Speeding tickets

[mark]

Yeah, that was a pretty good article, and most of it's common sense. But I haven't found cops to be as lenient as that article and the cops' responses imply. On the occasions I've been pulled over, I've always been very respectful and courteous, but I've almost never received a warning instead of a ticket. Maybe I've had the bad luck of only meeting the hardass cops.

As for Ernie's take on radar detectors, I've got to disagree strongly. I would never consider my detector to be carte blanche to speed excessively, nor would I trust it with no traffic ahead of me due to the common use of instant-on radar. But the detector is extremely useful for giving me an idea of police activity in an area, and it warns me about police cruisers embedded in traffic from a long way off. It even tells me whether the radar is coming from ahead of me or behind me, which has proven very useful when there was a cop far enough behind me to be unidentifiable with the naked eye, but not so far that he couldn't have trained his radar on me. It also frequently warns of upcoming construction zones and accidents. Basically, I see it not as a tool to enable me to speed, but as a piece of safety equipment that gives me a better idea of what's going on down the road and reminds me to keep my speed down.

Even with the detector, when I drive down to DC or NY (long stretch of NY State Thruway) I set the cruise control at 73 or 74mph... but if the radar detector beeps, I slow to 65. I've also been very good for years about sticking close to the speed limit in small towns when I'm passing through them. This last ticket now has me paying much closer attention to my speeds in the Burlington area too.

So I suppose the tickets have accomplished what they were theoretically intended to do. But truthfully, I still think they're bullshit. Modern cars are much, much safer than they were even 15 years ago, and they handle much more competently. Realistically, speed limits should reflect the performance capabilities of modern cars. There's really no good reason not to be able to drive 75 or 80 on open stretches of rural interstate highway. The highways were engineered for those speeds, and modern cars and motorcycles handle those speeds very capably.

But of course it's unlikely speed limits will get raised because handing out tickets is too much of a cash cow for state and local governments to resist.

--mark

[Hedge]

Sounds to me like you have the Valentine. I have to agree with your point here because I have an Escort and it has warned me many many time successfully that a trap is ahead. It also gives me a heads up with pulse and laser when the cop is reaching for drivers in front of me. That is my cushion to slow down. If I’m the only one on the road and he hits me with Laser or Pulse then I loose and he wins - that’s all there is to that Game!

[Bucky]

I copped a misdemeanor speeding pop for 65 in a 40 one night. It was just one of those roads with no population, and daytime only traffic hazards. (The Barkhamstead Reservoir)

I called a retired state cop buddy for advice, and he in turn called the prosecutor. My 'excuse' was a lack of concentration due to smoking cessation. It turns out the prosecutor was also trying to quit, and I suppose since misery loves company, he let me off with a $150 mail in fine, and the minimal charge of failure to obey a state traffic commission sign.

Phew! Lucky break.

It was my incentive to buy a Valentine One, which has paid for itself time and again.
I like to boogie on an uncrowded interstate, but tend to be very cautious elsewhere. The radar detector is helpful if I drive the road instead of the speed limit signs.

[mark]

Yeah, I've got a Valentine One. Love that thing. It's warned me about quite a few cops. My incentive to buy it was the two tickets I got in upstate NY for 86 in a 55 -- I was looking at up to $1400 in fines and surcharges, plus 10 points, so I hired a lawyer. He got them knocked down to "failure to yield to a traffic device," $270, and 2 points. I took some of the money I'd set aside for the fine and bought the V1. Now I won't go on longer drives without it, although I don't bother with it around town. Probably should.

Once I get my V-Strom this spring, I'll figure out the best way to mount the V1 to it. And I'll need to figure out a good way of getting the audio warnings into my helmet.

--mark

[Hedge]

I knew it was the V1 when you mentioned directions. My father has that one. I'm almost positive he never uses it so I might ask him for it when they return from Florida in the Spring. Meanwhile my Escort hasn't ever let me down yet either.

[Bucky]

And I'll need to figure out a good way of getting the audio warnings into my helmet.

--mark

http://www.tesseractcorp.com/

[mark]

Bucky, thanks for the link!

--mark

[bruce19]

FWIW, never pay a ticket. Go to court. More than 1/2 the tickets I've gotten in my life were bogus. Since I started fighting them in court, all of them either get reduced or just dropped. And, actually, most of them are dropped.