MJones

Most likely the CHP had radar....

They drive their beat 8 hrs a day and see it all, no need to make up stories.

Doubt that your sons friend was watching the speedo.

A situational awareness lesson

OldGuy

THis is out in the boonies we live on the eastern side of the SIerras The county court there
was in a movie once. the whole county of Inyo has about 20000 people. We have that many at Home Depot on Sat.
what is the penalty for 100mph?
Jones I use my V1 there all the time NEVER Goes off. Lots of 2 lane. I think they pace.

Noesis

No one here can know what speed your son was actually going. At this point, it doesn't really even matter because you are going to have to fight it regardless.

What bothers me is the behavior of the police office to your son and to you on the phone. That's what the real issue is, in my opinion. You need to speak with your lawyer on how to handle it, because you don't want to cause more trouble for your son either.

Ahmet

I find it pretty comical that you're convinced your 18 year old son did not do over 80, and you trust him with that. Also of note is how alert he was when he mistook a cop for an ambulance, according to the story anyway.

We've all been 18, very few of us actually obeyed all laws at that age. You ought to get a lawyer but there's a couple of things at play here aside from what I've already mentioned;
Hard to tell who's driving an SUV before pulling them over, especially from behind. I imagine he was doing something worth being pulled over for, and I think I can see a cop being quite irritated by a kid he pulled over for speeding (let's just say well over the speed limit) who actually answered a phone call during the stop.
Ahmet

SpeedGeek

From my own experiences (just a couple) in California, the courts consider officers to be experts in judging speed even if they don't have some form of proof. If it comes down to the officer's word against your 18 yo son's, you're not likely to succeed.

It's possible you may find an attorney who can find some loophole in the case, or you may get a judge whose feeling kind, or maybe the officer won't turn up at the court that day. But you might want to consider the option of just letting you son feel the pain of being caught speeding and going through the process. It's all part of growing up.

Of course if you're absolutely certain the officer was just out to get your son, then I guess fighting for justice would be the right thing.

Good luck.

roberga

the insurance increase is the cost to worry about. Good Luck.

SpeedGeek

Unless he's allowed to do a traffic school.

RonCT

I'm just realizing this now - your son is talking to you on the cell phone in front of the officer? No wonder he got the 3rd degree. I think you have to understand that all across the US kids (16-19) are dying left, right, and center in accidents that were avoidable. Here in central CT we lost about 10 kids in the past 12 months, all due to speed. One real tragic one was 4 local kids in a STI doing 120 on a local highway, lost it, and all 4 are dead. CT just adopted new laws to really clamp down on teen driving and the penalties if caught just got severe.

Sounds like an uphill battle. Perhaps take your lumps and go to court with your son and plead for leniency. Perhaps if your son owns up to the judge that he was speeding and that he learned his lesson, maybe you'll get lucky.

roberga

traffic school will not help if he is nailed for the 102. That is 30mph over the limit. A lot of places it is an automatic reckless driving.

SpeedGeek

I was nailed for 75 in a 40 (not proud of it, but it was very late at night and not residential). $300 and traffic school, and it was done. Santa Clara County. About 6 years ago - maybe the laws have changed.

supercup

The issue is not the 30 mph + it is the 100 mph +. He is unlikely to get traffic school and no other penalty. I would get him a lawyer and get prepared for some bad news. 100 + mph tickets are generally $1,200 +, he may loose his license for a short time as well. The target should be to get it reduced to a lower speed.

The officer has video of the entire incident in his car, the question is can you get a copy, if you can it will likely be in his favor. Regardless the officer's word and even without radar is going to carry the day. But all CHP cars have radar now so I would suspect he was using it.

Tell your son next time (he is 18 and there will be a next time) to ask the CHP officer to show him the read out. That won't make them happy, but it will give you the facts. I have done that 2 times, each time the reaction was why? The response is because you are required to show me if I request to see it. 1 time it was exactly what he said and I thanked him. The other time the read out was 10 mph lower than he had stated. He insisted it was higher in the prior reading, when in court the judge threw out the ticket when the officer made his claim of the prior lower reading after he agreed with my story that it read lower than on the ticket.

Regardless a 100 + mph ticket should not be taken lightly, especially for an 18 year old, where a judge is likely to look to teach him a lesson.

Good luck,

JCM

Ahmet

I believe cops are required to demonstrate that they can guesstimate a vehicle's speed to a certain accuracy by sight before they're allowed to issue such tickets with a specific number. Regardless, when it comes down to he said vs. what the cop says, the judge won't side with you, regardless of how true your side may be.

If I've learned one thing from my driving record, it's that it's ALWAYS worth it to pay for a lawyer. Hope there aren't "under 21" or "over 100mph" sorts of special cases in California like there are here. For example, I believe speeding by more than 15mph in a 55 or higher zone carries a far harsher penalty than it would in a below 55mph zone (which makes no sense to me).
Ahmet

Alan Smithee

I got my first big ticket driving to Mammoth when I was 18, too...and I told my old man I wasn't going over 80 as well.

Fortunately, the cop took it easier on me. Even though he had to radio ahead and set up a road block in Bishop because he wasn't gaining any ground on me at 110mph, he wrote me up for 80+.

I still drive up to Mammoth a few times a year. My V1 saves me at least once each way...both the local sheriffs and the CHP use radar.

roberga

virginia was automatic reckless driving at 25 MPH over the limit. at least it was in 1985.

SpeedGeek

Damn, that's pretty harsh.