fahren affair

i was ticketed by a chp this morning in so. orange county. says i was doing 100+ on the off ramp

looks like a mandatory court appearance. what can i do to mitigate my fines to something less than reckless?

Help!...please

nicoff

For starters, hire yourself a good attorney, preferably one who works in the same jurisdiction where the case will be heard. Ideally, one who plays golf with the judge!

PogueMoHone

Get a good attorney, you're looking at very serious fine plus a minimum 30 day suspenion; and an unhappy Insurance Company.

MJones

But what did he write you up for???

fahren affair

100+

PTEC

What does your previous drving record look like? If you've got a history of past speeding tickets, look out. If you havent had one in like in a few years, hope the judge is in a good mood and will allow you to take traffic school. Its unlikely but it does happen. My friend has an Mitsubishi Evo and got nailed for 100+. The judge happened to be in a good mood that day and threw the case out and gave him traffic school.

Otherwise, dress professionally and hire a lawyer who speciallizes in traffic violations. Oh and get details, as many as you can about the conditions that day, road markers, anything you can to BS your way out of it.

programmatore

You'd be lucky if you get off with merely a fine and suspended license. Here in Virginia those speeds will land you in jail in addition to a fine and suspended license. One of my co-workers got caught going 125 mph and was fined $1,000 and setenced to 60 days in county jail with work release (he had to take the bus to and from work, was not allowed to leave the office even for lunch and had to be back in jail by 7 PM with lights out 9 PM).

I don't mean to scare you but just wanted to make it clear that this is a really serious situation. Hire the best traffic attorney you can afford -- the good ones have good relationships with the prosecutors and will have a better chance of pleading down your case. I would usually recommend you have your speedometer calibrated but I doubt a judge would believe that it was over 50 mph off calibration. One last piece of advice... I'd go sign up for driver improvement school now, even before you go to court. It's a small gesture to let the judge know you're being proactive and mending your evil speeding ways.

Very best of luck to you,

.:programmatore:.

Eric - Plug Guy

Move to Canada, quickly.

100mph even in a 70 zone - you're screwed. Spend at least a grand on the best attorney you can find, and pray that you get a lenient judge. Did you have radar in the car? Did the ticket show MR or R? (moving radar or standing)

Moogle

did the cop add reckless driving onto the ticket? or just exceeding the limit

in some states, over a certain speed, or a certain speed over the posted limit defaults to reckless driving, which usually equals jail, or suspension

1999Porsche911

I got a ticket in Utah doing 102 MPH and it only cost me $300. Just a ticket written and I was on my way.

teflon_jones

I got a ticket doing 97 in a 65 off an off ramp as my first ticket in my 996. It was a $360 fine, and some points on my license. I was slowing down from 120-130 so I could exit, so I couldnt compain. Though, the light at the end of the ramp was green and I almost just floored it and took off. That resulted in a little hike in insurance of a couple of hundred $$$$$. If he didnt' get you for reckless driving, then just pay the ticket and move on!

fahren affair

this is what's on my ticket: "22348 (B) vc speed in excess of 100 mph." approx speed 107 in a 65. since it's my first offense it looks like a $500 fine and possible suspension for 30-days. fwiw, it happened at 3:30 am on a near-emtpy 10-lane freeway. i believe he paced me and was not using laser/radar.

TD in DC

He paced you at 100+????? That alone might get you off . . .

Please, just go get a good attorney . . . You would be amazed at what a professional can do when you pick the right one. It is their job to know all of the ins and outs, and he or she will be far more valuable than anything any of us can tell you on this board.

Joe2000C4Cab

Hi Fahren,

I got pegged on I-280 at 120 mph in PA, CA. The CHiP was sitting on the side of the road up hill and around a bend in the road. He actually was writing up the details from a previous stop and heard me fly by before he came after me (darn fabspeed!).

Some important points: As soon as I saw him behind me, I stopped, kept my hands clearly in the open, had a valid license/registration, lots of "Yes sir/No sir"'s. I got a ticket for the exact same violation you have, except replace 120mph your approx speed. Mandatory court appearance, I was there, alone no laywer and no cop showed. I asked the judge if I could plead guilty to 99mph, which is only one point (I had a point problem at the time...). He said No but I could plead not guilty and re-appear.

At the time I had a serious point problem and a two point ticket would mean I wouldn't be able to drive my wife to the hospital when she went into labor (6 months pregnant at the time) - talk about whoop-a$$, tell your wife you can't drive her to the hospital because you have tickets... Anyway, I took the not guilty course and came another day. I arrived early. I met the cop outside the court room and, first apologised to him for making him show up at court then, yes literally begged him to consider "amending" the ticket. I think explaining my personal situation helped a lot.

Anyway, to make an already long story longer, I asked the judge for an ammendment, the judge asked the cop if it was okay, and after some puffed chest finger pointing chastizing, I got off with 70 in a 65 zone, $235 fine, one point (less than if I had violated the car pool lane).

I wouldn't say this would work for everyone/anyone but I was cornered and had to do what I had to do. BTW, three ticket-less years gone by and my son doesn't know how close he came to being born at home. ;-)

Good luck!

Dale Gribble

that sucks man..i mean..up here in the land of the free, if the cop doesn't show, charges are dropped.. a friend got off two tickets, both of which were for 200kph in a 100kph area because the cop never showed... needless to say he smartened up after that scare..