First viper ticket

[Fiorano]

While driving home from a friend's place in Alexandria, VA last night, I got pulled over. Cop seemed to come out of nowhere. Got caught going 53 in a 30. Ticket should run over $200. That should go along nicely with the car tax bill I just received in the mail. I really wasn't paying much attention to the speed, just driving normally or so I thought. I'll have to say the cop was a nice guy at least. I haven't got a ticket in about 5 years. I'll need to be more careful.

I have since come to realize that the main objective of the police seems to be generating revenue. I must have seen 6 other cars pulled over on the way home last night. Why are so many police needed for catching speeders? Why not catch some terrorists instead?

I had a car stolen last month. A report was issued, the thief even used my cell phone to call the Dominican Republic. No one seemed to care much on the number they called. No prints were taken of the car when it was recovered either. I guess it takes too much money to try to catch a car thief.

 

[BADVENOM]

Time for a Valentine 1 radar detector..It has save me numerous times. Never leave home without it! LOL

 

[Fiorano]

Although illegal in my state, I think the Valentine is a good idea. Just need to keep it concealed.

 

[Magicboy2]

I had a car stolen last month. A report was issued, the thief even used my cell phone to call the Dominican Republic. No one seemed to care much on the number they called. No prints were taken of the car when it was recovered either. I guess it takes too much money to try to catch a car thief.

Crime pays. My car was broken into here in Philly.

Cop: "What are we going to do, catch him and send him to jail for two months, where he'll learn newer and better ways to break into cars? That's what you have insurance for."

Crime pays.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Although illegal in my state, I think the Valentine is a good idea. Just need to keep it concealed.

And a cheaper fine. $40 fine from what I remember during a phone call to the VA courthouse. What you have dug yourself into here is a reckless driving ticket, which I believe is a mandatory court appearance (>15 MPH over the posted speed limit). I'll be surprised if $200 bucks gets you off the hook! I don't even pull down my radar detector now traveling through VA.

 

[Fiorano]

What you have dug yourself into here is a reckless driving ticket, which I believe is a mandatory court appearance (>15 MPH over the posted speed limit). I'll be surprised if $200 bucks gets you off the hook! I don't even pull down my radar detector now traveling through VA.

As I said, the cop was a nice guy. Decided not to give me a reckless, just wrote me up for speeding.

 

[Birvini]

I have since come to realize that the main objective of the police seems to be generating revenue. I must have seen 6 other cars pulled over on the way home last night. Why are so many police needed for catching speeders? Why not catch some terrorists instead?

I had a car stolen last month. A report was issued, the thief even used my cell phone to call the Dominican Republic. No one seemed to care much on the number they called. No prints were taken of the car when it was recovered either. I guess it takes too much money to try to catch a car thief.

Ding Ding Ding, you win a prize!!! The prize is knowing that cops are out there to generate revenue, not fight crime. *****, doesn't it?

Three weeks ago some SOB used a stolen credit card to order a few pizza's from me, delivered TO HIM AT HIS WORK! At my pizza place an hour later, we get a call from a lady saying that she had her card stolen, and she saw that someone charged over a hundred bucks from our place. I call the cops and tell them that the delivery guy can take them to his work place and identify him. Cops make a big deal about how this is forgery and a pretty hefty crime. Cops also talk to the lady who's card was stolen. Cops show up, and I hand them the forged signature slip. I also have them talk to the delivery guy who thought it was "wierd that the guy tipped my 10 bucks," and also had co-workers chip in for the tip in cash. What did the cops do? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! The delivery guy told the cops, "I can take you there right now and identify the guy!!!" They had no interest in actually picking this guy up. They left with doing nothing. So, moral of the story is, they generate money by issuing tickets to *mostly* law abiding citizens. Those who have nothing to loose get away with everything short of ******. Just my .o2!

 

[FranciscoR.]

Oh come on guys...lol While it does **** to get tickets ( I have had PLENTY ), let's not corner all cops into the category of which some inevtibly fall. Althoguh they must make revenue, I did ask a cop about quotas before, they said the "myth" of cops and ticket quotas was false.

 

[RobHook]

Odd that I just happened to look at this thread. I live in Alexandria too. Where did you get the ticket?

--Rob

 

[RavenFan_94]

Fiorano, did you have a front plate on your car? I seem to have a problem with this every other weekend in Maryland.

 

[ViperJoe]

Why are so many police needed for catching speeders? Why not catch some terrorists instead?

Because speeders / reckless drivers / intoxicated drivers kill more people than terrorists do.

Isn't 20 over the limit reckless driving in the state of VA?

Are you going to court or pay?

Good Luck!!

 

[GTSPOWERED]

Wow it must **** to live in your towns. I have had my Viper out all most every weekend this summer and never bothered by the cops. There is I think around 10 Vipers here in findlay and I have never seen one pulled over. When the cops look at me they usualy just nod and smile.

 

[Fiorano]

No front plate, but he never even looked.

Happened on Belle Haven Rd. I had just turned off Mount Vernon parkway and was going about 50 mph. Once I made the turn, I guess I continued at about the same speed. My fault for not realizing the changing limit.

Ticket is for speeding as I said, not reckless. The cop was a nice guy.

 

[Mr Hemi Head]

Forget the radar detectors. A friend of mine was pulled over in VA.He had a remote unit(detector in the grill).The officer said that he was equipped to detect fuzz busters and gave him a ticket. He showed the officer that the unit was turned off, but got the ticket regardless.Myfriend did not realize , since the receiver was connected to the battery it was always active.

 

[slaughterj]

A multitude of responses:
1. Over 20 in VA is reckless driving, if written up that way (i.e., not 20 over, but more than 20 over) (1 exception, 80+ is reckless regardless, thus in a 65mph zone, 15 over is reckless)
2. Most radar detectors are stealth nowadays, and Valentine V1 detectors are built on a different architecture and are undetectable as well - if a cop says he had a detector detector, either the detector is really old/crappy or the cop was lying and saw the detector.
3. Driving excessive speeds on holiday weekends when cops are out in force is not a good idea, especially if you're going to do it without a radar detector and without paying attention to the speed limit, your speed, and cops around.
4. Radar detector tickets in VA don't result in points on your license, just a small fine ($40 or so), and my insurance company (USAA) doesn't ding you if you get such a ticket.

 

[BIGBADCJ]

TO SUM THIS FORUM UP, COPS ARE USELESS, AND BELIEVE ME THEY ARE WAY TO STUPID TO CATCH A TERRORIST. ALL THEY CAN DO IS SIT UNDER A TREE AND WRITE TICKETS. ALL COPS ****.

 

[TSR6]

Disagree.. All cops do not ****. Sure there are some bad apples, but they doesnt make them all bad.

 

[monnieh]

I took a "Citzens Police Academy" course offered by my local Police. I really hate cops and hoped this would help me understand them beter as my children were picking up on my anti-cop feelings. AS a matter of fact, that is what I put on the application.

No, all cops are not loosers as I felt before. Just got to be stupid as all to do that job. That is one of the most sh*t jobs in the world. The only benefit of being a cop is that you don't get speeding tickets.

BTW: All D/FW traffic cops do deserve to die. They are nothing but lackeys for a desperate revenue machine.

 

[BIGBADCJ]

rock on monnieh i hear that!!!

 

[Fiorano]

In general, what are the chances of going to court and getting the ticket reduced without the involvement of a lawyer?

 

[BIGBADCJ]

you should pay it and move on. unless you go to jai

 

[Ron Hickey]

Since you've got no tickets in the past five years, make the court appearance and bring along a copy of your driving record. If you're real lucky, the cop won't show and the charge will be dropped. If he does show, plead no contest, but tell the judge this is your first ticket in 5 years and that you'd be willing to take a one-day safety class if the charges could be dismissed. It worked for me. (In fact, the judge suggested it.) I don't think this would work for a reckless driving charge, however.

By the way, the cities in Northern Virginia (Alexandria, Falls Church, Fairfax) are notorious for speed traps. With their limited ability to generate revenue, traffic fines are an important component of their income. And since most streets are posted at 25 MPH, the cops usually have their pick of which car to stop.