Got A Ticket

Col_Sanders · February 8, 2011

I got a ticket this morning for going 80 in a 65.

I had my cruise set between 68 and 69 mph like I normally do. I was driving in the right lane and had a truck behind me in my lane and 1 in the left lane. A state trooper going the opposite direction on the highway pulled me over. There is only a brief time he possibly could have hit me with a radar as I was going down a hill and around a curve in the road. He was driving and turned around in the median to pull me over. I am 99.999999% positive that he was wrong and possibly hit another truck and pulled me over since I have TX plates in LA. In this day and age with all the fancy computers in these trucks is there any way that the dealer could pull something such as my top speed that I went today?

mfennema · February 8, 2011

No. The computer doesn't actually measure speed, as it measures RPMs of your tire and calculates your speed based on tire size. If you have larger tires than standard, you will be going faster than what your speedometer says.

txab · February 8, 2011

You're screwed Col.

jimbrown1 · February 8, 2011

If your cruise was set, there is no way you were going 80. The officer was just plain wrong in ticketing you if that's the case.

I got a ticket this morning for going 80 in a 65.

I had my cruise set between 68 and 69 mph like I normally do. I was driving in the right lane and had a truck behind me in my lane and 1 in the left lane. A state trooper going the opposite direction on the highway pulled me over. There is only a brief time he possibly could have hit me with a radar as I was going down a hill and around a curve in the road. He was driving and turned around in the median to pull me over. I am 99.999999% positive that he was wrong and possibly hit another truck and pulled me over since I have TX plates in LA. In this day and age with all the fancy computers in these trucks is there any way that the dealer could pull something such as my top speed that I went today?

old-chevy-dude · February 8, 2011

speeding ticket = revenue generator.

and cruise control being set doesn't normally hold up in court.. if you feel he is wrong best thing to do is fight it, if you don't know if you will win traffic school is usually an option..

good luck..

jimbrown1 · February 8, 2011

Same thing happened to me while driving one Sunday morning to church. i was in a 1995 Mustang GT that I had modified and he was tickieting someone on the westbound lane of I-30. He jumped in his car and chased me down. He just wanted to check out the ride. Didn't give me a ticket so I drove by his house after church and stared him down while he was washing his Texas DPS car. He was a well-known jerk.

Col_Sanders · February 8, 2011

I have 33s, but they barely throw the speedo off according to my GPS. If he had said I was going 70 I would believe him because that would probably be correct. However, today like ALWAYS, I used the cruise control (set to 4 over) on the highway had my foot nowhere near the go pedal.

How I could be hit by a radar out of a group of 3 vehicles while the trooper was going ~65mph in the opposite direction and around a curve I would love to see reenacted.

jimbrown1 · February 8, 2011

If you went from 265/70/17 to a 285/70/17 with no other changes your speedo should be off by 2mph at the most.

I have 33s, but they barely throw the speedo off according to my GPS. If he had said I was going 70 I would believe him because that would probably be correct. However, today like ALWAYS, I used the cruise control (set to 4 over) on the highway had my foot nowhere near the go pedal.

How I could be hit by a radar out of a group of 3 vehicles while the trooper was going ~65mph in the opposite direction and around a curve I would love to see reenacted.

Superperv23 · February 8, 2011

Just go to court and ask a few questions...How the police officer knew it was you doing that speed, does he have the technology to see the vehicles and their identified speed on a screen to show it was you? Or did he simply see three vehicles in a group and assume the first one was traveling the fastest when there could have been someone traveling faster approaching your rear. Then ask them if the radar is even able to provide accurate results on the move on a turn and you would like to the prosecution to provide the court with test results to prove it is as accurate on a curve as it is on straight piece of road.

Depending on the judge that may just get you out of it.

Mckenzie · February 8, 2011

I got one for going 68 in a 45, and the police woman some how read my speed with her back to me(go figure), but she was nice enough to drop it to a 55 in a 45. My advice is, if you know that you were not speeding, then request a trial by jury and plead your case with them, and they'll more than likely be sympathetic

Also, try investing in a radar, to save you any more trouble.

Col_Sanders · February 8, 2011

I dont go fast enough to justify a radar detector. I go 4-5 over max. This is my DD and the extra gas used speeding isnt worth the minute saved getting to work in the morning.

I think he hit the guy in the left lane and saw my TX tags si he got me instead of the other guy. It will cost me >$800 to register this truck here, which I do not want to do since I planned on upgrading this fall. Guess I'll go check the dealer and see what kind of deal I can find today.

ETA I have been driving for 12 years and this is my 2nd ticket. First one was about 7 years ago and I deserved that one.

renegadeking · February 8, 2011

the gm ecm does record your speeds when your engine code comes on, and the GMC handheld diagnosis unit does read that speed but i don't think if records your speed all the time, it is just too much info for the ecm to remember.

jtramsey · February 8, 2011

How much is the ticket? Is it worth missing work? Usally you can do the Safety class and not go against your Insurance.

GPSilverado · February 8, 2011

I was coming back from Charlottesville Va in the late 90's, somewhere near Roanoke VA on I-81. I was driving 75 in a 65 driving in the right hand lane. A red camaro from Va passed me in the left lane probably going 85 mph. When he was about 500 yards ahead of me, we passed a cop sitting just past some trees in the median. He started pulling out before he could even see me, so I thought he had the camaro. I was in a 94 Chevy 1500 (Black with Silver lower section) but I had no state inspection sticker, so he knew I was from out of state. He pulled me instead, told me that he clocked me going 83 in a 65. I told him there was no way, that he had clocked the camaro instead. His reply? "He was going faster than you, but I pulled you didn't I?"

He asked how fast I thought I was going, and I told him I knew I was going 74. He wrote me a ticket for 9 miles over the limit.

I have tons of respect for anyone out there enforcing the law, and I always said if I am guilty, I will pay the fines. It does suck when they get it wrong and there is no way to prove it, because they certainly don't have proof it was you they clocked in most cases.

GM Driver · February 9, 2011

What is NMA?

As more state & city budgets get squeezed, officers are under great stress to write as many tickets as possible. More than you can imagine will not hesitate to lie for a ticket just to get their daily number. It is part of the job being a police officer. Make a case & be productive at all costs, even if it means ticketing innocent motorists. Go to the NMA & learn how to beat the ticket for the state it was issued in. Only complete tax loving idiots just pay the ticket. Take the money out of it & watch how fast it gets dismissed.