Got a Ticket for "Speeding" at 12:30AM, How Do I Contest?

[It's Not Lupus]

where i lived, main roads are usually between 40-50 MPH. so if I didn't know the speed limit, i'd go maybe ~45, not 40. (i live on the edge.)

but I definitely would not go 60MPH (over 10-20MPH) like some dumbass and whine like a little bitch.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Yes.



Doesn't matter if it is "safe" or not. It is illegal. I wouldn't mind the speed limit being 80 on the open freeway but it isn't. It is 70 here, which is OK.



Nothing to think about there. Your argument is silly, and you do need to grow up. You sound exactly like some of those douches I knew of back in my college days who did dumb and illegal stuff and then got in a fury when they got caught.

You can do one of two things here - learn from it and respect the law, or keep acting like you're above the law and keep getting the smackdown. Your call.

Read what I said above: the law is not infallible, contrary to what you may think.

Your whole response to this has been this logical fallacy:
"Why is it wrong?"
"Because the law says so."
"Why does the law say so?"
"Because it's wrong."

It's not being debated what the many-times fallible law says, but the actual fact that it doesn't make any fucking sense at all. One example, right in my country:

Someone trespasses my property to rob me and potentially harm me. In many places, given that my property is being illegally trespassed and my life is in danger, I can defend myself by whatever means I can, including killing the trespasser.

Here, the law says that you can only attack or kill the trespasser if he is attacking you, while facing you. If you go behind the trespasser and kill him, you will be charged with murder. Does that make any sense? No.

So get your head out of your ass. Neither law nor lawmakers are perfect or without fault.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

where i lived, main roads are usually between 40-50 MPH. so if I didn't know the speed limit, i'd go maybe ~45, not 40. (i live on the edge.)

but I definitely would not go 60MPH (over 10-20MPH) like some dumbass and whine like a little bitch.

It was safe for the conditions. And you're the dumbass.

 

[jagec]

Read what I said above: the law is not infallible, contrary to what you may think.

So? Hate to break it to you, but speeding and then getting ticketed for it doesn't make you Rosa Parks. It just makes you an idiot who should have seen that coming.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Hope your fine will get dropped or reduced. I have been there but got a warning.

 

[qliveur]

Do not prepay. Go to court.

I got out of a reckless driving ticket because I had my car's speedometer tested and I was respectful to the judge when everyone before me had tried to bullshit him. I got off with traffic school, no fine and no points on my license instead.

It never hurts to go to traffic court.

 

[masterxfob]

you f'ed up. pay the fine. it's only $150 for crying out loud.

after having read some of your responses, i can safely assume that you're an idiot.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Read what I said above: the law is not infallible, contrary to what you may think.

Your whole response to this has been this logical fallacy:
"Why is it wrong?"
"Because the law says so."
"Why does the law say so?"
"Because it's wrong."

It's not being debated what the many-times fallible law says, but the actual fact that it doesn't make any fucking sense at all. One example, right in my country:

Someone trespasses my property to rob me and potentially harm me. In many places, given that my property is being illegally trespassed and my life is in danger, I can defend myself by whatever means I can, including killing the trespasser.

Here, the law says that you can only attack or kill the trespasser if he is attacking you, while facing you. If you go behind the trespasser and kill him, you will be charged with murder. Does that make any sense? No.

So get your head out of your ass. Neither law nor lawmakers are perfect or without fault.

You're being dense, and I think on purpose. I am not even suggesting a law is infallible. And you're focusing on a logical fallacy that you've come up with in your own mind to apply to me, that I'm not even using.

"Why is it wrong?"
"Because the law says so."
"Why does the law say so?"
"Because they said so."

Yes. JUST BECAUSE. For the vast majority of cases a speed limit is an arbitrary number, mostly based on type of road, number of lanes, average traffic, etc. Sometimes, yes, the number is stupid low. I've also seen roads where the speed limit is really probably too high for the area, though that is far less common.

A speed limit by in large does not have a moral ground to stand on. It is simply a rule. Break that rule, and you face the punishment. Simple concept.

You can whine and complain that laws aren't infallible all you want, but that has absolutely nothing to do with it. You were going faster than the arbitrarily set legal limit, and got caught, so you are getting fined for it. DEAL WITH IT.

 

[Pray To Jesus]

5 lane road = 3/2 split = normal st.

Halfwit goes 60 down a 40mph street because he thinks it's "safe".

A lot of drunken people also think it's "safe" to drive home while drunk.

 

[LOL_Wut_Axel]

Hope your fine will get dropped or reduced. I have been there but got a warning.

We'll see. I think I stand a good chance because here most cops don't bother going to court for it. At least that's what the friends and coworkers I spoke with told me.

Do not prepay. Go to court.

I got out of a reckless driving ticket because I had my car's speedometer tested and I was respectful to the judge when everyone before me had tried to bullshit him. I got off with traffic school, no fine and no points on my license instead.

It never hurts to go to traffic court.

I won't prepay, definitely. I'll make an affidavit, show up to court, and hopefully the cop won't be there. If he is, only things I could do is argue that the last sign I passed was for 50MPH, and that it was safe for the conditions. And maybe that it was the first time it happened.

you f'ed up. pay the fine. it's only $150 for crying out loud.

after having read some of your responses, i can safely assume that you're an idiot.

Yeah... I'd rather save that money for other things like college or entertainment. $22K a year isn't a lot.

And I can safely assume that you're the idiot because only idiots resort to using personal attacks as if they were arguments.

 

[AdamantC]

I take it you also advocate stopping and ticketing everyone who goes 80-85MPH on the interstate instead of the posted 55-65MPH limit, right? They go at that speed because it's safe for the conditions. I was going at 60MPH because 1) it's 12:30 AM and there's no traffic or civilians and 2) I wasn't expecting a 5-lane road to have such a low speed limit. It was safe for the condition, but clearly not safe for the police department's wallet.

Think about that before you say to anyone they should "grow up."

It's a public road not your personal race track that caters to your every whim. Every post you make just shows that you have absolutely no interest what so ever in your own safety, much less those of the other people on the road.

Quite frankly it's amazing you even got a driver's license to begin with.

 

[chimaxi83]

Its pretty funny how many traffic cops show up out of nowhere to police Internet traffic laws :Colbert:

 

[hans030390]

You're making this situation more complicated than it actually is. Quit being so stubborn about it.
You are making 20 year-olds and yourself look childish. No one said laws are perfect (they aren't), but they are the laws. You are free to disagree with laws and work towards changing them, but if you break the laws as they currently are and get caught, there will be consequences to pay. If you're lucky, sometimes you can weasel your way out of punishment (in this case, the cop not showing up to court).

I'm sure nearly everyone speeds, even if just a little bit. That's not the issue. I think you could even reason that you were technically driving safely, but that does not change the fact that you were speeding by at least 10MPH. Whether or not you were aware doesn't matter. Even though you were unfortunate enough to have been caught in a transitional speed limit area (spots like those are tricky and easily missed or often speed traps where police often wait), you were still speeding and got caught doing it. There is nothing else to it.

A person with a shred of maturity and integrity would be able to accept this fact, no matter how unfortunate, and the consequences that come from it. Even if they decided to try to work their way out of having to pay the consequences, they still don't have to whine about the ticket, the cop, the system, etc. You have not chosen to carry yourself in such a way...not even remotely.

Even then, this does not sound like a situation or set of laws worth getting upset about. There are much less petty things to complain about in the world. And, even then, rational action is better than incessant whining and stubbornness.

 

[yhelothar]

Here in California, you can speed and still be legal. If the ticket is for unsafe speed, you just have to prove the speed you were doing was safe to do so based on the conditions. Most of the time that means no pedestrians were in danger. Now if you get a ticket for exceeding the maximum speed, those are much harder to get out of. When being pulled over, its best if asked, do you know how fast you were going, is to reply with yes. I was going a speed I feel was safe at the time, do not say no you don't. You want to show you were paying attention and driving safely.

This. Check to see if your state has prima facie speed laws instead of just willfully taking it up the ass because "the law says so" without taking into account of the spirit of the law.

 

[Ackmed]

You have not read the thread. Like I said earlier, I went through that road today and took notice of the posted speed limits. Around two miles behind where I was stopped there was one for 50MPH and 1/4 mile ahead where I was stopped was the 40MPH limit sign.

Even if what you say is accurate (which I doubt) you were STILL speeding. You just admitted to it. Stop being an idiot, and just pay it. Or go to court any use any excuse you can, and hope the judge has mercy on you. It doesn't matter if you think it was safe to go 60mph, that is not the speed limit. It doesn't matter if you agree with the law.

Who cares? The law makes no sense, except obviously for the police dept. because they get a good amount of revenue for it.

Police do not make the law, they enforce it. Some people are just fucking stupid.

Pedestrians walking along at 12:30 AM... LOL, k. And I just checked and in the area there weren't posted speed limits. About 1/2 a mile from where I was stopped there was one for 50MPH and 1/4 mile up from where I was stopped there was the posted 40MPH limit.

And one of those circumstances is that the 40MPH limit sign was posted 1/4 mile ahead from where I was stopped and the other speed limit sign was for 50MPH, back two miles from where I was stopped. I'd just gone to the area earlier today since it's pretty close.

I didn't see any posted limits because there were none in the area.

First you claim that the 50mph sign was a half mile back, then suddenly to bolster your case, it is now two miles back. As I said before, it doesn't matter you were STILL speeding. Going at least 10mph over, by your own admission. Too man youths these days think they're entitled, when in fact you aren't. Just another silly kid who wants to cry about something they did to themselves.

 

[Geosurface]

Been driving now for about two decades and despite having lived in 5 different states in that time (and driving through most of the others), and despite the fact that I exceed the posted speed limit regularly, I have never gotten a single ticket.

And mind you, I've lived in some areas where the cops love them some tickets. Particularly Washington state, where their tax system necessitates them not only milking drivers any chance they get, but hitting them VERY hard when they do. I heard some horror stories out there from other guys in the Navy about some very sizable fines.

My secret? I am reasonable about it.

I go over the limit by a reasonable amount (4 or 5 mph usually) and it's very contextual. I pay attention to my surroundings, I make it my concern to be aware of the speed limit by looking for signs, and if it's daytime and I'm on the highway between towns (frequently am) I will go up to maybe about 15 over the limit in certain circumstances, if the rest of traffic is doing so, etc. I make sure I'm never the juiciest target for the cops, though. I always let some Massachusetts driver (I'm in Connecticut and they zoom through) be the fastest one out there on the road. They oblige.

At night, it's much easier to be the most tempting target for the cop because you may be the only car he sees for a while. So at night, I am more careful still. 4 or 5 mph over on those same highways, and not an iota over in the towns.

Your situation sounds like it may not have been entirely your own fault if it was a 5 lane and if the speed limit signs were poorly placed (if I read you right, the last sign you could've seen was a 50 and you hadn't yet reached the first one to say 40?) so I sympathize. If you go to court over it, I agree with what someone else said, be respectful and humble.

And whether you beat this ticket or not, use this as a learning experience and from now on, play it smarter and be more reasonable about how you speed. If you don't, you'll be paying a lot of tickets over the coming years. Particularly if your state needs revenue badly.

 

[rh71]

I remember my first speeding ticket. I felt like shit afterward and thought it was the end of the world. Guilt, I guess you could say. But really it's just money and you live another day. Seriously. Put it behind you and don't do it again. At least not 20 over, especially when you're the only car on the road - that happened to be my first ticket too. Flow of traffic keeps you under the radar.

Anyway, your first mistake here is trying to make excuses to us on the internet. Nobody wants to hear a guilty person tell sob stories. If you're still on the internet 5-10 years from now, you will realize and feel the same way about others doing it.

If you insist on fighting it, our county has a system where if you plea not guilty you show up to court with all the other offenders and they call you up individually. If the offense isn't too serious and you have no (or few) priors, they will lower your offense and fine as long as you plea guilty. No need to explain why you did it or whether it was just - they are not judges, and you don't need a lawyer. I'm guessing this puts less strain on their court system with fewer trials and they still get paid something. All we have to do is say ok, pay the lowered fine, and go. If you don't take their deal, then you have to go back yet again for the actual trial, which many don't want to hassle with since it seems they purposely make you come twice. I'm guessing a lot of places work like this.

Over the 20 years of driving, I've had a handful of speeding tickets. My last one I hired a lawyer to try and reduce it for me because I was 25 over (50mph limit) and it wasn't even a radar gun he used but estimation. My lawyer said all they could really do is reduce it, in court. He purposely postponed each date they gave him within a year. I'm guessing this lessens the chance the cop will appear in court. In the end he reduced me but I still ended up spending close to what the total fines would have been minus about $100. As for points on your license, a defensive driving class did not allow me to wipe any points away - the DMV person said if I'm 11pts or over, then I can use it to do so. It was a waste other than the insurance discount.

 

[diesbudt]

It was safe for the conditions. And you're the dumbass.

It does not matter if it is safe for the conditions. The law was still broken. The speed limit is NOT "A safe speed based on conditions". It is X mph. if you are greater than X, caught and the police officer pulls you over. That is it.

You cannot claim "Oh... but it was safe for the conditions..." Because that does not fly in a court of law. Also night time, and weather are UNSAFE conditions in most areas of the world, and thus require you to be at or in some cases 5 BELOW the limit.

 

[rudeguy]

you guys are trying to talk logically to a snot nosed kid. He needs to learn the hard ware.

We should encourage him to speed more. Maybe he will Darwin himself and we can all finally go back to flaming Alky

 

[brianmanahan]

You got what you deserve and would never win an argument otherwise. Pay up chump

this

lol @ the OP

 

[brianmanahan]

That doesn't mean that they're infallible, which they are.

so you admit they are infallible?

/thread

 

[diesbudt]

you guys are trying to talk logically to a snot nosed kid. He needs to learn the hard ware.

We should encourage him to speed more. Maybe he will Darwin himself and we can all finally go back to flaming Alky

I could try and talk swag to him, but I am pretty certain that is bad for my health.

 

[rudeguy]

I could try and talk swag to him, but I am pretty certain that is bad for my health.

you know what else is bad for your health?

/ice cube

 

[Jeffg010]

So what about your claim that there was no sign saying it was 40? You not going post prof of that? I think your full of hot air.

 

[Schfifty Five]

so you admit they are infallible?

/thread

LOL.