Stopped for speeding!!
 

OK I am PISSED... I got stopped for speeding this morning on my way to work. 45 in a 35mph zone. GRRRRRRR http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/mad.gif I will admit to 40, but the laws of physics would prevent you from going any faster and actually remaining on the road.

Thankfully the cop let me off with a warning, but still - ARGH! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/mad.gif My squeaky clean driving record is history http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/frown.gif My husband suggested I frame the warning - I'm following in his family's tradition of the lead foot http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

IMO, "mild" speeding (5-10mph above the posted speed limit) is ok because speed limits are set with a margin of error. But why the he!! aren't the cops ticketing the @$$holes who run stop signs and red lights, tailgate, pass on blind curves etc? Instead they hit the (relatively) innocent commuter. Grrr. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/mad.gif

Just gotta grouse here... sorry guys http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Yeah, well I got a ticket for going 34 in a 30. I always thought that cops were supposed to give you 3 or 4 mph to compensate for differences in speedometers, but apparently they don't.
I got to spend an entire Saturday in Ryan's Buffet House in Waco with STRANGE people listening to a really boring lecture for FOUR MILES AN HOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Missy

I've been pulled over twice, both for going 14 over (these were areas where the speed limit suddenly decreased dramatically, and I guess I just didn't slow down fast enough). Both times, they let me go with a warning, so I've been lucky. I go 5 and 10 over all the time (5 in a town, 10 on a highway) and I've never been pulled for that, even if I passed a cop!

My bf has an aggravating speeding ticket story... he was seriously being tailgated in a 55, so I guess without realizing it he sped up from 60 to 74. Well the tailgater finally goes flying past him, at what had to be AT LEAST 80, and my bf is the one that gets pulled over, right after the guy passes him! The cop walks up and says, "Hey, did you know that guy?" So obviously he knew the other dude was going at least 25 over, but he pulled my bf over!

In the words of fellow APO Brother Bill Clinton, "I feel your pain". I was pulled for speeding (55 in a 40) and for running a yellow light that flashes 24 hours a day on aside street. But considering that I was in a not-so-nice neighborhood after dark, the cop assumed I was out cruising for prostitutes that night. Talk about entrapment!

Speed limits aren't posted with any sort of "margin" for error. They're posted to be the maximum safe speed on any given road. A lot of research and study goes into this sort of thing, and is determined by the department of transportation, not the police.

pirate00, I'm not sure how you feel getting pulled over for going 15 mph above the posted limit at night (ie, not "ideal" conditions) is "entrapment", since entrapment means that you were encouraged or enticed to do something you wouldn't have normally by the actions of the officers. Hell, I'm not even sure how it constitutes "unfair", since you were going more than 1/3 higher than the limit.

Oh, and that flashing yellow... that means "yield" ... in other words, slow down until you can see that it's safe for you to go, and then go. Don't just blow right through. It's not flashing because it's broken or because it likes to taunt you. Treat it as you would any yield sign, especially if the cross street doesn't have any sign or light.

pirate00, I'm not sure how you feel getting pulled over for going 15 mph above the posted limit at night (ie, not "ideal" conditions) is "entrapment", since entrapment means that you were encouraged or enticed to do something you wouldn't have normally by the actions of the officers. Hell, I'm not even sure how it constitutes "unfair", since you were going more than 1/3 higher than the limit.

Oh, and that flashing yellow... that means "yield" ... in other words, slow down until you can see that it's safe for you to go, and then go. Don't just blow right through. It's not flashing because it's broken or because it likes to taunt you. Treat it as you would any yield sign, especially if the cross street doesn't have any sign or light.[/B][/QUOTE]

You misunderstood what I was trying to say. I was stopped for speeding in the daytime while trying to pass an elderly woman swerving in and out of lanes, and the officer let me go with a warning, no citation. I referred to entrapment when I should have said, "self-incrimination" during the flashing yellow light. The offcer made references and continually asked me if I was looking for prostitutes simply because they usually frequent the area I was driving. I was not looking for trouble, just trying to get home after a long night.

For the record, I did slow down and look both ways before I made the left turn, and there was nothing coming, however the officer said that I failed to come to a complete stop, even though the light was yellow.

Well, okay then.

PS, shouldn't a moderator know how to quote a message? http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif Tho' really, what's the point in quoting an entire message, when said message is displayed right before yours anyway? Everyone everywhere seems to do that, tho'. Never could figure out why.

P7A77, I know who sets the speed limits. My father-in-law is a traffic engineer, and according to him, there is absolutely a margin of error. Any engineer worth his or her salt builds a margin of error into everything. And I'm not stupid - I know the cops are there to enforce the law, not make it. That is true for anything, from speeding to murder.

pirate00, did you get a ticket at that yellow? If so, I hope you fought it.

Well, okay then.

Wow, twice on one thread. I'm just no good on this one. Time to haunt somewhere else. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Everybody makes mistakes, P7A77. Don't sweat little things like that. To aephi alum, I will fight the citation. My court date is on August 23rd (during school!).

Actually, the only things that really bothers me about being pulled over (legitimately) and given a ticket or even a warning is that the person pulling me over almost cannot receive a ticket themselves. They are not going to receive a citation for anything short of an accident or vehicular homicide. Usually police will even escape DUI charges, unless there is an accident involved.

The double standard bothers me because they are holding me to a standard to which they are not being held.

Oh and it also bothers me that its in my best interest to be almost cloyingly polite to them even when they are in the wrong or breaking my stones.

I just got my first speeding ticket in 9 years! I was so pissed. Yeah, I was speeding, 43 in a 30. The speed limit had just dropped from 45 to 30, and I wasnt paying attention. So my brother in law who is Houston PD told me to always ask for a bench trial. ALWAYS. 90% of the time the officer wont show up. They most of the time will take a 1/2 day pay cut for not showing up over actually going to court. They hate it that bad, and especially if you live in a big city, they wont remember you anyway. Mostly it only works in big cities. Didnt work for me....the ticket I got was in a 'burb of SA, with 3,000 people, so the cop showed up. I changed my plea and paid the stupid $110 and got a months probation, I dont get another ticket, and it wont go on my record.

I was pissed tho, after 9 years!?!? Damn. My own stupid fault.

[This message has been edited by lifesaver (edited August 06, 2001).]

Yeah, this is correct - the Speed Limit signs address the maximum safe speed limit, under all conditions, on that stretch of road - this means that you can go 45 around that turn when it's raining, b/c you'll still retain traction, etc. Obviously, under ideal conditions you can probably go faster and still be in the margin of safety for the road.

BTW - quoting the message allows us to see what a poster is referring to, as this is not always obvious from the text/context of the message. It's easier to just quote the whole thing than to go through and edit, as per peoples' preferences.

You know what's pathetic? I've never been pulled over by the cops...but I have been pulled over by the Harbor Police on my way to take my BF to work. I didn't know that there was even a Harbor Police! According to the idiot, he "clocked" me at "going 47 in a 25 mph zone"...ooh...what a tragedy.

About the quoting thing--one does not need to be a moderator to know how to properly reply to a post. However, GC isn't perfect, and sometimes weird things happen and take out the proper UBB code, thus altering how it "should look like".

Also, you'll notice that not all threads have all posts on the same page when replying to a post. This usually happens after a specific thread has exceeded a single page. Replying to a specific post makes it easier to comment on some (maybe all)of the ideas brought up in the post.

And that is why people choose to quote posts.

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Arizona has a "reasonable and prudent" clause.. so if you get pulled over going 80 on the freeway, and EVERYONE is doing 80 on the freeway, you just claim that your speed was reasonable and prudent.

We do, however, have tons of traffic cameras that aren't so forgiving (although they won't snap your picture unless you are 11mph over).