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<p>And I’m pretty sure illegal in at least a few states… although it doesn’t apply here maybe, thought I’d throw that in there…</p>
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<p>It is certainly illegal in North Carolina, where I got my ticket. Once again, though, I was in the fast lane when I was passing other vehicles, which is the norm. </p>
<p>Personally, I hate passing on the right. However, vehicles in the fast lane that are going noticeably slower than other traffic on a given road and refuse to move over are very frustrating. :)</p>
<p>Cuse- I would at least try a phone call to the DAs office to see if you can get the charge reduced to just speeding. It’s worth a shot and could save you the lawyer money.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to hijack your thread 'Cuse, but do not think this is worth another thread.</p>
<p>I am a high school student who got pulled over for speeding (not reckless). My court date is later this month. I know many people my age who have been able to take a driving course and the points will not go on their insurance. They still have to pay court costs. How exactly do I go about asking this of the judge and/or district attorney? I’m scared to death of court.</p>
<p>CIA,
Don’t be afraid. Is it possible for you to sit in on a traffic court session before your court date? That might alleviate your fears. You might try talking to the bailiffs or court clerks before your court date to see what the procedures are. Usually, there are hand-outs at the courthouse to explain your rights. If you sit in on a traffic court session, you will immediately notice the courtroom is packed with people in your predicament. You are not alone!</p>
<p>Wow, I feel lucky. </p>
<p>I got pulled over last week for going 53 in a 35 zone…and the cop let me off. No idea why he let me off, the city I was in is notorious for targeting high school kids, and like everywhere the city is hurting a bit for money. And to make things worse, when I pulled into a parking lot and put the car in park(it was a kind of busy street that you take to get on the highway), I unbuckled my seatbelt, just out of habit.
The officer comes up to me and tells me how much he clocked me at, and kind of condescendingly asked why I was going so fast. Before he went back to the squad car he just nonchalantly told me to put my seatbelt on. </p>
<p>Wow, sorry to kind of hijack, and I don’t know if my state has this, but if I was going two MPH faster than I could have been charged with reckless driving and for not wearing my seatbelt. Plus being a teenage male, I’d get points, insurance would go way up, and I’d have the wrath of my parents to deal with.</p>
<p>We regularly do a 60 mile drive on a rural portion of interstate where the limit is 65. We use cruise control and rarely go over 70. There used to be a state police car with someone stopped maybe every 5th trip. Now we see at least one vehicle stopped in each direction EVERY trip. And more than once we have seen one car (with the radar gun) parked on an overpass, and just beyond it FOUR police cars, each with a stopped car, handing out tickets. That’s new!</p>
<p>There’s also a speed trap in a small town where limit goes from 55 to 45 for about 1/4 mile with a stoplight. People are often driving 60-65 and barely slow down. They also use this point as a sobriety check point on holiday weekends. </p>
<p>While I don’t particularly mind states trying to help their budget by giving out more tickets, it does bother me when police take the “easy” way out and just point the radar gun and hand out tickets. You see so much driving that is far more unsafe than going 10 miles over the speed limit on a lightly traveled rural interstate. We have a number of intersections in our town that are 3-way stops and oncoming traffic does not have to stop. These are a nightmare because no one knows what to do. They could catch as many offenders here as with the radar gun and maybe enlighten a few people in the process as to how these intersections should work. And what about speed limits in school zones. Am I the only person who obeys them?</p>
<p>Speed “traps” are nothing new. They have been around for decades.
I am curious - is all speed enforcement a “trap”. If not, then when is it a “trap” and when is it legit.
It’s very common here on the east coast to see police working in tandem. Funny things - it works. Word gets out and soon everyone knows where to pay attention.</p>
<p>Around here, they target high accident areas. Speed Limits are not arbitrary - they are posted for a reason and they go down (and up) for a reason.
Many folks don’t slow down when they travel into a congested area. People have the misconception that they can go as fast as they want to go. Why shouldn’t the speed limit go down to 45 mph when approaching a traffic light?</p>
<p>Cuse, were you near Burlington on I-85? It’s a known speed trap in NC. S1 got a speeding ticket there on his way back to NCSU a couple of years ago. He was well over the speed limit but just like you, traveling at the speed of other drivers in his lane. The trooper actually pulled S1 and another car at the same time!</p>
<p>S1 hired a lawyer who went to court for him (S1 did not have to appear…good thing, it was exam week). The lawyer got the ticket dropped to 9 miles above the speed limit so our insurance did not go up. </p>
<p>A reckless driving charge carries more points in NC than a speeding charge.
You can use a prayer for judgement if no one else in your family (if you’re on a policy with your family) has used the PJC within three years. The kicker is if you get another ticket within the next three years, the reckless driving ticket will then be charged to you as well as the latest ticket.</p>
<p>If you can afford it, your best bet is to hire a lawyer and find out if PJC is the best route or just try to get the ticket reduced.</p>
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I think it’s a trap when there’s an abrupt change in speed limit that has no clear relation to a change in road conditions, and the sign is easy to miss.</p>
<p>Edited to add: I guess all changes in speed limit are abrupt–what I mean is that it’s a big drop–such as from 55 to 35.</p>
<p>I’ve noticed a change in speed limits at county line markers. They will often change even when going from one rural area into another sparsely populated area. You have to be on your toes. I never go more than 4 or 5 mph over the speed limit, even in rural areas. I don’t like having to be ultra alert for Troopers-it just makes driving too stressful to have to worry about that on top of all the other things you have to be aware of while driving. As a result of making a vow to stay close to the posted speed limits, I haven’t been so much as pulled over in 20 years. </p>
<p>Hope I didn’t just jinx myself.</p>
<p>I only have one speeding ticket from 1980. I was sick and driving home from doing 28 in a 20 zone around a corner and after a rotary. It was a clear trap but I was too sick to argue about it.</p>
<p>In MD now we have automatic speed cameras. They’re even on the highways but only in construction zones. The state law is that you have to be going 12 mph over the posted speed limit to trigger the camera. A lot of people don’t know this but will spot the cameras or remember that they’re nearby and suddenly slow down to way below the speed limit for no apparent reason. I think that creates a bit of a safety hazard. </p>
<p>Also, people learn where they are and just speed in the places that they aren’t. I even saw a stretch of road where some helpful citizen had spray painted “30” on the road just before where the camera was! The anarchist in me approves.</p>
<p>BTW, I’ve never gotten a ticket from one of these but my H and older two D’s have. I’m not sure how much money they make for the county or state as some of the money is paid to the contractor who installs and maintains them.</p>