I am from the Chicago suburbs and was heading up i-355 (for those of you in the Chicago area) and saw wide open road and dry weather (finally) and decided to "open up" the mcs a bit. By the time I look I was doing 110 when I look back up I see a state police trooper standing there with the radar. It was the instant "oh ****" feeling where I knew I was getting a ticket.

Long story short, he pulls me over says he clocked me at 100mph, but if I had a clean record he would lower it to 94 to avoid less problems. Apparently if you hit 95 its as bad as a DUI. I did have a clean record no tickets/accidents ever and Now I have to go to court to get my fine, my question to you guys that have gone through it how bad is court is it a all day annoyance?

I hate this nice weather, tempting me to open the mini up. Won't be driving over the speed limit any time soon...

Izzy

Oh and I'm a long time reader hardly ever poster I have a 2008 Lighting Blue MCS purchased in April, if I had to buy another car again I'd buy the same one

 

Good Luck, you may have to take a driver's safety course thru the court system to lower the severity of the ticket.

 

you just stand in line and then you pay your ticket and get info about defensive driving. if you take defensive driving, the offense disappears... at least that's what happened with my "running a stop sign." i don't know what happens with speeding.

 

I got a speeding ticket last spring doing over 80 in a 60 zone and got off completely, nothing on my record, no points, no school. Go pay 200 bucks and get a lawyer. If it's your first offense, he'll be able to do a lot better than you could do in court by yourself. You'll probably save more than the cost of the lawyer in insurance increases.

 

only with a lawyer and cash .. will you get it reduced..
with luck.. the cop won't show up ? that would be great.

but .. you know you were wrong.. i appreciate that.. i hate when people get on forums and say ' damn cops' should be out busting drug dealers..etc.
man up. pay the price.

take it to a track day .!!
you will be safer and have more fun

respect to you!

 

Admitting you made a mistake and owning up usually reduces the offense, especially if it's your first ticket.

 

Yea as soon as the cop pulled me over he said "do you know why I pulled you over" I'm like unfortunately yes, I was going too fast. Its something that I WONT do on the highway again believe me.

 

Yeah, and I can't stand it when people come into forums acting like parents scolding their children. It seems like it's okay for people to play school teacher with a ruler, but it's not okay for people to express their disgust for whatever they got busted for. If we had it where everybody was holier than thou in here, this would be a dull place to post.

People, in the event we get any more of these "I got a ticket" threads (which seems like 3 times a day), please give the OP advice, but leave the scolding to the judges.

 

I've been to two court dates. One took about an hour, the other one took all day.

 

Hi Guys,

I got a ticket for being involved in a chain reaction accident a while ago. "Following too closely". I called my insurance agent (State Farm Ins) and told her (a family friend) about the ticket. She said that State Farm does not routinely check for moving violations on your policy. Advised me to pay, take the class and it would never appear on my insurance. I did and it didn't.

 

The whole "cop not showing up" thing is like the lottery. You can hope and pray, but the odds are heavily stacked against you. The court dates are set up so that certain cops come in and deal with all of their tickets in one go. My experience was walked in, waited for about 3 people in front of me, each time it was "Ok, I can do this for you" or "That's the best I can do, if you want to talk to the judge, have a seat over there". He cut my fine and points in half, I was satisfied and paid my bit and left. About 2 hours total.

Depending on the possible fines and violations involved, a lawyer might be your best bet. Don't know IL laws, but in SC, anything 15mph over the posted limit and you can get hit with reckless driving.

 

Yeah, from what I understand, it's hit or miss when they check, if they even do. So far, mine only went up after my wife got the new Mazda 6 a year ago. I forgot how much a new car can jack the price up !!

 

In PA, it only costs $5 to take it in front a District Magistrate. A LEO will usually take you to the side and cut a deal. They're really only interested in the revenue, not the penalty. Generally, the DM and LEO have a very close working relationship and your not going to get off. Even for a LEO no show they'll grant a continuance but you can usually get some relief. I always pay the $5, even if it's just to inconvenience the LEO on his day off.

 

Most officers I've talked to get paid on their court days.

 

I know the feeling there Izzy. The best advice when I got my first Mini ticket was to think of the last time that I got a speeding violation and calculate the time between that and the most recent citation. The answer is then divided into the dollar amount of that new citation. Your result will then be the amount charged for driving as fast as you wanted for that particular length of time.

I was caught doing 60+ in a 35 mph zone, since it was about 10 years ago that I got a ticket, the $264 citation was in fact a culmination of annual payments worth $26.40 each! Its relative, but it works.

Your case is a bit different though, kinda like waiting for a whooping after getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar. The suspense is probably causing more stress than the actual trauma of getting pulled over . With that said, get ahead of the game and check Illinois' state regulations on the minimum/maximum penalties regarding your case. It will probably be under Illinois speed limit **** laws or something like it .

 

Well being that my last ticket was northbound on I-355 right before North Ave I can feel your pain... 83 in a 55 for me...

I don't understand how 94 in a 55 is better than 100 because as far as I know anything over 30+ over is reckless driving as well (I could be wrong though)

I was able to do court supervision without going into court (so that it is wiped off my record) - make sure you read over your ticket to try and do that... staying clean for 3 months is better than having to go to court and driving school to me..

 

The officer told me that anything over 95 is bad, and 40 and over is even worse. The suspense/stress is killing me, I just want to pay my fine already and go on. My court date is not till 3/18. I've spoken with traffic attorneys (not to get out of it but for advice I know I was wrong) they tell me that I could just go up there get my fine/court supervision or it could be worse all depends on the judge.

 

not all states require the officer to show for court. as long as said officer has filled all the information so that the judge can review.

 

By the time I look I was doing 110 when I look back up I see a state police trooper standing there with the radar.

*******... why were you looking down when you were doing 110mph? He should have written you the full 100.

 

What I mean I looked at him then I looked at my spedo, I know I was not right in what I did believe me. I want to shoot myself in the foot every time I think about it. I've never been in a crash, had a ticket or done anything of that sorts before. I regret it and I'm going to pay for it.

 

I've had 2 tickets in northern Cook County and 1 in Lake County spread out over many years (the last one was 4 years ago).
Each time I went to court, pleaded guilty and paid the fine. In and out in less than 1/2 a day. I had been told as long as there wasn't a repeat violation within a year it does not show up on your record, and they did not bump my insurance.

 

this site "might" have helped you know there was a known spot where cops sit on 355, there are many on 355, and I have found www.trapster.com to be very helpful in reminding me when it's not a good idea to play.

 

Just take it easy Izzy, there is no sense beating yourself up about this. It will all pass with time, the good news here is that you didn't get your Mini confiscated. Some states authorize law enforcement officers to impound vehicles when the driver is caught doing 100+, could have been a lot worse ya?
Keep motoring bro

 

izzyi - sorry for your pain. I hope the judge can see the same thing I see in these posts, you are a responsible person who understands what you did and should be given the benefit of a second chance.

As Whisky B has said you need to try to relax and just stay out of trouble until court. It will work out.
Good luck.

 

Send your ticket to MINI! I understand they cover the first 3