Fighting speeding tickets - yay or nay?

[Bubs360]

In my state, virtually no teenage male gets away with any traffic violation, unless they have connections. This subjects them to New Hampshire's Under 20 law, which basically is conveying that, in the lawmakers' opinion, no teenage *ahem*male*ahem* driver is able to pay a ticket, get the points and an astronomical increase in insurance rates and learn their lesson. There is an administrative license revocation for 20, 45, or 90+ days depending on prior offenses. That almost guarantees that you will lose your job.

This would be fine if it was for serious offenses, but it's for any moving violation. Change lanes without signaling? Lose your license. Not enough time to dim your headlights? Lose your license. Find a cop who is enough of a dickhead to write you for 1mph over? Lose your license. Find a cop who really needs to meet his quota? Lose your license.

I would just pay my fines and lose my license. Teenage males never get out from under tickets in court. On the other hand, every girl I know has been stopped for something very dangerous (50mph on a 25mph residential street, for example), and yet never got a ticket in the first place, so nobody knows how they would fare in court.

[motogpboy]

Originally Posted by Posmo

This NEEDS to be posted here

OMG That video was good enough even BEFORE that low speed highside... totally wasn't expecting that that was AWESOME hhahaaha squid!

[LeVeL]

Originally Posted by yeeha

I've never gotten a ticket and hence never been to court so I'm curious what you say (or anyone else who has been there) when you show up to court to fight a ticket. Assuming the officer was right you were speeding and you know it. Do you argue mitigating circumstances and claim that it wasn't that dangerous or just go for a flat out denial and say the cop was wrong? Something else entirely?

It depends. Usually you'd prepare a defense. There are a million approaches to it - radar gun wasn't calibrated, the officer hadn't received the proper training, etc etc etc. If you don't have too many violations you can point that out to the judge as well. For my 54 in a 30 ticket, I told the judge (I was being honest actually) that I was heading home after an exam and was coasting downhill not paying much attention to the speedometer; I was covering the brake. It was my very first time being pulled over for speeding, too.

[GRtak]

I fight every ticket I get. The last ticket I got was because a street light malfunctioned as I went through it(ie. running a red light). The light had just changed from red to green, then ten seconds later went right back to red. The police video clearly showed it, yet the cop failed to see it happen(behind me) and gave me a ticket. I also fought a speeding in a consturuction zone and won(barrels off the side of the road). I could give other examples.

[Red_Bull]

Originally Posted by BlaRo

It might be news to you, but cops are more interested in how safe you're actually driving rather than assigning revenue generation based on an numerical limit that may or may not fit the actual conditions. If you get caught by a cop, you can argue that you were maintaining an appropriate speed for the weather and visibility conditions present at the time of the ticket, and the cop and judge determine (using a combination of experience and common sense) whether you're right.

That absolutely is news to me!

I'm staggered. Just recently a report was leaked from the high ranks of SAPOL to the media detailing how police actually fudge the books to create the impression that the state is hitting it's targets in relation to drink driving, drug driving, speeding, etc. They set up breath test zones in areas where they know damn well they wont catch a single person, and that allows them to say that the numbers are falling. Then towards the end of the period they'll go and target zones where they know they'll get results. If they do that, then you can be damn sure that speed cameras and radars are located in the suburbs where they know they'll get maximum value from people inadvertently breaking the speed limit. But of course you wont see them on country roads where majority of people lose their lives. It's a bit of a farce really.

[DanRoM]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

If you stand to become a pedestrian for any amount of time, yes. Otherwise, it´s really not worth the hassle. Speeding is relatively cheap in Germany.

+1. Moderate speeding costs less than filling your tank.

Another thing to consider is whether or not you have a chance. Anyway, I haven't received a ticket since September 2001. They're too busy hunting terrorists, I guess.

[Karoug]

I've never been caught speeding, so I don't have to fight..

[Clegko]

I've fought all of my small time tickets, and won. However, I was pulled for doing 105 in a 80 (mph) about 6 months ago out in the middle of nowhere, and the ticket was 385 dollars.I admit that I was going that speed, but if you consider that the road is very, very straight, there was no traffic and the only thing that I would have killed had I wrecked, aside from myself, would have been a cow, the cop was really a douche about it. Also, it was a clear day with absolutely perfect visibility and my car had no weird quirks at that speed, like some do. No wobbling, shuttering, spewing of smoke, etc...

[Blind_Io]

Originally Posted by Clegko

I've fought all of my small time tickets, and won. However, I was pulled for doing 105 in a 80 (mph) about 6 months ago out in the middle of nowhere, and the ticket was 385 dollars.I admit that I was going that speed, but if you consider that the road is very, very straight, there was no traffic and the only thing that I would have killed had I wrecked, aside from myself, would have been a cow, the cop was really a douche about it. Also, it was a clear day with absolutely perfect visibility and my car had no weird quirks at that speed, like some do. No wobbling, shuttering, spewing of smoke, etc...

So, if you were so alone and visibility was so good then where was the cop and why didn't you see him?

As for tickets not being about revenue generation: at the beat-cop level that is probably true, however the decisions about where to patrol, what infractions to "crack down on" and so forth are made at a command level. There have been a number of stories in the news about towns facing financial crisis and then deciding to add speed cameras or red light cameras for "safety."

In one case the Mayor went public with the city council's plan to raise money by installing red light cameras and then shortening the yellow lights to "induce citations."

Let's face it, governments think that the people are there to be fleeced and they will do almost anything to do so. Fuck, in Salt Lake City there is actually a tax on the area of your home's roof and driveway. The logic (if you can call it that) is that the water that falls on the roof runs into the storm drains and you should pay for that. Of course at our family home only about 10% of the roof area actually drains to the street, the entire yard is landscaped to trap water for natural irrigation.

Plus, we live in a fucking desert!

[Posmo]

I never speed btw.

[Clegko]

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

So, if you were so alone and visibility was so good then where was the cop and why didn't you see him?

Airplane enforced speed limits. Huge white lines on the shoulder every 250 foot or so, they can time you to get how fast you are going.

[yeeha]

Originally Posted by LeVeL

It depends. Usually you'd prepare a defense. There are a million approaches to it - radar ......... It was my very first time being pulled over for speeding, too.

I can see how that could get your ticket reduced but I'm still a bit surprised it got dismissed entirely but hey, whatever works. Anyway you approach it seems like an uphill battle as I'd imagine the judge will be likely to trust the officer's account. Which is why I'm surprised when people win easily.

Originally Posted by Clegko

Airplane enforced speed limits. Huge white lines on the shoulder every 250 foot or so, they can time you to get how fast you are going.

Aren't those quite inaccurate?

[LurkerPatrol]

Don't really fight 'em or think it's worth fighting them in general. If I fuck up I fuck up, just gimme the ticket and let me go without any hassles.

I've only ever gotten 1 speeding ticket though, knock on wood.

[GM_IV]

Always fight them especially the smaller ones. My cousin's car insurance crippled him after getting 2 tickets, 1 small and 1 big. I don't know why he never at least fought the smaller charge. As for myself, I never go fast enough to warrant any attention. Oddly enough, I get the sense police don't want to bother pulling over my car...the only time I got pulled over was in my company's 2009 Corolla, cop dropped his charge after I confidently insisted I didn't break the law(especially if I really didn't).

[prizrak]

Originally Posted by yeeha

Aren't those quite inaccurate?

They dont really time you by hand it is usually done using a computer. The stripes are a known space apart so you can get a very good reading on how fast a car is going. Remember V=D/T it's a tried and true formula they teach in high school physics. You might not be able to get he is going 73 in a 72 type of reading but you can get a 70 in a 50 quite easily

[tigger]

I fight all my tickets, and I've gotten all but one dismissed. I see no reason to do otherwise. It's your right to plead your case.

Originally Posted by Red_Bull

For sure it may be safe, but surely it's still going to come down to the fact that yes, you were indeed over the posted legal speed limit. Can you honestly, and successfully make a subjective argument about whether it was safe or not?

I just got out of a "82 in a 70" like that. Clear day, open 4 lane highway and I was driving perfectly safe. The trooper agreed that I was not a danger to anyone, just merely speeding, and the judge dismissed it. 12 over on a Kansas interstate is more like 2 over though, because you're not actually committing an offense unless you're going 10 over. Of course, it's still a $250 ticket.

Originally Posted by Lurch0001

Like many rules, speed limits are trying to cater for the lowest common denominator in society ...

Is that why they're so low in Texas? Really, I'm in San Antonio at the moment, and there's wide open stretches of interstate with 60-65mph speed limits. And people obey them? It boggles my mind.