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The Thurway is a separate troop with its own rules. They seem kinda random. I live between Utica and Syracuse and if I get on the Thruway towards Utica right now and go low 70's I won't see a single Trooper. But towards Syracuse I almost always see 4-5 people getting a ticket at slower speeds. Towards Rochester people are going low 80's and I can't recall seeing a single ticket.
On state highways its a turkey shoot everyday. I take a four lane highway home everyday and I don't think I've seen a single weekday at least two people aren't getting a ticket.
Bottom line for me?? I love to speed and I have the tickets to prove it but NY isn't the place to do it. I think its the #3 state for tickets and they are expensive. But I do encourage others to speed because lets face it its a voluntary tax and others paying it means I don't have to.
Avoid being within sight of the cops at all times. I never speed, so that's not an issue in my case. Even so, I am ever-vigilant regarding the police and their ticket books.
When a cop is behind me on the highway, I change lanes carefully and deliberately and let the cop pass me. When driving on side streets I hate it when a cop is behind me. I slow down and signal a couple of seconds before making a turn. Doesn't matter if it's not my turn. I just want to get away from the cop.
Their agenda is to track and ticket in case of a minor slip-up. They have to ticket a lot to justify those sky-high salaries and bennies, and we're the ATM. They like to issue multiple tickets when pulling someone over. I can't afford them or their tickets. Cops, stay away from me.
I'm curious about your use of the word "never." Are you claiming that you _never_ exceed 55 mph on a typical NY highway? You don't get to 56mph? On a 25mph or 30mph side street, you actually keep it at 25/30mph or below? Never reach even 26 or 31 in those zones?
If that's the case, you would never have to move over to let a cop pass. You should be permanently affixed to the right lane because _everyone_ will be blowing past you.
If you actually drive at/under the posted limits, you are truly in the small minority or drivers. There are only two types of people I see doing so... the "white knuckle" driver who has a death grip on the wheel and is too nervous or the very old person who doesn't have the facilities to drive any more. Both are a danger and shouldn't be on the road.
Not trying to imply you fit into either category. I'm just wondering if you actually _never_ exceed the posted limit as I think that is all but impossible to do.
Hey fellow commuters...so I'm new to the NYS and I'd like to know what's the best way to minimize getting a speeding ticket. I know most of you will say "don't speed" or whatever but let's be real...MANY of you speed. There's no way that I'm driving 65 on the thruway for hours at a time to/from work. There has to be a trick to this....While the thruway says "keep right unless to pass"...I've seen "groups" of car try to trail each other in the left lane to minimize getting singled out on a ticket....My question is to all you experienced drivers...what's the best way to travel faster? (other than pressing the gas more) haha. Stay behind a truck that is driving "relatively" faster? try to stay between other cars in a "group"?....only hop into the left lane in certain spots? like coming over a crest or hill where police tend to hide because they know most of us will be speeding over the hill...obviously stay within speed there...but there's got to be areas that are good to travel a little faster with less risk of getting a ticket...
Before anyone tries to blast me for this one...i am not talking about driving wreckless like going 100+ or anything like that...we're talking like maybe 70...75 max....etc.
Also...are radar/laser detectors illegal in the state of NY? I'm not sure so i'm asking...
Share your tricks and ideas!!
How to avoid a ticket? Don't drive too fast and go with traffic. Don't be the guy standing out weaving in and out of cars.
FYI The State Police hide all over the place. They aren't stupid. They've been at this for years.
If you're going 70, you'll be fine except for construction zones. Unless you're the only one going 70 and everyone else is going 60.
There are 5 main rules to avoiding getting a ticket. If you follow these 5 rules, there's a high likelihood you'll never get a ticket.
Rule #1: 15 MPH over the speed limit is the line in the sand where if you're over it and you pass a police officer, they will pull you over. Stay under 15MPH over the speed limit. The ideal is about 13 MPH. I doubt you'll ever get pulled over for going 78 in a 65.
Rule #2: never slam on your breaks if you see a police officer. Even if you are going more than 15 over. Just lift off the gas and if you need to, lightly touch the brakes in a controlled manner. Police look for the front of the car dropping fast. If you're the car with the biggest drop from hitting your brakes the hardest, you'll immediately stick out. Also never hold your brakes as you go by the police. Again, they'll see your brake lights and assume you were the one speeding if they can't immediately determine from the radar it was definitely you.
Rule #3: Always approach ideally at the most 10 MPH over when coming to bridges, turns in the highway, over hills. Basically any place where you'll pop out and if they were hiding, you would be a sitting duck. You can be less cautious on straight paths where you can scan far down the road.
Rule #4: Never be the car passing everybody at a high rate of speed. Again, you'll stick out. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a single car pass a line of cars on the expressway, and then see a police officer on the side of the road, and then try to tuck back in with other cars, only to see the police pull out and tuck right behind them and pull them over. Also, never stay tightly packed with a group of cars speeding. Again, you may feel safe with the pack, but you also may just be the car picked out in that pack. Stay back a little bit and let the "rabbits" find the police on the side of the road.
Rule #5: Always watch what cars further down the road are doing. If you see them braking for no obvious reason, it's most likely because they've spotted a police. Again, I've seen multiple times where I see the cars ahead of me braking, I slow down, as do other cars, and then a "rabbit" frustrated by everybody driving so slow goes flying by and immediately gets picked off and pulled over.
Follow these rules and I bet you never, ever get pulled over
These are good rules. The one about watching cars further down the road is a really good one. Plenty of times I've been speeding and a car in front of me flashes his brakes for no apparent reason, and that often means they saw a cop since many people tap the brakes as a reflex when they see a police car.
The first rule was confirmed for me by the trooper who gave me my last ticket. I was going 79 mph in a 55 mph zone on the Taconic when he nailed me. He cut me a break on the ticket (knocking 14 mph off my actual speed) and told me that if I kept it under 70 mph on that road, I would not be bothered.
I rarely get tickets (2 in 15 years up to the last one, which was 3-1/2 years ago), and I don't follow all those rules all the time, but to the extent that you follow those rules, your odds of getting a ticket are greatly diminished, even if you drive above the speed limit most of the time.
I've never used a radar/laser detector so I can't answer that one but I do have some experience with being pulled over.
For me it's about knowing your environment. There are 2 places on I-90 I can bet the troopers will be sitting if I take 90 to or from work. Yet I still decided I had to pass another car one evening and was ticketed for doing 82 in a 65. If I had stayed under 75 I would have been ok. If I'm traveling west of Albany in unfamiliar turf I try to keep it real and stay in the right lane as long as I can do 70ish. Pass when I have to.
A lot of times I take the "scenic route" to/from work. It's back roads so I don't go too fast but I have to go through a couple of towns with 30 mph limits. One day I wasn't thinking and and accelerated to 45 before I was out of range and sure enough the town police were sitting right there. Got a ticket but reduced to a parking violation. Gotta watch the town cops because it's all about the revenue for them. Actually the State Police are too as far as I'm concerned.
The one road I don't screw around on at all is the Taconic Parkway. Speed limit is 55 and I've seen troopers I swear every few miles. I've seen people pulled over that were probably doing 5 miles over. Add in the darkness and a few thousand deer that all seem to like hanging out right along the side of the road I just keep it really close to 55.
Like I said, I think it comes with learning the area. I have a good idea where the police might be. Not looking to drive crazy, just knowing where I may need to be better behaved.
A number of years ago, I used a radar detector for a while. I found it was more trouble than it was worth. I was getting constant false alarms and it took all the fun out of driving. I like to speed and to constantly be compelled to slow down for no reason became annoying pretty quickly. I decided I'd rather risk a ticket. I don't get many tickets anyway.
Funny you mention the Taconic. I got my last ticket on the Taconic in Yorktown a few years ago. Much of that road is narrow and curvy and I don't feel comfortable at more than 65 mph or 70 mph on much of it, but up through Northern Westchester, the Taconic is nice and wide and open, and I was cruising along at 79 mph when I got nailed. I totally deserved it and was prepared to accept the full ticket without complaint, but the trooper was very nice and only wrote me up for only 65 mph instead of my actual speed. I think he was grateful that I pulled over voluntarily when I realized he was after me, rather than force him to maneuver around a pack of cars to get to me. He was the nicest cop I ever got a ticket from.
One strange thing about that ticket was that the main part of the ticket said that he had clocked me with radar, while the second part of the ticket said that he used lidar. I imagine I could have tried to use that conflict to get the ticket dismissed if I had taken it to court, but since he had already knocked 14 mph off my speed, I didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth. Plus, it was an out of state ticket for me and going to court would have been a pain, so I decided to just pay it. I also find it hard to try to get myself off on a technicality when I know I am guilty as hell. Every ticket I have gotten I have been guilty as hell, so it's hard to contest them.
Find a patsy. See someone doing about 15 over and tuck in behind them 50 yards or so.
That works... until it doesn't. Cops aren't dumb and they have played this game longer than any of us.
More than once I have seen the cop pull over the "tailing" vehicle. Think about it - the cop can see the whole line of people playing follow the leader. At that point, it is shooting fish in a barrel on which one he wants.
Having a bush beater is one trick that often works. Like all tricks, it isn't perfect.
Whatever you do, I highly encourage the use of "Waze" (a phone app). It has been pretty accurate in providing speed trap alerts (among other useful info), well before you are in range. Is also isn't perfect. Just another useful tool to combat the state-sponsored highway robbers.
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