BG Legal: Court for speeding tickets

[Gadritan]

NC troopers have a reputation for being "no nonsense." If you ever cruise through here, go easy on highways, lol.

Around here, you see a city cop or sheriff and you might make some pig joke or something. You see a trooper and your ass gets the pucker factor.

[jmc]

It's called being young and stupid, lol. I drove a lot of high profile cars too, which didn't help. I've scooted past a cop going 45 in a 35 in a Camry and didn't get pulled, yet I had a cop actually issue me a ticket for 38 in a 35 in my old Mustang.

I'm actually fighting a ticket now for something like this.

Trooper doing a detail in the far left lane slowly moving following a traffic crew picking up signs. Passed him, 2 exits later he is pulling me over... He gets upto the window, asks me what modifications I have to my car and to pop my hood lol

Nothing like getting profiled, with my police jacket sitting on the backseat.

Ended up claiming I went 90 MPH past him, and wrote me up for 90 in a 55 -.-


*Edit*

I drive a un-modded Subaru WRX.

[Zhais]

I'm actually fighting a ticket now for something like this.

Trooper doing a detail in the far left lane slowly moving following a traffic crew picking up signs. Passed him, 2 exits later he is pulling me over... He gets upto the window, asks me what modifications I have to my car and to pop my hood lol

Nothing like getting profiled, with my police jacket sitting on the backseat.

Ended up claiming I went 90 MPH past him, and wrote me up for 90 in a 55 -.-


*Edit*

I drive a un-modded Subaru WRX.

Please tell me you're going to show up to court in full blues. I would like to see the look on the trooper's face >.>

[jmc]

Please tell me you're going to show up to court in full blues. I would like to see the look on the trooper's face >.>

Its out of town, so will not do that.

However, I will be attending in some police attire.

The trooper was a complete ass, if I didn't work law enforcement I would've called internal affairs about the encounter.

[Melena]

I'm actually fighting a ticket now for something like this.

Trooper doing a detail in the far left lane slowly moving following a traffic crew picking up signs. Passed him, 2 exits later he is pulling me over... He gets upto the window, asks me what modifications I have to my car and to pop my hood lol

Nothing like getting profiled, with my police jacket sitting on the backseat.

Ended up claiming I went 90 MPH past him, and wrote me up for 90 in a 55 -.-


*Edit*

I drive a un-modded Subaru WRX.

When my dad ever got pulled over, he always included his police id card along with his license. Got out of every speeding ticket (3 that I know of) just cause he was a cop with rank. Guess like does look after like.

[Souj]

Just have your dad be a lawyer. Works for me.
That, or invest in a radar detector. You can probably get court supervision for one of the tickets.

[jmc]

When my dad ever got pulled over, he always included his police id card along with his license. Got out of every speeding ticket (3 that I know of) just cause he was a cop with rank. Guess like does look after like.

I could've pointed out my jacket, or my union sticker mid-conversation.

However, if I fuck up and do something that deserves a ticket i'll get it and fight it just like everyone else.

Yet...... when I get profiled/lied too, thats the line lol.

*edit*

Probably helps i'm a pretty safe driver, 6 years driving (including a few 6 day a week driving jobs) and have only gotten pulled over twice including the one that resulted in a speeding ticket.

[Theraven]

NC troopers have a reputation for being "no nonsense." If you ever cruise through here, go easy on highways, lol.

Around here, you see a city cop or sheriff and you might make some pig joke or something. You see a trooper and your ass gets the pucker factor.

Dunno what part of NC you're from specifically, but I grew up in Charlotte and drove pretty much nothing but highways to school and work and drove back and forth to Boone every weekend when I started going to ASU. Never had any trouble whatsoever with the troopers unless I was speeding excessively (1 ticket for 77 in a 55 from a trooper and 1 for 72 in a 55 from a city cop). I even routinely drove 75 in 55's for a long time, till I got those 2 tickets I mentioned in the same weekend, then I slowed it down to 70. Every time I ran across a State Trooper I just canceled my cruise control or let off the gas and they never bothered me as long as I wasn't going more than 10 over. As long as you're paying attention you can usually spot them far enough off, or grow up in the area and you know where they like to sit. Been living in OK for the last ~5 years and I still drive home every year during the summer, 14 hour drive along I-40 on 4th of July weekend and even with all the extra speed traps I have yet to be pulled over following the 10 over rule. Maybe I've been lucky so far but I've passed by a LOT of cops doing 10 over and the worst I ever got was some lights flashed at me as a warning once.

[BerenTebogo]

Keep speeding, just be smarter about it.

I had 6 tickets within a year and a half of getting my license, had to do driver re-training, etc. Sucked. Now I've had 0 in close to 3 years and just the other day I was doing 110ish coming home after class.

Don't speed in areas you aren't familiar with.
Don't speed between 10am-3pm, cops have nothing better to do during this time.
Don't speed for excessive amounts of time.
Leapfrog.

I don't drive as wildly as I used to since a Scion TC is no Lexus IS and crashing does/will happen and will take the wind out of your sails hard, but I still push it up occasionally when I know it's safe to.

Getting tickets for doing 80 in a 50 and shit is dumb, really. If you're getting ticketed for anything under 95 you're driving like an idiot. Do some basic math and you'll see that the not-getting-pulled-over 70mph is making the entire length of your trip less than 1-2 minutes longer than the pulled-over-80mph is, usually.

Unless you spend 95% of your drive on the highway, for large amounts of time, and near zero time on city streets or side streets, there really is no excuse for doing 80 over 70 or 75. It's silly and it's not the benefit you think it is.

Ex: Traveling 20 miles at 80mph will get you to your destination just under 3 minutes faster than traveling at 70mph. In a 55-60mph zone won't get you pulled over 99.9% of the time and 80mph will almost 100% of the time if a cop is there. 3 minutes worth it? Nope.

Edit: Seriously though, thinking about it I've never gotten a ticket for going over 95mph since any time I do I am thoroughly anal about taking precautions. I've gotten up to 147 without incident, but have gotten nailed repeatedly in the past for just cruising at 80-85. You just get complacent after a while and don't realize you're actually breaking the law, lol.

[Ikith]

So where should I start when looking for a lawyer to help me out?

[jmc]

So where should I start when looking for a lawyer to help me out?

Family/Friends would be best people to ask for your area.

Try to avoid the as seen on TV lawyer types.

If family/friends can't recommend anyone, try the good old yellow pages. Usually the ones who don't have a 1 page ad in the yellow pages are the best bet.

[Icari]

So where should I start when looking for a lawyer to help me out?

If you have a car insurance agent ask them who they recommend, otherwise ask family/friends/neighbors.

[Norellicus]

I hate when people say this. It's only true if you eliminate every other variable (stop lights, traffic, etc). It can be a difference of 15min on just a 10mile trip. However, NOT SPEEDING is definitely the correct thing to do.



Never go more than 5 over. I've had half a dozen tickets that were for 10 over because I used to naively believe the same thing (on highways no less). Also, if you're going 70 in a 55 you can lose your license on the spot here in NC. Anything 15mph+ over the speed limit and they can take it right there. Usually the answer to these if you can't get it dropped is getting it reduced to something like "excessive speed."

Take your car to a shop to get the speedometer checked as well. If it's even slightly off, you can usually get it dropped due to "equipment failure." That's only going to help you with 1 though, and you'll need to make sure you bring proof from the shop. Tell the shop you need something that's acceptable in court to use to make sure you get the proper document.

But really, just stop fucking speeding. I had my license suspended 3x due to getting 27 speeding tickets before I finally learned to slow my happy ass down. It's been 5 years now since I've had one.

Hmm, must be different in NC then. I speed all the time, but follow these rules, and in 9 years of driving have only had two tickets (both for going 80+ on the freeway, although cops here are nice about that unless you're being wreckless, thus was only written up for 5 over.)

It varies by area/situation really, if the average speed on the road is already 5 over they're not likely to pull you over for 10 since you're still basically in the flow of traffic and would potentially be a greater hazard if you were actually following posted limits. Anything over 10 and they're liable to nail you though because it's a much higher fine and that's money in the bank for them, not to mention the actual exponential risk increase with the added speed at those high amounts.

And yeah, 15+ is considered reckless endangerment in most places and can cost you your license. It's not worth it.

[Valisk]

If you're trying to represent yourself, make sure you bring 2 things into question:

1) The date of the last time the radar/laser gun had been calibrated.
2) If there were any vehicles larger going the same speed or greater than you.

Lawyers would be able to word it in courtroom terminology and defend those positions better than you can but if you absolutely have to represent yourself, these are pretty much your only legitimate defenses.

Edit: The 2nd one calls into question the way radar/laser guns work. They aren't precise by any means. If you point it in a general direction, it shots a "ray of light" and it hits the largest/fastest thing and bounces back to the gun indicating the speed something is going based on how fast it returns to the gun. Most police officers point the gun in the direction of general traffic and it will usually indicate how fast the fastest object in the bunch is going. It's up to the officers descretion to decipher which car appears to be going faster than the others and assign the speed that displays on the radar gun to that vehicle.

[Gadritan]

Ex: Traveling 20 miles at 80mph will get you to your destination just under 3 minutes faster than traveling at 70mph. In a 55-60mph zone won't get you pulled over 99.9% of the time and 80mph will almost 100% of the time if a cop is there. 3 minutes worth it? Nope.

Sath >.<

I can't believe you of all people would say something stupid like that. Again, for that to be true you'd have to eliminate every single other variable. Traffic lights, traffic itself, etc. You don't just magically have every green light and the road to yourself.

If you barely miss scooting through a light and have to sit there...that's 2minutes or so. That could cause you to catch the next light, and so on. Don't give me the "just highways," thing either like none of them have traffic lights, or that it's the only variable. It could be the difference between you getting stuck in a wad of idiots that don't know how to drive that slow you down, which could cause you to get a light or get stuck in another wad that you wouldn't have hit otherwise.

Or you end up getting caught behind a wreck, or even be involved in one. One of the first things I've always thought when I've been in a wreck (and I know it's the same for most people) was "wow, if we'd been her 1 second earlier we would have died." Or "wow, 3 seconds earlier and we wouldn't have been hit." etc.

[Norellicus]

Sath >.<

I can't believe you of all people would say something stupid like that. Again, for that to be true you'd have to eliminate every single other variable. Traffic lights, traffic itself, etc. You don't just magically have every green light and the road to yourself.

If you barely miss scooting through a light and have to sit there...that's 2minutes or so. That could cause you to catch the next light, and so on. Don't give me the "just highways," thing either like none of them have traffic lights, or that it's the only variable. It could be the difference between you getting stuck in a wad of idiots that don't know how to drive that slow you down, which could cause you to get a light or get stuck in another wad that you wouldn't have hit otherwise.

Or you end up getting caught behind a wreck, or even be involved in one. One of the first things I've always thought when I've been in a wreck (and I know it's the same for most people) was "wow, if we'd been her 1 second earlier we would have died." Or "wow, 3 seconds earlier and we wouldn't have been hit." etc.

The ironic thing about this post is that it only further reinforces the fact that getting there faster matters about as much as getting there slower does...in which case, why put yourself in a position to be out $300+?

[Gadritan]

It's not ironic. That was the point. Too many variables to flat out state that speeding or going the speed limit will result in you getting there X times faster or slower.

[SwampdonkeyPLD]

If you're trying to represent yourself, make sure you bring 2 things into question:

1) The date of the last time the radar/laser gun had been calibrated.

Actually, I think the proper response would be to make a motion to dismiss once the State rests based on the fact that it wasn't introduced into evidence.

[Norellicus]

It's not ironic. That was the point. Too many variables to flat out state that speeding or going the speed limit will result in you getting there X times faster or slower.

It sounded an awful lot like you were advocating the global opinion "speed, it gets you there faster", but if I misinterpreted that then my bad

[jmc]

Actually, I think the proper response would be to make a motion to dismiss once the State rests based on the fact that it wasn't introduced into evidence.

It all depends if the person arguing the ticket was even clocked using a radar device, instead of a "Educated estimate".

If it was clocked, then like the person said ask for the calibration records. If they do not bring them to court, ask for the charges to be dismissed. If they do bring the records, and it was calibrated (most officers using them calibrate that day) then good luck.

If you were not clocked and the officer estimated your speed, its your word against his/hers. Can usually beat these out easily if your accused of going 10 mph over the limit, but if your going 20-30mph over the limit its alot harder to beat.