Speeding ticket... - CEG Archives

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So I got my first speeding ticket yesterday. Was only a matter of time, but really I dont speed all the time.

I was driving on the highway and decided to pass 2 cars, so I nail it, pass both of them get back in the lane and cruise at that speed for a moment when I see a cop drive toward me, we were talking in the car at the time and didnt notice him soon enough.

I'm thinking "no biggie he was going the other way".. so 5 mins later I turn into a small town to grab some goodies for the road trip and have lights and sirens behind me.

I pull over, cop was pissed, took my info and went to his car for quite some time. When he came back he gave me a ticket and that was it. The ticket tho wasnt just a speeding ticket for x amount of $. It was a summons to go to court.

He clocked me at 155. So it looks like I'll have a not so smooth ride coming up here.

It is my own fault, I'll be the first to admit. But jeez does it ever suck, I would have rather gotten a big ticket and paid it and been done with.

sorry to hear that
I can't even think of a way to fight the ticket, but it looks like you will need a lawyer or good-bye drivers...

Perhaps a hefty fine and a mandatory safe drivers course will be what you will get in court!

I'm not sure if the cops still issue such demands before getting your drivers licence back.

Anyways, good luck and keep us informed as to what happens in court.

Stephen

just explain that you had just passed a car and were decelerating (unless you had cruised a bit more than you should have at passing speeds) Everybody who has ever driven has gone "dangerous speeds" while passing, you kind of have to. You'll likely get another fine ontop of that and some points against you license.

If you weren't just finished passing a car, and the cop knows this for sure, you might lose your license or have to retake your drivers (they try to fail you the second time through)

My friend didn't get his license until he was 20

The day he got it he got a ticket for speeding (10 over) and from that day on he drove like a grandpa. Unfortunately his car was a POS and he got several tickets for it, which caused him to lose his license. now it will cost him over $300 to renew, and he has to retake his road test.

I've been really lucky so far, I was clocked at 178kph in a 60kph road (traffic light headed out of Edmonton towards Alberta Beach) It was early in the morning on a sunday. It was the first time I ever really opened up the car. There was only me and a black truck which seemed to be keeping up really well although towards the end I was pulling away. I kept going until I bouced off the govenor, at which point a light bar popped out of the truck's grille and the rearview mirrors started flashing red and blue. It was a drug Cop's truck

I pulled over and he came up, chewed me out for a good 5 minutes, then decided to give me a break and write me 3 tickets for different violations, totalling $387 and change. He could have arrested me but he had "more important things to do than deal with idiots like you" I said thank you so many times my throat was sore.

That was my last "race" and I never went more that 1kph over any posted limit again for a long long time. I also slow down for black trucks when I'm in Edmonton now...

Call the Case Manager!!!!

Let me say it again:
Call the Case Manager!!!!

I got a speeding ticket last November, and I just went to court last week. When I received my trial date in the mail, there was a phone number on it to contact the Case Manager to "discuss a resolution" before going to court. So, rather than pay the $450 to get X-Coppers to represent me, I just called up the Case Manager. I didn't have to say a word about a possible defence - he simply made me an offer right over the phone - knocked it down to 15kmh over and no points (from 30kmh over and 4 points) and I had to show up and plead guilty. That's it! ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE THAT WAS IN COURT WITH ME GOT SIMILAR DEALS! This is an absolute scam! They are so backed up they're cutting deals left and right to save time, and when you're just showing up to plead guilty, the Cop doesn't need to be there (more $$$ saved) so they are quite willing to make deals!

CALL THE CASE MANAGER!

geez i wish we had case managers here in america, would make our lives easier!

have been trying to talk to the crown prosecuter about it. i will be going to see them next thursday to see if we can "negotiate" to something a little less. im hoping for 40 over (rather then 55), 4 demerits and maybe defensive driving + fine. Thats sumthin i can deal with.

sorry to drag up an old post but tomorrow morning is my court date for my speeding ticket. I will be there well over 90 mins early to "renegotiate" with the crown. since its not in the city there is no "J.P.". im hoping to drop it down, im still in the wrong and will/should pay for it but i want it to be reasonable.

with the new traffic regulations it does not look good for me. just think the new regulations became a law 1 day before my court date. i just hope they dont try to make an example of me..

if its too bad the car may have to go... we'll see tho.

going in by myself, no money = no lawyer. will have updates after court...

Good luck man. Keep us posted.

you can always uses this "I'm guilty for speeding but not guilty for going as fast as the ticket states", admit that you were breaking the law but not to the extent that the police officer claims.
say that you were only doing 125-130 and ask the crown to drop the ticket for that speed, trust me they will try to avoid going to court if they can. At the same time you can start asking for records of when the radar gun was last caliprated and if the officer has documents showing the training needed to use the gun. Unless you have a better idea i would use these things to bring the fine down or dropped.
you might get lucky and the cop doesn't show up.
good luck man

Even if you are passing, by law you cannot exceed the speed limit.

The only excuse that works is heart attack, pregnant wife, I was shot, etc. Even then, a JP can lay a fine regardless.

Police offices keep detailed notes on what happened. Don't think he won't "remember" whatever occured.

RADAR guns are tested every single day, by each officer who uses it. They are also checked after lunch, so twice per shift.

Since you don't have a lawyer, try to have your amount over lowered. If they convict you for the full offence you will pay triple whatever you do now for insurance. Talk to the Crown and you might get lucky.

It's too bad you didn't get a lawyer - if the cop lost sight of you I believe you may have gotten off since he could not prove it was you that he saw passing cars (unless you admitted to it when he pulled you over).

IF IT REALLY WAS 5 MINUTES LATER THAT HE PULLED YOU OVER, THE OFFICER HAS NO WAY TO PROVE IT WAS YOU! IF YOU DID NOT ADMIT TO THE OFFENCE ASK HIM TO PROVE IT WAS YOU THAT HE SAW.

ASK TO READ THE OFFICER'S NOTES BEFORE HE IS ALLOWED TO PRESENT THEM TO YOU! IT IS CALLED "DISCOVERY". ASK THE JP FOR TIME TO REVIEW HIS NOTES, YOU MAY GET AN EXTENSION!

Best of Luck!

well courts over, just what I had expected/hoped for. I went from losing my license to losing 4 demerits and a $300 fine. Very doable in my mind. My insurance will not triple! I do not know of anyone paying 27000 (yes three 0's) per year!

My insurance is due to be lowered next month (technically not until it is up which is august). And this ticket may have an outcome of it staying higher then expected. paying approx 9100 per year is highway robery, tho its better then the 10200 i was paying last year!

Speeding does not pay, I was speeding, I was honest, I plead guilty. I still have my license = I can drive =

Good since you didn't get your licence taken away we should meet. Freak, I haven't seen your car yet and wanted to hear the exhaust.
I think we should do it one day soon.
Peace

Originally posted by advocate:
well courts over, just what I had expected/hoped for. I went from losing my license to losing 4 demerits and a $300 fine. Very doable in my mind. My insurance will not triple! I do not know of anyone paying 27000 (yes three 0's) per year!

My insurance is due to be lowered next month (technically not until it is up which is august). And this ticket may have an outcome of it staying higher then expected. paying approx 9100 per year is highway robery, tho its better then the 10200 i was paying last year!

Speeding does not pay, I was speeding, I was honest, I plead guilty. I still have my license = I can drive =

I think if I was told to pay $9000/yr for insurance I'd stop driving. What the hell have you done to get the privledge of paying that much for insurance? The price is obscene.

Hopefully you've learned your lesson. People like me, that are older, and have a good driving record pay $800/yr for full coverage. That should be motivation enough for you to make some changes to your driving habits.

Lardy.

glad you didn't loose your license, $300 got hurt but at least you can still drive.
howcome your insurance is so high I can't understand that, you should shop around. I'm 24 and i'm paying $800/yr, last year i was paying $600. I speed but no demerits, all photo radar.

The-Ghost: "Radar guns should be tested daily but they are not, my friend is a special constable "soon to become a cop", sometimes they go weeks before they are tested especially in small towns. Advocate was caught on the highway out of town, most likely small town Alberta"' so most likely the gun wasn't calibrated."

Originally posted by lardy:

Originally posted by advocate:
well courts over, just what I had expected/hoped for. I went from losing my license to losing 4 demerits and a $300 fine. Very doable in my mind. My insurance will not triple! I do not know of anyone paying 27000 (yes three 0's) per year!

My insurance is due to be lowered next month (technically not until it is up which is august). And this ticket may have an outcome of it staying higher then expected. paying approx 9100 per year is highway robery, tho its better then the 10200 i was paying last year!

Speeding does not pay, I was speeding, I was honest, I plead guilty. I still have my license = I can drive =

I think if I was told to pay $9000/yr for insurance I'd stop driving. What the hell have you done to get the privledge of paying that much for insurance? The price is obscene.

Hopefully you've learned your lesson. People like me, that are older, and have a good driving record pay $800/yr for full coverage. That should be motivation enough for you to make some changes to your driving habits.

Lardy.

$9000 a year is CRAZY!! Before I bought my Mystique, I checked for prices on full coverage on a 1998 Honda Civic Si, 2 door. I just turned 20 at the time, and it was gonna cost $4300 for total coverage, in my own name and with the car in my name. You must have a bad driving record to be paying that much.
On a lighter note, my insurance went down $700 this year.

cost is obscene for me. id have a house by now if it werent for insurance.

i was in an accident almost 3 years ago (will be 3 yrs on June 6th). was my fault - pulled out in front of a car, supposedly i had time to make it... but didnt.. i dont remember it much at all. not sure if the car died, or clutch slipped or what. but i was t-boned by an ex cop driving a dodge ram doing about 70.

totalled my car (no collision insurance) and the guy milked it for what it was worth.

had some people who didnt like me write police reports that were bunk just to get at me.

was charged with undue care and attention. - got a lawyer was supposed to have it dropped so a much smaller traffic violation.... got a call one day saying i was supposed to be in court the next day tho my court date was not until 2 more months. my lawyer went for me and gave me the bad news.

apparently someone decided to look over my case and up the anti a bit due to the reports written about me - dangerous driving! and failed to let me know about it... so eventually i go to court on my original date and plead guilty but at a lower charge (to save from going to jail). we took undue care and attention (which originally was to be dropped) with a fine close to $1500 and a suspension of my license for 60 days. no demerits.

first year back my insurance company dropped me. stayed with the same broker who got me in with another company but at a rate of $10200 a year (not able to break it into payments - 1 payment only

next year i said f-u broker [censored] and shopped around. best price i got was $1500 down and $635 a month totalling $9120. thats with full coverage (no glass) and only 500,000 liability...

sorry for the long post... will follow up with an accident pic... its pretty bad so keep children away from the computer and if your a fainter lie down first - jk its not that bad...

my seat was ripped right out from the floor. door unopenable until i had my dad and 2 brother pry it open with crow bars (all of them over 200 lbs). the passenger side rippled in the impact. steering wheel was not so much of a circle anymore. 2 of the tires were ripped from the rims. everything inside the car died including my cdplayer deck (parts from the inside shattered).

i was ok other then the missing memory, concusion (sp?), few lumps on the head stiches, and the half jar of glass that they plucked out of my face.

take notes - this is whats needed to be amongst the highest insurance payer's in alberta. i know people who were convicted with drunk driving who get insurance cheaper then me.

Damn dude it is a wonder you weren't killed in that accident. You must be one lucky mofo. Sucks about your insurance though. It seems that insurance companies have a photographic memory about anything that has happened over the course of your driving career. They never remember the years of good driving you had before. My only advice is to never ever speed again, and be super extra careful when pulling into a roadway. But I guess you know that by now.

Originally posted by abwamo:

The-Ghost: "Radar guns should be tested daily but they are not, my friend is a special constable "soon to become a cop", sometimes they go weeks before they are tested especially in small towns. Advocate was caught on the highway out of town, most likely small town Alberta"' so most likely the gun wasn't calibrated."

Most "radar guns" have a self test routine for calibration. It can be run in a few seconds. If the officer is out doing mainly traffic for a few hours they often test them after each traffic stop. There are tuning forks in every vehicle for testing as well. So there are multiple tests for the units. I've rarely heard of them going out of calibration. It does happen but nowhere near as often as all of you are hoping for. I've been told that when it does happen the damn thing gives you wacky readings like 240kph for a car that isn't going over 50kph. Its pretty obvious its not working right.

Lardy.

true true... but if there is no documents proofing that the gun was calibrated he will get off. when i recmonded asking these questions its to show them that he will put up a fight in court and drag this case as long as he can, then they want to bargain to save costs and avoid going to court.
I'm famous for that at the Edmonton court house "appealed a tinted window ticket to the Queen's Bench twice, and got my provincial courts rescheduled about 6 or 7 times. All that for $28, you know what they told me to FU(K OFF in the end. its all about money."