speeding ticket...

[Kevmaster]

I got a speeding ticket yesterday morning. I'm looking for a little advice. The Trooper who pulled me over was a little bit of an *******. let me explain:

officer: Any reason for going so fast this morning?
me: well...um..no sir, not really. Just trying to get back quicker (it was 4:00AM, we got backaround 5:00AM and had been driving since 10:00PM)
officer: coming back from the duke game?
me: yes, sir. we're managers on the Duke Basketball Team. (three other people in the car)
officer: too bad i'm a carolina fan. [walks away with my liscence]

I do have a big duke basketball sticker on the back of my car, and I was going 80 in a 65. I'm going to go to court about this, likely, but wanted ya'lls input who have been to traffic court and know what the chances are I have. This is my first traffic offense and I'm 19 and have been driving for near 3 years now.
Thanks!

[PyRo]

I believe they will assign you a pre trial conferance with the DA, assistant DA, or somone who handles just traffic tickets, they will probably offer to give you a reduced fine/points, or a lesser ticket like no seatbelt or somthing. Take it, you have no chance of winning if it goes before a judge.

[Emily]

Kev, I got a ticket for 80/65 on I-40 around exit 290. When I went to court, Enigma talked to the Assistant DA and ask for a reduction in speed and I ended up with a 74/65 with a $10 fine, Court cost was $100. It was no big deal.

The thing that pissed me off about this whole deal was that I wasn't the one speeding. I had been driving for 5 hrs and had my cruise control on so I was in no hurry. There was another car that zoomed around me and the officer was on the side of the road with his inside lights on doing something in his car. But anyway it's over with now.

Good luck. Dont worry about it.

[1stdeadeye]

Speak with the prosecutor before hand. Tell him the truth, you/re a kid and can't afford the points. Offer to plead to a lesser offense so that you can pay the fines but not incur the insurance rising points. In Maryland, they offer probation before judgement.

P.S. Get an FOP/PBA card!

[Kevmaster]

Originally posted by 1stdeadeye
Get an FOP/PBA card!

a do what?

Emily,
yeh, the fine is $25 and court costs are $100. Thats no the concern. My insurance just dropped a LOT because i had driven for 3 years without incident...but this would increase it 100%....which is what im worried about...so...we'll have to see

[Emily]

Kev, I really doubt that you're going to get any lesser charge that's not going to increase your insurance. Mind didn't go up hardly any at all. This is one of those life lessons. Call your insurance company and see what affect this ticket will have on your insurance. Since you have a good driving record, they may not hit you as hard as you are thinking. When I got my ticket I had to go to court, there was no fine listed on the 8x10 paper.


I got a ticket in Kings Mountain, NC and my parents are really good friends with the chief of police. I even made the police follow me to my parents house (less than a mile) and that poor cop was shaking when he handed me my ticket...LOL. The chief dropped my ticket as low as he could to help me out on insurance but it still showed up on my insurance. I didn't even have a fine to pay, just court cost.

[ASDadam]

Rule of thumb, if it gets knocked down to a 74 in a 65 which it most likely will, expect NO insurance increase. Trust me on this one. I got a ticket for doing 76 in a 55. Got it reduced to 54 in a 45 and my insurance didn't do a thing. What you can do since it isn't THAT big of a speeding ticket and under 20mph, you can call and ask for a DA or visit the DA's office and ask to speak with one. Talk to them and tell them its your first offense, blah blah and they'll MOST likely drop it down and you pay a small fine and court costs...No biggie.

[RetroEclipseMan]

Like others have said just go in and plead your case and try and get a lesser charge. I got real lucky a couple years ago when I got a ticket for doing 50 in a 30 and went in a talked to the judge and she ended up dropping the whole thing. All I had to do was pay $50 to take a stupid 4 hour defensive driving course since it was my first offense and I had been driving for over 2 years. So you may just get lucky.

[Kevmaster]

Originally posted by RetroEclipseMan
. All I had to do was pay $50 to take a stupid 4 hour defensive driving course since it was my first offense and I had been driving for over 2 years. So you may just get lucky.

thats what i was told im likely to have to do

[PyRo]

I already took that course for an insurance reduction, does that mean it counts towrds future tickets?

[1stdeadeye]

Originally posted by Kevmaster


a do what?

A Fraternal Order of Police or Policeman's Benevalent Association membership cards. They are more commonly know as get out of jail free cards. I got nailed 3 weeks ago in Audubon on 168 (Black Horse Pike) doing 65 in a 45 with no seat belt while on a cell phone in my BMW. I though I was toast. I gave him the FOP card with my license and registration and boom, he calls my buddy who gave it to me to check me out then lets me go with a verbal warning!!!

The cards work!!!

[Thordic]

Yeah but you have to have a friend who is a cop first...

/me glares at Mango...

Hehe

[1stdeadeye]

Originally posted by Thordic
Yeah but you have to have a friend who is a cop first...

/me glares at Mango...

Hehe

*me has lots of Cop friends!! *

[Mango]

Hah I'm sorry Kev but that was just funny. Looks like he nabbed you but that remark is unprofessional for sure. It'll probably get lowered but it depends what mood the judge is in. Your at the mercey of the courts.

[ShortStrokeTX]

When I'm a cop, I'm gonna bust everybody for 80/45

But I feel ya on the 80/65. I got busted for that and I'm 16. I had to get over and this guy wouldn't let me, I'd speed up, he'd speed up, I slowed down, he slowed down. Thank god the police officer was a friend of mine and let me off with a warning, he took note that my bigger tires cause my speedometer to be off.