Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't think that this story has been posted yet. I scanned through three pages of thread titles... it's hard to stay ahead of John1960. lol
Quote:
The recession may be claiming a new victim: the 5-10-mph "cushion" police and state troopers across the USA have routinely given motorists exceeding the speed limit.
It's a speed "limit" for a reason. While I think they are indeed quite a bit lower than they ought to be, that is something you take up with the legislature, and abide by the law in the meantime.
No cop is obligated to give you even 0.001 miles per hour of a "cushion" over the limit.
Growing up, it was always "assumed" you always had some leeway...5-10mph over the speed limit....but recently, on the news and in the hometown papers, they've been saying, with the economy down in the dumpster, local police are stepping up and not cutting any slack, to help boost the cities (towns) revenues.
Growing up, it was always "assumed" you always had some leeway...5-10mph over the speed limit....but recently, on the news and in the hometown papers, they've been saying, with the economy down in the dumpster, local police are stepping up and not cutting any slack, to help boost the cities (towns) revenues.
Not so much with the local yokels here. In Maine, to my knowledge, the towns don't get any of the money from speeding fines, it all goes to the state. I think they did this to keep towns from lowering the speed limits for the sole purpose of making money off unwary drivers.
It's a speed "limit" for a reason. While I think they are indeed quite a bit lower than they ought to be, that is something you take up with the legislature, and abide by the law in the meantime.
No cop is obligated to give you even 0.001 miles per hour of a "cushion" over the limit.
Good luck getting them to pass anything that reduces their stream of revenue.
I'd encourage anyone who gets a ticket for less than 10 over on a freeway to fight it in court, if only to teach the legislators a lesson that unfair laws only create contempt for the authority assigned to enforce them.
Good luck getting them to pass anything that reduces their stream of revenue.
I'd encourage anyone who gets a ticket for less than 10 over on a freeway to fight it in court, if only to teach the legislators a lesson that unfair laws only create contempt for the authority assigned to enforce them.
That is a nice waste of time. Just because they allowed the cushion for so long doesn't mean they weren't able to pull you over. I was only over the speed limit by 8 mphs is going to be the worst stance you can take. A rule of thumb I was told by CHP officers is never drove over 80 on the freeway. I was told this just a few months ago. I hardly ever go over 80 unless everyone is going 90. IMO, I think 10 mphs above on a street has always been speeding ticket worthy.
That is a nice waste of time. Just because they allowed the cushion for so long doesn't mean they weren't able to pull you over. I was only over the speed limit by 8 mphs is going to be the worst stance you can take. A rule of thumb I was told by CHP officers is never drove over 80 on the freeway. I was told this just a few months ago. I hardly ever go over 80 unless everyone is going 90. IMO, I think 10 mphs above on a street has always been speeding ticket worthy.
There are different ways to fight a ticket without admitting to speeding. If anything, just show up and try to get a reduced fine.
10 over on a surface street is less justifiable, which is why I said "on the freeway", but there are so many streets here in SoCal that are posted for way under what the flow of traffic is.
The main issue is that if it's safe to go 79 mph before the recession, it's safe to go 79 during the recession. And assuming that speed enforcement is about safety (naive assumption, I know), then cops can't crack down harder just because they need the money.
Some states address speed limits with reasonable speed for conditions, so they allow a bit over or under depending on conditions. People that say the limit is the absolute generally don't know that, but some places are much stricter than others. Speed limits are supposed to be set by engineers for the 80th percentile of traffic but are often capriciously changed by local municipalities for various reasons (not always legally). In the end, it is the judge's decision if you are guilty of speeding however. I've seen many tickets for "10-15 over" going down a steep hill thrown out because the judge recognizes that it is a speed trap, which are illegal in the US.
In general, police in my area have become much more prevalent on the road at the usual speed traps and people are getting tickets for like 7 over when the limit used to be closer to 10-15 over. My state has a budget shortfall, and the State Troopers are out in force for speeding enforcement specifically.
Good luck getting them to pass anything that reduces their stream of revenue.
I'd encourage anyone who gets a ticket for less than 10 over on a freeway to fight it in court, if only to teach the legislators a lesson that unfair laws only create contempt for the authority assigned to enforce them.
You should always fight a speeding ticket. Part of why they are so popular is that ~95% of people that get tickets for speeding just pay up and never show up in court. Think about that next time you go to court and see the huge mass of people with speeding tickets - that's the other 5%!
Less than 10 over is easily explained away and within a reasonable margin of error for someone adhering to the spirit of the law. That is why most LEOs don't bother writing tickets for such speeds outside of residential and school zones (25 mph). Over 10 mph and its easier to claim a willful intent to break the law, which is why most LEOs stick to only pulling vehicles traveling 10, 15 or more over the limit. Its an easier case and a bigger fine - guaranteed money vs a diminishing chance the closer you get to the actual posted limit.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
