Posted on 01/18/2020 7:27:06 PM PST by ebshumidors
I received a speeding ticket tonight coming up hwy 7 from Ole Miss to Memphis. Since I haven’t had one in ten years or so, I found a few tings interesting:
1. The police were in the opposite lane and must have locked on without sitting on the side of the road with a radar gun. I imagine they have some new stuff that uses their speed against an oncoming car’s speed. Not hard to solve, but I’ve never run into it before. 2. Since it was at night, after I pulled over, I put on the overhead lights, rolled down the window and put my hands on the steering wheel. When the officer approached, he made sure to stay at my 8 o’clock. This is also new. 3. All he asked for was my license. No insurance and registration. I guess those are in the computer. 4.. There was no ticket book. It was a computer printout. 5. The officer was polite and all of my USNA parent and Ole Miss stickers didn’t help. I’m wondering if Marshall county offers a veteran’s discount.
I saw the trooper's car further up the road coming at me from a distance but by the time I recognized him it was too late.
I watched him driving past me in the rear view mirror and saw him make a sudden u-turn. I said, "Uh-oh!" to my wife.
We were thousands of miles from home and I didn't really want to deal with a ticket. The trooper was a very young man with a stammer. We got off with a warning. I seldom speed and it is virtually always when I am distracted. One ticket in 55 years of driving.
I had a humorous encounter with a state cop many many years ago. I was going about 80 in a 70. Then this old beat-up Dodge Valiant pulled up next to me and I looked over and saw it was a cop. He motioned me over, so I pulled off at an exit.
He kind of chuckled and said, “It doesn’t look like a cop car, does it?” Anyway, he just told me to be careful. I don’t even think I got a written warning.
That 55 MPH speed limit is probably 65 now. In any event, most of the interstates are designed for speeds much higher than 70 MPH. (After the Republican Congress repealed the "double nickel" in 1995, the State of Montana had NO daylight speed limit for two years; anyone caught at a buck or higher was pulled over and given a warning.)
I looked at the app, but I don’t think it would’ve helped. My wife distracting me, though...
Doppler radar.
Great phone app. Works REALLY well. Does not help with an officer in motion, though.
Well, shoot. The application of law can be messy and discomfiting. Thank you for being respectful.
The funny part is that until I pulled over, my swore that he was after someone else.
LOL!!! I love that Johnny Cash song!
I hope you’ll hang your head and cry
Gotten a couple of warnings. Head on reading agreed with my speedometer both times.
I always let my teacher ID fall out while looking for my driver’s license and get a warning instead.
I don’t know how the law works in this state now, but several years ago we would get a half dozen letters from lawyers who specialized in traffic violations.
For a fee, they would get the charge dismissed with prejudice and no points.
It worked only once in two years. In other words, if you get caught again within two years, you will have to pay up for the second ticket.
Find a lawyer who specializes in traffic violations.
There’s a possible percent error even in perfect conditions but if cop was using radar and going in opposite direction then he prob did not evaluate the exact location for possible radar interference. That’s a possible variable for a small percent error. The fact you were both moving is a possible percent error. We’re you both at same elevation, hilly,....another possible percent error. Was it raining, windy with blowing rain or snow? Another possible percent error. These could be possible percent errors all concurrently and compounding, maybe leaving doubt you were going the speed as charged. All these variables exhausted when I defended myself in court and the prosecutor capitulated. Good luck. Even idlf only some of these variables existed it may be enough to present to prosecutor if you mention them that they may right off the bat make an offer of fine for non moving violation and no points. Good luck.
My wife swore he was after somebody else.
Never had a ticket of any kind since I started driving in 1952. By the grace of god I escaped a whole bunch of DUI’S. Not doing that anymore.
Having worked for years in a hospital ER I’ve seen what can happen on the highway.As a result I’m the one you’ll see on the Interstate in the right lane with the speed control set at 64MPH. Never gotten a moving violation ticket in my life.
I’ve gotten a “slow down” hand gesture from a cop going the opposite direction. I think he knew I could elude him before he got turned around...not that I’d have risked it.
That's been around for decades. With newer technology, they could lock on to a specific car; the older stuff just identified the speed of the fastest car and the cop would then pick the winner from those in the oncoming lanes.
Mississippi has the least competent state troopers that I've ever run across.
I was doing about 115 in a rental Cadillac STS at night and came up on two very forlorn, sad and faint little orange lights. The distance between us closed at breakneck speed and I made a hard left rudder in the nick of time. Little old lady behind the wheel of a 1967, VW bug doing about 45 mph up a slight hill. Poor little German piece of crap about put me out of commission for good.
Be careful out there
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.