[Neidermeyer]

The “pay on the spot” is the killer ,, think of it from her side ,, the only reason small towns do that is because they are robbing people ... typically they do not report the ticket info and it doesn’t show up on your license ... this is done so that they get fewer complaints and they can continue thieving longer and longer ... decades of abuse ... if they followed the rules and reported the “infraction” (and driving 71 on a straight clear road through the friggin desert is not anything that should deserve a ticket) then there would be no reason for the pay now in cash scheme ,, they could ding your license with a suspension no matter what state you are from and get paid..

The cops are the thieves in this instance .

[Wiggins]

I was stopped for speeding (48/30) in another state and taken to a local justice where I was given the choice of pleading guilty to the infraction or posting bail for a traffic hearing. The bail was the same amount as the ticket. I paid the fine and even though the state had a reciprocating agreement with my state the conviction never showed up on my driving record.

[Tijeras_Slim]

on a straight clear road through the friggin desert

New Mexico 518? Not straight and at a max elevation of 9700' not desert either. There's not much of it I'd drive at 70 in my Honda S2000, much less a minivan full of kids.

[DesertRhino]

There is no pay on the spot in New Mexico. None whatsoever. And state police would be the last doing it there.

It’s a choice. Sign that you admit guilt and send in the fine. Or sign that you opt to fight it in court. If you are from out of state, you’ll have to see a judge and post a bond. I personally think that system is unreasonable. In this highly mobile society, everyone should get the exact same court date options. That’s a court rule from another era when some grapes of wrath type would never show for court, and never come back to face a charge.

But nobody is collecting cash on the side of the road. Especially state troopers, on camera, with backup. Those guys are nasty jerks, but they are straight arrows and prigs about rules, like Game Wardens.

[Valpal1]

My sister (with a minivan filled with kids) was stopped once and told to pay on the spot and was absolutely convinced from the encounter that it was a dirty or fake cop engaged in highway robbery and was horribly frightened by the whole thing. She was very frightened of the officer’s aggressive insistence on immediate payment.

Since we can’t hear the verbal exchange at the initial encounter, is it possible that this women was similarly freaked out and that is why she took off the first time?

(I realized that the cops allege drugs and bongs were found in the car, but cops alos lie and plant evidence. And after the hot mess this stop turned into, they would be very motivated to “find” evidence that would make the lady appear to be a drug addled nutcase, so I’m not taking the alleged drugs at face value until more is known about this family).

[leapfrog0202]

(and driving 71 on a straight clear road through the friggin desert is not anything that should deserve a ticket) then there would be no reason for the pay now in cash scheme ,,

---

That road is not a straight clear road through the desert.
It is a narrow, windy road through mountainous terrain. I have driven it many, many times in the last 10 years for work and am very familiar with it. In some areas there is hardly any shoulder to pull off on and while you can do 70 sometimes, there are more places on that road where the 55 is a good idea. I am someone that routinely exceeds the speed limit, but am much more careful about that on the road in question.