CA speeding ticket, aadvice

V10 ACR

Viper Owner
Joined
Dec 17, 2002
Posts
271
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego, CA
Well I finally got my first speeding ticket. I was leaving Temecula on the I-15 at about 4:00 PM. I punched it up the entrance ramp and squirted between two large trucks to get out of the heavy traffic. A CHP car was on the side of the road and took off after me. I saw him as I was approaching, laid off the gas and immediately pulled over. He was very polite and told me he had me at 104. I don't think I was over 100, but I don't know for sure. He wrote me up for 94 in a 70. I live in San Diego. Should I just pay it and take the traffic school? Should I travel back up there (about 50 miles) and hope that he doesn't show? I was speeding, so I can't say I wasn't, but there is a possibility his equipment was not working or that he was clocking the bike two lanes over? The fine is not significant (for me) and school prevents any points from showing up. Any suggestions?

Thanks
 

4B Viper

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 19, 2002
Posts
44
Reaction score
0
Location
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Definitely show up to court. Out of the last 5 times I've gotten speeding tickets and went to court, none of the officers ever showed up. And even if the officer does show up, just request traffic school from the judge if you're still eligible.

I doubt the CHP actually got you on radar since they use dash mounted radar, not handheld like the local police. 104 was probably the speed he had to go to catch up to you, thus being the reason for giving you a ticket for 94. I'm sure he was just guesstimating the speed you were going at.

But yeah, definitely show up to court and hope the officer doesn't show because it's always best to keep the traffic school option as a last resort. You never know when you'll need to use it again, especially when you own a Viper. :cool:
 

GaryA

Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 27, 2001
Posts
944
Reaction score
0
Location
USA
I would call "Mr Ticket" http://www.mrdui.com/mrticket.htm , He has won many a cases due to technicalities.

Best part is he's not expensive !

Good Luck

Jeff

Jeff, that sounds like the voice of experience talking! You might want to put that guy on speed dial for when you get your car back! :2tu:

-------------
2000 Black RT/10
Heffner 1000SCi 843 rwhp 792 rwtq 10.20 ET @ 141 MPH
Heffner Performance - Home of the World's First 9-second supercharged Viper!
 

JDR

Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 7, 2002
Posts
248
Reaction score
0
Location
Sonoma, CA USA
In CALIFORNIA, you can ONLY choose school when you enter your plea (the first court visit). If you choose "not guilty" then a court date is set for the office to be there. If the officer shows, you can NOT change your plea to School. It's a one-way choice, if you way not guilty.

I got a real bum ticket (my tire touched the solid line when the lane I was in changed from "merge" to "exit only") in comutter traffic. With two cops, I knew better than to fight it - just took school. It's been over 10 years since the previous ticket, and now it's been almost four years ence that one. For good drivers - it's school... as you'll spend at least 1/2 that time on the second court date anyway, and when you add the travel time it's just about even!
 

Yellow Fever

Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 7, 2003
Posts
726
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego , CA
Mr Ticket has some VERY creative angles..Often requesting records from the city confirming Site Surveys.
It's a card he plays often and wins by default.

My suggestion is take 5 mins and call him (after all its free), he'll be straight up with you..He fought a ticket for me once and it only cost $300 in Fee's.

Good Luck

Jeff

P.S Gary your right , I do speak from experience :)
 

4B Viper

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 19, 2002
Posts
44
Reaction score
0
Location
Los Angeles, CA 90015
JDR-

When you choose traffic school, you are admitting you are guilty. Taking traffic school just lets it not count against you. The speed happy friend of mine who originally convinced me to go to court had at one time gone to court 13 times and out of that, officers showed only 5 of the times. Out of those five times the officer showed, the judge allowed him to go to traffic school 2 of the times when he was eligible and once, a judge let him go to traffic school when he wasn't eligible to go.
 

gtsviper

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 31, 2000
Posts
490
Reaction score
0
Location
Huntington Beach, Ca, US
Don't assume the judge will let you go to traffic school. You were written at more than 20 over. This could be a big ticket. My 02....check with an attorney so you're not surprised in court.
 

Fiorano

Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 5, 2001
Posts
538
Reaction score
0
Location
Vienna, VA
I went to court for my 23 over last yr. It was a complete waste of my time. I figure you need a lawyer to get any benefit out of it.
 

SRT 10 2004

Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 3, 2003
Posts
125
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego
Yeah the other day on the 15 by temecula I saw at least 5 cops as I went north and then south later in the day. I just pay the fine when the ticket comes in the mail and forget about it
 

Ulysses

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 2, 2000
Posts
3,414
Reaction score
1
Location
San Diego, CA. USA
I had posted this earlier in the Snake Pit:

I was followed yesterday on the 15 when I was only 2 miles over the speed limit. THe Officer didn't back off until I was at 65 MPH exactly. Beware all you San Diego drivers.

CHP busy on day one of speeding crackdown

Task force tickets 140 as effort gets under way

By Brian Hazle
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

March 5, 2004

Feel the need to speed? Can't drive 65?

Think again.

The California Highway Patrol launched what it calls an aggressive
enforcement program targeting speeding motorists, with officers
promising to ticket anyone they catch going even a few miles over the
speed limit.

A task force of eight officers from each of the three CHP stations in San
Diego County began cracking down on speeders yesterday, focusing on
state Route 125 from Spring Valley to Santee.

And it was busy.

For eight hours beginning at 6 a.m., officers cited 140 motorists. Of
those, 10 were for violations other than speeding, the CHP said. Five
vehicles were impounded and one person was arrested for possession of
marijuana, CHP officer Brian Pennings said.

Don't expect speeders on other freeways to elude the crackdown.
Officials say the special enforcement group will roam the county's
fast-paced freeways for the foreseeable future.

"All the freeways have certain stretches where people speed," Pennings
said. "There's nothing exempt from the enforcement list."
 

Yellow Fever

Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 7, 2003
Posts
726
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego , CA
I had posted this earlier in the Snake Pit:

I was followed yesterday on the 15 when I was only 2 miles over the speed limit. THe Officer didn't back off until I was at 65 MPH exactly. Beware all you San Diego drivers.

CHP busy on day one of speeding crackdown

Task force tickets 140 as effort gets under way

By Brian Hazle
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

March 5, 2004

Feel the need to speed? Can't drive 65?

Think again.


Looks like were going to have to drive around in 1st gear all day :D
 

96 GTS

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 20, 2000
Posts
204
Reaction score
0
Location
Indiana
When a state's economy is in trouble, you can assume a more aggressive attitude from the cops. This applies to local, county, and state cops. :(
 

Dave's Big Brakes

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 13, 2002
Posts
1,803
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego Ca USA
Kurt, go to school because if you don't, Your Insurance rates will go thru the roof :crazy: I think it also keeps any points off the record to :smirk: Hope to see you on the 28th :D
Yo Prez :D
 

MannyC

Enthusiast
Joined
May 30, 2003
Posts
1,341
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego, California
I had posted this earlier in the Snake Pit:

I was followed yesterday on the 15 when I was only 2 miles over the speed limit. THe Officer didn't back off until I was at 65 MPH exactly. Beware all you San Diego drivers.

CHP busy on day one of speeding crackdown

Task force tickets 140 as effort gets under way

By Brian Hazle
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

March 5, 2004

Feel the need to speed? Can't drive 65?

Think again.

The California Highway Patrol launched what it calls an aggressive
enforcement program targeting speeding motorists, with officers
promising to ticket anyone they catch going even a few miles over the
speed limit.

A task force of eight officers from each of the three CHP stations in San
Diego County began cracking down on speeders yesterday, focusing on
state Route 125 from Spring Valley to Santee.

And it was busy.

For eight hours beginning at 6 a.m., officers cited 140 motorists. Of
those, 10 were for violations other than speeding, the CHP said. Five
vehicles were impounded and one person was arrested for possession of
marijuana, CHP officer Brian Pennings said.

Don't expect speeders on other freeways to elude the crackdown.
Officials say the special enforcement group will roam the county's
fast-paced freeways for the foreseeable future.

"All the freeways have certain stretches where people speed," Pennings
said. "There's nothing exempt from the enforcement list."

It's getting ridiculous here in San Diego. We are the #1 city for street racing crack down, and now they crack down on all speeding. I swear up where I live I see a CHP (California Hwy Patrol) every 5 mins. Jesus! Jeff, you know any places we can take our cars out and get on them without having to worry about cops? SOmething east of me I would assume -- those roads heading out towards the desert or something?

Manny
 

Ulysses

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 2, 2000
Posts
3,414
Reaction score
1
Location
San Diego, CA. USA
Manny Said
I swear up where I live I see a CHP (California Hwy Patrol) every 5 mins.
That's why I avoid the 78 as much as I can.

Those roads east of you are pretty much monitored by the SDPD around Wild Animal Park, and they can be just as bad as CHP for speeding law infringement. A friend of mine was cruising the roads out towards the desert area recently and said CHP was all over those roads too. You'ld have to go pretty far out eastward and it's been pretty hot out there lately.
 

Johann

Viper Owner
Joined
Sep 24, 2003
Posts
444
Reaction score
0
Location
Sacramento, CA
Not defending the cop, but he actually did the original poster a favor. In Kalifornia, when the speed exceeds 100 mph, all the rules change.

Excessive Speed


22348. (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 22351, no person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway with a speed limit established pursuant to Section 22349 or 22356 at a speed greater than that speed limit.

(b) Any person who drives a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than 100 miles per hour is guilty of an infraction punishable, as follows:

(1) Upon a first conviction of a violation of this subdivision, by a fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500). The court may also suspend the privilege of the person to operate a motor vehicle for a period not to exceed 30 days pursuant to Section 13200.5.

(2) Upon a conviction under this subdivision of an offense which occurred within three years of a prior offense resulting in a conviction of an offense under this subdivision, by a fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500). The person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended by the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 13355.

(3) Upon a conviction under this subdivision of an offense which occurred within five years of two or more prior offenses resulting in convictions of offenses under this subdivision, by a fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500). The person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended by the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13355.


The cop probably didn't want to do the extra paperwork so only wrote it as 94 mph.
 

Paul Hawker

Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 1, 2000
Posts
4,660
Reaction score
0
Location
San Diego, Calif, USA
Cop did you a big favor for not writing you up over 100 MPH.
You can take traffic school on line. Very easy, takes less than hr. Cost only a few bucks. Kind of like a warning shot. Each additional infraction within a 3 year period gets progessively worse.
Police patrol the down hill runs much more aggressively than the uphills, as cars are more dangerous speeding downhill than uphill. (easier to stop).
That strip from Temecula to San Diego is heavily patrolled, especially where the speed limit steps down from 75 to 65.
The motorcycle cops seem to show up more often for court dates. They group them all together, so only need to show up few days a month. Part of their job to show up in court.
Mr. Ticket has a good reputation for saving points, but costs $$$.
 
Top