Now, I don't know how many of you have cars and ever drove and got a speeding ticket, but after all these years of driving, I finally got my first speeding ticket on the highway. I just came back home and after claming myself down, I realize this is the most retarded thing I ever seen. Now, I don't want this to be a rant blog so I'll have a separate section just for that.
/rant
So apparently I was going home from a long day of school which is considered my last day of spring break, having to do some unfinished project. After chilling at the clubhouse I'm at usually, I decided to go home at my usual driving which is always speeding 10+ on both locals and highway but make it hard to pick me out b/c I would mostly speed along with others. And with my usual route and driving, I almost approach at my exit of where my house is and I realized I was going 70ish on a 50 mph but so was others ahead of me. But then this cop come out of nowhere forcing me to pull over where I was so close to exit yet so far.
The cop comes out and tells me I went 72 on a 50 mph. I told him I was on my way home from a long day of school and kind of signify that I'm just a poor college student who happen to drive a 2008 nissan altima coupe. He was so BM to me demanding my ID, insurance, and car info as he looked at me in a glared eyes as I take out those stuff. He didn't want to engage a conversation with him, whatever questions I threw at him, he refused to answer and talk to me. At the end, he gave me my very first speeding ticket which I never seen one my entire life of 3.5 years of driving. I asked him how much this is and if this gets points on my license and he just walks away to the car unwilling and refusing to talk to me. I was so angry as he RUSHES AND DRIVES OFF SPEEDING out of the highway.
I took my exit that was like 20 seconds away from me and pulled over nearby right before my house. I checked out the ticket, didn't really know how much it cost nor how many points it's worth until I read through everything. Apparently, speeding is 185 dollars plus a 80 dollars fee for other things AND 6 POINTS ON MY LICENSE. FML.
/endrant
So now I am raging over still right now, unsure what the hell I should do, how to break this up to my parents when they arrive home, and literally tearing up myself within myself thinking of dedicating my life to take revenge on this cop if I ever see him again.
I want to know if anyone else had other similar experience or what their first speeding ticket experience was like. Thanks!
P.S. Oh, if anyone has any real official advice to help me out somehow in this situation, I would honor any and all of you. And, I live in NYC so this was in Staten Island expressway.
go contest the ticket in court. chances are the cop won't show up, which helps your case. then, the best excuse to give to the judge is that: you don't have any money. state that simply and firmly. this will 100% guaranteed lower your ticket by a chunk. best of luck.
ya speeding tickets suck. I got my first on my sportbike last year, but thankfully I only got it for going 15 over cause I was "honest" haha turned out to only be like 70 bucks and I think and 2 demerits. Clear after that though, hoping to stay clean this summer.
You didn't notice you were going 70 mph in a 50 mph zone? There is quite a bit of difference in the feel of 50 and 70 mph.
"And with my usual route and driving, I almost approach at my exit of where my house is and I realized I was going 70ish on a 50 mph but so was others ahead of me. But then this cop come out of nowhere forcing me to pull over where I was so close to exit yet so far."
Lol. You reminded me of where people would say, "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?" something along those lines.
Sadly enough though California cops are busting down on speeding and other things to "make quota and generate revenue". Even if it's like + 5-10 over the speed limit or a tail light that went out. I can't really help you though, sorry. I wish you the best in the future. (Don't drink the kool-aid O_O)
On April 07 2010 10:33 kOre wrote: 6 demerit points is huge, but here's what you should do.
1. Take the ticket to court and explain your situation to them.
As long as you are respectful to them and they are dicks they'll reduce both the amount you have to pay as well are the number of points you get.
2. Tell your parents.
They WILL find out about it especially if they pay your insurance or if you have connected insurance.
3. Take a safe driving course.
Not sure if this applies in the States, but in Canada you can take this course which costs $100 or so and reduces your points by 2.
Hope for the best, I know what getting a ticket feels like ... I have like 10 lol
This is great advice.
I went 120 KM in a 60 KM zone once. it was 1000 dollar fine and license suspension. I contacted the prosecuting lawyer ahead of time and went in with my parents (after explaining it to them) and just laid it out that I was a good kid and stuff, that it was a genuinely stupid mistake, how I'd never do it again etc and how anything they could do would be greatly appreciated because I was saving for university .
I was so angry as he RUSHES AND DRIVES OFF SPEEDING out of the highway.
That's what my cop did when I had my car accident in December. Fucker went 100 in a 60 zone with us in the back as he takes us to the other side of the bridge. I don't blame him for ticketing me like he was supposed to do, but some cops are just major douchebags and act like pricks knowing you can't do anything about it.
On the other hand, I've had some friends who get really nice guys. I was with two friends last month when a cop pulled us over for speeding. My friend who was driving went 96 in a 50 zone, didn't have the 'N' on the back of his car, had an extra passenger, we had had a beer with a 12 pack still in the back, the passenger seatbelt was broken, and he forgot his wallet + ID + license at home. The cop only ticketed him for the speeding and extra passenger.
A 22mph over a 50mph limit is pretty significant, so even with a bunch of other cars doing the same somebody has to draw the short straw. I also don't get why you tried questioning the cop, that only gets them to go harder on your ass. Maybe if you weren't spazzing out he wouldn't have glared at you like he did lol.
I was driving on the 5 with my friend (going from socal to norcal) and somehow ended up on the 99 instead (which still takes me to norcal, but I still wanted to get back on the 5 so I could hit the usual stop and get In-N-Out). To get back onto the 5, I had to literally go through a cow ranch and I drove like an hour extra navigating through these shitty dirt roads full of holes in farmland because google maps said there were real roads (fuck you google maps). I am in the middle of NOWHERE and I turn onto a highway and I'm driving for 5 seconds when a cop going the other way makes a U-turn and pulls me over for going 76 in a 55. Note that this is in the middle of NOWHERE and I have not seen any other car nor speed limit signs for at least 30 minutes. He says that two-way one-lane highways have a 55 limit and throws a speeding ticket at me. Then when I continue driving to the main highway, I see some other cars and they pass me going 90 mph. Where is this cop now?!
Seventy six MPH in nowhere land? I don't get it. BTW, my ticket was $400 + cost for traffic school.
Anyway, don't bother going to court. Delay the court date if you can, and then use trial by written declaration (mail) if it's offered in your state. The police should forget the entire incident by this point, and he will have to fight your side of the story through mail with unpaid hours (iirc). If this fails, the entire process is essentially reset and you can go to traffic school (at least in Cali).
Now as I can see and understand, my best option is to take it to the court by pleading not guilty and explain their situation in a semi-honest situation where I had a long day from school and wanted to get home as soon as possible + I'm a poor college student not making any income b/c I have no job but am trying to study hard and well to get a degree as soon as possible.
That seems all fine and whatnot, but what if the cop shows up in court? In fact, I never been in court in regards to issues like this so I don't even know what happens then. As for my parents, they pay for my insurance since it's technically their car so.... when should I break this news to them?
And yes, if everyone jumps off the bridge, I would too for I must maintain my good image as my field of study will be possibly being a public image in the field of media. And ya, I don't have that much cash atm so.... I can't pay them straight up unless telling my parents... crap.
Hmmmm.... On my very first night that I got my license I accidentally parked in the handicap zone for something like 2 minutes. I was so excited that I parked in an empty parking lot to check out this cheese store I always wanted to check out. It was in the middle of the winter, snow covered the sign, and I was literally inside and out the store. I got fined $360.00. I was so scared at the time that I did not even consider contesting the ticket which I definitely should have.
Oh, and never ever let your friends drive your car. For a period of time I was sharing cars with my mom because the battery had died on mine. She has a nice car. It's a BMW 5 series. I let my friend drive it one time, and he went 230km/hour in a 100km per hour zone.
I shat myself when I looked at the potential consquences of getting caught that particular day: Stunt Driving - Speeding 50km/h or more: immediate 7 day suspension immediate 7 vehicle impound 6 demerit points one year licence suspension minimum fine $2000 maximum fine $10,000 jail up to 6 months 100% Insurance increase
Dude just take it to a ticket buster attorney and you can pay a reduced fine, no points, and no traffic school. I really don't understand why anyone would ever do anything otherwise.
Would contest it for the simple reason if the cop doesn't show to the court date it is dismissed by default and I have yet to have a cop show up for the court date.
Ouch, I realized many others had just as bad or worse experiences as me. I'm a total noobie when it comes down to contesting the ticket to court since I didn't even follow my dad's cases and as far as I know, my parents will be auto 100% pay full and don't contest it ever... Darn, I have 15 days till I do something about this...
If you get xx certain amount of points (I think 11 or 12), your license get suspended and you can't drive for 3 years... at least in NY I think that's what happens..
On April 07 2010 10:50 Warrior Madness wrote: I shat myself when I looked at the potential consquences of getting caught that particular day: Stunt Driving - Speeding 50km/h or more: immediate 7 day suspension immediate 7 vehicle impound 6 demerit points one year licence suspension minimum fine $2000 maximum fine $10,000 jail up to 6 months 100% Insurance increase
Wow, that's pretty intense... glad that you and your friend didn't get caught on that day..
On April 07 2010 10:45 QuickStriker wrote: Now as I can see and understand, my best option is to take it to the court by pleading not guilty and explain their situation in a semi-honest situation where I had a long day from school and wanted to get home as soon as possible + I'm a poor college student not making any income b/c I have no job but am trying to study hard and well to get a degree as soon as possible.
That seems all fine and whatnot, but what if the cop shows up in court? In fact, I never been in court in regards to issues like this so I don't even know what happens then. As for my parents, they pay for my insurance since it's technically their car so.... when should I break this news to them?
And yes, if everyone jumps off the bridge, I would too for I must maintain my good image as my field of study will be possibly being a public image in the field of media. And ya, I don't have that much cash atm so.... I can't pay them straight up unless telling my parents... crap.
Tell your parents immediately. Hiding it from them is stupid, since they'll find out anyway. Tell them that you were dumb, and it was an honest mistake because your were tired/stressed.
Go to the court date set on the ticket. Take your parents assuming they will help defend you (if possible). Explain your situation. Be polite. Dress nicely. Don't be stupid and complain about the cops attitude/actions etc Edit: Ok so apparently in some states, case thrown out entirely if cop doesn't show up apparently? Not true everywhere so far as I know (not in my state). Might want to check into that as well.
At worst, you'll get some money knocked off. At best, if your record was clean prior to this, you may be able to get it wiped or get the option of taking a class to get it wiped. +22 in a 50mph zone is pretty hardcore though. Right at the border of "reckless driving" depending on state I think.
I got one speeding ticket awhile back. 61 in a 50 zone on a downhill slope. I went to court and explained how I was tired and it was a moment of inattention. Judge said be more careful in the future and threw it out. Yay. I had a perfect record prior to this.
As I read the OP I was half thinking it was sarcastic and you were pretending that you were somehow shortchanged when in fact you realized that nothing unfair really happened...
I was wrong lol
You went 22 over the limit. You got pulled over. The fact that there were other cars also driving fast isn't relevant unless one of them was like blowing all of you away (which it sounds like it wasn't happening). The cop wasn't friendly? Here's some advice for next time since you were unlucky nobody gave it to you before: When pulled over by a cop you say "Yes" "No" "Sir" and that's it. Dislike that all you want but not AFTER you get caught going 22 over.
Feel free to follow the advice of others here about how you can get your penalty reduced if you like, but I don't think you are a victim here.
Also you haven't been driving that long lol... I've been driving three or four years longer than you and haven't had a ticket yet (fingers crossed) so I dunno how I'll respond emotionally if in the same situation as you but then again I am careful about my speed.
edit: I have no experience with contesting tickets but I don't think they'll appreciate "I had a long day at school and I wanted to get home quickly :p"
EPT
