So I got my 1st speeding ticket...

[G27]

People like you are the reason people like me have Lidar...

Yah, I turned Lidar detection off on mine, figuring I'd have a better chance of getting off if my front bumper didn't hit the ground while people like you are aiming at my headlights...

Luckily, it seems very few police use Lidar (what I noted before i turned it off).

[Guest Old goat]

All I know is mine never has because of a ticket. But then I live out in the sticks, kind of backwoods folks, not at all like you city-slickers.

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

People like you are the reason people like me have Lidar...

Mine is RADAR and LIDAR.

[kb4ns]

Mine is RADAR and LIDAR.

Don't get as comfy with that fancy lidar detection as you are with radar detection. It's an awesome way to find out you've already been nailed. If you get to come ride with me, I'll explain how it all works. It's not nearly as awesome as the box made it sound.

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

Yeah, I got nailed with LIDAR once, in Metro Nashville, but I've also been saved by it a few times because I wasn't the first car in the group. When I got nailed, I was the "Leader of the pack" so to speak...

[G27]

When I got nailed, I was the "Leader of the pack" so to speak...

Newbie move there, G23FM...

[wipfel]

I used to sell Property and Casualty insurance in VA, and I can assure you 1 ticket is enough for rates to rise, depending on the company of course. In my experience it averaged out to $10/month per ticket. When I got a ticket in Greenbrier, TN, I decided to go to the school since guess 10/month for the next 3-5 years is a lot more than the school and fines cost.

BTW, I saw the rates rise on renewals so you might not notice it for several months if you have a 12 month policy.

[vontar]

I like it when people speed around me, when someone passes me I just say, Go find the cops for me, and wish them well. I don't like being the leader of the pack and generally try to fall back.

[Guest trigem]

What happens when you hit a deer at 90 mph, Huh Death

http://www.theginblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/deer-gmc2.jpg

http://www.theginblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/deer-gmc4.jpg

http://www.theginblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/deer-gmc3.jpg

http://www.theginblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/deer-gmc1.jpg

Edited August 31, 2010 by trigem

[kb4ns]

It's okay - Glock23ForMe has a Radar/Lidar/Buck/Doe detector. What could go wrong?

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

It's okay - Glock23ForMe has a Radar/Lidar/Buck/Doe detector. What could go wrong?

What?!

[-boatman-]

I like it when people speed around me, when someone passes me I just say, Go find the cops for me, and wish them well. I don't like being the leader of the pack and generally try to fall back.

I fall in behind them at a distance when that happens. When I was younger I wanted to lead. I didn't want anything passing me. Now I say "go on dude, I got your back". I don't get tickets anymore either, or maybe I should say very seldom.

[Guest 1817ak47]

WTF today the lady got one for get this 30 in 25, I had to see that on paper to believe it. condition today were dry, no school zone etc. I believe in safety but 5 over, WTF is going on at kpd

Edited October 18, 2010 by 1817ak47

[vontar]

I would fight a 5 mile an hour over ticket.

In Oak Ridge the traffic speed cameras got people at 37 and 38 over in a 35 zone. (it might have been 36 and 37) I know it was back to back days and it was the same person that got them.

They use inductive loop detectors in the road and I am not sold on how accurate the are, but they are used in allot of places.

The thing is, to fight those tickets one still has to pay court costs which costs more then the ticket. Even if you can win and get it thrown out, you still have to pay court cost.

One should not have to pay if it gets thrown out, seems to me making the person pay court cost on getting something over turned is just wrong.

[Guest 1817ak47]

sounds like that is bad for oak ridge business more than it is benefical to safety. I have for a while avoided travel, and employment opportunities there as a result. btw we have been fortunate not to ever have a red light camera issue yet.

[Guest jackdm3]

It was 1988 and I was 17. Leaving Collierville in hurry to get home for my parents' imposed curfew after leaving a girlfriend's house. 21 over. The total cost was $133 to the great city of Germantown. While standing in line to pay, I grimaced to my parents that they were going to take my money. My dad said, "No. You're going to give them money." Forward a few years, I ask them why they have just bought a radar detector. They said it was to keep from paying fines. All along I thought they were safety-conscious hippies. I've never had nor will I ever buy one. I told them that I think it makes you a little lazy in your awareness. I may hit it on some straightaways but never when approaching hills and obstructions. That's where the badges lie. If you can't see the heat, you can't see the kids crossing the street.

I loaded pics of my worst wreck resulting from a dickwad running a redlight to get to his job. I hope you guys have something to add to it, yet I really hope you don't.

[Mad_Squirrell]

Squirrell's advice cause you asked in a public forum:

1)Do the traffic school .It will save you a bunch over time in insurance premiums

2)Don't speed anymore.

If you had just passed the lady on the right at the speed limit. (i know she shouldn't have been there) you would have gone past her in mere seconds and you still would have lost no time (you lost a bunch after getting pulled over as the blue hair sailed past you at 65mph)

Just to put things into perspective as to how much time is saved by speeding .

@ 60 mph you can expect to cover 1 mile per minute . For every 10mph over that you are only saving 10 seconds per mile for you to have passed her at the speed limit you would have been around her in approximately 5 seconds had you stayed behind her for a mile or two it would have just cost you 5 or 10 seconds in your commute . How much time did the traffic stop cost you?

I drive for a living .I put about 125,000 miles on this Peter Built in a year .And knock on wood a little over 1 million accident/ticket free miles .In my experience the ones that end up in accidents are the ones who drive excessively faster than the flow of traffic . Don't make a habit of it. It really does not pay.

My two biggest pet peeves are drivers that refuse to obey posted speed limits .And the ones that think traffic on the interstate must yield to them that are getting on the interstate.

[Mike.357]

Even if you can win and get it thrown out, you still have to pay court cost.

One should not have to pay if it gets thrown out, seems to me making the person pay court cost on getting something over turned is just wrong.

i thought you only got popped for costs if you lose the thing in court. If you win there is no fee.

[Pain103]

The reason why it is so expensive is State traffic tickets are heard through General Sessions court. The court cost and fines are higher. Municipal courts are capped at court cost and fines. I would say you are probably at a younger age I say do the traffic school and be careful next time.

[kb4ns]

i thought you only got popped for costs if you lose the thing in court. If you win there is no fee.

Some courts may be different than others, but for the most part, it's left to the judge's discretion. The judge I stand in front of each month usually hits people with fine & costs or nothing at all. Occasionally, if he feels like someone's guilt is proven, but feels like they should be afforded some consideration, he'll dismiss it at cost (meaning no fine - charge is dismissed but they still have to pay court costs). An example from my last court date - a guy was a school counselor and got popped by an officer for going a good bit over the limit. He was on his way to the hospital to assist a student who was in the emergency room. Is this a valid reason to be speeding? No, but the judge wanted to afford some consideration and dismissed the guy's speeding charge (think it was 17 over IIRC) but made him pay costs.

There are some courts around here that dismiss almost every ticket regardless of guilt, but charge almost everyone court costs. It's a crap shoot...

[Guest Drewsett]

So hold on a sec, if I do traffic school I still have to pay the fine? Someone clarify that for me. I was leaning towards doing traffic school, but if the fine is 265 and the traffic school is 250....I just ain't got that kind of money! I am just totally screwed. Time to sell some guns I guess and have to put off getting my HCP for the foreseeable future.

[Guest jackdm3]

Sell a kidney on the "Organ Donation" thread.

[Guest jackdm3]

Sell a kidney on the "Organ Donation" thread.

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

So hold on a sec, if I do traffic school I still have to pay the fine? Someone clarify that for me. I was leaning towards doing traffic school, but if the fine is 265 and the traffic school is 250....I just ain't got that kind of money! I am just totally screwed. Time to sell some guns I guess and have to put off getting my HCP for the foreseeable future.

AFAIK, it's either or. If you go to Traffic School, you don't have to pay the fine, and if you pay the fine, you don't have to go to traffic school. When I got my couple of tickets, 5, grant it they were when i was 17 and 18, all I had to pay for was the traffic school. If I had all the money I put into traffic schools, I could have a BADA$$ 1911.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Some courts may be different than others, but for the most part, it's left to the judge's discretion. The judge I stand in front of each month usually hits people with fine & costs or nothing at all. Occasionally, if he feels like someone's guilt is proven, but feels like they should be afforded some consideration, he'll dismiss it at cost (meaning no fine - charge is dismissed but they still have to pay court costs)....There are some courts around here that dismiss almost every ticket regardless of guilt, but charge almost everyone court costs. It's a crap shoot...

I didn't fight the one youthful indiscretion speeding ticket, but had a couple of subsequent minor traffic infractions in the dim past that seemed there was nothing to lose trying to beg off in court. One was a rolling stop and another was an out of date tag sticker. Dress up in my funerals & weddings suit and sit in court for hours. Traffic court was kinda like a zoo or something.

The judge apparently had a precise semi-random statistical algorithm. About 10 percent of the traffic offenders were PRE-DESTINED for jail. About half the remainder would get a fine, and the other half would get off.

Cute respectful apologetic submissive young women had high odds of skating. Young males had the high odds of getting nailed. Well-dressed folks had better fortune than bums. Well-spoken well-dressed old folks shamelessly groveling to the judge, had the very best odds of skating.

But there was a semi-random nature to the judgements. If the luck of the draw happened to bring several well-dressed old folks or cute young women in series, and the judge had dismissed several in a row-- It seemed that the judge had a certain quota of folks who MUST get nailed before the end of the day.

If he had already let several folks in a row go free, then his stochastic balance would drift out of sync and the odds of an unfavorable judgement would rise with each new case. If he dismissed too many cases in a row, eventually the judge would feel obligated to nail the next guy in line, even if the victim happened to be a well-dressed groveling old fart or a cute remorseful young gal.

So I would sit there keeping a running tally of those who got nailed versus those who skated, hoping that when my time came, that the judge would not have dismissed so many previous cases that he would feel compelled to nail me in spite of my prideless groveling dressed in my funerals & weddings suit.

If the judge had dismissed several people in a row, I'd be hoping my case would not be next in line. Or if the judge had just sent some guy straight to jail, I'd be hoping to be next in line after he had satisfied his go-to-jail quota.