I speed on the interstate. I have gotten 2 tickets and paid them both, no questions. (The 3rd one, my wife was taken the hospital and I was trying to get over there. Cop was cool and didn't show for the hearing like he told me at the scene. After that, and one gall bladder removal later, all is well.) Do the crime, do the time. I was guilty and I paid. Now, on to the fun:
Originally posted by El Hefe:
1) You only get speeding tickets on freeways/interstates/highways if you are not being careful. a) slow down before going by an underpass b) if you are going up a slight incline and can't see over the horizon slow down until you have leveled out or until your line of sight is further c) slow down before passing any gaps in the barrier between the lanes (what is that called again???).
Actually true. Anyone on the interstate should be driving carefully anyway, especially if travelling above the prevailing traffic speed. Part of that is being aware of what is going on down the road. If you can't see down the road - slow down, not just to save a speeding ticket but maybe to save a life.
2) When driving in town, very cautious during commuter hours and evenings. Be VERY cautious on Friday and Saturday nights. Don't take any big risks ecspecially in towns you are not familiar with. If you are in an out-of-state location, also be careful, because cops will target you. It's best to take it easy in town and not triple the speed limit to pass the Dodge Caravan before the road merges 500 feet ahead. A safe time to speed is during church on Sunday morning.
There is some good advice in here. You should always be careful when driving in unfamiliar environments. You should always be careful when driving in a residential area or a commercial area with pedestrians. (Drive up the main drag in town here at noon and it's like being the cars in Frogger.) I can't agree with the contention that there is ever a safe time to speed in town. You never know when little Jimmy DLK is going to jump out at you, or grandma is going to step out from between parked cars to get to church.
3) GET A RADAR DETECTOR/JAMMER!!! Anyone who can sleep well after spending 300 dollars on custom Ford racing floor mats (which I'm sure some of you are guilty of 
), should be able to cough up 60-200 dollars for a good radar detector by Cobra or Viper. If you are willing to spend in the 300 dollar neighborhood, get the new Phantom II. It detects and jams radar of many sorts, and the manufactuer will even pay for any speeding tickets you get in the first year of owning it. But as I said, even a cheaper detector like a Cobra for 60 bucks will keep you safe. Got my first two tickets with one of those cheapo detectors. A radar detector is
a tool, not a license to speed. A smart careful driver going 75/55 will get less tickets in the long run than a stupid careless driver with a detector doing the same speed (in the long run). I have received no tickets since I bought a better detector, and some of that is to blame on wisdom and added care.
Oh yeah, most (if not all) jammers are garbage, and can actually get you a worse ticket than speeding (interference with an officer's official duty or something like that). And don't think that the radar operator won't know something is wrong - he's a better visual approximator of your speed than you think and will realize something funny is going on when the gun registers an error. I also thought that the "pay your speeding ticket" thing is limited as well.
4) If you pass a moving cop on the road and think he is gonna go after you, turn off the road you are on as soon as you can. Don't hesitate for him to turn his lights on. Go to some little off street, turn off your car and headlights if they are on and just keep it cool for a few minutes. Avoid driving on that same road if possible for at least an hour or so. Remember, if the cop hasn't turned on his lights or made it clear that he is following you, it's not illegal to take a detour.
Um, in PA, turning your headlights off to avoid police detection (doesn't matter if you turn off the car) is punishable by a license suspension (forget how long). Don't think a judge is going to be fooled by the "I pulled over to park in front of a house of somebody I don't know for no good reason" argument either. Chances are, the judge has heard it before. True, it is legal to turn off the road if the lightbar isn't activated but the headlight thing can be a problem if you are doing it for the precise reason of avoiding police detection.
5) If you get caught, don't try to rationalize your speeding. You can't. Just admit that you were speeding and be polite about it. Don't act nervous or angry. I've gotten out of tickets for going close to 20 over in a 25 this way. If you do get ticketed, DO challenge it in court. First time offenders almost always get off with just a drivers ed class, and nothing goes to your insurance. I had a friend get out of a 95 in a 55 ticket by going to court. All he had to do was write an apology letter.
If you plan on fighting the ticket - DO NOT admit guilt. The lesser punishment is up to the judge, and if you get a PIA judge and you admitted guilt at the scene, you would have been better off just sending in the fine.
Those are just some things I've kind of picked up from my years as a fast driver. Please share advice with me or your strategies. I'm all about not getting pulled over. Remember, cops are not our friends. They are different from you and me. The are the secret police of East Germany, the Gestapos of the Nazi empire, the...well you get the point. If we weren't supposed to speed, they wouldn't have given us small sedans with V6's in them. Good luck 
Wait, I need to hear that again:
Remember, cops are not our friends. They are different from you and me. The are the secret police of East Germany, the Gestapos of the Nazi empire, the...well you get the point.
You'll be singing a different tune the next time you need help from the police. They are the ones that are likely the first on the scene of a traffic accident, administering first aid. Heck, my aunt got a medal because she and her friend (also a cop) were off duty and witnessed a truck accident. She pulled the truck driver to safety and her friend pulled a civillian car driver to safety even though the truck was leaking chemicals. She's got the chemical skin burns to prove it (months later). They could have just pulled over, called it in on their cells, and waited for HazMat, but they are trained and sworn to help.
My uncle was on the scene of the La Plata, MD tornado and had his hand in keeping civillians safe and looters away. He's also delivered babies (although he
swore he would never do that when he finished the academy and did 2 in the first year).
Now, think about the above statement again. Would you feel that way if you were the driver of the car the chlorine truck crashed into, or if your home had just been levelled by a tornado? Go ahead, call 911 and tell the operator the following: "Send me some Gestapo because I was just involved in an accident and I think I have injuries." Make any sense?
