When I got pulled over in Louisiana for going 83 in a 70 zone, the ticket was almost $200. And going to court was Not An Option, as it was in a western LA parish, and I was at the time living in northeastern Mississippi - was just passing through on my way to visit Gunslinger in Texas.
Oh yeah, the funny part of that was it was in my grandmother’s 1987 K-car, which could hardly even cruise past 75, and would just eke up to 80 if I totally gunned it - but I’d just passed someone at the crest of a hill and had failed to brake going down, and had gained several MPH just by rolling downhill unchecked.
I’ve never paid a full fine…ever. You don’t tell a “good story.” You give an explanation that doesn’t absolve you from being stupid. Inland Empire judges must be soft toches, then, because I have never paid more than $75 for a ticket in my life.
And since when was a speeding ticket part of the tax burden?
Given as an example that I am under no legal or moral obligation to pay the full amount if I can legally get it reduced, any more than I am obligated to pay the maximum tax bill possible.
I got a ticket for $274. Painful. I’d been driving somewhere because it was cheaper than flying, but after that ticket (and another one on the return trip) it would have been much cheaper to fly.
As for taking your ticket to court, I’ve never done it, but I don’t fault anyone who does. It may not be the most societally beneficial thing to do, but if I start to have a problem with it I’ll take it up with the legislators, not the ticketed people who excercise their rights.
ive only ever paid one ticket un contested, on the sole basis that the cop gave me a reduced ticket (equipment malfunction, when i was doing 80 in a 65), and the only reason i didnt contest it is that the cop informed me that if i did the matter of speeding would have to be addressed as well, but other times that ive contested a ticket, i ususally get a reduced ticket that comes with a higher fine, because in the long run 50-100 dollar fee jump with no points, is better than what the points on my liscense would cost. Another note: in the county where i live if you go to court over a traffic ticket and the officer fails to show then the ticket is dropped, but i think that only happens if the officer repeatedly fails to show…YMMV
I got a $175.00 ticket for doing 59mph in a 35mph zone, just last year. Pinellas County Florida gives you the option of a reduced fine IF you sign up for traffic school, which I did—the grand total was $170, IIRC, so the cost was a wash, but it kept points off my license.
I got a speeding ticket passing through Texas once. The officer wrote me the citation and then told me to follow him.
“Excuse me, officer?”
“just follow me.”
He got back in his car and pulled off. I followed him. We did a u-turn and went back down the highway a mile or so and then turned off (not an exit but a dirt road). “Hmmm . . .” I said to myself.
At the end of the road was a trailer. We entered the trailer, and inside, seated behind a desk was . . . a judge. We had traffic court then and there. I was scrupulously polite (yes, sir; no, your honor) and pled guilty. Wrote 'em a check. As I was leaving, the officer stopped me and thanked me sincerely for being so courteous.
Funny thing is, I don’t remember the fine. Pretty sure it was over $100, though.
While I am happy for all of you who were able to reduce your financial burden of paying tickets, I feel it sends the wrong message towards others: that if and when you receive a ticket for speeding, you can just contest it and reduce the fine.
Why the ‘need for speed’ in the first place?
I’ll bet it saves on administrative costs. I’ll have to admit it was convenient.
The officer asked me if I had a good reason for speeding, and since I am generally honest I answered no. It was a weird situation - it was a four lane highway and there had been a tractor in the right lane, doing about 45-50. As I approached the tractor the car behind it moved into my lane, and I had to slow down. The car moved back over to the right lane after passing the tractor and I gunned it to get back up to 80. Shortly after I was pulled over. I think my speedometer might be off a little. I know it said I was doing about 82 after I passed the car but the officer said 80. Maybe they don’t ticket until that magic 80 is reached? It’s a nice wide four lane, and at the times I travel it it is never busy. I feel stupid, I am well aware of the number of officers patrolling this stretch of road, I see people pulled over on it all the time. I know where the cops sit and wait, too, the tractor threw me off and it was a nice Friday and I had other things on my mind.
I got a $160 ticket (or so I thought at the time) for going 75 in a…65?..in Ohio once. It was the middle of nowhere, and I was running late for a party, having gotten stuck in the traffic jam from hell in Toledo. I was flat broke, having just moved to Michigan and still unemployed. I counted my blessings that I was still using my California driver’s license, because I couldn’t afford to pay the ticket right then - they couldn’t track me down in Michigan, but I would pay it when I could.
So, a few weeks later, when I had the money, I sent off my $160 check to BFE, Ohio. About a week later, my dad called me to tell me that my parents had gotten a bill from said Ohio town for my speeding ticket - $80 (my parents’ address was on my driver’s license). Because my dad is nice, he’d actually paid the thing. I had my (much needed and dearly sacrificed) $160 back! How weird that the ticket amount was incorrect, you may say, right? That’s only the beginning. The bill they sent to my parents had:
my name spelled wrong
the town name spelled wrong
the zip code wrong
As my dad said, it was amazing that the bill even reach its destination.
The moral of the story? Don’t speed in Ohio. Not only is it the world’s largest speedtrap - I swear to god, I’ve never seen so many people pulled over on the sides of the highways as I have in Ohio - the traffic cops are illiterates.
It’s fun.
Fun till someone gets killed, that is. :rolleyes:
There are situations where the only danger is to the rider/driver. And you need to take into account the experience of the operator, the road condition, the condition of the machine, etc.
In any case, on the bikes, it’s often too wet to ride; there are too many State Patrols around, an awful lot of gravel, and too many people on the roads to ride fast. In the Jeep, gas is so expensive that I drive below the speed limit for better economy.
See Finland? Try $103,000.
It was later reduced, but there are several 4 and 5 figure fines here.
I didn’t find a cite, but IIRC there was more to the Selanne case - maybe a passenger in his car was hurt? killed? It was a few years back.