clubrcr

Can someone chime in and help me.

I was driving in south Georgia last night on interstate 95. I had my cruise set on 80, while the speed limit was only 70. Of course I was speeding, but...I had a fly up behind at an excessive rate of speed, and i get pulled over, as the guy behind me.

I had two others in the car that can verify that I wasn't going 89 because others kept passing us, but unfortunately, they couldn't see the speedometer. Of course the officer wouldn't listen to anything I had to say.

When the officer came to my car, he wanted to know if the car that was behind me and I were traveling together. I said no. He took my license and wrote me a ticket for 89/70. He said he clocked me on radar, but my valentine one never went off. It had gone off several time within the last coupe of hours.

I am going to court over this ticket, but I was curious if anyone had any suggestion besides slow down or if there are attornies in Georgia the can help.

Can I get the Porsche dealership to show on paper the speed at any given time with the OBD info on a '16 Cayenne Turbo?

Thanks in advance.

Mike Murphy

I've been pulled over more than 50 times in my life and received probably 15 warning and maybe 20 tickets. I have a clean record and always have.

Trust me when i say that 'proving' anything doesn't matter. You don't have a case.

If you have a clean record, just go to court, please your case but be respectful (that is key). Please not guilty but when/ I you are found guilty, ask the judge to please allow you to take a safety class and ask for supervision. If he gives you 18-24 months supervision, ask for 12 or 6 months instead based on your clean record and this one time incident.

Your goal is to take the class and not have the points affect your record. And there's always a chance the other cop doesn't show up.

If you pay an attorney, the cost will be higher, but you might not have to go to court. Up to you, based on your time vs. money situation.

clubrcr

The money really isn't the issue. To be truthful, I would have paid the ticket and said, I have gotten away with speeding for years. But....My 16 year old son was in the car. After the policeman gave us the ticket, he said what are you going to do. I said, most likely pay the ticket. He said, were you speeding, I said no, not even close to the speed on the ticket. My son said, that would be lying if you plead guilty, and you have taught us to tell the truth.

I know life isn't fair, but what do you tell you child?

I guess it would come down to...would the court give more mercy to someone trying to plead their case, or an attorney that knows the law? I feel the attorney might have a better chance?

By the way, I do have a clean driving record, this would be my second speeding ticket in over 25 years years.

Mike Murphy

You were going 10 miles over the limit, so you were speeding. If you told the cop that you weren't, your son already hear you lie to the cop.

It's a common misconception that people think that pleading guilty means you are lying. On the tickets I receive - you might read the fine print on yours - says that pleading guilty is not an admission of guilt, or something to that effect.

Mike Murphy

You don't have to tell them anything. They already figured it out. But if you must, "you speed and break the law, and you risk being caught and you are faced with the consequences." "And sometimes the consequences are up for interpretation and some of it is luck and some of it is money and some of it is an attorney."

clubrcr

I never told the cop I wasn't speeding. To the contrary, I told him I had cruise on at 80. I told him the truth. The difference is 9 mph, and in Georgia that's a big deal. I'll take the ticket for what I was doing. My son and and I discuss that. But not for something I didn't do.

champignon

If you told the cop you were going 80, you are, unfortunately, toast already.

sorry.

jennifer911

Keep in mind that all Porsche speedometers read high (the odometer is about right though). Our 911 is about three and half mph high at 80. So, you were more likely only doing 77 in the 70 zone. Still speeding, but much closer to the tolerance most cops will allow.

Mike Murphy

Well, the difference between 89 and 80 in a 70mph zone might actually have different points and/or fine levels. So again, I would just go to court, plead your case, and get the guilty verdict with supervision. It's the cheapest/best outcome in my opinion.

champignon

This has been my experience with current BMWs. I checked the speedo on my 996 TT multiple times with a GPS app on my cellphone during the 900+ mile drive back home after I bought my car about a month ago. It was, surprisingly, spot on.

Mike Murphy

Yeah, good advise is for everyone who likes to speed to check their speedometer with a GPS device or app on your phone. I assumed my wife's German SUV (Audi Q5) was high, but the officer that pegged me reported my speed exactly as it was displayed on my car's gauge. Our old BMW was 7mph fast. Interestingly, my 996 is about 2.5-3mph fast, both at 25mph and also at 80mph. So it wasn't a percent/margin of speed, but rather a markup of speed.

lencap

Seems you have at least two issues - how to deal with the ticket, and how to deal with your son's questions. I can't help on the latter, but I'll share my experience with tickets.

I was cited for speeding in an out of state town as I crested a hill and came down the other side. The speed limit was 15 MPH slower over the hill, and there was no warning of the slower speed. As I crested the hill I saw the sign, but it was too late. Clearly this design wasn't accidental.

I didn't want to return to the town, and they likely didn't expect me to, but I felt the ticket was unfair. I called the local courthouse, asked to speak with the court clerk and asked her to provide me the names of several attorneys that regularly appear in the local traffic court. She didn't want to do that, but I reminded her that court records are public documents, and that sharing the names of attorneys that appear in court is perfectly legal and appropriate.

She gave me the names of three attorneys. I called the first name on the list, and after a very brief intro I explained my situation. He asked; "Did officer "X" issue the citation?" Yes, I said. "Were you cited for going 14 MPH over the limit?" Again, yes. He said: "He does that all the time, always 14 MPH over the limit. Go to your local DMV, request a certified copy of your driving history, and send it to me. I'll take care of everything." I did, and he did. My citation was changed to "defective equipment", and I agreed to take a driving safety class in my local area. Since I just completed my MSF advanced safety class, the attorney had the court accept that class as meeting my requirements. I paid his fee, and was very happy. No citation, no insurance points, and minimal hassle.

In my opinion, having a local attorney who knows everyone in town is the preferred way to go. The fee was very reasonable for the outcome I got. The choice is yours, but consider how challenging it may be to argue your case in person, especially if you don't have any knowledge of local people.

Good Luck.

champignon

I received a speeding ticket about 6 or 7 years ago. The cop was especially annoying, and gave me a lecture telling me that it was illegal to exceed the speed limit by "1 mile per hour, FOR ANY REASON." He then asked me if I had a "Lawful Reason for having exceeded the speed limit?" Obviously this was a set up question, given the way he phrased it.

Be aware that many, most, or perhaps all of these cops will have recording devices on their persons, and any questions they ask that produces a response from you are likely to produce a record that could be used against you in court. So, be polite, but don't admit guilt and don't give responses that could be interpreted as an admission of guilt. This particular state policeman had quite a reputation, and I personally know several people who were ticketed by him over the years even though the area that he patrolled, a rural area, was more than 100 miles away from where I and my friends ticketed by this S.O.B. live.

Ultimately, this fellow was reprimanded by the state and removed from his position, from what I have heard, and I have not seen his sneaky *** the last couple of years even though I pass through what was his patrol area 2-3 X per month, both directions.

My other point is that some states have ways to get out of tickets that may be unique to the state itself. In Idaho, there is a process called a "Bond Forfeiture," which is what I used in my own situation. I don't know if any other states have this, but they may have something similar. Basically, in our case, what happens is that you call the prosecuting attorney's office in the county where you got the ticket, and if you have an otherwise clean record, they will usually let you do this. What happens is that the infraction, with which you were charged, cannot be changed, however they can elevate it to become a misdemeanor, which is more serious. You then post a bond which is 2X the amount that your ticket would have cost, if paid. Then, when it gets to the judge's desk he throws the whole thing out of court, you lose your bond, and your infraction/ticket/now misdemeanor disappears. I don't know what happens to the money you just lost, but my theory is that it goes into the courthouse lunch fund.

I only found out about this option when I bumped into an attorney acquaintance at my local post office shortly after getting the ticket. He did not represent me, but he instructed me to call the prosecuting attorney as above, and the rest is history (actually, there is no history as the whole thing disappeared, forever, into the ether).

My guess is that other states have this sort of thing available, just it probably differs by state and or jurisdiction. If you are a habitual offender, they probably won't let you off, but if it was a one-off ticket with no others recently, there probably is a way that you can get out of it, although it may cost you more than just paying the ticket would have cost.

clubrcr

Thanks for all the information.I spent most of yesterday reading through articles about what to do. I also spoke with a couple of attorney friends to get their take on the situation. Apparently, there are several things you can do, and I will be going to court on this one. I'll come back later and give an update.

On the way home and I checked my speed via GPS on several apps. It was within 1mph on everyone one.

Just to be clear, I am not trying to get out f a ticket. In Georgia, they have enacted a "super ticket". These tickets are more expensive and more points. The officer pulled me over with another car. He gave a ticket to the other person at 88/70. He said the car must have been traveling with me because we both had Florida tags. He gave me a ticket for 89/70. Th extra mil per hour is an extra point on my license and $200. How did my speed get 1mph higher? Both of these tickets are super tickets. He also put that it was raining, which is was not. He also said he used radar on me, which he didn't. This was a speed trap, and because of the inconsistencies, the ticket could be thrown out, at worse, I will get a ticket for 80/70 which I was doing, and not get the extra 2 points, and pay the fine regular fine plus court fees. In any event, it will save me time and money by hiring an attorney and let them fight this one for me. These small town cops love to bully people in expensive cars.

Mike Murphy

So you have to do an attorney AND go to court? I thought you wouldn't have to go to court if you hired an attorney?