My First Speading Ticket!

[+ Hoover42]

I was driving to work this morning along the route that I have driven for over a year with no problems, when I got pulled over by two policemen (one of whom was quite hot) who had set up a speed trap at the bottom of a hill.

 

The policeman said I was doing 53 in a 35 mph zone, but he said he would give me a break and charge me with going 44 mph in a 35 mph zone instead.

 

I'm sure I was going over 35 mph, but I don't know what my speed actually was since I was too flustered to notice the speedometer when they waved me over.

 

The citation comes with a $60 fine and 1 point; the original charge would have come with a $120 fine and 2 points (I currently have no points on my license).

 

This is my first traffic citation EVER, and I'm very upset!

 

Am I getting upset over nothing? Should I just pay the fine and take my medicine, or should I fight it in court? Should I expect a big increase in my insurance premium?

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

[+ Lucky]

Let's see. you were speeding, the cop gave you a break, and you want to fight it? How about that!

The important question here: Was the cop cute?

[+ Hoover42]

>Let's see. you were speeding, the cop gave you a break, and

>you want to fight it? How about that!

>The important question here: Was the cop cute?

 

My first instinct was to pay the fine immediately, but all my reckless 20-something friends are telling me I should fight it.

 

Regarding the cop, yes, he was quite cute. Let's see..5'11", 170 lbs, reddish-blond hair, green eyes, and very tight pants with a nice bulge in the front. At least I got to study that in detail while he wrote up my ticket.

[VaHawk]

Hey Hoover,

 

As a veteran of the highway wars, I can assure you that you have nothing to worry about. The cop really did give you a break, as you just have a speeding offense on your record, not wreckless driving which would have been the case otherwise.

 

Just pay the fine, as it will cost you less in the long run than going to traffic court to try to beat it. About the only time you will win in traffic court is if the arresting officer does not show up. If you go to court and lose (most likely) you have to pay the ticket plus court costs. From what you posted, you don't have any grounds for disputation, so you would just be wasting your time going to court, unless you are into a live tv court type scene (but they can be amusing).

 

Don't sweat the insurance, man. This is your first and only offense, so it should have no effect on your policy/premium costs. If you have a really, really pissy attitude insurance company they will at the most raise your premium by a very, very few dollars and if you have had the same insurance company for a while, they will likely not raise your premium at all.

 

BTW: aren't a lot of cops hot, it must be a uniform thing. One time I got arrested for speeding by a VA state trooper and had to get out of my car and sit in the front seat of the cruiser with him. This was like 1am in the morning, and to this day I do believe he wanted more than my signature on the ticket, as we sat and chatted for a while, but being a naive, young dumb fuck at the time, I was too afraid to make a move, but just sat there with a woodie and a ton of lust. I have had a few tickets in my time, but never before or since have I had the cop tell me to vacate my car and go to his cruiser.

[OneFinger]

>Am I getting upset over nothing? Should I just pay the fine and take my medicine, or should I fight it in court? Should I expect a big increase in my insurance premium?

 

I found myself in a similar situation a few years ago. I just paid the ticket and got on with my life. A few months later I became good friends with a court clerk. I asked them if I should have fought the ticket and they said definately NOT.

 

Apparently the traffic court judge in that area was sick and tired of hearing everyone come in trying to get their tickets dismissed or reduced. In most cases they DIDN'T get a break. In a couple of cases the judge actually asked the police if they had already reduced the speed listed on the ticket. Although he didn't (or couldn't) reinstate the original speed and fine, the judge certainly implied that there was that option UNLESS they paid the reduced fine.

 

As for insurance, my company (State Farm) allowed one ticket in a five year period without raising the rates.

[Cooper]

RE: My First Speeding Ticket!

 

Hoover... Well, you can swallow your pride and pay the fine. This way you'll avoid wasting a day in court plus all the aggravation... Or you can "fight it". As a 1st time offender, you probably can get it reduced even more. Settle for a "rear light out", pay a minimum fine, get no points, and no insurance record. Not saying this always works, but it did for me.

[woodlawn]

>

>Thanks for any suggestions.

 

Now that you've created a thread to tell us all about your first speeding ticket, why not create another one to tell us all about your first hangnail? That should be even more exciting.

 

Trav, Lucky, is it my imagination, or has this message board been on a steady downward trajectory ever since TruthTeller bailed out?

 

[Guest jeffOH]

RE: My First Speeding Ticket!

 

I got a speeding ticket 2 weeks ago, 46mph in a 35mph, it was $107 and I paid it online. My driving record had been clear for the past 10 years, until this incident. It was my own fault, I speed all the time. The fines had noticeably increased since my last citation.

 

Just pay the fine and be done with it.

 

JEFF

jeff4men

[VaHawk]

Well, why don't you create a thread about ANYTHING?

 

I guess Lucky is right in that you have been coming here for years under many names and by now you must be totally bored out of your mind? How else would you recall posts from years ago? If you find it downhill and boring, then why do you bother to continue to come here and post.

 

If you find it that downhill and boring, then just walk away as I don't believe anyone is forcing you to come here. Of course, if you did that you wouldn't have anywhere to piss but down your leg, right?

 

But, I will admit that I find your back and forth repartees with fukamarine very amusing. Two peas in a pod, is what you two are. Now that gay marriage is legal in Canada, why don't you just marry fam as it would indeed be a match made in heaven. What the hell, I'd buy a ticket to the wedding ceremony!

[jackhammer91406]

VaHawk,

Would love to have that kind of memory to cherish.

We have some really hot CHP and LAPD out here. Fantasy runs rampant. BTW, advance congrats when you get to your 1000th post! Good on you man.

 

[+ Hoover42]

Hey guys,

 

Sorry to bore you with such a lackluster topic, but I really appreciate the suggestions and encouragment.

 

I'm going to just pay the fine and be done with it; it's too bad I can't make some kind of deal with the cop to take it out in trade!

[Guest fukamarine]

>BTW: aren't a lot of cops hot, it must be a uniform thing.

>One time I got arrested for speeding by a VA state trooper and

>had to get out of my car and sit in the front seat of the

>cruiser with him. This was like 1am in the morning, and to

>this day I do believe he wanted more than my signature on the

>ticket, as we sat and chatted for a while, but being a naive,

>young dumb fuck at the time, I was too afraid to make a move,

>but just sat there with a woodie and a ton of lust. I

>have had a few tickets in my time, but never before or since

>have I had the cop tell me to vacate my car and go to his

>cruiser.

 

Wow - that is soooo hot! Too bad you were not able to find a way to progress from there. The stuff that dreams are made of. Please tell us he was a hottie!

 

fukamarine

[Guest]

Generic advice isn't going to help. You need to tell us what state you live in. Then maybe those who live in your state can give you advice. In California, you can certainly mask your ticket from public records by going to traffic school. How often you can do this depends on the county. Urban counties with busy court calendars let you do this every two years or so. Rural counties might have a four-year time limit. But every county in California will let you go to traffic school on a first offense. In California, everyone with one or zero points is statutorily considered a good driver, so your insurance rates would be unchanged as a matter of law, even if you don't go to traffic school.

For this reason, some Californians don't even bother going to traffic school until their second citation, since, at least in California, you pay the fine even if your case is dismissed through traffic school. (In fact, your costs are significantly higher if you go to traffic school). The downside to this is that the two or four-year clock ticks from the time you were cited on the ticket you go to traffic school for. So if you got a third ticket within two years of the second one, but more than two years after your first one, you'd be in a worse position.

In California, at least, there are no additional fees for going to court if you don't go to traffic school. So if you're not going to traffic school, there's little incentive not to go to court. Although cops usually (70%) show up in California (they're payed time-and-a-half for basically doing nothing), sometimes they can't go for whatever reason. Been there, done that. If they don't show up, your case will probably be dismissed (at least it would in California)..

In any case, it's hard to imagine your rates would go up much if any for one point. If they do, look for another company. I would imagine, however, that in most circumstances (certainly in California) rates go up markedly after the second citation.

[woodlawn]

>Well, why don't you create a thread about ANYTHING?

 

I don't know. How about because it would never occur to me that anyone would be interested in reading about the most mundane incidents in the life of a total stranger? Could that be the reason?

 

>How else would you recall posts from years

>ago?

 

Because unlike a lot of the old farts who come here I don't have a problem with my memory.

 

If you find it downhill and boring, then why do you

>bother to continue to come here and post.

 

Hope springs eternal.

 

 

>If you find it that downhill and boring, then just walk away

>as I don't believe anyone is forcing you to come here. Of

>course, if you did that you wouldn't have anywhere to piss but

>down your leg, right?

 

Surely you are not stupid enough to believe that this is the only internet message board where people who want to exchange insults with others have the opportunity to do so? Or perhaps you are.

 

>But, I will admit that I find your back and forth repartees

>with fukamarine very amusing.

 

If that's your idea of a good time, you must be even more bored than I am.

 

>What the hell, I'd buy a ticket to the wedding

>ceremony!

 

Selling tickets to one's wedding may be a custom where you grew up, but not where I grew up. Nor would someone like you be likely to get an invitation to any party I throw for that or any other occasion. You'll just have to rely on your fertile imagination.

[Rick Munroe]

>Trav, Lucky, is it my imagination, or has this message board

>been on a steady downward trajectory ever since TruthTeller

>bailed out?

 

This is hysterical. I guess I was gone for a while and missed the part where "Trav," Lucky, and TruthTeller became woodlawn's buds. This is good stuff! :7

[Rick Munroe]

>Sorry to bore you with such a lackluster topic

 

I think the amount of serious replies you received indicate that it wasn't such a boring topic. General rule of thumb: ignore the miserable few.

[woodlawn]

>This is hysterical. I guess I was gone for a while

 

You were? I didn't notice.

 

[woodlawn]

>>Sorry to bore you with such a lackluster topic

>

>I think the amount of serious replies you received indicate

>that it wasn't such a boring topic.

 

Oh my goodness, yes. Can seven people really be wrong?

 

 

> General rule of thumb:

>ignore the miserable few.

 

General rule of thumb: try practicing what you preach for a change.

[Guest jaws]

Regarding your insurance it depends on your state and the company you are with. In most states if you are with a "county mutual" company then the rates are unregulated. They can raise your rates for any reason including a simple speeding ticket. Many companies(Allstate) are changing to this tier so that they can charge for anything the deem needed.

 

In your state is it possible for you to take a defensive driving course to wipe the offense from your record? That option is available here in Texas. BTW i am a police officer in TX so my information is correct. Please email me for more info if you want to. I DO NOT condone bad driving but think that some of the statutes and fines are outrageous.

[Guest jaws]

Regarding your insurance it depends on your state and the company you are with. In most states if you are with a "county mutual" company then the rates are unregulated. They can raise your rates for any reason including a simple speeding ticket. Many companies(Allstate) are changing to this tier so that they can charge for anything the deem needed.

 

In your state is it possible for you to take a defensive driving course to wipe the offense from your record? That option is available here in Texas. BTW i am a police officer in TX so my information is correct. Please email me for more info if you want to. I DO NOT condone bad driving but think that some of the statutes and fines are outrageous.

[+ honcho]

RE: My First Speeding Ticket!

 

>We have some really hot CHP and LAPD out here. Fantasy runs

>rampant.

 

There was a gay CHP officer on the SF gay swim team for a while;

he was pretty quiet about his line of work - I only leaned of it via a mutual friend

(somebody who I dated for a while who is a university professor and has no reason to make such things up).

 

The LAPD had a recruiting booth at the SF Gay Pride celbration yesterday.

[+ honcho]

>I'm just going to pay the fine.

 

In some states (California and Oregon among them) it is possible to attend

traffic school and have the points not show up on your driving record.

 

You may not attend traffic school more often than once every 2 years in CA now.

[Guest pyell]

"Wreckless" driving???????

 

If your driving was reckless, it wouldn't be long before it was decidedly wreckful.