My Speeding Ticket Trial

[MomOfMany]

The system of financially penalizing individual alleged offenders does little to increase compliance with the rules of the road or make our roads safer over the long term. ... there were probably HUNDREDS of people for the judge to get to.

Nothing alleged about it. You broke the law.
Hundred out of thousands is not all that bad actually.

they’ll make something like talking on your cell phone a violation with NO SUPPORTABLE EVIDENCE THAT ITS DANGEROUS AT ALL.

Actually there's plenty of support that it is at least as dangerous as anything else that takes one hand off the wheel. I don't think it should be a violation simply bc there is already reckless driving laws in every state that address this situation. Take your hand off the wheel to put a CD in the stereo and have a fender-binder and you get reckless driving.

None of which has anything to do with you speeding.

I mean--if you were responsible for creating a system that would produce the most compliance and the safest roads, would you do it this way? Of course not! If that was the goal, wouldn’t it look more like this:

• Persistent, obvious law enforcement presence (as opposed to hiding behind the bushes)
  
• Radar speed signs that display your speed , particularly in sensitive areas
  
• A progressive warning system for motorists that is fair and not profit-driven
  
• A handful of important rules and laws truly based on safety that are enforced fairly and consistently as opposed to a myriad of nonsense rules that are enforced haphazardly and inconsistently
  

That is precisely what is done in my city/state. And we still have hundreds of people in traffic court. It might reduce the tickets some, but there's always folks such as yourself that think it shouldn't apply to them. You were speeding and you knew it. Would seeing a radar sign telling you so have made any more difference to your blatent speeding that the black and white sign? If so, why?

So--while some, such as yourself, can equate going 10-15 mph over the speed limit (while otherwise driving completely safely) with collisions that require the jaws of life--I simply can‘t see it that way--because it isn‘t real. The speed component of a tragic accident regarding a reckless driver is very different from veering over the speed limit while driving with caution and alertness.

A cautous, alert driver does not go 10-15 miles over the posted speed limit in a residental area. And an accident is tragic because someone is seriously hurt or dead, you would be very surprised at how often this happens and people are not even speeding.

That’s why they’ll pass on folks like me. The statistic most often cited, which appears to be corroborated by my brief experience, is that 95% of the population plead guilty and take the fine and traffic school if eligible. The vast majority of that 95% pay their fine via the mail or on-line.

Well yeah. because they WERE GUILTY!

On the other hand, the method of enforcement and severity of the punishment is so wildly disproportionate to the actual offense in cases like mine that it’s difficult to take lying down.

You know what? I think the penalty for you obviously was not enough. You knew you were speeding. And after the ticket, you did it again and got another ticket. So hearing you whine about how harsh the penalty was is just ... not too convincing to say the least.

What’s interesting about the system in use today is that it capitalizes on everyone’s feeling of guilt because we all know we sometimes go a little too fast or push it on the yellow light, therefore, we DESERVE to be punished.

10 - 15 over posted speed limit is considered a "little" by you??? (nevermind that you were going more than that.) I don't know anyone that would consider that a litte too fast. Maybe 5 pmh.

it’s foolish to believe that taking my eye off the road more frequently to check my speed is actually making me a SAFER driver. It is, in fact, making me a more COMPLIANT, but LESS SAFE driver.

oh wow. you are really trying hard to convince yourself on this one aren't you? If you are such a horrid driver that you have to constantly take your eyes off the road to maintain a safe speed, then you shouldn't be driving.

Finally, you characterized my ticket as a “minor violation.” If it’s minor, why then is the penalty hundreds of dollars and THREE YEARS WORTH OF INCREASED INSURANCE PREMIUMS???

Minor as in, you pay a fee and get over yourself bc no physical damage was done and you didn't need jail time.

That is just plain wrong, disproportionate and unfair.

oh boohoo.

he could--and should--choose the eminently more fair and equally effective enforcement stop with a warning only.

Which wouldn't have done a danged bit of good because a week later you did it again even with a more severe punishment. Frankly I wish he had remembered you so he could point that telling fact out to the judge too.

I think you got off light. If my son got a ticket like that the first time - I take his license for a month. If he did it again, I'd take it for 6 months. It is reckless endangerment.

And no, if he didn't see the reduced speed limit sign or was only going a little over on the highway, I'd just make him work off the cost and chalk it up as a mistake. But if this was his driving habit or attitude? It would be a very long time before he drove again.

I will have him read this thread so he can read just one example of why I tell him the most dangerous thing on the road is other drivers.

And no, I'm not in law enforcement.

Edited for strong language. *blush*