Stupid speeding ticket
 

I just need to vent more than anything. Driving home from work last night. Roads were clear. Got stopped by a state trooper and he gave me a ticket for 60 in a 50 zone.

Damn.....really....ten miles over. $204......DAMN IT!

Not another car on the road, a major road......

Damn it!

yea i got the same for doing 40 in a 35 in oklahoma city. $170.... then again oklahoma is a terrible state and I would advise no one to ever go there....

I agree dbansal. OK is a draconian #$@*hole and I'm from KS!

Thats it? Doesn't sound like $204 worth of venting.

Its only $2 in your cussing jar so far, by my count, you've got lots of room for more. :D

My theory is that since you only spent $298 of car maintenance since you got the car you are way ahead of the customary $2000/yr operating cost so the universe has its own way of balancing out this anomaly.;)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Pyle_1968.JPG

yea!!! **************** oklahoma!!!!

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Seems states have unreal penalties for minor infractions. You always see "Construction Zone" signs no where near any work. Think they just use that to justify double penalties.

I've found driving 5 over (8mph on a Porsche speedo) will keep you under the radar unless the officer is having a bad day. I generally don't even slow down at 5 over.

But all bets are off after dark. They use any excuse to stop you at night. They're looking for drunks (which is good) but they tend to love stopping a Porsche if you misbehave at all. Whether that's good or bad, I adjust my driving accordingly at night.

You don't say what time you were pulled over and you say you were the only one on the road. Think the latter worked against you in that you stood out in a non-crowd.

+2 on OK

Always fight your tickets in court. 9.9 times of out 10 they will reduce the ticket to a no points citation. Points on your license is just begging for your insurance company to add a fine of their own.

And get a Valentine One radar detector or the equivalent Escort: The reason you got ticketed for only going 10 mph over the limit is because your car is flashy and the cop thinks you won't miss the $200.

+1 on this!

How do you fight tickets while out of state? Is a letter appeasing enough?

Sorry you got caught, but I suspect there is more to the story. Things like:

1) driving record...other warnings
2) verbal exchange with the police officer...attitude, disagreeing, lying....
3) wearing a seat belt
4) no front plate

Maybe you were doing 20 over, and he wrote the ticket for 10 over. We just don't know the whole story.

Again, sorry. Cost of admission. Don't let it spoil your holiday weekend.

One can try deferred adjudication, it is not guaranteed but it is free to try.

Q: Why does the wind always blow in Kansas?

A: Because Oklahoma sucks! :D

1) Have not been pulled over, much less received a citation in over 5 years.
2) When he pulled me over, I rolled down the windows and placed both hands on my steering wheel. I work in law enforcement and am nothing if not polite to police.
3) Yes was wearing seat belt
4) No front plate issued, much less required in Florida.

I was on my way home from work at 8:40 PM
He pulled me over, and the first words out of his mouth were:
"license and registration".
I said yes sir. As I looked through my glove box he said his second sentence:
"Is there a reason you were doing 60 in a 50 zone?"
I replied that I did not realize that I was (honestly didn't)
He said nothing, went to his car. Came back and said I had three options. a) Pay the ticket b) go to school c) Fight it in court. He then handed me my paperwork and left.

I think this was a case of a state trooper in a bad mood. I have driven the same route for 7 years. I know the roads, and follow the speed limit because there are two areas that are total speed traps.

Cost of admission, I understand, but 10 miles an hour over is crap.

Is there any give in when you get done over there, as a rule in the UK we're allowed 10% + 2mph, so in a 50 you wouldn't get pulled or convicted if driving up to 57mph.

Dan

Hunter, thanks for your response. I'd say you did everything right.

Just one thought, cops HATE this response. It shows your were not aware of your surroundings and control of your car. Not a deal breaker, but just a tip. Sounds like he was going to give you a ticket either way.

But everything you did is an EXCELLENT way to start getting OUT of a ticket at the side of the road. Maybe the only other thing to do is ask for permission to reach for your glove box. They hate any movements in the cabin in the dark.

Again, sorry.

The FHP doesn't mess around. :o The only time I was hit by FHP they were nice enough to write-down the ticket to 9mph over (backroads, no traffic, broad daylight) even though I was, ahem, well past that.

Don't know how you got so lucky. I have talked to a bunch of people at work and they have NEVER had a FHP let them off, nor reduced. I even had my Federal Law Enforcement ID out. So much for professional courtesy...lol

at the end of the day...I beleive NWA said it best.... **************** the police....

generally what I have found in my experiences as a l.e.o. was attitude is the key to getting a ticket and getting out of a ticket. generally speaking we are all adults and as such we are responsible for our actions. trying to badge your way out is a hit or miss. the one time I was pulled over in the last 20 years, I was polite, and advised the officer I was an off duty officer and armed at the time of the incident and asked him what he wanted me to do. his response was quite simply to slow down and he thanked me for advising him of my weapon, and let me go without incident.

p.s.
Now that I think on it not one speeding ticket I received was for more than 15 mph over the limit.
After that I got the radar detector and my friend's father, a lawyer no less, said to me "maybe you should slow down instead". I guess he missed the point: the radar detector is to let you know when you are being watched. As the speed limit is observed by virtually no one, the police can pull over anyone they damn well please. It's just too bad that radar detector technology has not come down in price like most all other technologies that have ramped up exponentially in the last 7 years or so.