Got my first ticket yesterday..... :(

[Awaz]

Took the day off since it was pretty nice and took wife for a spin to St Louis. Ate at this one cafe called EverestCafe, that caters to vegetarian and healthy foods. Then we went shopping some stuff wife needed - all in all we had really good time. On the way back to Jacksonville, IL, we passed through a little town called Greenfield. I know these little towns only source of revenue is traffic tickets, so I made sure to slow down to speed limits as I went through it. Once I exit, I speed up to highway speed and went my way. I saw this cop car flashing his lights and coming at me. And I was thinking what the heck happened. He pulls me over and said I was going 60 on a 35 zone. I said, that is not true. It was highway speed after I exited town and speed up to match it. He insisted I had more to go to reach 55 zone (speed limit) before I had to speed up. I kept telling him I was out of town, it was dark but I saw the speed limit. I told him I am not a law breaker - you will not find a single violation in my record. But he won't budge. Finally I said tell me what to sign and what not and get on my way. That cop almost ruined the entire day.

[DonB]

Bummer
I hate when I get a ticket and hate it worse when I know I was in the right.
call the DA for the county and plea bargain it out so it does not go on insurance.
it will cost you more to do that but much cheaper than if the insurance get wind of it.
don't ask me how I know
got 3 in 3 days and fixed it so insurance did not get wind

It's all about money. you got it and they want it.

[Shadowofshoe]

     You can also appear in person at court time,but I did that in a small town in Ohio looking for DA to non-moving violate ( )me and could not find one,pissed off the local judge a bit and ended up paying the same had I sent it. a That was after a not unpleasant two hour one way trip
     The bright side is that it never showed up on my record.
  "what happens in Carrolton stays in Carrolton"

   


mike

     

[tin-tin]

  I'm sure that you can get one of those traffic attorneys to fight it. Here in st louis they are pretty reasonable for the first ticket. Usually like 25 bucks or something. Every time I have used them the city just drops the ticket. I'm guessing it just costs them more money to deal with an attorney fighting it then the actual profit of the ticket.
 I would much rather have my money going to an attorney than pay the city that has their police dept writing out a bunch of speeding tickets just to bring in more revenue to make up for poor city management. I'm sure every city has worse criminals to worry about than some guy going 66 in a 55 but dealing with real criminals does not make a city money.

[VirginiaJim]

Happened to me about 4 years ago....70 in a 55.  I was going 60.  Took some advice from an attorney (cost $25) and was ready to plead failure to obey a traffic sign as I wasn't going to be able to get it squashed....the judge beat me to it.  It is all about the money.  I paid the same fine but no points.  A year or two later I pulled my record and it seems I was sleeping in a rest stop.  I didn't take any pictures there, though.

[sherob]

I had a friend get this same garbage pulled on him... so he told the LEO he was going to take a picture of his GPS on his bike, as this kept a record of his speeds and routing he was traveling.  He wanted to show that the GPS was mounted on the bike at the time of ticket issued.  The LEO started to back off, told him to slow it down, and got back into his car and drove off. 

[Awaz]

Wish I had a GPS. It appears I can just get by with Court Supervision and not show it on my records. I will have to call the State Attorney at that county.

[MrPepsi]

See if you can get a trial by declaration in that small town. Chances are good the cop won't submit his side and you'll be off the hook with no visit.

[Rhino]

My last ticket was in 05 and $400 and 6 points. I went to court only to find out it is not court but a meeting with a DA and then if a settlement is not reached a court day is scheduled. But at the meeting the fresh out of law school Assistant DA said how about $100 and 3 points? I was guilty as hell so I said sold! Well worth the 3 hours out of my day.

[tin-tin]

My thoughts on pleading out a ticket might be a little different than a lot of peoples. The way I see it is that when someone pleads out a ticket it makes the city realize that with only a little clerical work they can get some free money. This, in turn, leads to the them writing out more tickets. If people are just going to plead out then why not do it more and get some more free money. Heck, it doesn't cost a whole lot. Just a couple of officers getting paid 12 bucks an hour writing out 3 or 4 speeding tickets every hour for 100+ a ticket.

Pleading out on a ticket seems like an easy way to avoid the hassle and points on your license but by pleading out you are causing your fellow riders, drivers and maybe even your future self more hassle in the future. Its not just speed traps but getting followed and harassed by officers just waiting for you to do something wrong.

I wish every single last person would fight those needless speeding tickets. I'm not talking about those ones where you are going 20 over but the ones where the interstate turns from a 70 to a 60 zone through towns for no reason than to get some free money and you are caught doing 71 in a 60. The people who really get the shaft are the people in said towns who are paying taxes for their department to protect and serve them from real criminals. I for one do not believe the 11 mile over speeders that just happen to be driving through my town on the interstate are the same people that would break into my house or are running a meth lab. They are just passers through or commuters on their way to work or something who could actually stop in my town and spend money in local stores, thus, bringing money into my local community.

I used to live in a town off of I55 on the way to Saint Louis  that is notorious for running 20 cop car speed traps on every Saturday and Sunday morning. Is Saturday and Sunday morning the prime time when the real criminals are out? Really? But guaranteed every Saturday night they had only 1 maybe 2 cops out running patrols. Is that what I pay my 9% tax to the city for? So that they can sit more cops up on the interstate on Saturday morning? How does that protect and serve my interests as a taxpayer?

I wish cities would call a spade a spade and not say its about "public safety". Lets just call it what it is.. easy revenue. It is amazing how when the housing market was booming and all these cities were making a buttload off of real estate taxes that it was 50/50 that you could come off with a warning. Not anymore.

I'm not really trying to bag on cops. They are just doing their job. Some are good and some are not so good just as in every profession. It is just more a rant against poor city management.

[tin-tin]

Whoa. Sorry, must've had too many beers at dinner and I somehow got myself up on a soapbox. My bad.

[Cold Streak]

 

Too funny tin-tin.  By the way, did you forget the Rin?

I recently got a ticket while riding with 2 buddies.  We were in the middle of nowhere doing about 85 on a 2 lane road.  Highway patrol came over a slight rise and hit us with instant on radar.  He wrote us all up for 69 in a 55 rather than the 85 which reduces the fine by about half.  The question we have is can he really claim all three of use were going 85 or can he only really clock the lead guy? 

[jimmymac]

First ticket?



Rookie.



 

[wally_games]

Too funny tin-tin.  By the way, did you forget the Rin?

I recently got a ticket while riding with 2 buddies.  We were in the middle of nowhere doing about 85 on a 2 lane road.  Highway patrol came over a slight rise and hit us with instant on radar.  He wrote us all up for 69 in a 55 rather than the 85 which reduces the fine by about half.  The question we have is can he really claim all three of use were going 85 or can he only really clock the lead guy?

Around here, 25 mph or more over can get you arrested and your bike towed. At least that's what I've been told.

[wally_games]

There's a reason that I ride back of the pack with my friends. There's always one in the front that get a little spirited and is my cushion. 

[VirginiaJim]

Smart man...

[booger]

Yep,  that will teach you for eating at a fern bar restaurant

[VirginiaJim]