100 MPH Speeding Ticket on HW-99 (70 MPH Limit) (crime, home)

[55182]

A couple things;

Speeding in Ca can be cited under one of two different statutes. Exceeding the max posted speed (what the signs read) or the basic speed law. The basic speed law says that a driver can only drive at a speed that is prudent for the driving conditions. So even if the sign reads 70 it would not be prudent to do so in fog as an example and a driver doing 60 could be cited under the basic speed law.

The officer would not be at the first court date, the judge/magistrate or clerk will ask you to plead. If you plead guilty you will be given your penance. If you plead not guilty you will be given a court date for an actual hearing which the officer will be subpoenaed to appear.

Fines vary by county in the state of Ca. Some counties MAY follow state recommended fine structures while some do not. For speeding I have seen a base fine plus an additional fee for each mph over the speed limit. The addition varied depending on the max posted speed and the speed in excess of the max posted.

Radar works in both directions, coming towards it or away from it. Being on the opposite side of the road wouldn't affect it. Plus there was no other traffic to impede the radars signal.

What an officer says may be his good intentions of giving you some idea of what to expect. But court policies, fines etc change without notification to the various police agencies. The courts will do their own thing. What an officer may say that is erroneous after an act is not a defense for an act committed.

[Usrname]

California highways are full of careless dangerous nutjobs who drive 100mph, don't show turn signals, cut off others -- extremely hazardous roads in CA -- over in Oregon, WA, etc it feels a lot safer because people drive much more sensibly. About time cops start doing something about this situation, before it all turned into a third world style "no rules" death race.

Driving a "luxury car" and having trouble paying a ticket--is this even real?? You can't make this stuff up.
Request community service if you can't afford tickets.

[Exitus Acta Probat]

Well they can take my license, and all that jive, but I can't drive seventy five.

Hey, that rhymes. I should make a song out of that.

[20yrsinBranson]

You were so tired that you had loud music on and felt that you needed to be more "engaged" in the driving experience to keep alert - and you were going 86 - 100 miles an hour???????

are you out of your mind?


You need a swift kick in the pants. I hope this is a very expensive lesson. In the future, if you are tired, don't drive and for god's sake don't drive like a maniac.

sheesh.

[lostsoul359]

Now I am so curious to what type of cars we have all driven? I hear Volvo in some replies...

[Corvette Ministries]

Originally Posted by lostsoul359

Now I am so curious to what type of cars we have all driven? I hear Volvo in some replies...

Well I drove a Corvette, and usually kept it within a few miles of the limit. (Not always, but usually)

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by JJonesIII

Non Sequitur.

Have you ever driven on 99? Most areas of it are extremely unsafe. I used it one time because a friend told me I'd shave off an hour of time. When I got to my destination, I called him and told him the next time I saw him I was going to throw him in a headlock for putting me in that kind of danger.

Did last fall. It's in much better shape than many old routes here. I didn't feel unsafe at all and we had a dodge rental crossover. What are you driving you feel unsafe driving?

[JJonesIII]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Did last fall. It's in much better shape than many old routes here. I didn't feel unsafe at all and we had a dodge rental crossover. What are you driving you feel unsafe driving?

It's not the car I'm driving, it's the amount of cars on the road for the lanes. People are impatient and tend to swerve in and out, and of course, it's well known for the amount of accidents it has (truckers and drunk drivers).

https://www.valuepenguin.com/most-da...-roads-america

Of course, people will try and discount this. It's always been dangerous. If you don't think it is, you're entitled to your opinion. Hard for me to imagine anyone just brushing off what the OP did or thinking it's no big deal to go this speed, especially for the nonsensical reason you gave. But I'm not in the mood to argue with you because I know it's going to be a frivolous debate.

[helikido]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Obviously one that reaches a speed of 100 mph.

It was a 2013 G37S.

Originally Posted by JJonesIII

Unless things have change in our judicial system, I have never heard of a situation where you don't have to go to court for a speeding ticket (that is standard protocol..don't care what the officer told you). In your first appearance in court, the officer will not be there. This is called an arraignment. You need to enter a plea to the charges against you. Your choices are guilty, not guilty, or no contest (which has the same effect as a guilty plea....you are saying you do not want to contend the charges). If you are not going to want to contend the charges, you should plead no contest and ask the judge for permission to go to traffic school. Do keep in mind though, you actually have a reckless driving ticket, not a regular speeding ticket. Reckless driving amounts to two points on your record. In fact, should you be cited for reckless driving and the rules are the same as they used to be, traffic school would only reduce your fine but the points would stay on your record (so plan on a serious bump to your auto insurance rate). You could also have your license suspended. And if you were to ask the judge for permission to give a brief comment after your plea to see if he/she can reduce the speed from 100 to 88, it's not going to matter since 88 would still be reckless driving (you did say the speed limit was 70, right?).

Speeding in California is automatically considered reckless driving at 15 mph over the posted limit.

The only way you have a change of completely getting out of the ticket would be to plead innocent. By doing this, a court date will be set. Both you and the officer would be required to attend. If for some reason, the officer did not show up (I doubt it), you would be off scott free. If the officer does show up, I can pretty much guarantee you have no chance of winning, will not be able to go to traffic school, and will probably have to pay a heftier fine as you took the officer away from his job for your frivolous court case. Any other questions?

https://www.yourmechanic.com/article...alerie-mellema

I thought reckless driving was a misdemeanor? On the citation, the officer put in "Infraction". I'm not planning on fighting the ticket. Just looking for guidance.

Originally Posted by Corvette Ministries

If you ever take a life on the road after another honest mistake, don't quote statistics as your defense.

And get that speedometer fixed.

I agree with you. But like I said, I was the only person on the road. No one else. Hence why my relative speed was screwed up.

Originally Posted by JJonesIII

I didn't even notice that comment. Sorry bud, but 3 years is nothing impressive. Most people I know have been driving for 40+ years and never got a reckless driving ticket. There's nothing impressive about that and if you use that in court, they'll probably increase your fine because you simply do not get it. Your reaction time at 100 mph or 88 mph is so greatly reduced that if someone happened upon that rode, you almost assuredly would hit them. Please stop with the nonsense. What you did was extremely dangerous.

Yes you have a point. At the time, the only danger was on myself. Luckily there was an officer there to stop me.

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

OP, if you're so worried about financial issues, I don't understand why you bought a luxury car. If you're in a tight squeeze financially, that might be part of the reason. (Ya think?) It never would have occurred to me at any point in my life to buy a luxury car, especially when I was a student. I never knew any students at any level, graduate or undergrad. who could afford a car at all, with the exception of two, whose car expenses were covered by their parents.

In other states, it's pretty common to mandate traffic school for the first driving offense, and keep the points off the record, but someone said it's different in CA for a reckless driving citation, so you may be stuck. You might be able to ask for a reduced fine. Your financial hardship plea wouldn't work, though, since it would appear you can afford a luxury car. But there may not be any leeway in the law to reduce your fine. All you can do is ask. If you get a chance to explain yourself, you can say you drive the route every day and have never exceeded the speed limit before, but you were getting used to a new car's handling, that day, IOW, you weren't speeding intentionally. But even that doesn't make sense (it might be best to say nothing), because at some point between 70 and 100, you should have noticed you were speeding, well before you reached 100.

Stuff happens, OP. Sometimes you just have to take your lumps, learn a lesson, and move on.

I agree with you 100%. I bought the luxury car before financial hardships hit me. Luckily, I can sell it at any time with no loss, I got it much lower than it's market value.

Originally Posted by Usrname

California highways are full of careless dangerous nutjobs who drive 100mph, don't show turn signals, cut off others -- extremely hazardous roads in CA -- over in Oregon, WA, etc it feels a lot safer because people drive much more sensibly. About time cops start doing something about this situation, before it all turned into a third world style "no rules" death race.

Driving a "luxury car" and having trouble paying a ticket--is this even real?? You can't make this stuff up.
Request community service if you can't afford tickets.

Wasn't making it up, financial hardship came after buying this 'luxury car'. It's not even a real luxury car, and it cost me much less than your normal sedan off a dealer lot that most students buy.

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

You were so tired that you had loud music on and felt that you needed to be more "engaged" in the driving experience to keep alert - and you were going 86 - 100 miles an hour???????

are you out of your mind?


You need a swift kick in the pants. I hope this is a very expensive lesson. In the future, if you are tired, don't drive and for god's sake don't drive like a maniac.

sheesh.

I wasn't driving like a maniac. Other than that, I do agree with you, it's best to just not drive if tired. Trying to offset that is not smart.

Thanks to everyone for your help and feedback. I understand all of your concerns with me driving 100 MPH. Like I said, it was an honest mistake, and I'm just trying to make it right. We have all made mistakes, and all I was seeking is guidance. I did not mean to make any excuses, I was simply communicating my thoughts about this situation to you all for guidance (whether I was wrong or right). Needless to say, I do not think the police officer who's been doing his job many years would tell me that I am still eligible for traffic school and won't be needing to go to court without reason.

[JJonesIII]

You've been given ample guidance. You've been told what to expect in court and what your options are. And yet, you continue to be in denial. So believe what you want to believe and good luck in court (you're going to need it).