Took my MINI on his first road trip and I got a ticket. Yeah you guessed it SPEEDING Road trip was up HWY 1 along the coast, at about 14 miles from Cambria I got taged at 75 in a 55 zone. That's not even close to fast. It's about 200 miles from home, should I fight it?

 

Were you going 75?

 

I had just stomped to pass a car but slowed to 75

 

A guy cut me off on the highway and I went around him. The people in the fast lane were going faster than me. The orange SRT4 was the target.

 

Then go ahead and pay it and be thankful he didn't get you when you were going 90

400 mile round trip to go to traffic court is a lot unless your driving privileges are at stake.

 

Well there is your answer.. you were going at least 75.. do the right thing, and accept it as anything else..

 

in my state 20 over is wreckless driving, which is a gross misdemeanor.
A g.m. earns you up to a year in jail, $5000 in fines, and at least one month suspended license.......so count yourself lucky.
I got one about 5 years ago. My insurance went up to $430 a month.

 

Don't listen to these sheep. **** the revenue collectors, fight it, fight every ticket, just for the possible opportunity to stick it to them. You should look into trial by declaration , eg letters. I've done it several times w/ 3/4 success rate.

 

you said what?
Why would you fight something that if you did it, and admit it? That makes no sense to me.. revenue collectors my a$$.. You do the crime.. you have to pay for it.. If I was pulled over for something I know I didn't do.. you bet I would fight it.. but if I looked down.. and knew I was speeding.. ( which yes I do speed, and yes I know the consequences, and Yes I am willing to pay it ) then I would take what I got, knowing when I get in my car and I choose to speed.. that I may get caught, and have to pay for it.. fight every ticket..thats absurd.. almost as absurd as your post I am not afraid to fight for what I know is right.. and here in this post? What is right is to pay the ticket.. by his own admission he was doing 75.. had to SLOW down to 75 because he STOMPED on it.. to me it takes a stronger person to step up and admit the truth and pay for it.. the to hide behind the.. omg its not my fault.. he MADE me speed.. and im just an a$$ and going to blame everyone else but me, and im not paying it wah wah..

 

Baaaaaa! Baaaaaa! Be a good little citizen and pay your fine. So what, if he admitted. Being a sport bike owner, i've been tagged at ridiculous speeds, and always fought, and won most of them. Why, because the whole system of revenue collection is total BS. Where do the fines go? Not to help needy children, but to fund the 'system' of prosecuters, judges, and local law enforcement. Same as the war on drugs, Same as the prison system. No need to jack the guys thread any further, my .02 cents are here. Fight the the ticket and FTP.

 

What is a trail by declaration? I'm in CA and never hear of this

 

I don't necessarily say fight the ticket, but you can ask for other options for it to be reduced/dropped through driving school or community service. I think it is def. worth doing if it is your first ticket. Otherwise it is up to you if the 400 miles are worth a slim shot to have it taken care of.

 

ditto, we can do driving school online here in IL, I would check into that, pay the fee's, do the school and that should keep it off your record and safe you the INS company fee's too.

 

Just google it, it's bascialy it's a trial where both you and the officer write your statements and the judge conducts the trial that way. There are initial forms you need to mail in prior to your court date listed on the California doj website. Officer gets no extra paid time off to go to court, which is half the reason they show up (to court) quite often. Give it a shot, worth it especially in this case where the court is quite a drive for you.

 

Yeah, but then again, it IS a wonderful excuse to drive the coastal highway.

(Reminds me of the time when I was heading up the coast in a rental Volvo. There was a large RV ahead of me, and I was wondering how I was going to pass him. Didn't have to--cop behind me got 'em. Never knew why--obstructing traffic? Oh well, he "cleared" the highway for a good long distance! )

 

I would write a letter to explain the circumstances. And I would settle for a discount. Admit the guilt and pay the discounted ticket.

 

One word: autobahn.

 

Tease!

 

Pay the ticket. You admit to doing 75. That's 20 over the posted speed. Maybe (maybe), if you were doing closer to the posted speed and got tagged then you might consider fighting it, but just pay it and get on with it.
You could listen to some bad advice and fight it, but it looks like it's 400 miles round trip to get there? Do you think your time is worth it? Don't follow bad advice just to 'stick it to the man'. Might find yourself paying for more than the ticket.
I got tagged doing 68 in a 55. Yes, I was speeding, and also it was my first speeding ticket. In 40 years of driving, that was a wake up call. If you speed and get caught, pay it and move on.
Enough of lecture.

 

Ticket is yours...if you weren't speeding thats another thing but sounds like you need to own up to it on this one.

 

If you write them to explain what a good driver you are and why you don't deserve the ticket, make sure to mention "stomped" and "slowed to 75".

 

You were speeding. How fast were you really going in a 55 mph zone? Pay the ticket and learn from your experience. Laws are written and enforced for good reason. You are getting bad advice from some posters who sound like they should be removed from the road for the safety of you and me.

 

Lots of good advice from the previous posters. Something missing so far is that the REAL cost of a ticket is often in increased insurance rates. The fine can be tiny compared to what you'll pay in higher premiums over the next couple of years. Even if this is a first offense, who can say you won't get tagged again in the near future? If you fight this one and can get it reduced, it may help next time you get tagged

I'm all for admitting guilt (and I have in court). I think it's called integrity and it's something that's missing in large part in today's society. But see if you can find a way to maintain your integrity AND get the ticket charge reduced.

The first time I went to court for a speeding ticket (only been there twice, and that was 35 years ago) I was guilty, told the judge so, and just asked for leniency. The judge was so impressed that one person in her courtroom told the truth (and probably the ONLY one that day) that she reduced my charge from reckless to failure to obey road signs, and she actually smiled and said thanks!

Good luck!

 

hypnohealer just hit the nail on the head. Well said and good advice.

 

Integrity is an interesting word. Yes, if you commit the crime, you should "do the time"--in this case "pay the piper." However, the act of ticketing for speeding has become in of itself a real "market."

Last summer, on our first road trip with our 06MCS my husband was ticketed as he passed a number of slow moving vehicles on a 4 lane highway in N.C. He was doing 73 in a 55. He didn't argue with the officer who was "nice enough" to reduce the charge to just below reckless driving, which in N.C. is only 15mph over the posted speed limit. Within a few days of returning home to VA, we started getting letters from law firms in N.C. asking if we wanted to "fight" the charge. Now, how might those lawyers have gotten this information??? And, how many of us have gotten that reduced ticket charge--which generally we pay because it is less of a hassle than fighting it??

Hummm. Integrity. Interesting. Ticketing for speeding is a money making business. Period.

BTW... we paid the ticket.