My first ticket... whee!

[TheBigJesus.]

Okay, so I was at my girlfriend's house around 11:30, and needed to get home by midnight (my parents are really strict about it). We live about 35 mins (according to mapquest) away. Well after 5 minutes, I decided I finally had to go. So I hit up the interstate, and I'm cruising around 80. No problem.
I get to the road leading up my mountain, and I have 10 minutes left. Even my grandma could make it from there to my house in 10 minutes. The speed limit on this road is 40. I'm cruising behind a beamer going 45. We're going around some small turns, but nothing too big. Then I see the lightbar go off in my rearview. I look down, see I was going 45 and say to myself "wtf!?" The way this road is there aren't many places to pull over, so it took me about 3 minutes to get to one.

The conversation with the officer went like this:
O: "What were you thinking!? Why didn't you pull over right away!?"
Me: "There really was no place to, officer."
O: "Where are you coming from?"
Me: "Elder Mtn.... I was dropping my girlfriend off."
O: <Goes back to car for a couple minutes, then comes back.> "I'm going to let you off easy"
Me: *sigh of relief* "Thank you offic..."
O: "Oh I'm still going to give you a ticket. I'm just going to give you 'too fast for conditions' instead of 'driving recklessly.' My car is built for performance and I could barely keep up with you."
Me: <Thinks to self it was probably the AWD. My car only has 170 hp at the crank for cryin' out loud.>

So my court date is March 16 (last day of school before spring break). I figure I'll just plead guilty and take the driving school to get it taken off my record. But there is another option. My girlfriend's mom is a private attourney, and her dad is the assistant DA (way to pick 'em, me). Her mom got her ex-boyfriend off of 3 tickets. The worst one was 100 in a 70 (he only had to go to the driving school instead of completely losing his license). I really don't want to try that, though, because the officer said if I tried to fight it he'd show the video in court (not sure what it looks like). I think I'll just take the driving school, my friend said it wasn't that bad anyway.


Oh, and he wrote the car manufacturer as Suberu...

[Plays_with_Toys]

I don't know about your state, but in CO if the cop doesn't show up for the court date (if you fight it) its instantly dropped. Most cops are too busy to do so, so that happens most of the time. If he showed the video, you could point out that A) there was a car in front of you traveling just as fast, and B) there was no place to pull over.

How many points was the ticket? How much is the driving school?

[Wiscon_Mark]

wow, that's almost even more crappy than my ticket for expired plates (on a car that'd been in the shop for 4 months, waiting for a part) back last may.

I dunno, I'd probably try to fight it. Considering "too fast for conditions" is such a crap ticket, you're very likely to get off, and a lot of policemen don't bother to show up in court. It is the end of the month, he might've needed those extra few tickets (to make quota).

People think my car is a pig for handling because its a wagon...then I pull away from them on the on ramps :twisted:

how much was the ticket?

[TheBigJesus.]

No price on it. I'm gonna have to go to court to figure it out. I might be able to get out of it though at the courthouse if I get to say my case (didn't know how long it took to get from gf's house to mine). A couple of my friends suggested that he was trying to fill the quota too. This cop seemed kinda like a bitch though, wanted to feel all powerful because he was pulling over a teenager. My friend went 50 up that road about 10 mins before me (he drives an old maxima)... I guess I just have bad timing.

I dunno about how many points or how much the driving school is.

[shazapple]

what were the conditions of the road?

Im pretty sure any sane judge would let you off, especially if you had a clean record

[Perdue]

Sounds like the cop as made an empty threat to me. With another car directly in front of you going the same speed, I don't see what his video proves. What WERE the conditions? If it was snowy or wet, it MAY stick, because you are 5 over the posted speed limit, which is supposed to be the highest safe speed on that road in the best of conditions. As mark stated, it's a "crap ticket", but it can still stick. It's up to you. Talk to your girl's mom and see what she says.

[scottzg]

"built for performance" is a load of crap. They have stiffer suspension and are lifted 1." With the extra cop junk installed, they corner just the same and are a touch slower than... a stock crown victoria.

Bummer about the ticket.

[redlegacygt]

i would say fight it since its a close call. I know in PA the cops around where i live give you a 5 mph over limit. (depends who the cop is). However, in PA if u take it too court, it gets dropped due to an officer not showing up. Also, all PA roads have to be surveyed every 5 years. If that road has not been survyed, no radar can be run on that road anywhere until it is. :twisted: ..i say to check into the laws for your state

[TheBigJesus.]

It wasn't rainy, it wasn't foggy. The roads were perfectly fine. It was dark (obviously, 11:50pm) and there were small turns.

Oh, and I've never gotten a ticket or been pulled over before. I've been in one wreck on the record (the 18 wheeler incident), but that was clearly the other driver's fault.

[BuruKid]

"built for performance" is a load of crap. They have stiffer suspension and are lifted 1." With the extra cop junk installed, they corner just the same and are a touch slower than... a stock crown victoria.

Bummer about the ticket.
My family owned a Crown Vic (which handled great) and the cops do have different suspension i think. They get thicker sway bars and a DOHC 4.6 good for 300Hp like the mercury Maurader. IM %90 sure b/c a asked a cop in 7-11 one day b/c i knew our car was pretty slow and there was no way cop cars were that slow and he told me the interceptor/cop cars had DOHC

[Wiscon_Mark]

"built for performance" is a load of crap. They have stiffer suspension and are lifted 1." With the extra cop junk installed, they corner just the same and are a touch slower than... a stock crown victoria.

Bummer about the ticket.
My family owned a Crown Vic (which handled great) and the cops do have different suspension i think. They get thicker sway bars and a DOHC 4.6 good for 300Hp like the mercury Maurader. IM %90 sure b/c a asked a cop in 7-11 one day b/c i knew our car was pretty slow and there was no way cop cars were that slow and he told me the interceptor/cop cars had DOHC

yeah, they have a stiffer (=different) suspension. They are a lot more powerful, but police cars wouldn't excel at anything other than the drag strip.

[ooberdoob]

(way to pick 'em, me) bah hahaha well done!



Oh, and he wrote the car manufacturer as Suberu...

http://x2.putfile.com/2/3122032914.jpg

[BuruKid]

Crown Vic are amazingly smooth at higher speed. They dont bob at all and ride like a cloud. My mom who never sppeds was doing 80 in a 65 and didnt realize it.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Crown Vic are amazingly smooth at higher speed. They dont bob at all and ride like a cloud. My mom who never sppeds was doing 80 in a 65 and didnt realize it.

IMO, that's bad. Means you don't have a feel for the road.

[phillyflyers50]

I got pulled over for careless driving. The cop told me he couldn't keep up to me in his crown vic too. i have a 06 legacy 2.5i limited 175 hp. i just think that is very funny and hard to believe. i got pulled over doing about 50 or 55 in a 40 mph zone. he told me i was doing 70, he didn't know my speed so he gave me a carless driving ticket. he wouldn't even let me talk which really made me mad. :evil:

note: this was before i got my radar detector, ever since then it has saved me many many times!

[2.5GT]

i got mine 1st in the Subaru like 2 weeks ago for....avoiding a stop sign, all i did was turn into a parking lot and out wtf?

[blueb3]

Show up, ruin the cops day off (that's when they schedule the court dates)