeding them BS because they hear it all day.

Before I step down from my soap box, here is a link I found on another site about how to deal with speeding tickets. It's actually a pretty good reference even if you don't normally get speeding tickets.

http://www.jesbeard.com/29ab.htm

And no I didn't just get a speeding ticket, I did however see this link on yotatech.com and found it interesting.

 

[Becky J.]

One thing to keep in mind when reading this is that every state is different. In fact, to a certain extent every municipality is different (not in the laws per se, but in the way the court in that municipality deals with speeeding tickets).

For example, I live in Racine County, Wisconsin. Specifically I live in the Town of Caledonia (a mostly rural suburb of the City of Racine).

Now, if I was to get a ticket in the Town of Caledonia, I'd be through. Pay the fine, raise my insurance as the dude in the guide said. They don't deal, PERIOD, even if you have the best attorney on the planet. Needless to say, Ricky and I do EXACTLY the speed limit when driving in Caledonia.

On the other hand, if I got a ticket from the City of Racine, I would want to file a "not guilty" plea by mail (thus avoiding the first appearance) and I would then get a pretrial notice. Appear at the pretrial and I would be essentially guaranteed of getting the points reduced. The fine would remain the same or sometimes be a couple dollars higher (depending on what they changed the violation to). NOW, if I hired an attorney to appear at that same pretrial rather than appearing myself, I would be guaranteed of having at least one more point knocked off than if I had appeared myself, sometimes two. With City of Racine tickets an attorney who deals with the Court a lot will often get the points reduced to NONE. That doesn't happen here without an attorney. The fine always remains no matter what.

And again, it would be different if the ticket was from the Racine Co. Sheriff (different court, different rules).

The only ticket I've got in many years was fortunately in the City of Racine in 2001, 44 in a 30 zone, 4 points, $77 fine. One of our attorneys got it changed to "Failure to Display Registration", 0 points, $77 fine, not reportable to insurance. Had I tried to do it myself, I don't know what it would've been called but it would've only been reduced to 2 points instead of 0, because that's the way our system works here.

You can't tell I work for lawyers can you? :wink:

Becky

 

[RAVMAN]

In the past year, I've been pulled over THREE times!

#1 - I think the cop just wanted to check out my RAV. He said I shouldn't be driving with my FOGLIGHTS on and my CLEAR plastic license plate covers are illegal. (NO TICKET)

#2 - Cop accused me of doing 68 mph in a 55 mph (construction zone to boot, so the fine would be double!). I almost LAUGHED when he said 68 mph, as I know he was full of BS. Strange thing is... he told be to slow it down... and let it go at that. (NO TICKET)

#3 - Pulled over for doing 34+ mph in a school zone (20 mph limit). In this case, I actually pulled over BEFORE he had a chance to hit his lights, as I saw him on the side street staring at me and knew I was nailed. I drive through this school zone daily on my way to work and am normally VERY careful about doing 20 mph. On this particular day, NO children were present and I was running late for work. (NO TICKET)

In all THREE cases, I immediately pulled over in a safe place, rolled down both front windows (heavily tinted) and was polite and courteous. My license, registration and proof of insurance are readily available. (My wife was a passenger in all three cases. :roll: )

 

[Jeff]

I've been pulled over 6 times for speeding and once for expired tags since I got my driver's license seven years ago. I got a warning for the expired tags, and out of those half dozen times I got pulled over for speeding I only got one ticket, for going 94 in a 65 on the interstate (actually the cop gave me a break and wrote it for 78 in a 65). I think the ticket cost $120 and a few points but that was almost four years ago. Those other times I got pulled over it was usually for going 15-20 over the limit, for which the cops let me off since I was nice to them.

It's been 3 years since the last time I got pulled over for ANYTHING, so I guess my driving skills have improved since I was a teenager, although I was never really reckless to begin with. However my car accident 3 years ago will be on my driving record for a while so the insurance rates are sky high. I swear the Rav deflects radar because ever since I got it I have never been hassled by cops for anything, althought I'm not an excessive speeder anyway.

 

[nouse4aname]

My wife got pulled over in her old mustang on a monthly basis. She never got a ticket though. In large part due to never being pulled by a female cop I'm sure.

Each of the 3 times I got pulled over in my 10 years of driving have resulted in a ticket.

Feel like I should file a sexual discrimination lawsuit, heh.

I hear a lot of praise about ticketassassin.com on various forums.

 

[Slayer]

Only got pulled over once way back in 1990 when I was headed over to my job at McDonald's at 3am. It was for doing a California Roll near a light near my house. It really did seem like I stopped though before making a right but it must've been so short it looked like I was still going. Anyways, it turns out to be a lady deputy who's a regular at the store I worked at. SHe just asked, 'late for work? You know you didn't stop at the red light back there, didn't you?" I just said," Uhhh...I thought I did." She pretty much just let me go and I gave her a free cup of coffee and egg mcmuffin when she came in. :wink: :wink:

 

[Becky J.]

#1 there is interesting, Kelly. Ricky once got stopped before he even left the parking lot at the college where he works (cops often just hang out and park in this lot) for his clear plate covers. This was a while ago and I think he still had his Rav. Anyway, the cop was claiming that his clear plate covers were clouded over and the plates were obscured. Yeah, whatever. Ricky basically told him to bug off and mind his own business, and believe it or not the cop did. Ricky's never had a ticket for anything in his life, and he's been driving for 25 years.

On the other hand, I've been pulled over five times and gotten four tickets out of it. Three of the times I was pulled over were when I was still young (under 25) and cute and I STILL got tickets two out of the three! :? Of my four tickets I paid two (too young to know better), got one for a rolling stop dismissed because the cop was out of position (intersection of angled streets) and physically couldn't have seen whether I stopped or not (IMO I did stop anyway), and the last was the one mentioned above in 2001. Ricky bought me a radar detector the next day. :roll:

Becky

 

[Jeff]

Some of my encounters with the fuzz:

1.) 78 in a 65 - warning
2.) 58 in a 40 - warning
3.) Expired tags/inspection - warning
4.) 92 in a 65 - ticket for 78 in a 65, $130
5.) Reckless driving - warning

Number 5 is actually a funny story. I used to work at a grocery store located in a shopping plaza when I was in college, and my hours were usually 3-11pm. I used to park my car in back of the complex along with most of the other employees so it wouldn't get hit by customers or shopping carts.

Well I was leaving work late one winter night, and I got my my car to head home. I warmed the car up for a few minutes, and then started to drive around towards the front of the complex. I was driving along the back of the complex when I saw this shadowy figure off near the side of the pavement almost in the trees. It was like he came out of nowhere. The guy starts waving his flashlight at me, and then I see his uniform and the patrol car he was standing next to.

So I stopped and rolled down my window, and he says "you were going a little fast back there and racing you engine". Actually I was going about 25, and revving my engine a little to get the heat going since it was cold out. So he asks for my stuff and goes back to his car to do the standard registration/insurance and warrant checks. Well as I was sitting there in the car, two more cop cars pull up, one marked and one unmarked car, and box me in. At this point I was like WTF thinking I was in some sort of trouble.

Well the first cop walks back over and hands back my information. So I asked him "why did you pull me over officer" and he says "I was back here taking my dog (K9 unit) for a walk when I saw you driving recklessly" or something like that. I told him I was leaving work at the grocery store and revving my engine to warm it up. Then he gave me the whole speech about driving recklessly and having to slow down and not to rev my engine, which was funny because I wasn't driving recklessly. He must have thought I was some punk kid screwing around in the lot behind the shopping complex. He and I both knew he couldn't give me a ticket because it was private property, so he finished his warning and sent me on my way.

It's funny because in that town it took four cop cars to pull someone over for running stop sign; talk about backup. Well the town had a large police force and not a heck of a lot of crime to deal with so they were a little overzealous. In the four years I was living there for school, there were several issues and compaints dealing with excessive use of force.

 

[j.Ngo]

1)Illegal turn - red light - turned into a no seatbelt - paid
2)Parking ticket - high school - No parking pass - paid
3)Parking ticket - high school - No parking pass - paid
4)Speeding 115 in a 65mph - Warning
5)Speeding 63 in a 45mph - Wreckless driving ticket - paid
6)Parking ticket - meter expired - philadelphia - Paid
7)Expired Vehicle Inspection sticker - paid
8)Expired Vehicle Inspection sticker - paid

Well as you can see I had my fair fun of tickets.
1: was 3 days after i got my Lic.
2-3: is when i parked at my school in the boonies where no one registered for parking yet.
4:was on the highway where everyone was doing 75-80mph in a 65mph zone on 295i.
5: is when i wasn't paying attention.
6: is when i miscalculated my time on the meter.
7-8: was when i just didnt have the time to get my car inspected and got 2 tickets in 1 week.

If you're wise you will learn from my foolish mistakes. I know i Did. Also I only got 2 points for wreckless driving when i had my provisional lic. Now after 2 years i have no points!

WoohOoo!

 

[Mohit]

Sounds like u guys are proud of the fines you received and the laws u broke :roll:

 

[j.Ngo]

Sounds like u guys are proud of the fines you received and the laws u broke

Rebels without a cause. *thumbsup*

 

[Jeff]

Breaking traffic laws is part of American culture, that's why we could never have an Autobahn.

Not that I'm proud of my violations, but everyone has a few to share...

 

[Bogatyr]

Wow,
I've only had one moving violation in my 21 years of driving. The ticket was for 62 in a 45 and I knew I was nailed as soon as I came over the hill and saw the cruiser at the bottom of it. So, the lights go on, I pull over and wait...no big...this was, sheesh, 16 years ago or so.

I don't drive that fast anymore. In the last few years, my interest has changed to getting the most mileage out of our cars.

I'll usually drive the speed limit, or a much as 10 above, depending on traffic, but I'm almost always the slowest vehicle on the road...just better for gas mileage. In any case, I'll usually catch up to the people who blew past me doing 75 in a 55 at the first stoplight...yeah, usually a big SUV with only the driver in it...

Bogatyr

 

[nouse4aname]

That's one thing I love about my 5 speed Celica GT. Get around 30mpg no matter how fast you go.

 

[garfieldgurl]

Geez j.Ngo... After I read what you post, I'm really gonna be careful about all that. The parking ticket and the sticker are the only ones I won't do cuz I always pay for the sticker as soon as I get the registration thingy (plus I can pay online) and for the parking, I buy the permit for the whole semester (just $30). About the speeding thing, geez, I do speed but I never go more than 15 at the most... oh wait...I did go 92 once on a 65 on I-5, and here in CA the highway patrol has corvettes to chase whoever is speeding, and that day a corvette caught me, and I didn't know... I wanted to pass a couple of trucks, and a small car that pass me back there (road rage... jk). The cop just looked at me and I looked back at him, and didn't realize I was doing more than 90. As soon as I realized that, I slew down, of course. It did scare me, but the cop didn't do anything. Probably he knew that I wasn't paying attention or something... who knows . After that, I'm always on the lookout for cops, but I don't go more than 10. I just got my license two years ago.. I learned my lesson.

 

[Jeff]

Honestly my Rav burns as much gas going slow as it does going fast. I've gone really easy on it a number of times and found it didn't save any gas. But then again, I really don't drive fast or floor the gas that much anymore so I'm probably getting decent gas mileage to begin with. I used to speed more often when I was younger (hence the run-ins with the cops), but I guess age and experience have had a positive effect on the way I drive. Sorry to say it's not that way with most people.

I used to screw around a lot more with my old car when I was younger (burnouts, whipping around corners, e-brake slides, etc.) but after having to get new tires every 20K miles with that car I decided to go easier once I got my Rav.

The great majority of the time when I'm driving, I'm not in a hurry, so I just take it easy and go with the flow of traffic and/or the speed limit. I drive differently now since I'm living in New Hampshire as opposed to when I lived in New York. People are more patient up here so I don't have to be such an aggressive driver like I had to be in NY. However when I go down to NY to visit, my driving reverts back to what it used to be.

Over the years since I got my license I've found that I drive more and more like my father, who's had a good driving record for the almost 40 years that he's had his license. It's so funny, because he's the one who taught me how to drive, and I'm just like him now. I've gotten to the point where I start to realize what's dangerous or stupid, thank god.

When I'm going through town I'm really careful and stick to the speed limit for safety's sake. I'll speed up a little on the back roads or interstates depending on the road conditions and traffic. Every once in a while I'll screw around on the back roads or the highway but not recklessly like teenagers do. I've had a radar detector for years, but don't use it much at all anymore since I'm not a chronic speeder. Besides they don't offer as much protection as they used to, thanks to laser and pulse radar.

 

[Tanya]

..been pulled over 3 times, no ticket

my only speeding ticket ever was from a blimmin
speed camera!!!
stupidly I completely forgot it was there!
$110.00 thank you! for doing 5 k's over the speed limit.

 

[JDUB1187]

i've gotten 1 speeding ticket in my RAV. I was racing a doofus in a minivan and was murdering him until I saw the cop sitting there and got jacked for 61 in a 35... D'OH! Now i drive slower and don't race minivans.

 

[kidong]

Speed tickets are all about revenue. Nuff said.


Some cops don't want to do it, but it's their superiors that insist on the job.

 

[j.Ngo]

Geez j.Ngo... After I read what you post, I'm really gonna be careful about all that. The parking ticket and the sticker are the only ones I won't do cuz I always pay for the sticker as soon as I get the registration thingy (plus I can pay online) and for the parking, I buy the permit for the whole semester (just $30). About the speeding thing, geez, I do speed but I never go more than 15 at the most... oh wait...I did go 92 once on a 65 on I-5, and here in CA the highway patrol has corvettes to chase whoever is speeding, and that day a corvette caught me, and I didn't know... I wanted to pass a couple of trucks, and a small car that pass me back there (road rage... jk). The cop just looked at me and I looked back at him, and didn't realize I was doing more than 90. As soon as I realized that, I slew down, of course. It did scare me, but the cop didn't do anything. Probably he knew that I wasn't paying attention or something... who knows . After that, I'm always on the lookout for cops, but I don't go more than 10. I just got my license two years ago.. I learned my lesson.

I'm glad I can set an example of myself to you.