Ticket for going 61 mph on Route 50 (Fairfax: richest, money, phone)

[dod236]

an overly dramatic response, don't you think?

Originally Posted by statecollege

What was the speed limit? You were pulled over onto the "dangerous" median strip. Isn't speeding with children dangerous? Perhaps the officer did you a favor. I know it's frustrating to watch other scofflaws escape apprehension, but maybe they had "good" excuses, too. Sorry that I can't be sympathetic. I debate often with my wife what is an acceptable speed over the limit. My side is a speed limit is just that, but she thinks a minimum of 10 mph is OK. I never want to be the cause of an accident that injures my passengers because I was speeding or driving unsafely. Granted, I'm probably a lot older than you, so I've mellowed on this subject over the years.

[newgatedenizen]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

what is the actual speed limit on route 50??

In the area around the kennel it is 55 mph.

[scimitar12]

Originally Posted by dod236

an overly dramatic response, don't you think?

No, it really wasn't.

[SteelCityRising]

I, too, have noticed just how many police officers I see everywhere in this area. Granted Reston has a huge police station, but still I wonder sometimes if the police really are pulling more and more people over simply to generate revenue.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation, Fairfax Mom. I was pulled over earlier this year along Route 7 Eastbound near Round Hill after day-tripping in Winchester when a cop who was hiding in the center median pulled me over and ticketed me for doing 68 in a 55. I was completely in the wrong, so I just plead guilty and paid my fine. I didn't wish ill upon the officer, but I concur it's frustrating when you're doing 68 and get pulled over while others blow by at 75 and never get stopped. In my case I drive a red sportscar, so of course I draw more attention to myself.

[The Dissenter]

Fairfax County can't use the excuse of no crime "so we need something to do" for agressive ticketing. There is nearly no crime in my Louisville exurb and the cops here are nowhere near the ticket hounds that Fairfax County's are. They also post all the gulity traffic infractions in the local paper and there is never a conviction for less than 10 mph over the limit. One drawback is that fines out here are higher.

For the record, Fairfax Mom, I think you got a raw deal.

[TPL]

Originally Posted by statecollege

What was the speed limit? You were pulled over onto the "dangerous" median strip. Isn't speeding with children dangerous? Perhaps the officer did you a favor. I know it's frustrating to watch other scofflaws escape apprehension, but maybe they had "good" excuses, too. Sorry that I can't be sympathetic. I debate often with my wife what is an acceptable speed over the limit. My side is a speed limit is just that, but she thinks a minimum of 10 mph is OK. I never want to be the cause of an accident that injures my passengers because I was speeding or driving unsafely. Granted, I'm probably a lot older than you, so I've mellowed on this subject over the years.

It really depends upon the situation in my view. 10 over the speed limit is okay for clear highway conditions, while 5 over is acceptable for wide but heavily populated parkways (ie, Reston Parkway). Within school zones though, when the amber lights are flashing, the speed limit is the absolute speed limit. Within neighborhoods, I always go below the speed limit (My street has a 25 MPH limit, but I usually try to stay under 20 MPH, and at night (Especially on occasions such as the Fourth of July, or Halloween), I'll usually do 10 MPH).

Also, "Fairfax Mom", the penny pinchers are really out in force due to the economy. The patrolmen are having politicians, and subsequently their supervisors, jumping all over them for not issuing enough tickets. This has always been the case in certain locales, but now more so than ever it has become an issue. In Alexandria recently for instance, a councilman publicly berated the police force for not issuing enough parking tickets. So whereas highway patrols would often have their radar gun alarms set for 10/11 MPH above the limit, they now have them set to tighter tolerances in some instances.

When my family first moved here, I remember my father was pulled over on Herndon Pkwy. for going 2 above the limit! Herndon Pkwy. has always been an extremely notorious speed trap, even though it has loosened up over the years (Most likely due to the huge influx of Illegals within the town, and thus crime). He wasn't cited though, and he basically pointed out to the cop how dumb it was. The cop knew it wouldn't stand in court, so obviously he got caught with his own foot in his mouth.

I was pulled over once in a small town myself, and it was the first ticket I ever received. I was really mad, because I have a perfect driving record, and I did nothing to deserve the ticket. They claimed that I didn't fully stop at a sign, even though I did. I discovered that even the residents of that town have numerous complaints against their Police Chief though, because he sporadically erects traffic signs without federally mandated approval, and he does it all just to trap people into getting tickets. I fought it, but by the time it was dragging on forever, I just decided that I had proved my point, and so I paid off the fine. I put up a hell of a fight though, and the first judge, even in finding me guilty, was impressed by my argument. He even caught the officer unaware regarding the number of actual stop signs present at the location where I was pulled over (Basically, the Chief's own guys can't even remember where all of his random signs are). Needless to say, I succeeded in making them think twice about trapping people. I hold nothing against the cop either, because he was a rookie in a small five person force. He was extremely nervous at trial, and he seemed like an alright guy to be honest.

The lesson that I learned is look towards the leadership, especially the politicians. They're the ones who set the policies.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

O.K. - now that I got slapped on the fanny enough -
To all you people in lovely Fairfax County - the cop had about 10 people lined up in the medium - he was using one of those radar guns - I guess they were all nasty speeders like me.....

[LynchburgLover]

We were traveling Route 29 this past weekend and, I swear, there were speed traps about every 10 miles! We counted 15 separate traffic stops!

Guess the state needs the revenue!

[Nancy in Nokomis]

Well - after all this - I have a question - when I went on-line to pay the fine my name was not there - nor was a violation or court date - I tried every which way to search. Has anyone had this experience? I plan to try to pay by phone next.

[roninsedge]

It could be that it hasn't made it into the system yet, or you are looking at the wrong online system. I tried paying a ticket I had lost the physical ticket for and ended up looking at 4 different sites. If you have the ticket go to the website listed on the back. If you did and still can't find it, it is probably not in their online system yet.