balefire88

So, I recently got a speeding ticket in Northern California over the Labor Day weekend. It was my first speeding ticket, and for some reason, it sort of shocked me to my senses. It made me realize just how fast I was going and that no matter how good a driver I might consider myself, I was risking my lives and others. So, I've slowed down considerably since then, and now never exceed the speed of the flow of traffic. In fact, I'm more near the average, and usually find myself in the middle lanes only. Before, I'd be flying down the left lane and changing lanes rather fast.

All right, this post isn't meant to be a lecture to anyone else who drives fast. I'm actually very nervous about my ticket. I have some questions about my ticket and what's going to happen.

So, the problem is that I was going 86 in a 55 zone. (I know, incredibly stupid). I'm going to take responsibility for this, so I have no intention of trying to weasel out of the ticket. What I'm worried is, what level of offense is this? The officer wrote me up for basic speeding (I forget the citation #, but I looked it up and it was listed as basic speeding). However, the ticket does mention 85+ as the speed, and the limit at 55. What kind of fine am I looking at? Am I in danger of getting my license revoked? Is it worth talking to the DA to plead guilty in court so as to get the fine reduced if it is going to be very high? Can they add a reckless driving charge? What kind of bump in insurance will I see from this? I'm basically waiting on a letter that the officer said would be mailed to my house. He didn't explain further.

If you could throw some kind of light on the issue or answer my questions, I'll be very grateful. Now I feel sick to my stomach. (I will edit in the citation number when I get back home.)

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feelgood

I think it'll be better to show up in court to plead guility. That way the judge can look at you and figure that you were mature enough to at least show up and take responsibility for your action.

Then again, I'm still awaiting my first speeding ticket!

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politicophile

Exceeding the speed limit by 30 miles per hour is a magic threshold between plain old speeding and driving to endanger in some states. I am not familiar with the California statutes on the issue, but I suggest you check them out as soon as you can.

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balefire88

I'm a little freaked out now. I read through this, and apparently 100+ is reckless driving. Not sure about the +30mph in Cali.

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Mistress Cathy

it's no biggie, im in so cal too.

Ample

My ex got caught doing +32 in Oregon and got nailed with reckless driving, I think 8 points on her record. Our insurance went up something like 70 bucks a month.

Willravel posted some good info in this thread, not sure if it will help but take a look
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthr...ghlight=ticket

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n0nsensical

I don't think 100+ is automatically reckless driving, but it IS driving "at a speed greater than 100 miles per hour" which results in steeper penalties than just plain speeding. I always make sure to keep it around 95 when I'm on I-5 between SF and LA. Ha!

California Vehicle Code section 22348 says
(b) A person who drives a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than 100 miles per hour is guilty of an infraction punishable, as follows:

(1) Upon a first conviction of a violation of this subdivision, by a fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500). The court may also suspend the privilege of the person to operate a motor vehicle for a period not to exceed 30 days pursuant to Section 13200.5.

Reckless driving is defined in a seperate section, 23103 as driving "any vehicle upon a highway in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property." Of course, IANAL, and I have no clue how the courts interpret "willful or wanton disregard."

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soccerchamp76

If you have any friends that are lawyers, consult with them.

How old are you as well? If you are young, say 19-20, it will be harder to argue then if you were older with a proven clean driving record.

How did he catch you? Radar? Laser? Following? This is important, because if it is laser, you are screwed as they are highly highly accurate and will never be overturned in court. If it is radar, you have a better chance. Argue to see if the radar gun was properly tuned, that the officer was qualified enough to operate the gun at a high accuracy, and depending on the flow of traffic, how many cars were around you. While laser has pinpoint accuracy, radar guns send out a broad signal that has potential influences on the speed rating. If you were near a semi, most of the signal would be bounced back from the semi. There are many variables with radar. Now, if he was following you (officer was driving right behind you and then checks his speed and has your speed calculated as well), then you are out of luck as well.

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Jinn

98 in a 65. AND Reckless Driving. If California jurisdictions are anything like Colorado, and I suspect they are -- you're fine. In large areas (where in California ISNT?) the District Attorney has much more important cases (Third DUI with two homicides, for example) and will offer you a plea bargain. He offers you a lesser sentence in exchange for pleading guilty.

In my case (14 points), it was reduced to "Careless Driving," a four point offense.

I wouldn't worry excessively - their goal is not to fuck everyone who gets a ticket - it's to make sure that those who grossly break the law or are repeat offenders recieve their justice.

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cj2112

Traffic School is your friend in this case

Plaid13

call a lawyer take it to court most likely get out with traffic school. A friend of mine has a lawyer that has gotten him traffic school for at least a dozen diffrent tickets over the last four years. The court system is a joke in this country with a lawyer you can get out of just about any real bad fines and insurance costs.

krwlz

My tried and true method... In NY anyway. Go to the court date. Tell the Judge you would like to speak to the DA (or if it's a boondocks town like where I live, pleade not guilty, and state you would like to speak with the officer).

DA will look at your record, and possibly (read probably) offer you a plea bargain down to a very expensive parking ticket. Then you plead guilty to that offense, no insurance rate increase, just a dent in your wallet.

If its the cop, second appearance, he will probably show up, but same procedure. At the absolute worst, your situation didnt get any better, but it didnt get any worse. Best case, 100-200 dollar fine, and no ticket.

84 in a 55 reduced to 135 dollar parking on pavement, by your friendly NY State Trooper, all because my record was mostly clean, and I was polite on the side of the road.

papermachesatan

Your best bet would to be hire a lawyer if they don't have some sort of 'Deferred Ajudication Defensive Driving option'. My lawyer only charged me $120 per ticket.

Redjake

Hire a lawyer. I got a 86 in a 65 and the lawyer got me a "Prayer for Judgment" where it didn't go on my record. It was around $300 but I saved that easily on the insurance. I haven't got a speeding ticket since (learned my lesson), and that was 6 years ago.

Some areas offer the "Alive at 25" course you can take that will drop the ticket as well. That's what my brother did.

One last option, if you are desperate, is to take your car to a mechanic and get them to "recalibrate" the speedometer and get them to put in writing that the car's "equipment was malfunctioning" or "not calibrated properly." This is very popular in my area. I had a friend that got a ticket doing 101 in a 55 zone. The cop pulled him out of the window of the car basically. He wasn't drinking, but he got handcuffed and all that good stuff. Took the car to a local mechanic, got it "Recalibrated," and what do you know, the speedometer was 25 MPH off. That reduced it down to 76 in a 55. Then he went to Alive at 25 and the ticket didn't even go on his record.

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Jimellow

Can't say I support going to court and hiring lawyers to get out of something that you clearly did. If you were speeding legitimately, going to court seems like a waste of everyone's time.

When I get pulled over for speeding, I check guilty, sign the ticket, and mail it in.

I speed, and understand the consequences of speeding are getting tickets, points, and a fine. If there was some shady business regarding a speeding ticket, then perhaps I would challenge it in court, but I've yet to be unjustly cited for speeding.

In PA you get 1 point for every 5 miles over the legal limit. Once you hit 6 points, you have to take a course, that will knock 3 points off. If you hit 6 again, your liscense can be suspended, etc.

Every year without an infraction, three points are removed from your liscense.

Depending on who your insurer is, and your driving history, you may or may not receive a rate increase. Generally, I've noticed anything up to 15 MPH over is not big deal and won't get you any negative insurance points. 15 over didn't get me any, but such excess is much more likely to result in a negative point on your insurance record.

Points issued by the police are different from those issued by the insurance company. A speeding ticket might be worth one point; a totalled car, three. Ultimately, the insurance company's points are more costly because they result in higher rates, and take longer to expire. Points issued by police are generally a nuisance that can pile up if you speed often.

I'm always willing to jump into a debate about speeding on the highway not necessarily being unsafe, but this thread doesn't seem to be the time or place for it.

You mentioned being cited for basic speeding. It's possible they didn't give you any points, or they gave you a default amount, like three. If you were going 31 MPH over the limit in PA, that would be good for 6 points. A court appearance might also be required, depending on the specifics of the ticket.

Regarding the fine.. In my experience, the taxes are the most expensive part. I figured out the MPH over to cost ratio in the past, and I think it was something like $7 per MPH over the limit. The taxes are generally what jack up the rate of the ticket. The money is not the aspect of the ticket that bothers me; the points are, because they linger and are cumulative.

You could always call the State police and ask them how many points you have on your record. They will likely send out a mailing saying you were cited, yada yada, and include the amount of points applied to your record, if any.

I was caught doing 75 (excess of 80 MPH while being pursued, after I was initially clocked) while going out for a drive one night. I think the speed limit was 50. She asked where I was going, and I told her the truth: that I was out joyriding as a means for relaxing during finals week. She cited me for speeding without a specific MPH listed. No points, just a fine. Was pretty neat. She was pretty cute too.

In PA the locals can't use radar, so they have to rely on 100 foot distances to calculate speed. Thus, they generally sit on overpasses and merge points. If you see white lines on the road, they are generally 100 feet apart and used by cops to determine speed. The State cops can use radar, but they aren't really out much.

I was pulled over by a new state cop for doing 15 MPH over. I didn't think I had my newest registration card, and told him I had just got a new one and my dad had put it in, or so I thought. The officer said he would cite me for not having a registration card, but not for speeding; thus, no points. While he is back at his car writing up the ticket, I find my registration card, and hold it out the window. The officer comes up, takes the card, and cites me for speeding, and gives me three points. I figured I would help him out and make his day easier. Big mistake.

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asaris

Don't hire a lawyer. I was working in a prosecutor's office this summer, and unless your jurisidiction is a lot different from this one, a lawyer won't be able to get you anything you wouldn't be able to get for yourself. Most likely, as was mentioned earlier, you'll be able to just talk to an ADA, and get it reduced to some sort of non-moving violation -- it's not guaranteed, from the amount you were speeding, but I think it's still likely. You'll probably pay more on the ticket, but you'll save money from not hiring a lawyer and not having your insurance go up.

And yes, at least in certain jurisdictions, going over 100 MPH is a much bigger deal. Where I was working, it got you jail time.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, I am just a law student, and laws and practices vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction anyway. This post is not intended to provide legal advice, so if it goes awry, please don't sue me.

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Jinn

You make the presumption that everyone believes speeding is a crime. You draw the line in saying that the arrest itself was shady, but I draw the line with saying the crime itself is shady. The precise act of speeding does not harm oneself of others. In order for me to grant the validity of a crime, I must agree that it needs to be prohibited for the greater safety of myself or others. In this case, I do not.

Driving with multiple passengers has proven over and over again to present a more obvious causal relationship to accidents than speeding. And yet, I dont see laws making having multiple passengers illegal. If, somehow, it was illegal - would you not try to 'weasel out' of a ticket for something you didn't think was valid?

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