[quote]QuadasarusFlex wrote:
The officer told me that I was speeding at 55 mph at a 45 mph street while I was pretty positive that at the MOST I was driving at 50 mph. [/quote]
Bad news for you. Your state law may vary, but typically, the fines suggested are just a “customary range” set by the prosecution. In effect, they are a pre-set plea deal.
For example, if speeding is a Class D misdemeanor (or whatever), the penalty range is “$50 to $500” as determined by the whim of the judge.
So, going to court and saying “I’m guilty, but only going 50, not 55,” really doesn’t get you anywhere, because the court can do whatever he or she wants and can give you more or less than the plea deal.
In fact, being lazy sacks of shit government workers, they will typically give you a bigger fine just because you made them stop watching Wheel of Fortune and actually work.
[quote]BeefEater wrote:
Your best bet from what I can tell is to go to court and hope that the officer doesn’t show up as you’ve admitted already to speeding.[/quote]
They got wise to that game. Now going to court is a preliminary. You can plead guilty, no lo, or not guilty. If you plead not guilty they will assign a trial date.
This is one area where the fuzz has you by the balls. Even if you are right, it’s often more costly to fight it than it is just take it up the ass.
I suspect there is some constitutional grey area here where they make getting justice so painful that it’s just not worth it.
[quote]jehovasfitness wrote:
curious, anyone here drive the speed limit? There are times if I’m not in a hurry I will try to go the limit for a few minutes, but beyond that I can’t seem to keep at the limit. +10-15 majority of the time for me… I avoid +20 b/c in MD that would be 2 points and an increase in insurance.
People that drive the limit, befuddle me and aggravate me.[/quote]
Fuck the speed limit. I break it just because I hate it, unless I doing something else illegal, then I observe it.
If you are going to break the law, break one at a time. Anymore is unmanageable…
[quote]BeefEater wrote:
Your best bet from what I can tell is to go to court and hope that the officer doesn’t show up as you’ve admitted already to speeding.[/quote]
They got wise to that game. Now going to court is a preliminary. You can plead guilty, no lo, or not guilty. If you plead not guilty they will assign a trial date.
This is one area where the fuzz has you by the balls. Even if you are right, it’s often more costly to fight it than it is just take it up the ass.
I suspect there is some constitutional grey area here where they make getting justice so painful that it’s just not worth it. [/quote]
I only mention this because it was the way my wife recently beat her ticket. We spent a whole afternoon taking photos and preparing her statement. She showed up and the officer didn’t. She was in court for only 10 minutes.
Okay so fighting the ticket is not worth the trouble, so do I just plead Guilty and ask for the Defensive Driving coarse? This whole thing is kinda confusing. The officer even told me to take the class because he knew that it was my first ticket of the year.
I think that you plead no contest. There should be directions on the ticket.
Last time I did traffic school, I did an online version while I was at work. The comedy class was not funny. The normal class was even worse. Highly recommend the online version - there should be multiple providers out there.
My wife got a ticket for driving 29 in a 25 zone while she was A&M. She had to pay.
I had a friend on the A&M cycling team that got a ticket for going 40 in a 25 zone while on a bicycle. He was so happy that he framed his ticket. His teammates found out and tried to get caught too, but they were left alone. They were trying to use the speed zone as a time trial. Crazy kids.
[quote]BeefEater wrote:
Your best bet from what I can tell is to go to court and hope that the officer doesn’t show up as you’ve admitted already to speeding.[/quote]
They got wise to that game. Now going to court is a preliminary. You can plead guilty, no lo, or not guilty. If you plead not guilty they will assign a trial date.
This is one area where the fuzz has you by the balls. Even if you are right, it’s often more costly to fight it than it is just take it up the ass.
I suspect there is some constitutional grey area here where they make getting justice so painful that it’s just not worth it. [/quote]
I only mention this because it was the way my wife recently beat her ticket. We spent a whole afternoon taking photos and preparing her statement. She showed up and the officer didn’t. She was in court for only 10 minutes.[/quote]
Wow! Well I guess it depends on where you live… Around here the date on the ticket is either when you need to pay or plead. I have heard of people beating the tickets by showing up when the cop does not, but not anymore.
That’s lucky because 9 times out of 10 people just pay up. I am not lucky, at all, ever. I would be the worst criminal on earth because I would get caught and get the max, because that’s my luck.
