Are Illinois Plates a revene target in Wisconsin? (Milwaukee, Madison: car insurance, hotel)

[nvr/vaca/in/wiscn/again]

I have been going to Wisconsin Dells on vacation every year with my family for over ten years now. I spend on the average of $2000.00 for the trip, hotel and everyting else every year to enjoy going to the Wisconsin Dells. Just a few weeks ago we got stopped in Jueanu County for doing 11 miles over the speed limit in a 55 mile per hour zone by a Juenau County Sheriff. The face cost of the ticket is $160.80. In Illinois it would cost $75.00. I am absolutely CONVINCED that if I had a Wisconsin plate on the car my wife would not have even been stopped. Living in Illinois is costly enough with the toll roads to Wisconsin and car insurance. I have had to hire an attorney for $250.00 to try to eliminate this ticket, or at least just pay the $160.00 fine so it does not come back to the state of Illinois and have my insuranced rates go even higher for a stinking 11 MPH over speeding ticket or risk getting dropped by the name brand insurance company. I guess what I am trying to say is if this ticket is not resolved reasonably for some $400.00 to the County of Juenau I will never spend my yearly vacation allowance in the State of Wisconsin again. Thanks a lot . I will post on this after the attorney tries to resolve the issue. I haven heard if Ohio welcoms visitors but let me know and I will consider vacationing there next year. A spotless driving record could have recied a warning.

[nicknpick]

I agree completely! I live just over the boarder (in IL), and visit Milwaukee at least once a month. I always see IL plates pulled over along the way. Racine Co. is one of the worst. They love setting up speed traps along I-94. I got stopped once myself, about three years ago, while doing 11 miles over the speed limit. There were about 6 other cars lined up the side of the highway also. Funny how they all had IL plates. The ticket was $212. In IL, only $75. I never realized the tickets in WI were so much before that. Let's just say I save my speeding for IL.

[nvr/vaca/in/wiscn/again]

Now we are talking the truth. Very interesting and I cannot wait to see the responses to this post over the next 3 months. At least in Illinois you can go to court for supervision and pay the fine so your rates dont go up. Just let me pay the fine and be done with it. Take the money and leave my spotless insurance alone. Thanks.

[quijote]

I know people with Wisconsin plates who were pulled over in Wisconsin for going between 1 and 10 MPH over the limit. Because of this, I don't think speeders with Illinois plates are specific targets. It seems to me that the targets are speeders in general. One way to avoid being detained is to relax, maybe hit the road earlier, and obey speed limits.

If a high proportion of Illinois folks are pulled over, perhaps it's because they are more likely to speed? I know that when I go from Wisconsin to Illinois, the drivers around me (esp. with IL plates) start speeding quite frantically. Perhaps they should just slow down when they enter Wisconsin?

[pollywannacracker]

I haved lived previously in both Minnesota and Chicago and traveled quite a bit back and forth and I have traveled to Michigan a bunch to see family when I lived in Minnesota. So with all these trips and having out of state plates when I lived in these places I can honestly say that I have noticed a lot of Illinois plates being pulled over. they also seem to love minnesota plates. I think it has more to do with the packers than anything else. Cause I noticed when I traveled through WI with my Michigan plates or when friends and family come through the cops don't care and a couple of them have gotten warnings, but no tickets. Cause hey who can hate a lions fan, we have enough problems to deal with having never even been in a superbowl.

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by quijote

I know people with Wisconsin plates who were pulled over in Wisconsin for going between 1 and 10 MPH over the limit. Because of this, I don't think speeders with Illinois plates are specific targets. It seems to me that the targets are speeders in general. One way to avoid being detained is to relax, maybe hit the road earlier, and obey speed limits.

If a high proportion of Illinois folks are pulled over, perhaps it's because they are more likely to speed? I know that when I go from Wisconsin to Illinois, the drivers around me (esp. with IL plates) start speeding quite frantically. Perhaps they should just slow down when they enter Wisconsin?

I agree with quijote largely.

I have a few speeding tickets here in WI in my time (longtime WI resident), and they were in that 9mph - 12mph range which admittedly sometimes are extremely frustrating.

So no, I do not think they target IL plates, but I do think they are more nitpicky about speeding than law enforcement is in many other states. Seriously, drive the freeways up here a bit in a WI plated car...drivers on the whole drive very slowly in WI in general in comparison to their IL counterparts.

While I would like to feel your pain - I know I think when I have gotten a ticket for 9 mph over and then one for 10 mph hour - I have felt they were really "cheap", but then again, at 10, 11 over, etc., how can you really complain either? I mean, while cheap, you are still quite excessively going over. If cops are not to pull folks over at this range, then what is the point of posted limits? I would feel more sympathy for you if you were in the single-digit range; once you hit 10 or so more, then you are starting to kind of risk it with an anal sheriff / cop, wherever you are. But yes, speeding enforcement in WI is on the average very nitpicky and the tickets' fines are excessive (as are taxes).

Quijote's observation also is dead-on about the many Illinois drivers I think being used to have quite a bit more leeway in terms of speeding. When I drive I-94 from the WI state line through to Chicago, in the northern areas of Illinois (Gurnee, etc.), I am amazed at the speeds of many (most?) of the IL plates. I am going 15 mph over and most people are absolutely flying past me...they are going at least 25 or 30 over! Not that I really care...speeding doesn't bother me highly, but I am amazed (and think if they wished to collect revenue, how easy it would be for them to put troopers there and rack up $).

[bluepencil]

I'm originally from Texas, and one of the first things I noticed when I got to Wisconsin was that people here tend to drive more slowly than they do in other parts of the country (I can't speak for western or northern Wisconsin; only in and around Madison, and the stretches of highway between Madison and Milwaukee, or Madison and Beloit on the way to Chicago). Almost without fail, whenever someone blazes past me on the highway (and I drive pretty fast), they have an IL or MN plate. There might be some direct targeting of neighboring-state drivers, but I'm pretty sure that's not how they decide who to pull over.

A friend of a friend of mine recently got ticketed for going 6 over, and she has Wisconsin plates.

[nvr/vaca/in/wiscn/again]

Very interesting responses and may go back to wisc next year. Thanks

[EnjoyEP]

Originally Posted by bluepencil

I'm originally from Texas, and one of the first things I noticed when I got to Wisconsin was that people here tend to drive more slowly than they do in other parts of the country (I can't speak for western or northern Wisconsin; only in and around Madison, and the stretches of highway between Madison and Milwaukee, or Madison and Beloit on the way to Chicago). Almost without fail, whenever someone blazes past me on the highway (and I drive pretty fast), they have an IL or MN plate.

This is so true.

When I was living in NM for four years, with higher speed limits in general and much faster driving by virtually everyone, when I would come back and visit, I felt like I was absolutely CRAWLING on the freeways in WI. Heck, I couldn't believe how slowly everyone was driving on I-94 when I would go from Milwaukee to Madison for Badgers' football games. People here routinely go 52 miles per hour in the left-hand lane and think nothing of it.

Originally Posted by bluepencil

A friend of a friend of mine recently got ticketed for going 6 over, and she has Wisconsin plates.

Now THAT, my friends, is a cheap ticket, and one I would've been MAD about!

[berries]

did you notice that everyone who complained about there speeding tickets also admitted their guilt. If you speed you get a ticket, then you pay it and get on with your life and maybe remember to slow down next time. Everyone is always trying to weasel out of stuff that they are GUILTY of.. 66 in a 55 is speeding. 20 in a 15 is speeding. We spend all that time and money putting up those signs for a reason. They are not reccommendations.. They are the law. weather your from WI...IL or TX