and the CHP screws me again....
 

today headed to work after getting out of collage and i'm in the fast lane on the westbound I-8 just keeping up with the traffic in my ol' 83 Turbo diesel VW Jetta and all of a sudden a Highway patrol pulls up behind me fast and pulls me over.

he gets out of his car comes up to me ask for license registration and proof of insurance. takes it back to his squad car writes me up a ticket and hands it over to me to sign it without saying word of why he pulled me over or nothing
:stare:
honest wise Officers.... Ha yea right. looked like i got pulled by a nazi.

what an @$$:damn:

lets see how much this is gonna put me back.

what makes it worse i'm gonna have to pay it out of my tuition fund u.u

California says they're going bankrupt but dam are they making a killing off people.:shifty:

not only that this is the second time it happens to me:down:

Didn't the ticket have an offense and a fine detailed on it? If he pulled you over for driving the common speed, even if you were speeding, you'd have a good case in traffic court, or at least any traffic court I've ever been to.

Can't they do both? I thought that was state policy:DL

Ahh yea. for speeding.

81 in a 65 zone...

but as i said i was just moving along with the rest of the traffic.

as all southern californians know average traffic moves at about 85;)

im gonna take it to court.
i cant afford to lose 300 give or take dlls on something so stupid at the moment

The same statutes and reasoning that allow states to post minimum speed limits and take action against drivers who are going too slowly even when there is no posted minimum speed should then apply. Cars driving too slowly are a hazard to other traffic.

My guess is that the main reason you got a ticket is because the officer figured you'd just do what most people do: pay the ticket. If you can find a lawyer who will take the case for less than the ticket amount, my advice is to do it. Odds are that the pig won't even show up, and if he does, the state will just dismiss the case anyway. The primary reason for the existence of speeding tickets is to generate revenue, and it simply doesn't pay the state or munincipality to fight in court. It is far easier to just bring in a bunch of other motorists who will pay.

A word of warning, however. It would be best to see if you can get a free consultation before hiring a lawyer. I don't know anything about California state traffic laws or the laws in the munincipality in which you will be brought to court. It may well be more expensive to fight the ticket than to pay it. That often isn't the case, as all that is usually required is some fairly inexpensive legal boilerplate and the threat of a contested ticket, but it never hurts to be sure.

Beautiful, warm, sunny (and expensive as hell:down:) San Diego CA

Well that sucks man, i know how you feel.

I got busted about a year ago for going about 14 over in my brand new truck, of course i paid the fines etc... then i later found out that a factory defect had resulted in a 12 mile per hour error in my speedometer and according to the service department, it had been that way since it left the factory... I had ALWAYS been going at least 12 MPH over whatever the gauge indicated. :nope:

I hate being pulled over by the police as much as the next guy...

but were you actually traveling at the rate of speed indicated on the ticket?

It indicates that you were traveling at a rate of 81 MPH in a 65 MPH zone... if this is the case - and i hate to side with the LEO here - but then you were in fact speeding... and the "I was just going with the flow of traffic" argument rarely works out in your favor either. :oops:

I made the mistake once of telling this to a cop... "I was only going with the flow of traffic"

his reply was simply

"Well, im one traffic officer on a highway with a thousand speeding vehicles... it had to be somebody that got pulled over and today, that somebody was you, try to be more careful in the future, have a nice day.";)

Sometimes you're the bug... sometimes you're the windshield my friend.

I used to see this all the time when my commutes would take me through the greater Dallas area.

every car and truck on the road was going 80 mph, but the cops, even when they worked in teams of 2 or 3 would only be able to stop a couple of cars out of a hundred - and if you got stopped, it was just not your lucky day. Traffic congestion can be so thick that they typically only go after the nearest offender in such situations. Unfortunately on that day, it was probably you.

That sucks, and i feel bad for you, but the only thing you can do at this point is either pay the fine... or take it to court and hope the cop has more important things to do than show up for your traffic stop case.

but one thing to remember, if you tie up the court for a traffic stop case, and the court does NOT rule in your favor, they tend to throw the book at ya. :shifty:

EDIT:

one time in college, i had borrowed my room mates car because mine was in the shop.

He is in the Air National Guard and had his uniform hanging in the back on the hanging hook, and his windshield had a parking pass for the local ANG base, not only that but his license plate frame was emblazoned with a large C-130 Hercules with "Air National Guard"

during a brief traffic stop, the officer just talked about how cool airplanes were and asked me what i flew. I told him i was in the aviation program at the local college and i was working on my commercial license (true) I never claimed to be in the ANG, i guess it was his assumption because he just said "i generally just give military personnel a verbal warning, so be careful out there" yadda yadda - he thanked me for "my service" and told me to have a nice day.

I didnt say sh*t... i just drove off. LOL

You were speeding. The "Oh they were doing it too" argument is bullcrap. And you will surely lose in court if you try to take it there. 5mph over maybe but 81 in a 65? un un that aint going to fly.

Pay the ticket and don't do it again in my opinion. It aint Calis fault for you driving that way.

Perhaps a little bit of a harsh way to put it.



yet, true. ;)

Although our countries are miles apart, when it comes to your word against officialdom the court usually rules against the motorist....especially in minor traffic offences where there is little requirement for irefutable evidence.

I'd pay the fine and take extra care in the future.

Too many uniformed jobsworths particularly in traffic cars these days.

The fact remains that you were speeding. Sure, all the others were speeding as well but he caught you. Probably because you were speeding at 81 mph and the others were at 85 mph. He could not catch them :har: Just trying to save the state some money by not burning up the gas to catch those doing 85 mph. :O:

Reminds me of what happened with my best friend and me once. My best friend just got out of the USN the year before, and we get pulled over (he is driving). He answers all the officer's questions and starts or ends the response with 'Sir'. The officer gets cross and asks "why are you calling me 'sir'?" Before he can tell the officer the cop goes back to his car and pulls up my friends record which I assume included his Navy record, the cop then let us go.

It often is bullcrap but you're missing the point. The point is to make it not worth their while to prosecute. Even a mediocre traffic ticket attorney can usually make this happen quite easily. More often than not, the state will just drop the case. If they do pursue it then you can start filing for adjournments to make them waste more time and money, thus making them more likely to drop it, or for the officer to fail to appear. It also may be possible to obtain deferred adjudication.

It all depends on the circumstances surrounding the stop, prior infractions, and the legal environment in which the infraction is committed, which is why I again stress that a free consultation should be pursued before making a decision to fight.

But what if they don't drop the charges? Wouldn't I-25 have to pay all those extra costs that you hope the district wouldn't want to pay for?:06:

everytime i had been in court i had to pay court cost,with my class A i got to be careful anymore what i do in a auto,at 15 or over they can also write you a reckless driving ticket.the last day of truck driving school on my way home i got pull over for doing 80 in a 70 i just act like my speed almeter was off by 10 mph and i got was a warning

Not really, no. That's why I told him to seek free consultation and hire a lawyer if he could find one that would be less than the ticket price. From there, he can make his own decision. He just needs a proper understanding of the legal circumstances surrounding his situation so he can make an informed decision. Best way to do that = free consultation, which is a service that many law firms provide. He tells his story to a lawyer, and the lawyer can then make the appropriate recommendation based upon what happened, who the judge is, whether there were any prior infractions, etc. If he finds the situation to be unfavorable, then he'll have to pay the ticket, but it is worth looking into.

Umm, sorry bud, im a native californian, and i don't think were getting the whole story here.

81 MPH on the freeway is not a big deal, most of the time, but it is cutting it close. Alot depends on WHERE you were speeding. If you were doing that in the number 2 or 3 lanes, that would single you out. Nevermind that most everyone who should be in the no 2 and 3 lanes is in the no 1 lane. As well all know, the rule of "slower traffic keep right" seems to be lost on people here, along with the lost art of merging onto a freeway. But thats beside the point, and quick lane changes (IE "weaving") will do it too, especially if your barely clearing bumpers by only a couple feet.

Your safe at 75. I've been driving here since i was 16 (36 now) and have never been stopped doing 75. However 80, or a single mile past 80 though and your pushing your luck. BTW, i hear most officers spend alot of their days off in court now days. Good luck dodging that ticket.

the fact i was speeding is clear to me. i know that but in the bit of research i have done i came across a basic speed-safety law.

CVC 22351 Speed Law Violations, basicly this states that the speed of any vehicle upon a highway in excess of the prima facie speed limits...or established as authorized in this code (includes the 65mph max speed limit) is prima facie unlawful unless the defendant establishes by competent evidence that the speed in excess of said limits did not constitute a violation of the basic speed law at the time, place, and under the conditions then existing.

Since my speed was not unsafe for the conditions, we use this law to justify that my traveling above the 65mph limit was not, in itself, unlawful.

i found a good example of this put to use
but yea i need more info on how the ball rolls too.

last year my dad got busted for the same thing (oddly enough on the same freeway and also 81 over)

he took it to court hoping that the cop would not show and well out of 10 persons that were there hoping for the same thing his was the only Officer that did show:x but he didnt have to pay any other extra fees.

so i really don't lose anything giving it a try.

i was also in the fast lane of a 5 lane freeway

So far I've seen posts here by cops, truckers, and "others".
The two former groups seem to be in agreement here, and it doesn't matter whether it be in Europe or North America, as the traffic laws are fairly uniform. (So are the Hours Of Service regulations for truckers!)

From another trucker:
You were in the left lane. (Keep right. Pass left.)
This indicates that you were NOT just keeping up with traffic.

81 in a 65.
You're 10 MPH over what most juristictions consider to be the discretionary/courtesy/tolerence/grace (for lack of a better word) zone.

You're a repeat offender, which means your license is on the line, as it should be.

Personal advice:
Pay the ticket.
Leave earlier, thus allowing yourself enough time to arrive at destination, without speeding.
Keep right, except to pass.
Drive the posted speed limit. (At least until your past violations have been cleared from your license.)
Don't bother applying for a driving job. (Poor driving record.)
Brace yourself for an insurance premium increase.

Side note: They do NOT have to but, most cops will allow you 10% over the posted limit.

The only question a judge considers is, did you break the law as cited.

The only out is that obeying the law would create a hazardouse situation.
(This clearly does not apply to your case.)

California is a little different in this regard. There's really two speed limits here. The posted one nobody pays any attention to, and the acceptable one that will result in someone bumper hugging you if you don't reach it. (75 being the "real" speed limit)

This place is way over crowded. Everyone has somewhere to be, and they needed to be there yesterday. Which is one reason why speeding here is the norm. It's also the reason why many people regardless of speed, head straight into the number 1 lane. There's always many people coming on and off the freeway your constantly dodging them. So, people tend to lock it up in the no 1 lane and stay there. EVEN if they're driving slower then the flow of traffic, it is maddening. Few here keep right.

What you end up with is a total reversal of how traffic should be. The passing lane becomes the no 2 and 3 lanes, and the slow lane becomes the no 1 lane. This has the additive effect of REALLY needing to use the onramp when getting on the freeway to its maximal potential - in otherwords, FLOOR IT, because you have a better then average chance of being forced onto the shoulder by oncoming traffic half the time, assuming its not jammed by rushhour traffic, in which case nobodys moving.

Anywho, alot of traffic problems would be solved here if slower traffic kept right. But that will never happen.

PJC

Nuff said......