Speeding ticket rant

-
matthon

matthon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2008
Messages
3,019
Reaction score
1,392
I have a real issue with speeding tickets...and someone brought up the topic in another thread so it got me going:

1) Every day I drive a major highway to work and right where it goes from 3 lanes to 6, where the city limit begins, the speed limit changes from 65 to 55- for 1 reason only; so the city can make money.

2) Multiple cops speed past me through there daily, and I'm talking 80 mph.

3) The speed limit was reduced to save gas- not to save lives, so lets bring it back up in line with the current safety equipped cars and roads and stop penalizing people for driving 75 in a 55, ruining their insurance rates and hitting them with fines. Don't newer cars get better milage at higher speeds anyway?

4) Cars and highways are all vastly improved upon every year- anti lock brakes, better handling, steering, banked ramps, wide lanes, safety barriers, etc, so to have a speed limit at 55 in a 6 lane area is ridiculous!

5) Drive right! That is the rule in Europe I believe. If someone is coming up behind you in the right lane and they are going faster than you, get to the right dummy!

6) Who is really making money off of speeding tickets anyway? My recent one, and I have not had one in at least 10 years, cost me $250 for a lawyer and $150 for the fine!
 
This is going to be fun.

1. Not quite. It has to do with peak traffic loads, sight distances, population density, and roadway access density. The TX DOT did a study back in the late 70s/early 80s that peak traffic through put could be achieved at around 35 mph allowing for safe following distances with the road fully occupied by vehicular traffic. Even the famed autobahn in Germany will impose speed limits around major metropolitan areas for these reasons.

2. Who polices the police? Unless an emergency/law enforcement vehicle has lights flashing, the driver should operate the vehicle as required by law. A badge doesn't allow DUI, why should it allow speeding? Suggest inquiry of jurisdiction involved; "Are officers required to obey the speed limit if they are not responding to a call?" (and not the call of nature or the siren song of a donut shop.) "Are officers required to use lights and/or sirens to indicate that they need to travel faster than the flow of traffic?" "How do I report an officer who is inappropriately operating his/her vehicle?"

3. Hybrids do not. I recently compared my 73 Dart /6 to my father's 01 LeSabre and found that he gets only 2 mpg on the highway more than I do when driving at the same speed.

4. Yes and no. The road infrastructure of the US is beyond its design life and in many cases beyond its capacity. Responsible entities are not able to maintain existing streets and roads properly. Don't think so? How many shops in your county could repair an aluminum wheel ten years ago? Now? If the requirement for the business wasn't there, there'd be no business.

The safety considerations for operating a 4000 lb car are different from operating an 80,000 lb OTR semi-trailer. The highway, and speed limits must account for both.

The fleet of cars on the road today are quite a bit better in virtually every regard. However, the legion of drivers isn't being trained better or are they required to be any more attentive to the task of driving than before. Yet, the distractions drivers can be subjected to are higher than ever before. I put cell phones at the top of the list.

5. AMEN!!! In Germany, you can be cited for impeding the flow of traffic by driving in the left lane when not passing another vehicle.

6. The lawyers and insurance companies make money off of speeding tickets. Government also makes money off of them, too. When a policeman tells me that they are not on a quota system, I have reminded them that there is a line item in the budget for fines collected. You are acting as an agent of the collection process.

In the end, speed limits are arbitrary in their enforcement and it's about the money. Most speeding tickets are written on limited access highways where a minority of accidents occur. The government's own data back this claim up. This tells me that it is not about public safety.
 
Have you seen the "iceedents" on the news ? Looks like bumper cars out there. Some poor soul will have to be out there; like it or not, and right up a report on every one of them.
Those that dont obey the rules will buy gas for the cruiser.
 
it's a total money maker for them, but see they are not business to help us but to help themselves.

they rely on people breaking the law.
translation=they don't want to stop anything, just milk it for what ever revenue it can offer.
 
Keep in mind that in Germany it's very difficult to get a drivers license and they take driving very seriously. The idea of "cup holders" is even ridiculous to them much less reading a newspaper or talking on the phone.

Just so you know, I agree 100% with their frame of mind.
 
A new GA speed law went in effect this year. How much higher? The new law titled HB160 tacks-on another two-hundred-dollar state-fee for any driver convicted of speeding at 75-or-more on any two-lane roads.. OR convicted of speeding at 85-and-over anywhere in Georgia. Those new state fees will be in addition to any local fines already in effect in the jurisdiction where the speeding offense occurs.
But, I guess this law excludes law enforcement that regularly speed during non-emergency patrols. When one passes me on the highway, I pull in behind him.
 
2 Darts, nice! Made me laugh and an intelligent response. I will never claim to be 100% correct here, just a point of view.
The area I mentioned goes through the city, meaning passes over the city line, but it does not go into the city. It goes from 3 lanes to 6 because there are 2 entry points for traffic; the first ramp enters and becomes the 4th lane, the second ramp enters as 2 lanes and becomes the 5th and 6th lanes. All new pavement and painted lines.
I have never seen congestion there or an accident.

What happens is, traffic is moving at a good clip in the am, and when someone sees a cop sitting up ahead everyone starts slamming their brakes.

If anything, I see that being the cause of a major pile up some day.
 
If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"

This is a philosophical brain teaser that can be framed in this context:

If a car and driver exceed the speed limit and no one is around to see it, or be adversely affected by it, is this an unsafe or unreasonable action worthy of a citation?
 
Not to hijack this thread but yesterday I was pulling out of a gas station after getting gas in my truck and was pulling my seat belt over to buckle up, Well there passes a highway patrol car and he pulls over about 500 ft from the gas station and as I pass by he pulls out behind me and on go the blues. He ticketed me for not having my seatbelt on $25.00 fine with $100 court costs total $125.00. I assumed that I could put on my buckle in the gas station parking lot and the trooper said if I was moving in a forward motion without the belt off, that the ticket was warranted. What do you think?????????
 
dustermaniac said:
Not to hijack this thread but yesterday I was pulling out of a gas station after getting gas in my truck and was pulling my seat belt over to buckle up, Well there passes a highway patrol car and he pulls over about 500 ft from the gas station and as I pass by he pulls out behind me and on go the blues. He ticketed me for not having my seatbelt on $25.00 fine with $100 court costs total $125.00. I assumed that I could put on my buckle in the gas station parking lot and the trooper said if I was moving in a forward motion without the belt on, that the ticket was warranted. What do you think?????????
Click to expand...

Pay the ticket,it's easier. Being from a Law Enforcement Family in a state blow NC they are all crooks and the dummies will show up in court to make sure you pay through the nose. The Judges are on their side and are voted in so they need your money too.
 
old tired rebel said:
Pay the ticket,it's easier. Being from a Law Enforcement Family in a state blow NC they are all crooks and the dummies will show up in court to make sure you pay through the nose. The Judges are on their side and are voted in so they need your money too.
Click to expand...


That's what I figured. I am just going to pay it. I do not stand a chance in Wake County.
 
dustermaniac said:
I assumed that I could put on my buckle in the gas station parking lot and the trooper said if I was moving in a forward motion without the belt on, that the ticket was warranted. What do you think?????????
Click to expand...

I'd say that you were on private property and the case should be thrown out. What's next? Are you going to get a ticket in your driveway for not having your belt on and moving slowly? Gimme a break.


Wylde1.
 
matthon said:
What happens is, traffic is moving at a good clip in the am, and when someone sees a cop sitting up ahead everyone starts slamming their brakes.

If anything, I see that being the cause of a major pile up some day.
Click to expand...


Wrong. If everyone was doing the speed limit like they are supposed to be doing, there would be no need to slam on their brakes when they see the police. No pile-up if you're driving properly.

Wylde1. (speedus maximus)
 
Wylde1 said:
I'd say that you were on private property and the case should be thrown out. What's next? Are you going to get a ticket in your driveway for not having your belt on and moving slowly? Gimme a break.


Wylde1.
Click to expand...

I hate to tell you but here in NC you can get a ticket sitting in your driveway with the car off and the keys in your pocket as long as you are sitting in it.
 
old tired rebel said:
I hate to tell you but here in NC you can get a ticket sitting in your driveway with the car off and the keys in your pocket as long as you are sitting in it.
Click to expand...


So so true. I never had tickets like I have had in NC.Been driving for 29 yrs and only 1 ticket in Massachusetts for a red light. Moved here in 2007 and have already had 5 speeding tickets (Beat them all but lawyers and lots of $ were involved in helping me in every case) and now this seatbelt ticket. Man, what a racket. They stopped my wife coming home from work late one night for running a 4 way stop sign and she did stop but the officer said she needed to stop and count to ten while looking both ways before proceeding. She had to attend a safe driving course and the day she was at the course, We got a letter in from the attorney representing her that they dropped the charges but it was too late, she was at the defensive driving course when the letter arrived in the mailbox. Go figure, only in North Carolina. She had to pay $50.00 for the course and could not get her money back not to mention the lawyers fees and court costs.
 
dustermaniac said:
So so true. I never had tickets like I have had in NC.Been driving for 29 yrs and only 1 ticket in Massachusetts for a red light. Moved here in 2007 and have already had 5 speeding tickets (Beat them all but lawyers and lots of $ were involved in helping me in every case) and now this seatbelt ticket. Man, what a racket. They stopped my wife coming home from work late one night for running a 4 way stop sign and she did stop but the officer said she needed to stop and count to ten while looking both ways before proceeding. She had to attend a safe driving course and the day she was at the course, We got a letter in from the attorney representing her that they dropped the charges but it was too late, she was at the defensive driving course when the letter arrived in the mailbox. Go figure, only in North Carolina. She had to pay $50.00 for the course and could not get her money back
Click to expand...

Oh she did a California stop? In Davidson County the State Troopers set up a road block beside the cemetery where my mother is buried to cat people with expired drivers license,Car plates,car insurance, and anything else you can find. The Sheriff Dept does the main country roads at the same time.
 
we had snow snow snow last week so on my way to the shop/ road cover no plow trucks out there sits a ohio highway patrol shooting radar. why go help someone stuck or broke down. that way i always have my deteckter on so i can know if there up there waiting for me.als
 
alsdemon said:
we had snow snow snow last week so on my way to the shop/ road cover no plow trucks out there sits a ohio highway patrol shooting radar. why go help someone stuck or broke down. that way i always have my deteckter on so i can know if there up there waiting for me.als
Click to expand...

It's illegal to use a detector in NC now that a big ticket including one for license,plate covers, texting while driving I agree with but wait until someone opens their phone to look up a number to dial.

If you move here be prepared to pay 3 taxes on your car while transferring the title. And if you buy a car out of state it better be notarized too or no title transfer. And everyone says NC is Cheaper. The state really beats you up here. Don't ask about Property Tax or NC State Income tax.:boxing:
 
The five speeding tickets I have got the first two were in work trucks while I was working and the other three were when I was driving my Duster. The last one I got was I got clocked on I 95 North in Roanoke Rapids for 85 MPH in a 70 MPH zone. My speedometer said 70 but I guess due to the tires on the car that the speedo was not reading correctly. Luckily my next door neighbor has his own shop so After lawyers fees and hooking up my neighbor with a case of premium beer, he provided me with a receipt for speedometer calibration and it was dropped.
 
dustermaniac said:
The five speeding tickets I have got the first two were in work trucks while I was working and the other three were when I was driving my Duster. The last one I got was I got clocked on I 95 North in Roanoke Rapids for 85 MPH in a 70 MPH zone. My speedometer said 70 but I guess due to the tires on the car that the speedo was not reading correctly. Luckily my next door neighbor has his own shop so After lawyers fees and hooking up my neighbor with a case of premium beer, he provided me with a receipt for speedometer calibration and it was dropped.
Click to expand...

Too bad they changed that law too last year.
 
i got it when i had my turbo mini van. with the 5 sp. it was a blast to smoke imports from light to light. after that only got rid of it this summer. i use it to see if there up a head to slow down[ i have a saturn now so i don,t go to fast anyway] and check seat belt on.when i was a kid 18 i pulled a power slide across 4 lane oneway street right in front of a akron bike cop. just happen to be my dads friend. allmost got my *** beat, he was real piss off when he stoped me. als
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top