Speeding Ticket

jryantech

Going 71 MPH on a 65 MPH SL Highway...
State Government desperate for money or what?

tiersten

You were over the limit. They don't give you any leeway in it. If they wanted to make the limit 71MPH then they would have done that in the first place.

desertmouse

tiersten wrote: »

You were over the limit. They don't give you any leeway in it. If they wanted to make the limit 71MPH then they would have done that in the first place.

Relax buddy -

To the op: Yeah that sucks. Here in Chicago 45MPH posted = 90MPH for everyone on 294. FL is such a great state to speed in typically, maybe he was just having a bad day.

tiersten

desertmouse wrote: »

Relax buddy

Somebody I know was hit by a speeding car which meant over a month in hospital so I'm totally okay with people getting tickets for going over the limit.

paintb4707

tiersten wrote: »

Somebody I know was hit by a speeding car which meant over a month in hospital so I'm totally okay with people getting tickets for going over the limit.

I don't want to sound cold hearted when I say this but your case sounds a little more extreme than 6mph over the speed limit. I don't think the difference of impact would even be noticeable in 6 mph when you're already traveling over 60.

djhss68

tiersten wrote: »

Somebody I know was hit by a speeding car which meant over a month in hospital so I'm totally okay with people getting tickets for going over the limit.

Although a big difference between speeding on a side street or city street and speeding on the thruway. Hell, 6 over on even a residential street would be considered tame. Giving someone a ticket for 6 over on the thruway is major BS.

I can't stand how so many cops think and act above the law and then pull crap like this. I've seen on a few occasions, cops who would turn on their lights just so they could get through a red light. Not to mention the many who speed by a lot more than 6 over. Pisses me off to no end.

loxleynew

tiersten wrote: »

Somebody I know was hit by a speeding car which meant over a month in hospital so I'm totally okay with people getting tickets for going over the limit.

As much as that sucks, going 6 mph over the limit is ticky tack and no different than going the speed limit really. You think if someone was stupid enough to hit someone going 71 it would be tons different than if they hit them at 65? Sure there is a line but not at 6 mph.

mikej412

jryantech wrote: »

State Government desperate for money or what?

Yep -- it's the new "lottery" for cash strapped states. If you don't want to pay, then don't play (speed).

kalebksp

djhss68 wrote: »

Although a big difference between speeding on a side street or city street and speeding on the thruway. Hell, 6 over on even a residential street would be considered tame. Giving someone a ticket for 6 over on the thruway is major BS.

I can't stand how so many cops think and act above the law and then pull crap like this. I've seen on a few occasions, cops who would turn on their lights just so they could get through a red light. Not to mention the many who speed by a lot more than 6 over. Pisses me off to no end.

So because some cops do unethical/illegal things you should be allowed to speed? That is a ridiculous argument.

I, like most other people, speed occasionally, but I realize that it is illegal and no one's fault but my own if I get a ticket. In regard to tiersten and people getting hit by cars, I feel that there is a difference between speeding and driving recklessly. To me, people not paying attention to what's going on and their surroundings, whether they're speeding or not are much more dangerous than someone who is speeding "safely".

tiersten

loxleynew wrote: »

As much as that sucks, going 6 mph over the limit is ticky tack and no different than going the speed limit really. You think if someone was stupid enough to hit someone going 71 it would be tons different than if they hit them at 65? Sure there is a line but not at 6 mph.

A 10MPH difference does actually cause a significant difference when hitting somebody actually. Okay, getting slammed into at 65MPH is probably going to kill or seriously injure you anyway but I'm talking about speeding in general.

Don't speed if you can't take the consequences be it a ticket or an injury to you or somebody else.

At certain areas least in the UK which they've intentionally made speeding tickets a local revenue stream. One near me is a 40MPH to 30MPH change which has a speed enforcement camera right next to it.

dynamik

The thing that bothers me is the general lack of enforcement. Interstate 35 (35E in this example), which goes from northern MN to TX, inexplicably drops to 45mph south of St. Paul. No one pays any attention to that, and the "slow" lane typically moves along at 65mph. I commonly go between 70-80mph just to keep up with traffic. I've only seen a handful of people pulled over in nearly four years of regularly making that commute. It clearly isn't an area of concern and driving on that road is as safe as any other. If you try to go the actual speed limit, you cause an enormous disruption, and IMHO make things much more dangerous than simply going with the flow. The thing that sucks in this case is that if you get pulled over going that far over the limit, you're not just going to be hit with a fine.

Regardless, going over the limit makes you fair game. I know people that have gotten tickets for 2-3mph over, so it could be worse.

Claymoore

jryantech wrote: »

Going 71 MPH on a 65 MPH SL Highway...
State Government desperate for money or what?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/business/11fees.html?ref=global-home&pagewanted=all
Money really does drive speeding tickets - The Boston Globe

We have a highway interchange construction project here that I believe is being entirely financed by speeding tickets. The highway patrol runs speed traps so often in the area that you can tell who is local based on how fast they drive, and I'm not exaggerating when I say I have seen officers lined up 10 deep waiting to pull people over.

wd40

This is how it goes here:

You get caught speeding, they send you a letter asking you to go to Traffic court to get a trial appointment.

You go there, sign a paper and go home.

generally if you are going under 120 km/h (75 mph) they will let you go "I'm still waiting to be called for trail on tickets 5 & 4 years old"

more than that it depends on your speed, If you are going too fast you could end up in jail.


====================
In UAE "United Arab Emirates" I hear that they have a law, if you kill someone because off speeding, you lose your life, ==> I agree with that.

djhss68

kalebksp wrote: »

So because some cops do unethical/illegal things you should be allowed to speed? That is a ridiculous argument.

I, like most other people, speed occasionally, but I realize that it is illegal and no one's fault but my own if I get a ticket. In regard to tiersten and people getting hit by cars, I feel that there is a difference between speeding and driving recklessly. To me, people not paying attention to what's going on and their surroundings, whether they're speeding or not are much more dangerous than someone who is speeding "safely".

That wasn't what I said at all.

jryantech

I just want to put this out there... I am not complaining I got the ticket.

When I give the courts the money I am going to simply say "Hey, please put this towards education" and walk away.

Claymoore

Back in Missouri they had to pass a law limiting the percentage of revenue for local towns that could come from speeding tickets. There was a little town - barely more than an incorporated trailer park - that had about half a mile connection to a state highway that led to one of the lakes. They changed the speed limit from 55 to 50 and would pull you over for doing 51. Missouri isn't the only state that has pursued such a law:

Louisiana: Proposal Bans Speed Traps, Limits Cameras

kalebksp

Here in Alaska those cameras that give you tickets when they see you speeding are illegal, violation of privacy.

HeroPsycho

dynamik wrote: »

The thing that bothers me is the general lack of enforcement.

+1000

If they're gonna do it, do it consistently. Otherwise, everybody speeds, and you get run off the road even in the right lane if you don't, too.

networker050184

kalebksp wrote: »

Here in Alaska those cameras that give you tickets when they see you speeding are illegal, violation of privacy.

That has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Whats next, can't have cameras at banks and ATMs?

I don't think taking a picture of someones car speeding on a PUBLIC road is violating their privacy

msteinhilber

This is frankly why I just don't bother to speed anymore. The last time I got a ticket my insurance company doubled my premium, since then I played it fairly safe. Once the extreme gas prices hit last year I really adjusted my driving habits too and basically have kept it at the limit since then. I get a bit impatient now and then, but if you really think about it - unless you speed well above the limit you're really not going to arrive at the destination that much faster. I notice time and time again now where I'll get a car that just blows past me and I find myself not too far behind them miles down the highway as we are getting off at the same exit.

I know of people who have received minor traffic tickets lately as well and have seen insane insurance premiums afterwards, I think with the economy the way it is - insurance companies are also really trying to capitalize on offenders as well. Isn't worth the potential cost anymore in my book, that's why I play it safe. Now what really bugs me the most is when I am driving the limit, I know my place on the highway - I knew how much it annoyed me when I got behind a person doing the limit in the left lane. So now I'll stick over to the right, but you still get people who have an open passing lane yet see fit to ride your arse.

jryantech

Good footnote:

I was in the right lane.
The state trooper came behind me because he was getting on the ramp and people next to me were going 80-85 and he threw on his lights right when he got on the highway. I honestly thought I had a light out, my license plate fell off or something was leaking extensively.

Turns out I was going 71 in a 65.
Which was a lot more dangerous then the guys in the left lane going 80-85.

dynamik

I was driving in the left lane, and I noticed a state trooper pull on the road behind me. I immediately dropped my speed to the speed limit. So did the car next to me in the right lane. This didn't make the trooper happy since he clearly wanted to get passed us. I eventually got pulled over and berated for not going faster in the fast lane. I didn't get a ticket or anything; I guess he just needed to blow off some steam.

/usr

Somebody I know was hit by a speeding car which meant over a month in hospital so I'm totally okay with people getting tickets for going over the limit.

Because I'm sure you never, ever speed.

msteinhilber

dynamik wrote: »

I was driving in the left lane, and I noticed a state trooper pull on the road behind me. I immediately dropped my speed to the speed limit. So did the car next to me in the right lane. This didn't make the trooper happy since he clearly wanted to get passed us. I eventually got pulled over and berated for not going faster in the fast lane. I didn't get a ticket or anything; I guess he just needed to blow off some steam.

I hope you were exceptionally nice to the officer, I love giving any upset person a healthy dose of obscene niceness.

dynamik

Yea, I do that anyway though. There's no sense in making a bad situation worse. I'm pretty sure it would be common knowledge if a shower of expletives could get you out of a ticket

Edit: What's the deal with giving Tiersten so much grief? There's a ton of things that don't seem important until they affect you or someone close to you. I don't see that as a reason to rag on someone.

jryantech

dynamik wrote: »

Edit: What's the deal with giving Tiersten so much grief? There's a ton of things that don't seem important until they affect you or someone close to you. I don't see that as a reason to rag on someone.

I think it was the whole '6 mph over the speed limit thing'...

I pretty sure if anyone knows someone who died from someone else speeding, that person was speeding well over 10 mph.

If someone is going 66 in a 65 and hits someone and causes them to die it is not because they were speeding it was because they were wrecklessly driving, drunk, made a bad turn, etc.

paintb4707

dynamik wrote: »

Edit: What's the deal with giving Tiersten so much grief? There's a ton of things that don't seem important until they affect you or someone close to you. I don't see that as a reason to rag on someone.

I personally just feel that he's comparing apples to oranges so I can't agree with his statement that driving 6 mph over the speed limit would be reckless driving. We all know very well that a cop typically won't waste their time giving you a ticket for 6 over when they have "bigger fish to fry".

During that 15 minutes the cop spends writing you a ticket, at least 30 cars just went by doing probably 15 (or more) over the speed limit because they see the cop is obviously preoccupied. Just some food for thought. I think we know damn well that a cop sitting on a public road doing nothing is a bigger crime deterrent than writing a ticket for 6 over.

Stotic

jryantech wrote: »

I think it was the whole '6 mph over the speed limit thing'...

I pretty sure if anyone knows someone who died from someone else speeding, that person was speeding well over 10 mph.

If someone is going 66 in a 65 and hits someone and causes them to die it is not because they were speeding it was because they were wrecklessly driving, drunk, made a bad turn, etc.

I agree. An accident isn't so much caused by speeding as it is wreckless driving. If i'm doing +30mph on an open highway, no one's getting hurt. If it's during rush hour and I'm shooting between cars - then that's a problem. I usually drive +15 on the posted speed limit, but usually around here there aren't many opportunities to go faster.

drainey

I guess we would need to know more about the situation before we can really judge Tiersten. Who knows maybe the driver lost control coming around a sharp corner on wet roads and hit his friend doing some major damage. And maybe the cops happened to mention to him (or it was relayed to him) that if the driver had been going even 5 mph slower they wouldn't have lost control and thus his friend wouldn't have suffered so much so needlessly.

And for those who care I speed often mostly within +5 mph in town and right at +10 mph on a highway. But then again I once got a ticket for 89 in a 60 so I do have a big lead foot. But I also understand that fair enforcement or not if I speed I might get a ticket for it.

/usr

As other posters have stated, it was the seemingly solid stance of "speeding is speeding and there are no other variables". Someone who is going to condemn everyone who speeds or make the statement that 6 MPH over is the same as 30 MPH over, needs to be realistic and seriously think about what it is they're saying.

The only people who don't speed at all, ever, not even 1 MPH over, are people who don't even go the speed limit, because let's be realistic, unless you have your cruise control set ALL THE TIME, you're going to go a few miles an hour over at times. And honestly, it's hard for me to believe that there is anyone who never speeds.

It aggravates me to see people make blanket statements which apply to everyone, due to the mistakes made by one person who cannot handle his vehicle.

I speed. However, I also follow the flow of traffic, which generally happens to be 5 MPH over the limit. Do you think this warrants me, and everyone else on the road, getting tickets? Since obviously the interstate isn't littered with the the ruins of cars who have met their demise doing 60 in a 55, what would that solve?

Wasting the time and resources to have a police officer write a ticket for someone doing 6 MPH over the limit is nothing but a revenue stream, which I don't believe in. Don't kid yourself into thinking it's "protecting" anyone. It's an easy way to generate revenue, because fighting a speeding ticket is generally not worth it. They know you'll just pay and go on.

I'm really not trying to pick a fight or start anything here, just trying to illustrate the fact that the act of speeding does not cause accidents and there is more to it than "everyone who speeds deserves a ticket". The world is not black and white.

dynamik

There are obviously other variables involved, but even a 6mph difference can make a significant difference in terms of whiplash and things like that. It may not make a real difference on a freeway, but it may be enough to cause you to mow down a kid that runs out in front of you in a neighborhood.

I do completely agree that it is a revenue stream, with exception for the people who take it to dangerous levels.

I really don't care about this. I just haven't lived with a woman in a couple of months and have found myself in debate mode due to the lack of arguments