Out-ofState Speeding Ticket

But drafting is MUCH more effective if you are within a car length of
the car ahead!


Matt

 

Speed generally isn't a problem *at all* - it's not a matter of
prioritizing, it's a matter of some things being problems and other
things not being problems.

nate

 

Does that mean we shouldn't look at cures for the flu just because that
more people die from cancer and heart disease?

Not at all. I just though that people who take a black and white position on
penalty and repentance issues should have a bit of understanding that
enforcement is often based upon a priority system that has less to do with
protecting the public's safety than with the politics of collecting revenue
via law enforcement. Speeders are the easy target so they get the
enforcement priority. But I bet our honest law enforcement officers feel
that they had a good day at the office when the get a truly stoned or drunk
driver off the road.

Richard.

 

That is IMHO an absurd response...even from an attorney.


First, your clients 'ignorance' of the law is no excuse.
[When did I say that?]

If he can not speak English, what is he doing driving in a country where
traffic control signs
are in English?
[My reference to being a foreign language speaker was in the context of
needing assistance negotiating the court system, not in reference to being
able to read road signs; do I now detect that it is not just lawyers that
draw your ire?]

Suppose the numbers on that speed limit sign were in a
different language in Canada! Not!!
[Well, actually the numbers in Canada with reference to speed limits are
metric and Canadian vehicles apparently do not display mph as well as kmp.
Most US cars still do even though Ronald Regan's team eliminated that
mandate one week after he took office; not that that would be an excuse,
mind you].Richard.

 

That may well be true, however, you are missing the point. This is
completely avoidable. If your client had been driving 65 (or even 69 in
most places), the police would have not ticketed him. I'm amazed that
even an attorney will go to such great lengths to justify illegal
behavior. As I said before, if you don't like the law, lobby to get it
changed. That is what motorcyclists in PA did recently. They got a
long-standing helmet law repealed. I personally think helmets are a
good idea and always wear mine and I didn't have any problem with the
law that required them, however, I have a lot of respect for the people
who took this issue on. Rather than just being outlaws, they fought for
what they believed in and made a difference. But that takes a lot more
work than just being an outlas...


Matt

 

Richard wrote:

Well, if your client had been driving 95 kph, he'd have had no trouble
with speed in NYS! You do realize what 90+ mph is in kph, don't you?
Hint, it is three digits.


Matt

 

[Well, actually the numbers in Canada with reference to speed limits are
metric and Canadian vehicles apparently do not display mph as well as kmp.

All Canadian vehicle speedometers display both kilometers and miles, and all
Canadians know that speed limits in US are posted in MPH. All Canadian can
convert kilometers to miles in their heads in about 1 microsecond.

Your client knew he was breaking the law in a big way.

 

There is no such thing as "kmp". Kilometres per hour is abbreviated
"KM/H". Canadian-market cars virtually all have both KM/H and MPH
calibrations on the speedometers, as is the case in the US (though
Canadian cars have the KM/H scale larger than the MPH scale, while in the
US it's the other way round).

 

If he were driving 69 MPH in many places, he would have been the
slowest driver on the road, and at serious risk of getting PITed. I've
found myself doing 80 MPH in the slow lane before during off-peak
hours, and being close to the slowest driver on the road. But of
course the IIHS et. al. keep lobbying for keeping speed limits low...

nate

 

"KMP" was an unintended mistype. Most if not all US cars still display both
English and metric speed information even though the regulatory requirement
has been eliminated.

By the way, thanks for the tip on the GE Nighthawk bulbs; they work great in
my Town & Country. How do they do that?

Richard.

 

I received my first ticket as well, 21 over the speed limit in a safe corrider
(double fine!) in NJ. I was ready to just pay the bill online and everything
but unfortunantely it required a court appearance. I had to wait in a loong
line at traffic court to see the prosecutor who reduced my fine to 2 points
and after all is said and done paid $200 out the door. Interestingly the
prosecutor told everyone in line if they had a ticket for speeding 15 mph or
under, they're willing to reduce the penalty down to zero points on your
license if you agree to pay a $250 surcharge ON TOP of your fine!!

 

Sounds like the very definition of conflict of interest/corruption.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

In fact, yes you implied such, though you chose to selectively quote in your
reply.

Not at all, but from someone that spent more than 20 years in upstate New
York right near the border I can assure you unless your client is still in
diapers his English is well enough to read the signs and follow the court
system here. I'll bet he could even understand them all the way down here in
Virginia!
And lawyers do not draw my ire, only lawyers that spend there time wasting
the courts time while their clients cop a plea to a lesser charge. Like
DWI's reduced to unsafe lane change and that kind of crap!

Yep, its all Ronnies fault (ROTFLMAO). Even a lawyer can come up with a
better defense than that.
Any Canadian I know (and I know plenty) are well aware of the conversion.
Perhaps because it is required in their school systems. And all Canadian
vehicles I am aware of show both Kph and Mph. Remember when you go before
the judge with the 'Ronnie did it defense' that he was President of the U.S.
and not Prime Minister of Canada.

And your response confirms my suspicions.
Your client deserved the ticket he got and should pay the price.

 

Sorry to get off topic, but please do tell me about these. My caravan
head-lights SUCK!

 

Corruption in New Jersey.....who you expect would ever believe that!? :0)

 

There's no magic bulb that makes bad headlamps (e.g. Chrysler products)
into good ones, but the GE Night Hawk bulbs are the best 9004 and 9007
bulbs currently available. Other products in the Night Hawk line are good,
but not necessarily the best available.

For general information on what this type of ultra high efficacy bulb
does, click the first link on this page:

http://www.candlepowerinc.com/products.pib.html

DS

 

Speed enforcement activities are fund raising activities and safety is not
usually the priority.

Richard.

 

Ya shoulda paid it. Wait until you see your insurance surcharge for
the next three years for those two points.

 

Again - someone claiming that the insurance companies are
automatically informed of moving violations by the cops. Even
violations that happen out-of-state.

What gives? Does this really happen - or not?

 

I can only speak to the situation in New Jersey and my own problem
around 14 years ago. The out-of-state ticket from Virginia was $85 + 2
points, but the insurance surcharges amounted to (if memory serves)
around $2,000 over three years. So somebody told somebody. And no way
out at that time by paying extra for the ticket, which was a Virginia
ticket anyway. The two points were definitely on my license and the
surcharge definitely began to appear on my next 6-month insurance
renewal bill. Listed separately.

Now after posting my original response, I did some surfing and did
find a comment that the Whitman administration in NJ had eliminated or
was trying to eliminate some sort of auto insurance surcharge -- but
it was not clear if this had really happened or was at the time merely
a plan. It was also not clear exactly which auto insurance surcharge
they were talking about. So my experience might or might not be valid
today. I just don't know.

But the insurer was notified and I did pay a whopping surcharge.

A clear day in spring, a newish 1989 turbocharged Mazda 626 touring
sedan, a divided highway, no cars in sight in either direction except
for me and the patrol car once I got over the crest of the little
hill. Me trying to see how fast the car would go. Him snagging me fair
and square on radar but citing me for 69 in a 55-zone instead of 100+.
My only ticket in my entire life, and one of the few times I was
significantly speeding.