Never

Long story short, I got pulled over on my way home to Ft Lauderdale driving from Miami while driving in the HOV lane. While moving along with traffic (i.e. not passing anyone), a cop car decided to follow me. The cop accused me of going 85mph at a 55mph-zone, when in reality I was going max of 82 while going downhill on a ramp (I know because he was tailing me for a good mile or two so I was watching my speedometer to make sure I wasn't going over 80 and faster than the rest of traffic). Because this was "supposedly" 30mph over the speed limit, now I have to show up for court... What kind of trouble am I looking at for this speeding ticket??? I was about to just swallow the ticket and call it a day (have been unlucky this whole week...), but the damn cop played me by saying I went 85mph!!! Now I don't know what to do... I'm going to check out some traffic lawyers today around Fort Lauderdale...any good suggestions?

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Flashwing

Provided the other traffic was following along at the same speed, I would try and document for yourself the traffic conditions, any specific vehicles which might have been around you etc.

Another thing to keep in mind is you might want to try and take some photos of the area you were stopped at or near. Even more so around the same time/day that you were stopped to document the traffic congestion. If there's a lot of traffic moving at 80mph then you doing the limit (while legal) poses a traffic hazard.

Whether you were doing 82 or 85 if the zone was 55mph it's a serious ticket either way. Arizona has a 20mph+ criminal speeding violation so if you're doing above 20mph either way it's criminal.

If you can afford it, I would try and get an attorney. At the very least you stand to possibly get a lesser fine or punishment for the ticket if you fight it in court.

expo1

If you have the time go to traffic court and look for someone with a similar case and if they make out OK get their Lawyer.

New2u

In Florida this is also a very serious offense. Because the cop was even following you, I don't think you could make a case saying that his radar was malfunctioning... so it will be a 30 mph case. If you have prior tickets for speeding I doubt the judge will go easy on you, if it's your first offense, it will depend on the judge.

But the ramifications of speeding 30 mph over in Florida are quite bad. Be lucky that they didn't confiscate your car and throw you right in jail (as it is like that in certain states). Read up on "HB 137" which in Florida was amended to all vehicles, not just motorcycles. Be glad you didn't get written up for reckless driving also. Seeing as that would tack on more points on your license, and make it possible for you to face jail time or the removal of your license for quite some time.

It's looking like there could be a possible 300-500 dollar fine for this case, depending on what the judge decides. The best idea is to consult with an attorney on this matter. Seeing as most have a better knowledge and understanding what a probable outcome would be.

*Yes and loosing your license for 30-90 days is a reality of this situation. So if I were you, I'd call up some attorneys.

04RX8man

It's gonna b pretty hefty if you get to keep your license! But I know if i was going faster than the speed limit and a cop was coming up behind me I would slow down to keep from getting a ticket not keep going 80 or whatever!

New2u

From what I've read in Florida law. You will get the 4 points on your license for going 15+ over the speed limit. That and if the judge determines himself that you were acting recklessly, he could impose more then just that 1 fine on you. To get your license taken away by points you need to have 12 points on your license within a 12 month span. So if you have any other points on there. I would be scared right about now.

*As a FYI reckless driving will also add 4 points to your license. Which I'm surprised he didn't add because most cops I know that have pulled people over going that fast have added it.

Aseras

In the future you should better pay attention to your surroundings to notice the cop before he is tailgating you, and should that occur, you should slow down.

That said, get a lawyer and plead it down. If you were at risk of loosing your license, then you pull out all the BS stuff like technicalities.

kvndoom

He probably only didn't add reckless because the OP was going flow-of-traffic.

Oh, and were you in the HOV lane during restricted hours? If so (unless you had someone else in the car), that may be why he started following you in the first place.

nycgps

you did a stupid thing

when ever you see a cop, it DOESNT MATTER what the flow of traffic is. you SLOW your *** down at or below the speed limit.

Cops are stupid, they love to pull over "sports" car, cuz they think sports car always wanna go fast. but I often find people driving sports car obey the speed limit, while Civics and other **** cars go WAY over the signs.

Socket7

Who does 82 with a cop on their ***?

Good luck with that ticket. you might be able to plead down to minimum fine.

JinDesu

The trouble you have now is proving that the flow of traffic was going as fast as you =\

Hidef1080

In Atlanta there is talk of a "Super Speeder" law which will add more money to the fine of anyone going over 80 mph in 55 zone.

You can try to fight it [you never know, you might win] but you were over the posted speeds by at least 25 mph.

Hidef1080

Very, Very True!!!

pdxhak

I doubt arguing flow of traffic will make a difference when you were at minimum going 27 MPH over the limit. Good luck proving the 3 MPH discrepancy because it is not likely the judge will believe you. If he/she is nice they it will be knocked down and the fine reduced.

dmp

I shake my head with disbelief at WHY in the name of god our society permits such bullsh|t traffic laws...They are OUR government...supposed to be OUR laws. Includes penalties.



to the OP - hire a lawyer - that will be MUCH cheaper than how your insurance company will rape/extort you in the form of higher premiums for years to come.

Mawnee

Get a lawyer! It will be an initial expense, but will save you a fortune over the next few years in insurance costs.

Socket7

I shake my head with disbelief that someone would do 82 in a 55 in front of a cop and then make a thread to complain about getting a ticket.

Why is it bullshit to have additional fines for doing nearly 30 over the limit? Speed doesn't kill, but a 30 mph difference in velocity over a short period of time can, like when a car doing 85 clips the back of a minivan full of children doing 55.

Should there be considerations for road conditions? sure. but doing 30 over the limit seems as good a reason as any to give someone a ticket. We don't live in Germany where they have lane discipline, so we all have to drive the same speed.

dmp

There was no 30mph difference in speed - he said he and others (including the cop) were traveling along at about 80mph. Trust me - if he were to hit a mini-van doing 55, chances are the mini-van would have been in the left lane.

Want safer traffic? Enforce left-lane laws such as those in Germany. Make traveling in the left lane w/o actively passing a $500 ticket. That'd help reduce congestion, road range, and save fuel.

(shrug).

Socket7

So your full argument for speeding in front of a cop was "Everybody else was doing it?" and the reason you think that shouldn't earn him a ticket is "In Germany he wouldn't get a ticket."

Ok then. fines in Germany are based off your income. Get a ticket now and you'll could be fined a % of your yearly income. You thought a $500 ticket was expensive, try a 10% fine of your take home income. Lets not forget it also takes years to get a license there, and its way more expensive to do so.

So you got any practical reasons as to why this ticket is "bullshit"?

jsjjr

Ditto..you'll have to pay a bit, but it'll be worth it in the long run (pts and insurance rates). BTW, my in-laws live in Atlanta..we frequently visit there once a year or so..anyways, my F I L has always talked about the traffic there in Atlanta and that if you're not following the flow of traffic, you'll likely cause an accident..that everybody drives over the posted speed limit and often times you'd get passed by police or state troopers easily doing 10-15 over.

I didn't believe him until one Christmas we were coming back from one of the new malls around there going about 85..sure enough, state trooper passed us on by with not so much as a glance in our direction. This has happened several times.. I dunno, interesting. I wouldn't do that in Austin. You WILL get pulled over and arrested for reckless driving and your car WILL be impounded.

ken-x8

That's no defense. All that means is that the police are understaffed and can't get everyone.

There was an amusing segment on "Speeders Fight Back" where a guy cited for 85 (or so) in a 70 said he was doing 78. He said he had his cruise control on, and also described how far he'd travelled and when/where he got on the highway. The icing was that he said he was willing to plead guilty to 78. The judge dismissed on the grounds that she believed his speed, which meant the cop's clocking was not credible, therefore the state had no case.

But I suspect that trying to argue 82 vs 85 without the depth of detail that guy had isn't going to make an impression on a judge. I think Never's plan to consult a lawyer is solid.

Ken

JinDesu

Might not be any sort of defense, but that's all he's got. At best, he could claim that attempting to do the speed limit would be a hazard to the other drivers on the road as they were going at that speed.

But I would agree that hiring a lawyer would be the only possible way of getting a reduced fine/sentence.

New2u

He could try that defense but one question would squash it. and that question would ultimately be "Can you prove the other drivers were going just as fast as you?"

Kaiser bun

i went to Orlando when i was younger, and i remember us going the speed limit and almost getting rear ended multiple times, the slow lane goes 75 ish and the fast lane was at about 90-95, i believe that the flow of traffic was going 80-85

edit: given that the speed limit here was 65 not 55

dmp

Why would you claim that's MY argument. You're confusing points. Your point was the danger in 'speed differences' - I'm saying, it seems there were no (worth-mentioning) speed differences.

Since WHEN? I was once issued a photo ticket there - there was a fee listed on the ticket. How could that have been determined if they didn't know my income?

No it doesn't. My girlfriend got hers in about 8 months, if I recall. I think she paid approximately the equivalent of US $2400. I'd FULLY support more-strict licensing here in the states - in fact, starting at age 18. I'd love to see graduated licensing - like race licenses, where drivers must pass certain requirements for certain privileges. Most folk would have a class D license. That would allow for general driving, up and to posted speed limits - no driving whatsoever in the left lane except within 1000 feet of a turn or to move over because of traffic issues. Class C would be able to pass on the left at will, and exceed the class D limits by 25%. Class B, same but exceed by 50% in some cases. Class A would allow for passing on the shoulder, around curves if safe, etc....

Well - you're putting words in my, uh, post. TRAFFIC LAWS are generally bullshit. This ticket, IMO happens to be bullshit because he was not causing any harm, danger, etc, to society around him at the time. No crazy swerving. No left-lane-camping (perhaps? - if he was left-lane camping, it's good he was pulled over - but should have been cited for that, not speeding). It was a case of Revenue generation - not public safety.

If what he was doing was indeed dangerous, pretty scary the cop was a willing participant.

My problem is with traffic laws and their enforcement. Our laws stink. The enforcement of them is even worse because it's almost always directed SOLELY at generating revenue - NOTHING about actually, measurably making things safer or smoother.