posted
OK so today I am in remorse.. Sure I've had worse days... but I'm sure those of you who read the commute thread saw it coming...
I got my first EVER speeding ticket today. (I was going 5 over for the longest time but then sped up to get in the other lane and he got me going 13 over) And I would be OK with it if Marlozahn hadn't gotten two tickets in the last four months. Our car insurance is going to get more expensive... isn't it. Oh... the agony!! I could pay $200 to get it off my record.. but would it be worth it..
Posts: 1417 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
I've never had a speeding ticket, but then again, Icarus does most of the driving. My car did get a New York City parking ticket once. The car was in Miami at the time. Sigh.
Posts: 676 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
Your insurance may get more expensive, but that's not a guarantee.
If you can spare the day from work, you can plead your case to the Judge and tell him that yes, you were speeding but only doing so in order to pass another car.
Dag might have more insight as to whether or not the extra effort is worth it.
posted
No clue. I just got my first one and I decided not to bother fighting it. But I had 5 good driver points, and the ticket was only worth 4, so I think I'm still OK. If you can find out whether the judge is lenient or not you'll have an idea if it's worth it.
quote: Wow. They really do that? Does that seem a bit medieval to anyone else?
my guess is he is talking about the class you can go to. You fork over some cash and go to a class where they tell you not to be a crappy driver. There is a limit to how many times you can do it though.
The other option is to pay a "ticket doctor" they are lawyers who will essentially be a pain in the ass and keep rescheduling things with the court date so your ticket gets thrown out. I don't know how legal it is...but since they do have adds and such, I'm guessing that the government doesn't try to stop the practice
As for going yourself and trying to fight it...I doubt you will get any sympathy. I know a cop where I live, and he said that he had never seen a judge over turn a ticket because a person had an excuse for speeding. But, who knows...you can always talk to a lawyer in your area to see what they say.
quote: As for going yourself and trying to fight it...I doubt you will get any sympathy. I know a cop where I live, and he said that he had never seen a judge over turn a ticket because a person had an excuse for speeding. But, who knows..
Lupus, I agree it's very rare to get speeding tickets thrown out on the merits.
However, technicalities abound. Was the cop in the right jurisdiction? Was he properly trained and certified to use the radar gun? Was the radar gun calibrated? Did the officer offer to show you it was properly calibrated, with a tuning fork or in other ways (cops have to do this in GA)? Was the speed clearly marked? Etc, etc
And the easiest way to get tickets dismissed: the officer doesn't show up to testify. I have had several tickets thrown out for this reason, so often that I never mail off a check if I can afford time off of work to go to court. Most judges won't continue a misdemeanor ticket case if the cop is a no-show.
Posts: 6316 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
Generally if you sign up for a court date to mitigate the judge will reduce the ticket by half at the very least. If you have a clean record you might even get more off depending on the judge, his mood, and what letter your last name starts with. They often have evening court and weekend sessions that are easier to get to for those that work.
Posts: 349 | Registered: May 2003
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posted
Are the judges nicer in the morning, afternoons?? All depends I guess.
I live in WA.
The cop was nice and tried to get an excuse out of me, asked me where I was going, how long I've lived here..etc. Very nice guy. I wish I would have thought to say.. yeah this is only the 2nd time I've driven this car and I was passing someone. At least I don't know when he clocked me, he was out of his car and pointing at me the second I saw him.
Can police point at you and signal to "come here" and expect you to stop? I wasn't even sure he was pointing at me.
Posts: 1417 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
Actually I think Marlozahn got 2 speeding tickets within... 5-6 months, not 4 months.
But doesn't Insurance base it on each driver and not the whole family as one. It's possible they won't care about my ticket since it's my first but then they might see Marlo's and increase our bill.
posted
In Illinois, you can ask for supervision if you have a currently clean record. Supervision usually lasts 6 months, and as long as you don't get pulled over in that time for any moving violation (speeding, no belts, broken lights, etc.), the original ticket disappears. You do still have to pay court fees when you go in and ask for supervision, though. I've never been asked to go through driver's school while on supervision.
The one time I didn't try to wrangle my way out or ask for supervision was when I got clocked in Wisconsin. I was doing a good 25 over (and it's a felony at 20). The officer, seeing that I was an out-of-state driver with two sleeping kids in the back seat trying to get to a family party, wrote the ticket for 15 over. I paid the $200 to get it out of my hair and to avoid having to drive all the way back up to Appleton to appear. My insurance is a little higher right now because of that ticket, but it's been almost 2 years so it should drop off their radar soon.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
I have mental cop radar. I've been steadily speeding for the last 4 years, and have never once been pulled over. The only ticket I ever got was in the mail, and there was a hearty household debate over who was actually driving the car at the time. On the rare occasion that I actually decide to slow down and drive the speed limit, I will invariably spot a number of cops tucked away in their clever little hiding spots.
Posts: 1855 | Registered: Mar 2003
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(I was going 5 over for the longest time but then sped up to get in the other lane and he got me going 13 over)![[Cry]](graemlins/cry.gif)
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