Eh, got a ticket.

[Macdaddy4738]

I was pulling out of the road my school was on and headed home. I was about 2-3 miles from that road when i notice a cop following me...

i wait till i get somewhere out of the way and pull over. Apparently he had clocked me on the road i pull on to from my school going 50 in a 35. I cant vouch for how fast i was going because i wasnt really looking but heres the kicker. I didnt see him behind be until i noticed the lights which was a while down the road. If he was in front of me on the road then the three cars that blew by him obviously going over the speed limit should have been pulled over. There was also a van in front of me doing the same speed...if he was in front of me then he would have radared the van first. I didnt hear any sirens until about 5 min after i noticed the lights. Ive got no witnesses that i know of but there where plenty of people on the road. The cop wasnt an ass or anything but i want to know how he radared me and not the 4 other cars going the same speed or faster?? Im almost 100% sure he wasnt behind me...if he was that would mean he was speeding down that road in order to catch up to me....any help?

[Macdaddy4738]

a quick question...how much will my insurance go up?

[RandomTask]

Ok, most likely you just got picked out of the bunch to get pulled over. I'm sorry it sucks, but thats prob what happened. Your best bet is when you go to court plead not guilty and state your case. Don't tell him you were targetted, but tell the judge "I'm sorry but everyone else was going faster than me, so I sped up so I didn't impede traffic"

ITS OK TO PLEAD NOT GUILTY, thats why your in court to plead your case. If you do plead not guilty the ticketing officer will have to tell you how he clocked you and everything. A lot of times the judge will ask the officer if you were polite/cooperative with the officer. If you were, this will help you. Also, is this your first ticket?

You also need to watch the judge, if your court appearance is later in the day, hes prob had enough of bullshit so you may want to plead guilty and take whatever he gives you. Also, if people are going before you, watch what hes doing to them, if hes being leniant and what not.

As far as insurance, who do you go through? Most likely, marginally, do whatever it takes to get your ticket switched to a non-moving violation. Moving violations give you points. Every time you renew your policy your insurance company looks for a change in points. If it sees a change then they investigate why those points got there, then re-asess your insurance accordingly.

[Macdaddy4738]

yea its my first ticket. I dont really want to go to court but if i need to i will. I dont think theres a way i can plead not guilty though. All the other cars where either going the other way or where pretty far in front of me.

[Macdaddy4738]

a quick question. If i send in a money order for say 5 or 10 dollars over the amount for my ticket will it still go on my insurance if i dont cash the check they send me back (if they do) ??

another thing...what mistakes should i look at and what can i plead in my defense? I wasnt feeling to well so thats partially why i was going a bit faster than i should have. A friend of mine got the same ticket on a road running perpendicular to the one i was on..but he got it dropped to Improper Equiptment and it didnt go on his insurance. Ive got to figure out a way to get this off my insurance because if it ends up there my dad will drop me from the insurance thing and take the car. What about the thing where i pay for more than the ticket is for and get it taken off my record or what not?

[asdfbeau]

that 'thing' has never worked for me or anyone I know.

if you're a teenage driver, your insurance is probably already as high as it's going to get, unless your dad got you some kind of deal. I doubt they'll drop you for a ticket, or even have that much room to raise your rate (I'd assume 25-50$ more a month or so).

if you dont want to go to court and fight your case then be prepared to suffer the consequences. My advice would be to definetly go to court, whether you plead guilty or not. This probably won't be your last ticket and getting an idea of how the whole system works may really save your ass in the future.

Feeling sick is not an excuse for speeding; none of the things you've mentioned would convince a judge that you were wrongly cited for speeding. The judge wont care about the other cars, your friends, your feelings, or how shitty your day was.

The officer should have mentioned a driving safety course to you - if you sit through the 8 hour course (give up a saturday), your ticket will be cleared from your record, and your insurance CANNOT be raised (by law in many states). This is what I would recommend for you, if it is possible. You were speeding, you are young; any excuses you try to come up with, or anything you believe to be 'unfair' will be looked down upon by a judge. I think that your best bet is to take it like a man and get into a driver's safety/training course to get the ticket cleared.

[RandomTask]

ASDF, I partially agree with you. If you can find the officer before you go into court (at the court house, but before court is in session) tell him your situation. Tell him you really weren't feeling well and apologize for your speeding. Ask him if theres something you can work out, and yes bring up a drivers improvement course. There are two differences to drivers improvement courses though. Theres court mandated as well as voluntarily. If the court mandates it, you have to go no matter what in the alloted time or the DMV will suspend your license. If you go voluntarily, (most places will give you a discount on the course if its voluntarily) then you have 5 points added to your record, BUT it does not erase tickets, just helps you out point wise. Most likely being your first ticket the judge will either appoint you some community service and/or a driving clinic and have the ticket thrown out (provided you complete the ladder). Whatever you do, be completely curtious to the judge. If you come off as arrogant hes more likely to not give you the option of having the ticket dropped. On my first ticket, I'll never forget this. A 15 year old kid has stolen his parents car, hit some lady, left the accident scene, went to his neighbors house, ditched the car in their back yard. The judge gave him 75 hours community service. Then he had the bright idea to start back talking to the judge,
"Thats bullshit"
to which the judge quickly responded, "Oh, yeah, you're right, how about 100 hours?"
"Man, you're f*cking kidding me"
"Yeah, you're right, 150 hours"
"Man, I don't deserve that shit"
"Oh you think I'm still too nice? 200 hours, you want to keep this going or do you want to shut your mouth now?"

Needless to say, he shutup.

Made me feel better about my ticket for 11 over =)

[Macdaddy4738]

shit i think i just realized my way out!!

i was going through pages on this board and noticed some cop had marked the wrong time on someones ticket. I checked mine and it had 4:10 AM marked...it was definatly PM that this happened. I have a whole family of witnesses that can back up the fact that i was fast asleep at 4:10 AM

[93rollaracer]

that won't do it. pretty much the only mistakes will be if they get the totally wrong name (not John Smith spelled Jon Smith...more like John Smith spelled Rodney King) and wrong lisence plate/lisence #

and asdf...the insurance company will always find room to increase your rate. my only ticket was last year for 19 over and they hiked my rate from $400/6 months to $530/6 months.

and macdaddy...the judge gave me a $77 fine, 45 day suspension and driving courses, so go expecting the worst...if he lets you off with only a fine consider yourself lucky

[Macdaddy4738]

im just gonna pay the 50 dollars and take the Defensive Driving class. If i take it then i pay for the ticket and im done with it.

[93rollaracer]

that's probably the best idea. you can try www.beatmyspeedingticket.com, but you have to be pretty good to get it to work

[Macdaddy4738]

this damn ticket is going to cost me 200 dollars, my after 9 license, and any chance at a new car for at least 6 months. If hes going to pull one person over he needs to pull everyone over. My hatred for cops never existed until this point...now i hate em.

[Igovert500]

First off, please watch the language, I can understand your anger, but try and keep it clean.
2ndly, if it is going to cost you all that, then definantly fight it in court. Pay $30 at www.beatmyspeedingticket.com and use that

[Macdaddy4738]

Originally Posted by Igovert500

First off, please watch the language, I can understand your anger, but try and keep it clean.
2ndly, if it is going to cost you all that, then definantly fight it in court. Pay $30 at www.beatmyspeedingticket.com and use that

i edited it...sorry

anyways i took the class and am going to pay the 150 to get it marked down to improper equiptment. Its just money afterall...