My speeding ticket: Tale of complete BS!

[squidmotion]

some of you guys crack me up... they don't call it a SPEED3 for nothing. geez, if i was gonna spend all day doing the speed limit, and driving all careful like, hauling grandma around, etc. i would have bought another corolla... BORRRRRRINGGGGG.


it's a SPEED and that's what i do... SPEED. i'm a chronic speeder, and this car is happy to oblige. i don't care if i have to pay to play, that's just the way it is... my usual speed on the freeway or HOV is about 75-80mph... no, i don't tailgate, or drive crazy... but if no one is in my way, that's how fast i go...


i applaud you guys for being able to talk your way out of a ticket in front of a judge.... i have a really good story for that one, but i'll have to save that one for later. gotta get home from work, so look out!

 

[robin2660]

some of you guys crack me up... they don't call it a SPEED3 for nothing. geez, if i was gonna spend all day doing the speed limit, and driving all careful like, hauling grandma around, etc. i would have bought another corolla... BORRRRRRINGGGGG.


it's a SPEED and that's what i do... SPEED. i'm a chronic speeder, and this car is happy to oblige. i don't care if i have to pay to play, that's just the way it is... my usual speed on the freeway or HOV is about 75-80mph... no, i don't tailgate, or drive crazy... but if no one is in my way, that's how fast i go...


i applaud you guys for being able to talk your way out of a ticket in front of a judge.... i have a really good story for that one, but i'll have to save that one for later. gotta get home from work, so look out!

I drive slower when I'm out there all alone. I think that's when you usually get caught.

 

[StealthWyvern]

I drive slower when I'm out there all alone. I think that's when you usually get caught.

That was the case with my old silver protege5. However I now get picked out of packs... I'm sure driving a bright yellow car does not help matters any. lol I've often thought of ditching just because of that issue alone.

 

[squidmotion]

i was a poor paying-my-way-through-college guy living at home with mom and dad, driving to a junior college two days a week and some fridays ('bout and hour or so away) for tests back in the mid 80s.... was still working on the nova, but all of my money was sucked up, and whatever left was utilized for chasing girls, so i usually rode with friends, or drove my old 4 banger luv....... and on fridays we would take the nova....

one friday, my sister, a few of her cute friends, pete and i were coming back through a small town, and as i rolled through the water of an intersection as we were leaving up the highway to the next little one light town, i decided to light up the tires and run it through the gears (you know young, dumb, probably like most of you guys!! )

as i get into third, running up the hill into the sticks, i see the lights behind me... oh crap.... no radar (thank goodness) .........but i earned myself a $215 'exhibition of speed' citation.... lovely.

so my friends all took mercy on me and kinda had a little party to raise my funds, and i headed up one morning on the way to school to pay my fine..... as i went in to the clerk, she said, 'oh no, dear... you still have to see the judge'

man, my friend pete was sorry he strolled into the courthouse with me that morning..... the bailiff, the judge, pete, some lawyer sitting outside, and i'm sure everyone in the entire building, had to listen to me get chewed out for about 30 minutes (i think. it felt like 2 hours to me). pete got his also for just being in the car with me at the time. missed a test....

did i deserve it? of course. have i ever been pulled over in that town again? HELL NO.

 

[pjo113]

Gather around children. Sit back and listen to my tale of whoa and BS so that you might heed my warnings... and learn from my mistakes.

Long ago, on Monday 2/15/10 myself and two other friends left my home in Worcester to head up to VT to go skiing for the day. Between 6:20 and 6:30 I was pulled over by an officer from the MA State Police while I was on Rt 2 west. It was right where Rt 2 drops from two lanes in each direction to one(Out near Orange MA I believe).

Anyhow as I was approaching the point where the lanes merge, a state cruiser traveling in the right lane in front of me turned on its lights and pulled into the breakdown lane, slowing down. I too slowed way down, and pulled off to the break down lane as well. I wasn't sure at first why the Officer had pulled over, but in situations like this I always pull to the side to be safe. Turns out I was getting pulled over.

The officer came to the passenger side window, asked for my license/registration, and then informed me I had been clocked going 66 mph entering "one of the most dangerous sections of road in MA" when the speed limit was 55 mph. He then walked away without saying anything else. I think I only had time to say "ok" to him and he was gone. A few minutes later he returned with my license and registration, handed me a ticket and told me the directions were on the back and walked away. He had his mind made up before he even turned on his lights to pull me over.

Now here is what I have trouble with. This is the BS part. Yes I was going 66 mph. I had set my cruise control to 65, but I am not going to argue that. I was however well within the flow of traffic, and I have two witnesses from my car who can verify that. Most of the other cars on the road around us were going the same speed as me. Also the officer was traveling about the same speed as me since I wasn't passing or gaining on him. In fact I had been passed by quite a few cars that morning on that road and after the event I was passed by quite a few more, none of which were pulled over.

Here is the other part that gets me. Between 6:30 and 7:00 am, we saw 6 more cruisers. It was like they were out on the prowl. The part that really gets me. Where I was pulled over was still a two lane highway. After entering "one of the most dangerous roads in MA" I had another cruiser come up on my tail. At this point I had my cruise control set to 55mp, exactly the speed limit. The officer stayed behind me for some time until we came to a large hill. At that point the officer proceeded to move into the climbing lane (the one for 18 wheelers and slow traffic)and pass me, going at least 65 mph. He did this with no lights, no sirens, no horn, nothing and this is the part of Rt2 that is only divided by the double yellow line.

As far as I am aware, the State Police have to follow the laws they enforce.

Anyhow, I am not one cry conspiracy, or hold a grudge against the police. I have and always have had great respect for Police Officers and what they do. But I do feel like there is some serious BS going on here, and like I got a bit of a bum deal.

I am a 28 years old, working as an engineer. I have been driving since I was 17 and have only had two speeding tickets, and only one on my record now. I know some people have better records than me, but I make a point to be a responsible driver. I am currently buried under college loans and trying to buy a home, so it is important to me to keep my insurance rates down. Currently I pay $135/month for insurance.

Is this worth getting a lawyer for?

Let me know what you guys think... I need a good tactic to fight this one. I know arguing the cop was speeding too won't fly, so I need something better.

-Pete

Peter,
I also own a true MS3.
I drive from western MA to Worcester every day, 140 miles round trip. I see cops everyday on the pike passing me like a "bat out of hell" when I'm going 75 (65mph zone). They have no lights on whatsoever and are not in pursuit. I have seen cops on several occasions literally cut off rigs and cars, merging from the far left lane to 3 lanes over in the far right lane at the Sturbridge rest stop, probably to hit up McDonalds for a coffee. I was nabbed back in August doing 88 in a 65 right before the 290 exit from the pike eastbound. The cop did the same thing to me... took my license and then came back and threw the ticket at me .... never said nothing else...nothing! I am 32, a doctor, have shitloads of loans and this was my first ticket in MA. My insurance (AMICA) did not go up. The fact is they are Masshole state cops. They can do whatever the hell they like. I remember coming home westbound on the pike in the middle lane shortly before the Hartford route 84 exit and having an unmarked police SUV with no lights on (not in pursuit) blow my doors off. He must have been going at least 100 mph. He passed a pig in the median who in turn lit up the lights.... pulled out in pursuit and then pulled back and turned off the lights when he realized it was a fellow pig he was about to pull over. WTF?
If you do end up fighting the bastards more power to you man. I feel for you. Doing 66 in a 55 is piss, that cop was just being a dick. Did he nab you by LIDAR or was he just clocking off his speed?

 

[Loose]

MSP = Massholes. That is why I moved from Worcester when I was 18. Good luck with the ticket. You'll need it.

 

[Sinister_MS6]

I want to clarify, I'm not claiming I'm not responsible. I am. As I see it I am responsible for my car and how I drive it, always. And if asked in court I will say this.

The reason I think it was BS, was the 200 other cars doing the same thing that morning, in a much narrower section of road, INCLUDING a state police officer who passed me on the right. I know i know, they drive like how they want in every state, they are the law...blah blah blah. Doesn't make it right for them to do that. Mostly its the part about the cop that gets under my skin. I know there is nothing I can do about it, just the way things go. I have very high respect for police officers. Always have. But when they take advantage of their position like that, its just not cool.

I know people who have argued the "going with the flow" thing in the past. Some get off, some have to pay. Its worth a shot.

Heck,
My younger sister got tagged for going 45 in a 30 zone when she was 17. Saw the cop turn on his lights to come after her, freaked out, passed another car on a double yellow line and went through a rotary and exited it without using a blinker. $260 ticket (in my car at the time) and 3 moving violations. Since she was only 17 and just got her license she would have lost it for almost a year at the time. She went in, talked to the judge, and he threw the whole thing out.

So like I said its worth a shot. The point of this thread was to get any advice I could. And if the judge decides to do nothing, then I pay up.

I truly understand where you're coming from and you do have some validation points. If you do go to court, you should fight the fact that the Police officer passed on the shoulder and could of caused a head on collision with others and threw the drivers off guard, which is totally unsafe. I know they get to do whatever they want, but that doesn't give them the right to jeopardize other people and put them at risk with stupid stunts like that. I for one would be fighting something like this. I know your upset about the fact a million of other cars got away with speeding over the speed limit and you got picked out of the bunch. But Never Fight about this, this will just piss off the judge and make him really find you guilty and make him think twice about you. The fact you're trying to pick on something else to cover up your stunt.

I know exactly how you feel man and the fact you don't want your insurance rates going up and whatnot. There's a lot that can play a factor! I've dealt with something similar with this situation as every1 else has. To solve my problem if i wanted to speed about 5-10mph over the speed limit. I bought a Escort 8500 x50 and 9500i. They won't prevent you from always getting a speeding ticket, but it's nice to be aware of what's going on when the Radar detects a signal n goes off.