The only time I’ve been pulled over for speeding I decided to go the totally honest route. He asked if I knew why he pulled me over. I said “I guess I was speeding…I was on the phone and wasn’t paying attention.” I was let off with a verbal warning from a police department known for writing alot of tickets.
I have a good friend who has been a cop a long time. I have had the pleasure of helping him out of a few jams over the years. I have his personal business card in my wallet. On the back of the card, in cramped printing, he has written:
I’ve never used it, preferring to pay the fine rather than grovel. But if I’m ever in a tight spot, hell he has many cops who owe him a consideration at least. Fair? Probably not. Do I care?
In Texas, the speed limit signs are prima facie; that is, they are a presumed maximum safe speed for that road under ordinary conditions. Exceeding the limit doesn’t automatically mean that your speed is unsafe, but it is presumed to be unsafe. And of course, presumptions can be rebutted. It helps when the officer writes on your ticket that the weather was clear and sunny, the road was dry, visibility was excellent, and traffic was light.
(bolding mine)
How is it “not fair”? And no, they are not following the stated rules. See below.
IMHO, technically, both drivers would be inviting a citation. I concede that’s a bit of a conundrum, but hey, what’re ya gonna do? 
()bolding mine)
Which is the logical (and intelligent) thing to do, IMHO.
I seem to recall reading that the posted speed limit is based upon something called the “75 percentile” rule (or something like that). Don’t have a cite, I’ll try and find one.
That’s EXACTLY what I’ve heard before, I just couldn’t remember the correct terminology.
Thanks Max Torque, you da’ man!
Back in the '80s, the state of Maryland, in a desperate attempt to comply with the Federal rules and retain their funding, used “rolling roadblocks” on I-95. They would send out a bunch of state troopers, and they would have one in each lane, driving exactly 55. Another set would follow a mile or two behind, and so forth.
The public hated hated hated it.
WTF?!
What was the purpose? 
I mean, did they then pull over every car that was ‘trapped’ between the two lines of LEOs?
No, the idea was to force people to drive 55. I remember it happening. People were furious and traffic jams were the norm. It was to show the Feds how stupid their rules were.
My Grandmother generally treated the speed limit on highways as a gentle suggestion. I swear if she drove too near an airport the FAA would have noticed on their radar. She was also very petite, very wrinkled from a youth spent outdoors before sunscreen was invented, and white-haired from her 30s (I’ve seen the pictures). IOW, she looked like every State Trooper’s dear sainted mother. She got pulled over frequently, was always polite and respectful and completely willing to take responsibility for her actions, but the cops nearly always let her off with a warning. Usually a verbal warning, not even a written warning.
Back in the day when the speed limit on many Texas highways was “Reasonable and Proper” - IOW whatever you thought you and your car could handle on that road at that moment - my Grandmother was driving through Texas one summer as part of one of her many cross-country driving trips. A Texas State Trooper pulled her over. The way she told the story, he said “Ma’am, I cain’t cite you, since there is no speed limit on this hyear road. But it’s 110 degrees out, and you were going 100 miles per hour. I won’t be back this way for at least 24 hours, and it would be a durned shame if y’all had a blowout.” She slowed down. We never knew how fast she was really going, or what the temperature really was. Every time she told the story her speed was 5 MPH slower and the temp was 10 degrees F higher.
</hijack>
Methinks you should have sold her a book for more than the cover price, commenting that you thought the book was priced much too low so you charge everybody more for it whenever you can.
(bolding mine)
“a gentle suggestion” Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! +1
Your Grandmother sounds like a righteous lady, IMHO. 
(She also sounds a little like my Mom!:p)
It’s amazing what sweet little old ladies, and sweet little young things, can get away with.
I agree with your first sentence, and that principle applies in most of the United States. Your conclusion, however, seems backward.
The point of making them prima facie is so that you can be ticketed for driving 55 on a wet road in heavy fog even if the speed limit is 70.
And that sales tax is much too low. I could make it 20% just for her and then the city would have enough money for new speed limit signs by her house.
Prima facie speed limits work both ways. The posted limit is too high for unusually harsh conditions, and it’s too low for unusually favorable conditions. I recall a story from Drivers Ed class that if a person is ticketed for speeding over the posted limit but can show there was no traffic (e.g., very early Sunday morning), visibility is good, and road conditions are good, then driving over the posted speed limit could be considered reasonably safe for conditions. No violation.
Here’s a link to what I was referring to up-thread. It’s called the “85th percentile method” for determining speed limits on roads and highways. The link below is to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) manual for determining speed limits. (Link is SFW)
http://onlinemanuals.txdot.gov/txdotmanuals/szn/determining_the_85th_percentile_speed.htm
… and if all my friends drive of a cliff, I should too. 
Kinda depends on how many of ‘em make it to the bottom without gettin’ hurt, IMHO.
If 99 out of a 100 make it, I might be inclined to give it a shot. Only 9 out of 10?
Thank you, but NO, thank you. 
Just sayin’…
(Bolding mine.) :eek::smack:
What a shitheel, lazy cop.
(bolding mine)
Be ever so glad that we’re not in the ‘Pit’ right now. :mad:
Just so you know, (and henceforth, can’t use that lame excuse) there have been more than a couple of studies done on the hazards of DWCP!
(‘DrivingWhileCellPhoning’… Yeah… yeah, I just made that up. :rolleyes:)
But I didn’t make up the fact that there HAVE been studies done, that prove it is just as much, if not more of an impairment, than driving while intoxicated. :eek::mad:
Besides the fact that I know FIRST HAND, just how distracting and dangerous it can be, to talk on a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle.:smack:
I’ve got a 6" long x 1-1/2" wide x 1/16" thick stainless steel plate… eleven, s.s. screws and four, 1-3/4" x 1/16" dia. s.s. rods permanently installed in my left forearm/wrist…
all thanks to someone that was (to use YOUR words) "on the phone and wasn’t paying attention"!
PLEASE, don’t do it anymore!
(bolding mine)
Heartily seconded!
(and thank you B.E.Girl, for bringing this post to my attention, I completely missed it.;))
Mods, I apologize for the ‘rant’. 
But I feel much better now, thank you for (hopefully) understanding.
I now return you, to your regularly scheduled thread.
To the question “Do you know how fast you were going?” I’ve been tempted to reply
“Relative to what?” but I think that would not stop the cop from writing the ticket.
Anyway, I’ve only got one speeding ticket in over 30 years of driving. Got pulled over
in the middle of nowhere, Nevada received a $15 speeding ticket (yes, only $15).