Speeding Ticket - The Fight Begins

[SD987]

If my refusal to submit feebly to the stacked deck of highway enforcement makes me a self-righteous jerkoff, then so be it.

In the meantime I'm trying to mentally reconcile your concern for your brethren in law enforcement while simultaneously using another thread to promote the arming of the general populace with weapons that are well beyond what could be considered the need for self-protection. I'm sure that gun-toting civilians make a cops life easier.

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

Indignation, especially when you were admitedly at fault, isn't likely to get you anywhere.

The Courts often go easier on those who are contrite and show some remorse for their actions.

Many states have alternatives to going to Court. Here in MN, you can see a Traffic Control Officer (an Officer of the Traffic Court) and ask for a CD - a Continuance for Dismissal. This is a time consuming task - usually you wait 2-3 hrs. to see a TCO, so many don't take advantage of it and simply pay the Fine.

A CD is almost always granted and while you must plead Guilty and pay a fine (most often reduced), your Citation is granted a Continuance for 1 year. If during that time, you get no other Moving Violations, the Citation is dismissed. But, if you do get another Moving Violation, both that Citation and this one fall on you full force.

The advantage is You pay a one-time Fine, but no record or points are put against you, so you avoid paying that Continuing Fine by your Insurance Co.

I was once on a CD and it actually helped me avoid another Citation. Pinched for Speeding, I explained to the Officer that if she did Cite me, this existing CD would fall on me and since I was only 5 MPH over the limit, this didn't seem fair. So she said she would cite me for driving w/o Proof of Insurance (which I had in the car) instead. But, a Citation for no Proof of Insurance is recinded if you present your Proof of Insurance to a License Clerk within 48 Hrs, so effectively I got no Citation.

Check into these, but if you're counting on the Court to show you some leniency, I might suggest adjusting both the approach and the attitude to work a little better in your favor. Good Luck!...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[dharrisonwu]

Nobody likes to get speeding tickets, period. They are expensive and could cost you big points on your driving record. But, you really have to consider the statistics for those involved in severe accidents because of speed.

If you were really doing 90 in a 65 mph zone and the government satisfied its burden of proof during the traffic trial, you could be looking at some substantial fines and penalties in California.

[Ghostrider 310]

He may not have been pacing you at all. While following you he may have been running your plate to see if you had any warrants. The actual speed measure may have taken place before you saw him and from another vehicle or aim spot. Usually they have one guy shooting an several chase cars. As Jim said, if you are respectful, well dressed and show up to court they usually reduce it.

[David N.]

They did their job, nobody is questioning the value of that. I just want them to have a better case than a rough guestimation taken at night from at least 3/4ths a mile away, without radar or laser, and no other cars as a point of reference before they slap a number on a ticket and tell me to pay up.

-David

[Grizzly]

Originally Posted by SD987

If my refusal to submit feebly to the stacked deck of highway enforcement makes me a self-righteous jerkoff, then so be it.

In the meantime I'm trying to mentally reconcile your concern for your brethren in law enforcement while simultaneously using another thread to promote the arming of the general populace with weapons that are well beyond what could be considered the need for self-protection. I'm sure that gun-toting civilians make a cops life easier.

First, let me set the record straight. I wasn't calling you a jerkoff...at least not on purpose. My words were ill chosen. I sincerely apologize for the implication. It was entirely my fault. More than occasionally, my colorful verbiage gets me in trouble.

My only point was that wasting an Officer's time in traffic court keeps them from doing other, more important things, and further burdens an already overburdened system.

If you look at the other thread, you will see that I have recommended nothing that is more than a homeowner should possess for home protection. In fact, I attempted to steer folks away from all the exotic crap they were talking about. My original post was aimed at providing insight into the successful, layered protection of one's home. Since the thread had turned to weaponry, and a lot of the posts contained erroneous and dangerous information, I posted, not about rocket launchers and all that garbage, but about successfully surviving an armed encounter. It's a subject that I fortunately or unfortunately know an awful lot about.

I consider all of you my friends, and when I saw that you were receiving information that, if followed, would clearly get you killed, I felt compelled to step up. If you look at the other post again, I never took a stance one way or the other as far as having weapons for home protection. Judging by the makes, models and pictures of all the members handguns, that decision had clearly already been made. My only intention was to provide information to assist my friends in surviving a gunfight. It is easy to buy a gun and spout off about what you'll do if those MFers ever dare come to your house. It's a completely different ballgame when you are engaged in an armed encounter. I have been on both sides of the gun, and I'm here to tell you, when the **************** hits the fan, your tactics had better be good, or you will become very, very dead. All the bravado in the world will not save you. Despite what I consider to be the best training in the world, I still managed to get myself shot four times (same incident, four rounds). I've also had the painful honor of carrying several of my colleagues to their final resting places.

My intended contribution to the other thread was that if you're going to do it, do it right. I hate to keep picking on C.J., but if any of these guys think they're going to storm downstairs in the middle of the night with a .22 short and duke it out with some greenbean, we'll all lose a friend.

Again SD, I apologize for my ill chosen words.