and the CHP screws me again....

[I-25]

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

honest wise Officers.... Ha yea right. looked like i got pulled by a nazi.

what an @$$

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.

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

[UnderseaLcpl]

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.

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

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

[I-25]

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

[UnderseaLcpl]

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.

[I-25]

I don't know anything about California state traffic laws or the laws in the munincipality in which you will be brought to court.

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

[GoldenRivet]

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.

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.

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.

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

[Zachstar]

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.

[GoldenRivet]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

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.

[Jimbuna]

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.

[AVGWarhawk]

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 Just trying to save the state some money by not burning up the gas to catch those doing 85 mph.

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

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

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.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Zachstar

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.

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.

[Schroeder]

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?

[les green01]

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

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

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?

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.