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You've been given ample guidance. You've been told what to expect in court and what your options are. And yet, you continue to be in denial. So believe what you want to believe and good luck in court (you're going to need it).
I don't really see how I am being in denial? I agreed with almost everyone. I've taken action to make sure that this doesn't happen again. Since it is my first infraction, my expectation is a $500 max fine and two points on my DMV record per the law. However, the reason why we have courts is for them to hear our situation and take that into account, that is why there is a court "hearing". I would like to exercise that right and my hope is for the judge to give me the ability to do traffic school since it is my first infraction.
I've already said it many times, I am not looking to contest the ticket. I just want to see what the possibility of traffic school is, and from what I have seen thus far, it is possible since others who have been in this situation where able to do it as well. I still do not understand why this judgmental attitude of yours is present.
I don't really see how I am being in denial? I agreed with almost everyone. I've taken action to make sure that this doesn't happen again. Since it is my first infraction, my expectation is a $500 max fine and two points on my DMV record per the law. However, the reason why we have courts is for them to hear our situation and take that into account, that is why there is a court "hearing". I would like to exercise that right and my hope is for the judge to give me the ability to do traffic school since it is my first infraction.
I've already said it many times, I am not looking to contest the ticket. I just want to see what the possibility of traffic school is, and from what I have seen thus far, it is possible since others who have been in this situation where able to do it as well. I still do not understand why this judgmental attitude of yours is present.
Well, for starters, you've asked for advice and clarification, and then you just ignore it and continue on repeating the same thing. At the start of this thread, you didn't even know what a hearing was and how the judicial system works, and yet now you preach about it (that's pretty funny). Everything you've asked has been answered, including the comment above by a multitude of posters. How many times does it have to be said to you? The judge will probably grant you permission to go to traffic school to reduce the fine and that's it (and you were already told that so there's no need to ask it again). Then you continue on with this nonsense..." I do not think the police officer who's been doing his job many years would tell me that I am still eligible for traffic school and won't be needing to go to court without reason". Again, you have a piece of paper telling you a court appearance is mandatory (and that's not going to change). So you can keep repeating this statement and stay in denial, or accept the fact that you are required to go to court and if you don't, they'll be a warrant out for your arrest.
Why don't you just be honest. You started this thread hoping for some sympathy and were hoping that you would be told it wasn't a big deal and a way out of this. Instead what you got was a dose of reality and you're having problems accepting that.
Well, for starters, you've asked for advice and clarification, and then you just ignore it and continue on repeating the same thing. At the start of this thread, you didn't even know what a hearing was and how the judicial system works, and yet now you preach about it (that's pretty funny). Everything you've asked has been answered, including the comment above by a multitude of posters. How many times does it have to be said to you? The judge will probably grant you permission to go to traffic school to reduce the fine and that's it (and you were already told that so there's no need to ask it again). Then you continue on with this nonsense..." I do not think the police officer who's been doing his job many years would tell me that I am still eligible for traffic school and won't be needing to go to court without reason". Again, you have a piece of paper telling you a court appearance is mandatory (and that's not going to change). So you can keep repeating this statement and stay in denial, or accept the fact that you are required to go to court and if you don't, they'll be a warrant out for your arrest.
Why don't you just be honest. You started this thread hoping for some sympathy and were hoping that you would be told it wasn't a big deal and a way out of this. Instead what you got was a dose of reality and you're having problems accepting that.
It seems like there was quite a bit of miscommunication here.
1) I don't come to forums asking for sympathy. There are plenty of people around me who can be sympathetic in this situation, but I still don't go to them for 'sympathy'. That is petty, and sympathy won't solve my problems, rather it'll result in them being repeated. Besides, do you really think the internet is a great place for sympathy?
2) In plenty of occasions, advice I've gotten from this thread and outside of it has been in constant conflict. If my questions seemed redundant, it may have been because I'm still trying to figure out and understand the situation based on varying feedback.
3) I'm not trying to avoid court. If you pay attention to what I'm saying, my worry is the discrepancy between what the police officer told me and the events that followed. That is it, I'm perfectly fine with showing up to court. I just don't want to show up not knowing what I'm doing or being uninformed. That is why I came here.
Anyhow, regardless of your perception of me, thank you for taking the time to communicate to me the situation and your observations. That I really do appreciate.
It seems like there was quite a bit of miscommunication here.
1) I don't come to forums asking for sympathy. There are plenty of people around me who can be sympathetic in this situation, but I still don't go to them for 'sympathy'. That is petty, and sympathy won't solve my problems, rather it'll result in them being repeated. Besides, do you really think the internet is a great place for sympathy?
2) 1) In plenty of occasions, advice I've gotten from this thread and outside of it has been in constant conflict. If my questions seemed redundant, it may have been because I'm still trying to figure out and understand the situation based on varying feedback.
3) I'm not trying to avoid court. If you pay attention to what I'm saying, 2) my worry is the discrepancy between what the police officer told me and the events that followed. That is it, I'm perfectly fine with showing up to court. I just don't want to show up not knowing what I'm doing or being uninformed. That is why I came here.
Anyhow, regardless of your perception of me, thank you for taking the time to communicate to me the situation and your observations. That I really do appreciate.
1) So if you feel that way, why come here at all asking for comments if you're not going to trust what's told to you? You are just wasting people's time. You should have simply gone to the court and asked for an explanation (I'm sure they have some sort of FAQ sheet).
2) Nothing to worry about at all. It'll be a short conversation. The judge will just say you got misinformation and then ask what is your plea. Simple. The judge is not going to waste any more time on it than that.
Of course, you could have actually made an attempt to look up what would happen in court if you were so worried about it and didn't want to trust anyone. You do know how to do a query on Google, don't you?
And if you were to drill down more you would find the following under eligibility for traffic school:
Your citation is for an infraction moving violation that carries a DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) point, and does not have a misdemeanor or commercial vehicle charge and does not require a mandatory appearance in court. And as noted, you have a requirement for a mandatory appearance.
So yes, you are going to need permission from the judge to even attend traffic school (but I'm guessing they might give you a break on the financial adjustment of your ticket, not the points ...or maybe not).
But hey, again, no need to trust posters here or citations. Just keep asking the same questions over and over until you get an answer you like.
And yeah, I know. I'm just so judgmental for supplying you with information based on what you were asking.
Last edited by JJonesIII; 12-05-2018 at 05:00 AM..
I don't really see how I am being in denial? I agreed with almost everyone. I've taken action to make sure that this doesn't happen again. Since it is my first infraction, my expectation is a $500 max fine and two points on my DMV record per the law. However, the reason why we have courts is for them to hear our situation and take that into account, that is why there is a court "hearing". I would like to exercise that right and my hope is for the judge to give me the ability to do traffic school since it is my first infraction.
A civil society is characterized by law and order. A civil society also accepts that crime and punishment must be weighed by impartial individuals who must utilize wisdom, pragmatism and fairness - good judges are vitally important in order for a civil society to exist.
Judges are human beings. Even the most noble ones must deal with their internal human emotions at all times since they are always dealing with complicated human issues. They are probably fighting their own patience quite often.
A traffic judge is fairly low in the judicial totem pole - it may arguably be the lowest rung. The odds are great that a traffic judge - in the aggregate - will probably have far less patience than a judge dealing with capital cases in a metropolitan area. I mention all that to highlight the fact that a typical traffic judge probably has a dreadful job in which he or she has to listen to countless variations of “Your Honor, I wasn’t really speeding that dangerously and the cop was probably careless in how they ticketed me as well.” all day long. Hour after hour, day after day...a Buddhist would argue that a traffic judge was an insufferable being in a previous life to pay such a heavy penalty in this one.
Since you are someone who has accepted that you were speeding 100mph AND is a first time infraction...as the betting man which I am, my gut tells me that the most favorable odds for you will be to show up in traffic school well groomed, in a clean smart outfit, and in your most earnest voice while looking the judge in their eyes you will state: “Your Honor, I am very sorry for speeding. It is no excuse but it was late at night and I was tired and lost my focus in my new car. I beg you to allow me to go to Traffic School and I promise to never come here again.”
A civil society offers lenience to those who commit crimes but admit to their mistake. That football player, Kareem Hunt, is receiving a far worse penalty not for actually punching and kicking that girl during a drunken rage, but because he lied to the authorities about it. A traffic judge presumes that you are guilty of your speeding charge...the short meeting exists to measure your honesty and regret.
OP, if you're so worried about financial issues, I don't understand why you bought a luxury car. If you're in a tight squeeze financially, that might be part of the reason. (Ya think?) It never would have occurred to me at any point in my life to buy a luxury car, especially when I was a student. I never knew any students at any level, graduate or undergrad. who could afford a car at all, with the exception of two, whose car expenses were covered by their parents.
In other states, it's pretty common to mandate traffic school for the first driving offense, and keep the points off the record, but someone said it's different in CA for a reckless driving citation, so you may be stuck. You might be able to ask for a reduced fine. Your financial hardship plea wouldn't work, though, since it would appear you can afford a luxury car. But there may not be any leeway in the law to reduce your fine. All you can do is ask. If you get a chance to explain yourself, you can say you drive the route every day and have never exceeded the speed limit before, but you were getting used to a new car's handling, that day, IOW, you weren't speeding intentionally. But even that doesn't make sense (it might be best to say nothing), because at some point between 70 and 100, you should have noticed you were speeding, well before you reached 100.
Stuff happens, OP. Sometimes you just have to take your lumps, learn a lesson, and move on.
+1
I was going to say the same thing.
Buying a luxury car and then complaining that a speeding ticket and auto insurance increase is going to break the bank indicates poor judgment.
How about this -- sell the luxury car and pay the speeding ticket. Making payments on a speeding ticket is a horrible idea (so is a radar gun).
I recently just got a speeding ticket for doing 100 MPH on a 70 MPH portion of HW-99. When the police officer pulled me over, he was very nice and respectful, let me know that I was seen doing 100 MPH by another police officer (on the opposite side of traffic) and then he himself turned over to pull me over. When he pulled me over, he stated that I was doing 88 MPH. After writing the citation, he told me the following:
1) Since I didn't go above 100 MPH, I wouldn't have to go to court and I can still do traffic school.
2) "They" got me at 100 MPH, but when he pulled me over I was going 88 MPH.
3) I'd be able to pay off the ticket in payments.
Here are my concerns:
1) I just recently got a form that says that my appearance in court is mandatory. This is contradictory to what the officer told me.
So what? Follow the letter instructions
2) If another officer "saw" me going at 100 MPH at the opposite side of a 3-lane traffic highway, wouldn't the radar measurements be completely off? I do not remember my speed, because I was focused on driving. But I do remember seeing around 86 MPH when I saw the officer lights turned on a few hundred feet behind me. I also know that radar accuracy is limited to a certain range, not
Yes they can relay info to one another. You could also be observed from the air and have a ground unit pull you over andcwrite the ticket.
3) Will I still be able to do traffic school as he said? How about payments? This is allot of money, and it puts a financial strain on me especially near the end of the semester. More importantly, I need to avoid the financial strain that insurance will impose on me if no traffic school is available.
Your financial strain isn’t anyone’s problem. It’s your problem. So if you don’t want to pay? Don’t speed
A little about why this happened:
First, I was not intentionally going 100 MPH or trying to race anyone, I was pulled over right next to a CHP weigh station, so no one in their right mind would be doing that at such a location.
Except for you
The car I was driving was a newer luxury car, a recent purchase of mine and an upgrade from a 1999 Saturn SL. It's a completely different driving experience (the cabin is very quite vs. the rocket ship like Saturn NVH), and when I was driving it was at 11:45 PM, zero traffic, windows up (for the first time in a while), music loud to stay awake, and cruise control off. I was going home from my late night study/research at school. I usually drive with cruise control on, but I had it off since I felt a little drowsy and needed to be more engaged in driving. Unfortunately, that lead me to getting this ticket, since with the combination of the reduced NVH compared to the Saturn, louder music, extremely sensitive throttle of the new car, no cars around to visually see my relative speed, and drowsiness, I lost track of my gradually rate of increase increase in speed. I've gone to address this issue by making sure I'm done with work by 10 PM every day, never turning music up to offset drowsiness, being more cautious, and driving my new car more so that I am more in tune with its NVH characteristics at different speeds. Please keep in mind that I make this same exact commute nearly 7 days a week and police activity in this portion of the freeway is known to be highly activity (I see someone pulled over almost every day).
This is just a long run on excuse as to why you were speeding. None of it matters and has absolutely nothing to do with your speed. Ignorance of your speed doesn’t excuse you from the ticket.
This is my first time being in this situation and I really don't know what to do. Thank you all for your help and support!
What you do is pay the ticket and hopefully you can go to traffic school
Quote:
Originally Posted by helikido
Like I said, I would have never reached that point if I was not alone on a 3-lane freeway. I would have noticed my speed far before that.
So you’re ignorant to boot. Sorry but I didn’t know I was doing 100 mph isn’t a good reason to speed. And there is no way you don’t know you’re doing 100 mph. I’ve driven sports and luxury cars and I know exactly how fast I’m going.
Pay the ticket and go to traffic school if you can. Other than that my advice to you is to pull your head out of your ass when you’re driving that luxury car that lulls you into doing 100 mph
Quote:
Originally Posted by HereOnMars
Obviously one that reaches a speed of 100 mph.
That’s pretty much anything on The road today
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer
On a road in TX the speed limit is 85 and many others are 80 so obviously travel at such a speed must be safe or States wouldn't allow it. You just got caught that's all. Good luck with ticket.
Truthfully it depends on the road and location. I went to Colorado and I was cruising at posted 75/80 limit. But it was in the middle of nowhere. There are instances where 80 mph is posted as the limit. In this case the posted limit was less than that. So it really makes no difference as he would be speed8ng on that road in Texas also
The parts of I-5 that I drive on have a speed limit of 70 mph, so at 69 you *shouldn't* be in the fast lane.
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