Lousy Speeding ticket...
 

So I went to my friend's college graduation party yesterday, he lives ~ 2 hours away. No biggie. Me and two other friends all hopped in my car and headed on up. Good time at the party then we were heading back today. Got pulled over on the way home. I'm 21 and I'd never been pulled over before. I'll not deny I was doing almost 80 in a 65 and probably deserved to be pulled over, but 5 years of a flawless driving record, I made no excuses and just flat out admitted we'd been driving awhile and just wasn't paying enough attention to the speedometer. (I'd been fluxing between 65 and 80 the whole way, hilly roads) I had my liscence and insurance stuff ready for him when he got to the car, I was polite and didn't argue. I was hoping beyond all hope he might let me off with a warning since it was my first offense, but I didn't expect a $95 dollar ticket. My friend in the car's been busted 4 times for 15 mph over on the highway and never gotten more than $75. I am generally not happy. I know there's nothing I can do really, but I just needed to vent. I'll pay it because I was speeding and I broke the law or whatever, but I would have thought he might have cut me a little slack. grr.

Oh, and I think the fact that I had a tshirt on that said I [heart] DRUGS didn't help. I should have explained I was a pharmacy student and it was a school shirt.


Just needed to vent. hmpf.


/$95 poorer.

That sucks. It's almost a crapshoot whether or not the cop will give you a ticket. Having a clean driving record tips the odds in your favour a little, but there's always the chance the cop will give you the ticket (having bad day, filling quota, etc)

I've gotten away with a ticket and gotten nailed with a ticket. There is nothing worse than waiting for the cop to come back from his car to find out whether or not your wallet is gonna be lighter.

In Ontario, it costs $16 to write up and process a traffic ticket. The charge for 10 over the limit is $10 or so, so it would actually cost the municipality money to ticket you. It works out great :)

Uh, but sorry about your situation.. I hope it wasnt the shirt that did it -_-;; I'm a big fan of drugs myself.

Take defensive driving. Keeps it off of your insurance. Go to court. Sometimes the cop doesn't show up or they'll lower the fine.
I get pulled over frequently. I get lots of warnings. It depends on where I get pulled over, I think.

My tips:

Pull over safely and promptly.
Roll down your window(s) so the officer can se you, weather permitting.
Put your hands where the officer can see them.
Don't reach for anything, your licence, insurance, registration, until asked.
Be courteous. You don't have to admit to anything, but don'y be a dick.

Cops are nervous. Make things easy for them and maybe they'll make it easy for you.


Oh yeah. Don't ask for a warning. I was lectured on that one night. It pissed the cop off, but he still gave me a warning. He told me they decide before they get out of the car whether they're going to give you a warning or not. I felt lucky that night. Of course, I pulled over almost beforehe got going from the side of the road.

I don't care how much the ticket is...I care how much my insurance is gonna be if I get a ticket. $95 is nothing compared to how much my insurance would go up if I got a ticket. If I wanted to go for a lawyer, that'd be $300-$500, but it does almost eliminate the chance of your insurance going up. When my brother got a ticket (we're on the same insurance plan), we went ahead and got a lawyer. Really good idea. $300 for the lawyer, $100 for the ticket, but the insurance stayed the same.

-Lasereth

I had a very similar situation (nearly 21, perfect record when pulled over for speeding), and the cop told me that he had to give me a ticket, but to go to court, and the judge would likely reduce the ticket.

Of course, when I did that, the judge reduced the $75 ticket to $53 + $22 in court fees, so it was basically a wash.

I've had two, one I didn't actually deserve (the judge agreed) but the evil cocksucking insurance adjusters were like "LOL, you don't understand, you're our bitch."

In Ohio the tickets are the same for everyone based on how much they were going over. 10-20 is like 90ish dollars and it scales up from there according to speed.

Go to court. Don't try to fight the ticket (unless you get a lawyer). Just show up to court. If it is your first ticket, tell the judge. Ask if you can possibly get defensive driving instead. You'll still spend $65-75 and about 8 hours of your time, but like Lasereth was saying, at least it won't be raise your insurance premium.

I got my one and only speeding ticket when I was 18. Should be coming off my record soon... yay.

Anyway, mine was 55 in a 35 and it was $109. I just went and offered to pay right then and there if they could reduce it. Got it down to $59. Did not have to miss a day of work to take their stupid classes or anything. My insurance didn't go up for having one point either. I think 0 - 1 is a "class" and then 2 - x, etc.

I would just go and pay, and hope for the best as far as the insurance goes. Whenever I get pulled over I am as honest as I can be. One time I was going 60 in a 45 and this "undercover" suv cop pulled me over. Asked how fast I was going. I didn't twitch or do anything and just replyed "60mph". He then asked what the speed limit was. Again I replyed honestly. He was dumbfounded and asked why the hell I was going so fast. I told him I really didn't know. Just a clear road. He scratched his head, and went back ran my record came back and told me to slow down. I've either been real lucky since I haven't gotten another ticket or that honestly method works. Shrug.

ive gotten pulled over twice... both for speeding... both times got warnings...

both times ive always been very polite its all "yes sir" "no sir"

the second time i had TWO keg shells in the back of my car... i'm not 21... the cop had me get out of my car... and was asking me about why i have texas plates and a california license...

i wonder if the different states license and plates makes it more work to give a ticket and they just give me a warning...

Goto court and hope the issuing office doesn't show up. I recently talked to a Highway Patrol Officer who said that they only go to court for cases where they remember the person "being an asshole", otherwise its not worth spending extra time doing it...

If the officer doesnt show up, then you get off. This is how most traffice ticket attornies make their money I have always reckoned.

ooh 95 bucks...

i was going 83 in a 50 and got a 190 dollar ticket or something, my first time too. if your going to speed be prepared to pay the price. and be careful too you dont want to hurt anyone.

i dont know if maybe where you are Lasereth, but a speeding ticket here doesnt make your insurance go up, however you get points and if you get too many points then you need to pay, or they can also take your liscence.

Needed to vent?

http://www.ventanger.com

:)

Wish I would have been that lucky when I got pulled over my firs time, after 3 years of perfect driving. I was doing 52 in a 25, somehow the cop didnt arrest me like the state laws says to when you are going that fast.

I got off with a 150$ ticket w/no points lost.

I guess that was the kindness & being my first time part that saved my ass from points on the license...

Shoot I didn't even think about the insurance...that is not going to be fun. I wonder if they will do anything for a first violation...hm

I've never gotten a ticket for a moving violation that was under $100.

Plead not guilty, go to court, and see what happens. Can't hurt.

I got a speeding ticket when I was 18. I was going 58 mph in a zone which I thought was 55 mph, but I, like a lot of other people who showed up in court that day, missed a sign somewhere that said the speed limit dropped to 35 mph on this 4 lane highway in the middle of nowhere (can you say SPEEEDTRAP?). My ticket was somewhere around $100, but when I showed up in the court the judge told everyone that a new law in Washington had been passed where if you pay $100 and do not committ any new offenses for two years, the ticket will be erased permanently. So I did that.

I'm 22 now and a few months ago I got plled over for doing 70 in a 60, but the officer said "Since you've got a clean record I'm going to let you off with a warning." So I guess the first ticket really did get erased. Also, some people have said that if the cop does not show up to court you are off the hook, this may be true in some states but not in Washington. All the officer has to do is type up a sworn affidavit saying "I caught John Doe on September 17 going 20 mph above the speed limit, all my equipment was working fine that day and I have been operating radar guns for 15 years blah blah balh etc." The cop is not required to show up to court unless you supeona him.

I've gotten out of two tickets by going to court with a certified copy of my driving record and pleading guilty.

Tell the judge that you screwed up, and you'll be more careful in the future.

Wear your best suit to court. White shirt, red tie, clean shaven. No beard or facial hair. It makes a bigger difference than you would believe.

I even wear my Eagle Scout pin. You can borrow mine for $50.

Yup do it. Hubby has challenged tickets - not had to show up at court and talked to whomever was taking care of things over the phone. He got several reduced either the points reduced or the cost reduced. He's not got a perfect record. Just let them know that you feel badly about this and took pride in your clean record and you want the least damage done as possible. Bargain with them. There's nothing wrong with that. It shows that you care what your driving record says about you and you want to do your best. They'll respect you for that at least. Good Luck.

I got a bum red light ticket. It may have been close, but it was icy, and I saw the cop... he had his nose into the intersection. Regardless he pulled me over and handed me the ticket after he sat in his car for 20minutes. I was very courteous until he handed me the ticket. I have a new habit of being assertive and letting people know what I think. It felt really good to piss him off, almost worth the $90 and 3 points, to watch his little hitler moustache frown. I wish I could have made the court date. But I had better things to do.

I got a ticket for 62 in a 45.. only time i have got a ticket, stinger was everyone else was doing 60.. Thought i was going to get a ticket the other day when a FHP car appeared behind me when i was doing 70 in a 55, but he was doing 80 and just passing me.. heh