GSing430

a few weeks ago i was heading to the bay from sac, at some point ( 10-15 mins) before i got pulled over i was doing 80mph+ for about a 1/2mile stretch but slow down. i'm in the middle lane as i approaching this guy doing 60mph or slower, i decided to switch to the slow lane and passed him up. then i got back in the middle lane and signal to the fast lane and slow down a bit behind this other car that was doing about 70mph. the speed limit is 65mph. as i looked into my rearview mirror, i noticed a chp appoaching me at the furthest distant in the mirror. he was pretty far away. and i check my speedometer and it indicate about 67mph. i see him switching lane and got behind me and pulled my over. he told me that he was following me for 5mins and that i was doing 90mph+. and since he didn't want me to get my license suspended, he decided to site me for going 70mph on a 65mph zone. what do you think i should do? should i fight it. i have 3pt. and don't qualify for traffic school and it's an hour and a half away from my place. what should i tell the judge if i do? i did go over the 65mph speed limit by 2-3mph. i don't believe he was using a radar gun.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

umm, tough call.... if you get this point as well, you got 4 points in how many yrs? you won't get your licence suspended?

it's weird coz' i don't know why if he cited you for 90+mph you will get your licence suspended, that's bs. on the freeway any speed under 100 is just a ticket and it's only a 1 point violation, tell him to f8ck off....

anyway, it depends on whether he really used a radar gun or not. if he used it, he has to put that info down on the ticket he gave you. look for it. if not, i actually think you have a case. see, he didn't pace you. by definition he has to be close to you in order to pace you. from what you said he was like an *** mile away, how the hell could he pace you if he's that far away?

even if he say that he was doing 100mph trying to catch up with you, that's not evidence on court imho. he's not trained to "estimate" speed by what speed he's going. he couldn't accurately justify far distance. basically, if you guys were 2 miles apart (he could see you, as a spot of course), you are doing 65 and he was doing 90, that's 25mph difference. even at that speed difference, he still needed 5 mins to catch up with you (you can do the math).

he said he was behind you for 5 mins before he caught up on you. now if you were going 90mph, so that means he was going at 120mph?

again, that assumes he had no radar gun, and that you didn't admit at the spot that you were speeding

TRULUX

iTrader: (1)

no dont fight it.to much trubble his word vs yours and it is to hard to win. the cop did a nice thing for you so take that .dont make his job harder or next time he wont do that for the next person.after all u where speeding at on point that he saw plus u where in and out of traffic.ur luck he did not give u another ticket i would just pay the ticket and take a deffencive driving course so it dose no go on your record

VSsc400

iTrader: (1)

i would fight it.

first of all 5mph is nothing. You could have sped up to change lanes to avoid a car coming up fast behind you. Bring a drivers written test manual with you. It clearly states that when you switch lanes you should speed up.

Woogie

Alright here's what i think: if you were on the highway for quite a while, there's no way you can miss a cop on teh side of the road with a radar gun. Legally, the cop can't pull you over even if he matches your speed while you're doing 10-15 over teh speed limit. He understands that you are speeding but he has no jurisdiction over that kinda stuff because it's not electronically proven to be correct. The only reason that he can pull you over is if he sees that you're driving wrecklessly, in which case he would cite you for driving wrecklessly and not just for speeding. even if he was using a radar gun... he was prolly driving at the time and radar guns dont work that way because radar guns work on the basis of relativity in position.

recap: 1. you didn't see him on the side of the road... which means that he prolly wasn't using his radar gun. 2. he can't cite you by driving next to you and measuring your speed with his speed. 3. even if you were going 2-3 over teh speed limit, he's got no way of proving it cuz for all he knows, the guy tat you were passing was driving 5 under.

Keeping in mind that you've already got three points... that's a pretty tuff call to make. Do you contest the state or not... I'd prolly just take the speeding ticket. there's no need to gamble.

it's the end of the month so the stupid pig prolly just wanted his department to meet their quota.

Good luck man.

GSing430

i was not in and out of traffic, the guy in front of me was driving pretty slow, so i decided to switch lane (slow lane) speed up to pass him, after about 4 car length, signaled back to the middle and 5 sec after signal to the fast lane than i saw him in the rearview with him being at the furthest distance in the mirror which was pretty far away. Henry, this would be my fourth pt since early last year. over a year ago. i think the dmv will revoke my license on my 4th point. i thinks he assume i was doing 90+ but was not 100% so he gave me a 5mph difference speeding ticket.

TRULUX

iTrader: (1)

ok my mistake but he saw that u where speding and u admit to going 80 so u where speeding if only for a block.i to have all kinds of ticketsbut every one of them is my fault even if i want to admit it or not. the cop was nice enough to give u a lesser ticket if u want to face him in court go for it i bet my house u loose no offence but it is so hard to challege a cop i know some of u have nd won.so dont tell me u did theres alwys cases that are bunk. but he admited to speeding

PHML

iTrader: (33)

if your 4th pt gonna suspend your license...then fight it. What proof does he have? None.

dannieboiz

If you're on your 3rd point you got nothing to loose, fight it. But keep in mind that it's time consuming. well @ least twice in court once during the regular traffic court and the judge would aks you guilty or not. Please not guilty and you'll be setup for a 2nd court date. This time the cop will be summon as well, if he doesn't show up (try your luck) then you automatically win the case. If he does then it's his words against yours. He would have to somehow proof that you were speeding. In most cases the cop won't remember the whole story so. If you drag the case long enough the cop may just drop it.

vedro

Definitely fight it.

Like dannieboiz pointed out "if the cop doesn't show up you automatically win the case." Mail the ticket back with not guilty plea checked. You will receive the court date notification. Appear on the date only wait in the hallway and if you spot your cop, come up with a reason and post pone the hearing for the next time. The next time you come in it will be over four months since you received the ticket, the cop will hardly remember you and will make a few mistakes describing the circumstances. If he make some mistakes, the ticket will be dismissed.

If he doesn't make any mistakes and the judge asks you to describe your behavior. Tell him you were moving with the flow of the traffic at 70mph, that you were not switching lanes back and forth. And that you thought of slowing down but felt it was unsafe at the speeds everyone else was traveling. And finally, you will need to ask the cop if he feels it is safe for any motorist to drive slower than the rest of the traffic. In most cases the cop will have to support your argument. Good luck and don't rush, stretch it for as long as you can.

I have a lot of experience beating tickets, i get a at least one ticket every month.

04GS300

Man things sure must be different on the left coast! If a cop brought a 5 over ticket here the judge would probably let the cop have it for wasting his/her time! Anyway, this sounds like BS to me. If he could have wrote you for 90 he would have wrote you for 90 unless you're that good or lucky. In NC, you have to be 9 over to even get a point. I doesn't matter what he *could* have wrote it for, once it's wrote it's done, so the charge is 5 over no matter what now, so I don't see how you lose anything by fighting it. And if your license is at stake, hire a lawyer and put on your gloves! You'd be amazed what can happen sometimes with a good lawyer

Davtown

I don't know where you get your information, but cops can do EXACTLY that. It's called pacing, all a cop has to do is match your speed and follow you for 1/4 mile and then he can pull you over.

Please don't give out faulty information like this.

Woogie

Sorry for giving out false information there buddy, i only took a couple law classes ... credentials to prove me wrong?

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

If you stand to lose your license, get a lawyer.

Interesting read similar to yours
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/dri...3/article.html

PHML

iTrader: (33)

Gsing....

I noticed you running staggered 19s with fatter tire setup (40/35 series)....did you re-calibrate your spedometer for the larger diameter tires (larger than stock)? Maybe that will cause your spedometer to read 67 mph....when you may actually going faster...but NOT 90 mph.

I'd still say contest it.