Road trip San Diego to Denver...
03-07-2012, 04:31 PM
#31
Race Director
When I was pulled over east of Flagstaff (approx mile marker 250 (aka middle of nowhere AZ...)) on I-40 one day with the officer claiming I was going over 90mph in a 75mph zone this is what I was told.
Side note: In my opinion the officer clocked the SUV coming up behind me. This SUV had for miles and miles been zooming past my car then pulling over into the slow lane and getting stuck in slower traffic. In the meantime, while I was better at anticipating traffic flow (what else is there to do in 2K miles of driving but practice this skill) I would manage without making a big deal out of it get ahead of the SUV again. It was during one of these zooming up from behind events by this SUV that I believed set off the radar and the patrol car -- coming from the other direction -- almost had an accident slowing down and cutting across the interstate median to pull my Boxster over.
Anyhow, after the officer (make that officers: a minute or two later a 'backup' car showed up) and I exchanged pleasantries we talked.
I tried to talk my way out of the ticket and offered up things but the officer was not interested. He didn't buy the SUV thing. He probably never saw any other car but my Boxster.
He did point out that he was writing the ticket for 89mph and I should be happy with that. He said if he wrote it for more he could or might have to ('rules') write it for reckless driving or something more serious and I could end up having to post bail.
So I clammed up. (Also, I had by this time from talking with the officer gathered some info that I believed gave me a reasonable chance at having the ticket dismissed so I decided to resume this 'discussion' in court at some later time.)
(Another side note: During another trip (several years later) I got stopped on I-40 east of Amarillo for 10mph over and tried to talk the officer out of a ticket and into warning but he stated citing guidelines in effect require that for 10mph he must write a ticket.)
Anyhow, back to the AZ ticket: On the way back through Flagstaff I stopped and talked to an attorney and got some advice and made arrangements to see the PA/judge a few months later.
At the appointed time I was at the courthouse and spoke with the PA. The lack of proof of insurance charge was dropped: at the time I was pulled over I had proof of insurance in the car but under the circumstances I simply couldn't find it. BTW, had this charge remained the fine amount could be very high, IIRC $1000. (Residents of the state can be required to pay not only the initial fine but a year or two after the initial event subsequent fines. Maybe someone from AZ can confirm this?)
Anyhow, when I met with the PA she was very adamant and refused to drop the speeding charge to 'wasting natural resources' charge. She admitted to me that she had just gotten a speeding ticket not too long before this and had seen the light and was quite down on speeders. Lucky me...
Anyhow luck runs both ways.The judge was very gentle -- and I had on my very best courtroom manners/behavior -- and I ended up with less than a $100 fine and just one point.
Since I had scheduled the appearance to coincide with a trip east (and ultimately on into Fredricksburg TX) even the court appearance was not a special effort.
On a closer to (CA) home note, I read about a county -- I do not recall the county -- through which passes I-5 (main north/south interstate) said county has a judge who delights in taking away the license of speeding drivers who appear before him.
Sincerely,
Macster.
Side note: In my opinion the officer clocked the SUV coming up behind me. This SUV had for miles and miles been zooming past my car then pulling over into the slow lane and getting stuck in slower traffic. In the meantime, while I was better at anticipating traffic flow (what else is there to do in 2K miles of driving but practice this skill) I would manage without making a big deal out of it get ahead of the SUV again. It was during one of these zooming up from behind events by this SUV that I believed set off the radar and the patrol car -- coming from the other direction -- almost had an accident slowing down and cutting across the interstate median to pull my Boxster over.
Anyhow, after the officer (make that officers: a minute or two later a 'backup' car showed up) and I exchanged pleasantries we talked.
I tried to talk my way out of the ticket and offered up things but the officer was not interested. He didn't buy the SUV thing. He probably never saw any other car but my Boxster.
He did point out that he was writing the ticket for 89mph and I should be happy with that. He said if he wrote it for more he could or might have to ('rules') write it for reckless driving or something more serious and I could end up having to post bail.
So I clammed up. (Also, I had by this time from talking with the officer gathered some info that I believed gave me a reasonable chance at having the ticket dismissed so I decided to resume this 'discussion' in court at some later time.)
(Another side note: During another trip (several years later) I got stopped on I-40 east of Amarillo for 10mph over and tried to talk the officer out of a ticket and into warning but he stated citing guidelines in effect require that for 10mph he must write a ticket.)
Anyhow, back to the AZ ticket: On the way back through Flagstaff I stopped and talked to an attorney and got some advice and made arrangements to see the PA/judge a few months later.
At the appointed time I was at the courthouse and spoke with the PA. The lack of proof of insurance charge was dropped: at the time I was pulled over I had proof of insurance in the car but under the circumstances I simply couldn't find it. BTW, had this charge remained the fine amount could be very high, IIRC $1000. (Residents of the state can be required to pay not only the initial fine but a year or two after the initial event subsequent fines. Maybe someone from AZ can confirm this?)
Anyhow, when I met with the PA she was very adamant and refused to drop the speeding charge to 'wasting natural resources' charge. She admitted to me that she had just gotten a speeding ticket not too long before this and had seen the light and was quite down on speeders. Lucky me...
Anyhow luck runs both ways.The judge was very gentle -- and I had on my very best courtroom manners/behavior -- and I ended up with less than a $100 fine and just one point.
Since I had scheduled the appearance to coincide with a trip east (and ultimately on into Fredricksburg TX) even the court appearance was not a special effort.
On a closer to (CA) home note, I read about a county -- I do not recall the county -- through which passes I-5 (main north/south interstate) said county has a judge who delights in taking away the license of speeding drivers who appear before him.
Sincerely,
Macster.
03-07-2012, 06:00 PM
#32
Well - that's usually true but you can't count on it. In California any ticket for less that the max (65 or 70, depending) is actually for driving at an unsafe speed, and you can fight it on that basis. The max limit is different - it's a max. I work in the court system in California and deal with traffic tickets on a daily basis. It's not common but I do see occasional tickets for speeds that are less than 10 over.
Bottom line is that it's not likely that you'd get stopped for less than 10 over, but it does happen - and it could happen to you.
DMoore
'11 GTS
'10 P4S
03-07-2012, 06:42 PM
#33
Rennlist Member
And of course its not the speed the cop writes on the ticket in the speed clocked box that matters, its the number he writes on the top corner and circles that the judge looks at.
03-07-2012, 07:01 PM
#34
Drifting
Got pulled over years ago in my heavy moded m3. I was going with the flow of traffic at 5-6 miles above limit up hwy 1 in Austin. LEO singled me out because of the car not the speed. Thought I was only going to get a warning after a friendly chat about cars... he was an m3 enthusiast. No such luck. Had to attend traffic school. PITA. Lesson learned... they'll pick u out of a pack if they like ur car... odds r stacked against us brothers. So lawyer up n drive a red 911. 
Last edited by USMC_DS1; 03-07-2012 at 09:07 PM.
03-07-2012, 10:54 PM
#35
Rennlist Member
I am picking the 2007 997 S up at Porsche of San Diego on Friday around 6PM. I am planning to drive to Vegas that night (~325 miles) and the next day I will be driving from vegas to our place in the mountains (near Vail, CO ~650 miles).
I will bring my Passport... any other insights, tips, ideas, etc?
Should I expect a lot of speed checks, or can I open her up pretty hard?
I will bring my Passport... any other insights, tips, ideas, etc?
Should I expect a lot of speed checks, or can I open her up pretty hard?
03-07-2012, 11:10 PM
#36
8th Gear
Join Date: Mar 2012
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YMMV, but I tend to notice a lot of speedchecks right on the Nevada side of the Nevada border (as you pass Primm and such). Not so many on the California side once you clear Barstow.
You'd think they want us to get to the tables as quickly as possible, but....
You'd think they want us to get to the tables as quickly as possible, but....
03-07-2012, 11:29 PM
#37
Rennlist Member
Got pulled over years ago in my heavy moded m3. I was going with the flow of traffic at 5-6 miles above limit up hwy 1 in Austin. LEO singled me out because of the car not the speed. Thought I was only going to get a warning after a friendly chat about cars... he was an m3 enthusiast. No such luck. Had to attend traffic school. PITA. Lesson learned... they'll pick u out of a pack if they like ur car... odds r stacked against us brothers. So lawyer up n drive a red 911.
03-09-2012, 03:47 PM
#39
Rocky Mountain High
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Congrats on the new purchase.
Is your new 997 outfitted with winter tires? If not, things could get a bit dicey driving through the mountains. This is especially true at high altitude points, like Vail pass. I run winter tires on my C4S from mid-October to mid-May.
Is your new 997 outfitted with winter tires? If not, things could get a bit dicey driving through the mountains. This is especially true at high altitude points, like Vail pass. I run winter tires on my C4S from mid-October to mid-May.
03-09-2012, 06:52 PM
#40
Burning Brakes
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Join Date: Feb 2006
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No winter tires, but the weather looks pretty good, so roads should be clear/dry on the passes. If we had bad weather in the forecast, I would take a different route
03-09-2012, 08:53 PM
#41
Nordschleife Master
Watch out for high winds and dust storms... I passed through those in the last 2 days traveling part of your route. If you are lucky the winds will calm down tomorrow.
03-10-2012, 04:51 AM
#43
Rennlist Member
Safe travels my friend and post pics!
