Got nailed by a cop doing 50mph in a 25mph. Can't believe I didn't hear my V-1 go off. The road I was travelling is a major artery but speed limit varies between due to the towns it goes through, ranging from 25 to 40mph. This what happens when you pass a bored cop on a Saturday afternoon.

Thankfully he wrote me up for doing 30 in a 25, so I wouldn't get any points. No arguments from me there (I guess the definition of a lucky day is relative). Still, it's gonna cost me $115, and more importantly, my pretty much unblemished record. Four more months and I would've had my 10th anniversary of being ticket free (ironically, last one was a 40 in a 25mph zone by the Stanford golf course!).

Oh, and I'm sure everyone got a kick seeing a cop pull over a red Porsche!

 

30 in a 25 zone?.......????
A few years ago I got a 59 in a 55 zone........I know how I got it......and....heres what I did......Officer....."do you know how fast you were going?"......me.......(bad day at work) yeah...... about 60.....are you gonna write the ticket...or did you pull me over to look at the car!!!!!!.....".....I got the ticket.......This was not one of the smarther things I've done......

 

Rezal,
you may be able to go to court and get the fine dismissed
I have gone to court twice and won, hence I have
not paid a ticket in 18 years. another option is
traffic school. 5miles over the speed limit is pushing it.
the judge may dismiss it, or the cop may not show up.
The only thing I would worry about is the officer saying
in court you were doing 50. But then he may not want to say that
in front of the Judge.

 

I thought about the court thing but was concerned that the cop might tell the judge what my actual speed was. The fact that this happened in a low-crime suburban area means that the cop would probably have the time to appear in court. I have feeling that in the future, any cop pulling up my record and seeing 30 in a 25, probably knows that I was given a break as anyone here knows, one almost never gets a ticket for doing 5mph over (unless of course you pull a "Phil McGrath"!)

 

I wouldn't be worried about the officer telling the judge how fast you were really going..... I WOULD be worried about that PO'd officer making sure you got a really good (BIG) ticket next time. And you aren't driving a car that will blend in with the crowd!!

I am guessing that in 10 years you 'have' broken a few traffic laws ?? I know i sure have. count yourself lucky that the one ticket you DID get was from an officer who gave you a break. (you were going double the speed limit, whether the limit there was too low or not)

just my 2 cents.

my first speeding ticket in about 10 years was for going about 42 mph in a 31 mph (50kph) an industrial area on a Sunday. a basically abandoned street. it took me awhile to calm down after that one....but I just thought " in the last 10 years, I have gone quite fast at times....if i have to get one ticket...i'd guess i better not b!tch about it being a small one"

max

 

I have to agree with you Max. Statistically, it was bound to happen. I've gotten at least three warnings, spotted cops too many times to count, been fortunately stuck behind traffic while approaching one numerously, had the V-1 beep a few times, and saved from being caught from a serious speeding ticket once because the 996TT I was following got a call from his buddy ahead!

I'm probably gonna pay this one and just hope that my next lucky streak will last just as long, if not longer (knock on wood).

 

Investigate pleading no contest (no lo contendre) in your state--don't plead guilty by signing the ticket until you do!

You pay your fine and drive "nicely" for a year and poof...no points on record. Laws and details likely vary by state...disclaimer--I am not a lawyer, just a satisfied customer!

 

Rezal,

As OG said, I would definitely go to court and see if the judge will give you probation before judgment. Hopefully, you won't be the first case of the day, and you can see how the judge operates and whether it's wise to plead innocent or guilty. Most likely, it's best to plead guilty and let the judge know that you've had a clean driving record for almost ten years, that you'd like to keep it that way and that you promise to be a good boy in your fancy rich guy's sports car.

I have been taking this approach for nearly fifteen years, and except for a speeding ticket in North Carolina that was too far for me to contest, my record has been spotless. I think I've been given PBJ at least six times in that time span. Oh, if it can be done in PA, don't forget to expunge your record so that no record is found should you get pulled over by a cop or have to appear before a judge again.

$115 isn't too bad; if you break it down over a nine year period, it only cost you about $13 to speed every year.

 

Ok, perhaps "rant" was the wrong word then.

As for the speed limit, well, there's the law and there's what people do. This street is not unlike El Camino Real in the Bay Area. Major thoroughfare, goes through several towns, traffic lights etc. Yet, I see folks doing 50 on El Camino all the time. At least with El Camino, it's always going through towns. With this one, you have nice stretch of 40mph speed limit with light traffic, beautiful trees on the side, and then suddenly you're in a 25. Where I got pulled over, less than 50 yards ahead (it was close enough that I could read the sign clearly) was a 40mph speed limit sign (and entering a town, nevertheless). Don't know if Hwy 1 does that to you near Monterey!

Still, the law is the law. I'll look into the court thing.

 

I would go to court and tell the judge that I was tuning the radio and didn't notice I went 5mph over. I strongly think that he'll dismiss it 'cause it's only 5mph over(radar gun are given +/- 10 for error rate, hence the 10 mph theory)). I wouldn't worry about the patrol cop saying you were actually doing 50 because the judge is gonna take that against him for "derelection of duty".

Good luck.

 

Rezal,

I read this post, and then went somewhere else and just had to come back and reply.

The officer was doing his job and was probably doing it while still showing some compassion. Had he written you for the real speed you most likely would be looking at points and it might have an impact on your insurance rates which translated into real money.

Now you want to go to court and challenge him. I really don't think that's a good thing. If for no other reason than the next time he stops someone in a Porsche he's gonna think back about that a'hole that he tried to be nice to and then challenged him in court. I do know that the police are usually receptive to a discussion prior to going before the judge to see if he (or she) night be agreeable to amending the ticket to a non moving violation. That usually translates to a no points citation but I think you are already there (if not give it a try). It probably won't change the fine that much.

I hope I don't sound unsympathetic but I really think people should start taking responsibility for their actions. If one wants to speed then pay the fine when they get caught. Don't create a problem for our police and legal system by being a pain. I know that's not what you are trying to do, and are simply discussing your situation, but there are other posters that don't approach this the same way as you are.


Michael

 

You can also investigate making a deal for deferred adjudication. Since you haven't gotten a ticket in ten years, I bet the prosecutor would agree to this, since you haven't had any recent tickets and since this one is only five over.

Deferred is where the ticket is dismissed if you don't get another ticket in six months. The officer would not even need to be involved...this is just between you and the prosecutor; the prosecutor would then take the recommendation to the judge, who would probably would accept it.

Not sure that possibility exists in your area though.

In Austin, it is de rigeur to challenge every ticket. I would never just plead guilty or no contest and pay the fine. What's the worst thing that can happen if you challenge a ticket? You lose and have to pay the fine...no worse off than you would have been.

I have received about 6 tickets in the past 6 or so years from APD, and every one has been eventually dismissed; I did deferred on one.

This isn't a problem for the legal system; this is how the legal system works.

 

Phil, You could have said worse. Like

"yeah...... about 60.....are you gonna write the ticket...or did you pull me over to look my STOCK car!!!!!!"?

 

Rezal,

Going to court to contest the ticket is your right, and it's the law, just like the law that every single one of us breaks when we go one mph over the speed limit.

Your presence in court, provided you are not contentious, does not mean you are challenging the officer. You are merely asking for some mercy from the court. You are not telling the judge that you think the officer was an inattentive boob who got the wrong car, failed to calibrate his radar gun, etc, etc. Judges, who have a low tolerance for people who think they are fools, have heard EVERY excuse there is; I would surmise your honesty in the matter, as well as your clean driving record, will go a long way in keeping your license pristine.

 

Just curious. I drive without one in CA (where its requried) but haven't been ticketed. I even had a speeding ticket (65 in a 50) and the cop didn't mention the missing plate. With the use of red light camera's I wonder if they are going to crack down on the front lic. plate deal.