Just got my FIRST Speeding ticket this morning....GRRRR

[JUCD VPR]

SO needless to say it has not been a good morning. I've been staying up late working on papers for school, and some how woke up a little late this morning. SO I decided since it's been raining like crazy lately the past few days and this is the nicest day of the week. So i'll drive the Viper and make up a little time. I have to drive an hour to Boeing each way every morning and usually there aren;t to many cops. Well low and behold i'm about 2 miles from work and I come around the bend going down a hill, so of course i'm picking up more speed, in the mean time there is an eclipse and another car cruising along with me at about 80-85 ish, so I change lanes and BAM he's sitting on the side of the highway and tags me going 90 in a 60 Yup 30 over

I normally cruise with the speed of traffic which is around 75-80ish but this morning I was trying to make up time, well turns out instead of making up time i was 20 minutes late for work since the cop took 25 minutes to write the ticket (i've always wondered what takes them so long to write only a few words on a small piece of paper). I thought I was only going about 84ish but i guess I was wrong?

So this is the first ticket in 5 years i've gotten, and the very first in the Viper in over 2 years of owning it.

Now i'm in a bad mood. I've been so stressed out the past few months with getting out of the Marines , starting a new job at Boeing working 40+ hours a week and going to school taking accelerated classes which consume 4 hours a night of my time. Along with dealing with the Vetarn Affairs people to take care of any old military injuries i'm supposed to be compinsated for and getting my education money. I'm on the go non stop from 5:30 am and I don;t step foot into my house until 10:00 Pm every night. This does not count all the homework on top of going to class and writing 50+ papers for english. Plus I have to do all the normal house work stuff, make my GF happy, deal with all the bills etc etc. So i've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately.

BUT.... yesterday I had a GREAT day, I figured things were starting to get better and the winds of change were coming.........BUT the cop totally ruined it for me. Grrrr sorry just needed to vent a little bit.

My GF is going to talk with her sister who is a lawyer in missouri to see if there is anything she can do to get the fine reduced and or no points. I'm not sure how much the ticket will be, i got it in Clayton, Missouri. I'm sure it won;t be good though.

 

[costanZo]

SO needless to say it has not been a good morning. I've been staying up late working on papers for school, and some how woke up a little late this morning. SO I decided since it's been raining like crazy lately the past few days and this is the nicest day of the week. So i'll drive the Viper and make up a little time. I have to drive an hour to Boeing each way every morning and usually there aren;t to many cops. Well low and behold i'm about 2 miles from work and I come around the bend going down a hill, so of course i'm picking up more speed, in the mean time there is an eclipse and another car cruising along with me at about 80-85 ish, so I change lanes and BAM he's sitting on the side of the highway and tags me going 90 in a 60 Yup 30 over

I normally cruise with the speed of traffic which is around 75-80ish but this morning I was trying to make up time, well turns out instead of making up time i was 20 minutes late for work since the cop took 25 minutes to write the ticket (i've always wondered what takes them so long to write only a few words on a small piece of paper). I thought I was only going about 84ish but i guess I was wrong?

So this is the first ticket in 5 years i've gotten, and the very first in the Viper in over 2 years of owning it.

Now i'm in a bad mood. I've been so stressed out the past few months with getting out of the Marines , starting a new job at Boeing working 40+ hours a week and going to school taking accelerated classes which consume 4 hours a night of my time. Along with dealing with the Vetarn Affairs people to take care of any old military injuries i'm supposed to be compinsated for and getting my education money. I'm on the go non stop from 5:30 am and I don;t step foot into my house until 10:00 Pm every night. This does not count all the homework on top of going to class and writing 50+ papers for english. Plus I have to do all the normal house work stuff, make my GF happy, deal with all the bills etc etc. So i've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately.

BUT.... yesterday I had a GREAT day, I figured things were starting to get better and the winds of change were coming.........BUT the cop totally ruined it for me. Grrrr sorry just needed to vent a little bit.

My GF is going to talk with her sister who is a lawyer in missouri to see if there is anything she can do to get the fine reduced and or no points. I'm not sure how much the ticket will be, i got it in Clayton, Missouri. I'm sure it won;t be good though.

You should buy a radar detector.
I'm buying one today!

 

[dave6666]

I will sacrifice 100 bulls and drink heavily this evening to honor your suffering.

 

[IEATVETS]

Even radar/laser detectors aren't a cure all.

 

[GTSnake]

Try to fight it. If you can get it reduced to no points and just pay the fine it's well worth it. Do you have an informal hearing process there?

 

[Affatica]

That ***** man. But don't let it bring you down. Do what you can to reduce it or make it go away. Hopefully, since this is your first in 5 years you can maybe do some driving classes or something to reduce it. But you'll get through it.

 

[GTSnake]

And oh BTW always remember that when it's a nice day out cops like to go out to patrol too. They don't like to patrol on crappy days and there are much more of them out on nice days.

 

[costanZo]

That ***** man. But don't let it bring you down. Do what you can to reduce it or make it go away. Hopefully, since this is your first in 5 years you can maybe do some driving classes or something to reduce it. But you'll get through it.

You should definitely be able to get it reduced. I have always had a clean driving record but back in februrary of 2004 I got my very first speeding ticket. Cop clocked me in at around 83mph in a 45mph work zone.. my ticket was $650! I took it to court and fought it.. since my record was always clean and that was my first speeding ticket ever.. let alone any ticket for that matter the judge dropped it to $130

 

[yogibayer]

And oh BTW always remember that when it's a nice day out cops like to go out to patrol too. They don't like to patrol on crappy days and there are much more of them out on nice days.

I agree. If I ever get pulled over on a rain/sleet day is to sit in my comfy car and ask the guy a whole bunch of stupid questions while he stands in the rain

 

[JUCD VPR]

You should buy a radar detector.
I'm buying one today!

I have a Valentine One radar detector BUT it was in my GF's car since I usually drive that to work. I just forgot to swap them out because I was running late and in a hurry.

 

[JUCD VPR]

I will sacrifice 100 bulls and drink heavily this evening to honor your suffering.

Thanks, maybe that will keep the cops away from me.

 

[JUCD VPR]

And oh BTW always remember that when it's a nice day out cops like to go out to patrol too. They don't like to patrol on crappy days and there are much more of them out on nice days.

I was just thinking that as I rounded the corner lol, then BAM there he was

Oh well, i guess it was only a matter of time. I plan on going to court and/or calling and seeing what I can do about it. Man I wonder how much it will cost? This *****, oh well I am going to try to not let it ruin my day.

 

[ACR VYPR]

Plead "not guilty” and take it to court. It’s a 50/50 chance the cop doesn’t show up. If the cop shows up, start explaining...

 

[Chipster]

I'm not sure why you are blaming the cop for ruining your day. If you speed, you risk getting a ticket especially in a sports car that stands out. Explaining won't do anything for you at 30 over. But you should be able to negotiate the ticket down and maybe do traffic school or something.

 

[cagleman]

FYI...the reason it take a while to write a few words on the ticket is:

He will run your DL for warrants and the like and, depending on if the computer in his car is working or if the dispatcher is busy and cant take his request to run your DL, it could take several minutes. Some cops will also take the time to write out the narrative on the back of their copy of the ticket at that time as well (you won't see that unless you go to court to fight it). Plus, he could just be inexperienced and is figuring out exactly what charge to write you for and how to complete all the boxes on the ticket.

I have sat in my car for for 10 minutes just waiting for dispatch to clear the air to run a DL. It happens.

Sorry things have been tough lately...fighting with the VA only makes things worse. Congrats on reintegrating so well and so productively back into home life. Good luck.

Yogi...you are right...I hated being stuck out in the sleet/snow...rarely wrote tickets in that weather. Of course, it works both ways. We could sit in our car as long as we need to to complete the ticket, thereby holding you up as well. But I hear ya!

 

[kman]

Hate to say it with your lack of time, but go to court. Speak to the DA and explain your out of the military, working at Boeing,going to school and you have not had a ticket in five years. They will most likely reduce the speed or change it to a non moving violation, but they will not budge on the fine. They want your money and could careless about giving ammo/points for your insurance company to raise your rates.

 

[JUCD VPR]

Hate to say it with your lack of time, but go to court. Speak to the DA and explain your out of the military, working at Boeing,going to school and you have not had a ticket in five years. They will most likely reduce the speed or change it to a non moving violation, but they will not budge on the fine. They want your money and could careless about giving ammo/points for your insurance company to raise your rates.

Yah thats what I'm going to do, the fine bothers me but it's nothing compaired to what insurance would do, so I don't mind paying a fine.

I don;t dislike cops, I just dislike it when they give me tickets.

 

[Affatica]

A long while ago, I read an article about how to act when caught for speeding. It had the basics, be respectful and courteous, watch your attitude, etc. One of the other suggestions was before the cop goes back to his vehicle, politely ask if he/she would mind letting this one slide and not giving you a ticket.

It said to make sure you do it before he goes back to his cruiser, because once he puts pen to paper, you are SOL.

I have employed this tactic 3 times in the viper and it has worked twice. I figure, it can't hurt to ask. Worst case is you get the ticket that you were going to get anyway. And generally if you are courteous and respectful, they won't pile on additional charges they find.

I know this doesn't help now, but it might be good for future reference.

 

[YouWish]

Bummer man,I didn't catch in your daily routine a trip to the gym,your not shrinking on me are you? LOL j/k you sound very busy!

 

[EllowViper]

Got my first one last fall by a motorcycle cop on the Crosstown Expressway (toll road) in Tampa. I was blasting along at 140+. The funny thing was is that he said I was going over 100 when I blew past him and that his system shuts down when he gets over 80 mph on his cycle...so he could only ticket me for 100 in a 65. He was actually more interested in the fact that I did not see him vice the speed I was doing. I think he felt obligated to ticket me since I never backed out of the gas after I passed him (never did see him...but I was concentrating on doing some seat-of-the-pants tuning at the time). I took my mandatory meeting with the judge...pleased guilty (I was) and got a $150 ticket and court fees ($68.00). So past performance, attitude, and owning-up to what you were doing does make a difference. If I would have done the "not guilty" thing and tried to game it, I'm sure I would have been well over $600 plus probably lose a license, etc. Gotta love that ROE blower though and four lanes of clear and unrestricted.....

 

[Kenneth Krieger]

Feel very fortunate. In many of the "west valley cities" (Metro Phoenix!), 25 over and they read you your rights, haul you off to jail, tow your car, and overall it will cost you more than $1,000 and your ins. will sky rocket! Then you have to redo the car when the tow company, who can't get a Viper on the tow truck, will ruin your car's finish somehow......and the list goes on and on!!

 

[cagleman]

A long while ago, I read an article about how to act when caught for speeding. It had the basics, be respectful and courteous, watch your attitude, etc. One of the other suggestions was before the cop goes back to his vehicle, politely ask if he/she would mind letting this one slide and not giving you a ticket.

It said to make sure you do it before he goes back to his cruiser, because once he puts pen to paper, you are SOL.

I have employed this tactic 3 times in the viper and it has worked twice. I figure, it can't hurt to ask. Worst case is you get the ticket that you were going to get anyway. And generally if you are courteous and respectful, they won't pile on additional charges they find.

I know this doesn't help now, but it might be good for future reference.

You are right...where I was a cop if I started working on a ticket...it was distributed. We had to account for every ticket in our ticket book...so we couldn't just tear one up. If we screwed one up we had to write a memo to the commander explaining what happened to get the messed up ticket excused.

 

[RAYSIR]

Yep, the other 2 cars were using You!!! I do it all the time, Follow the Gunie Pig !!! Dang, a Viper is the best one you could follow from point A-B. Been there done that!!! ***** but that's what they do. USERS.

 

[RoadiJeff]

I got a ticket a few years back for 91 in a 60 in the St. Louis area. It wasn't the Viper. I contacted one of those traffic law firms that you can find in the Yellow Pages, who showed up with me in court. The judge told the lawyer that I had to appear - no mailing in a fine.

Anyway, my lawyer managed to get the ticket waived in exchange for two 4-hour sessions of traffic school and probation for 6 months. I think my otherwise spotless driving record saved me and the fact that I told the judge that I was just following another car who was driving that fast. We were not racing.

If you can, get a copy of your driving record and take it to court. It will help your case if you have a clean record.

 

[Flash Gordon]

You showed him your military ID and he penned you?

 

[plumcrazy]

flash, you know how these cops are....

 

[RX VIPER]

JUCD- looks like traffic school in your near future bro. What's up with getting tickets around here in the 90's. Your the 3rd one I've heard of since Jan.

Go to court with the lawyer. You won't get the points and will have to do the driving school. Jeff was lucky with only 6 months probation. It's usually 3 years, and if you get another ticket in that time frame, you get the points on your license for both offences. Try to limit the probation period with your good driving record.

Good luck.