Hey, could be worse -- speed cameras are very common here. I got tagged by one (my only issue with my MCS) doing a whopping 3km/h over the posted speed limit. Yeah, that's less than 2 mph.

 

Were the slow moving vehicles you passed going 55 in a 55?

 

I can actually answer this one. Traffic citations are a matter of public record. Anyone can go to the courthouse and ask for a list of names and addresses of people who were ticketed. Attorneys of 'fight it' firms do it regularly and often... how frequently can a marketer get a list of potential customers where 100% of the people on the list are in need of a service? They would almost be crazy not to do it.

Sorry... I disagree in part. I can see that, in some places, speed traps are set up as a revenue generating scheme. I've also seen people pulled over for speeding who absolutely deserved it... people who, because of their excess speed, were endangering the safety of the other motorists on the road. Speeding tickets (when properly applied) are there as a deterrent to a negative behavior. A mechanism to bring your speed down to a safer limit so that you won't have to face the consequences of the ticket.

I've received 2 speeding tickets in my life. Both times I was speeding slightly (due to inattention to my own speed and the posted speed in the area), so I paid the fines, did the driver education and altered my behavior. I did it... I'm a "big boy" now so I'll face the consequences. I'm now a safer driver because of the tickets and I take my need for speed to the track, where it can be satisfied in a controlled environment without endangering other people.

 

The charge is public record. Lawyers know a thing or two about searching public records and they also know that there are drivers out there a few points away from high risk insurance that will pay to fight a ticket.

I'm sure in some places that's true. But the truth is that I wouldn't want to drive on the roads in the U.S. with no speed enforcement. There are too many drivers who are unsafe even at the posted speed limit without having unrestricted speeds.

 

I wasn't in those cars so I couldn't tell you. I do know that there were several other cars in front of us that were definitely not doing 55 mph either. Like I said, we did the crime and we paid for it. Just thought I would share my opinion--which remains unchanged-- that issuing speeding tickets has become a money maker. The police know how to play the game and if you speed (like we did) you will pay.

 

Whoa, nothing like a speeding thread to drum up interest. Here there are (posted) cameras at selected intersections and sections of roadway where a lot of accidents have occurred. The town claims not to make significant $ from these but they do cut accidents by over half since instituted. I got my picture taken once when they were in their trial period and boy do I watch my speed there now.
I too got stopped on my first Mini roadtrip, on a rural backroad in Az. Cited for 72 in a 50mpg zone (I was going about 85 at one point on the road). I talked my way out of it by showing him the temp license plate, "it's my new Mini, just getting it on the road, beautiful day, etc". He was sympathetic. Not even a warning. (BTW that line worked a couple weeks later too, maybe Az officers are nicer guys.) A got a radar detector for similar trips.

 

Since you were only "slightly" speeding due to "inattention" AND you have obviously corrected your evil ways, I suppose you are entitled to be self-righteous.

For the rest of us who are less than perfect, I am a realist. All who speed above the posted limit are not reckless drivers and not all reckless drivers are speeding--just watch the cars who zip in and out of lanes in traffic moving below the posted speed limit.

Yes, speeders are breaking the law, but posted speed limits and the laws that define reckless driving can be quite arbitrary when you consider how much they vary from state to state, from county to county, and from highway to highway. Also, since law enforcement is allowed to make judgments outside of a courtroom as to how much the offender should pay--and the offender still pays some "court fee" that is usually double the actual fine for speeding"--my opinion has not changed. Integrity is no longer one-sided when it comes to issuing speeding tickets.

 

I guess I deserved that. I didn't mean to be that way, but I get a bit PO'd when I read blanket statements labeling all speeding tickets as a revenue opportunity. I've felt the pressure from them and reduced my speed, making the roads around me a safer place to be. In my case, they worked as I would hope the law-makers intended.

I'm no saint... On the occasional deserted back-road I'll put my foot down a bit and I use a radar detector when on long trips (more of a speed reminder than a tool to increase my speed).

 

We're in SoCal too. We got 2 tickets in two weeks. My wife got a bogus 55 in a 35 we wanted to fight --- lazy cop radared other cars and since my wife was turning onto a road just opposite him she was an easy target. He was nasty with her. In the end she paid and took drivers school.

I got the next one up the coast from where you got it. We were getting onto the freeway in Santa Maria on a very long access on-ramp. Plenty of time for freeway drivers and us to see each other. I looked in the mirrors and over my shoulder - had the space. Suddenly the other driver decided he didn't want me in front of him and sped up and cut me off. At the last second I looked again over my shoulder and saw him beside me. I turned and braked narrowly avoiding hitting a guard rail and going into a ditch. Got back onto the freeway and saw a cop in the fast lane -- you guessed it. He pull ME over. I got a ticket for going 65 in a 65, refusing to yield and traveling at unsafe speed.

After building an excellent case with plenty of references from the CA drivers handbook and help from an attorney friend I managed to get the fine reduced. I asked my friend about fighting it and getting off completely. He said even though I had an excellent case the judge in the end will side with the officer as a "trained observer" and I would have a good chance of losing.

A retired highway patrolman told me that officers see tons of infractions in front of them every day and just pick the one they're going to stop. Meaning fish in a barrel and you happen to be the fish closest and most convenient. I have no doubt mine was a revenue collecting scam. The officer's comment were 180 degrees opposite of what the book said.

In the end you'll just waste a lot of time. In your case of speeding you would have to get a lot of evidence to back up your claim and witnesses. Just saying everyone in the fast lane was going faster than me never works out. In my wife's case they were blowing by her and she was the one ticketed. Same thing happened to a friend recently. When my wife asked the cop about this he replied, "I'll get them later". That's the attitude.

Sorry this is so long I'm doing the on-line traffic school right now so this is all fresh. I spent a lot of time researching both tickets with the thought of fighting them.

Write a letter to the court. If you have a spotless record explain the circumstances and ask for a reduced fine and traffic school. Take an online traffic school which lets you stop and start at your leisure. Sucks but anything else is a big waste of your time and danger of getting points on your license.

 

It's pretty typical to catch up to tourists on highway 1 not driving anywhere close to 55. The CHP takes this read very seriously. Having ridden sportbikes on this road for nearly 10 years now I'd be happy that 20 over the limit didn't get you jail time. The CHP uses a helicopter on this road with laser guided tracking. They can pinpoint your speed without you ever seeing a patrol car and without timing marks. I have a friend who works the dispatch center and it's a heavily patrolled road depending on the time of year.

 

[quote=agranger;1884395]I guess I deserved that. I didn't mean to be that way, but I get a bit PO'd when I read blanket statements labeling all speeding tickets as a revenue opportunity. I've felt the pressure from them and reduced my speed, making the roads around me a safer place to be. In my case, they worked as I would hope the law-makers intended.

Perhaps I was a bit harsh too. Just wish that (for once) I could witness an aggressive driver (speeding, tail-gating, changing lanes with no signal) get the attention of the local law enforcement. Instead, I see more and more speed traps on roads with light traffic and lower than normal speed limits. However, now that my blood pressure has returned to normal, I can see your point .

 

I passed a speed trap the other day while on the highway. I was safe, but about 30 seconds after I passed it, an early 90's Mustang came flying up behind me (easily doing 90-100+ MPH), passed on the left median then darted across 5 lanes of traffic (no signals, no pause in each lane) to make an quick exit. 15 seconds behind him was a cop with the lights and siren running. I had my windows open so start gesturing that the Mustang exited at the ramp. A pedestrian at the bottom of the ramp pointed the cop in the right direction at the turn. I hope they caught that SOB.

 

In Utah you can talk to the procecutor and plead guily in abance (I think that's what he called it) . You pay the fine and the ticket goes off your record after a 6 month probation period. Insurance will not see it. Any tickets in the 6 month period and it all goes on your record.