$280 for speeding ticket??? (Phoenix, Chandler, Tempe: high school, tax, live)

[PhureeKeeper]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

For starters, going 46 around a school is going way to damn fast. That all said, read this 12 Tips for Beating an Arizona Photo-Enforcement Ticket | Phoenix New Times

We received a ticket as well (running a red light). We used tip #7 (car not registered to the person driving) in the combination of tip #9 (mailing address was out of state). We sent a picture of the driver (female) proving it wasn't me (male) and that was the end of it.

Thank you for this link!

[slackercruster]

OP...tickets are big biz now. I got one for creating a wake in a no wake zone on the river while jetskiing. Fine was reduced from $300 down to $20, but I also had to pay $160 in court costs.

[useruseruser]

Originally Posted by wit-nit

OP, driver was lucky didn't get arrested for going 20 mph over the speed limit.
Criminal speeding citations in Arizona are a Class 3 Misdemeanor. This means if you are convicted on this crime, you will have a criminal record. In Arizona, you can be charged with what is known as “Criminal Speeding” in two commons ways: Travelling over 20 miles an hour over the posted speed limit.

I am aware of this but they werent going over 20 MPH.. Anyways, i commute on 101 5 days a week. I have witnessed so many crazy drivers going way over speed limit wonder why they dont get caught.Also, I was just driving through phoenix saw two people running red light and didnt get caught. All i am saying is its kinda F*** up system here.

[useruseruser]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

For starters, going 46 around a school is going way to damn fast. That all said, read this 12 Tips for Beating an Arizona Photo-Enforcement Ticket | Phoenix New Times

We received a ticket as well (running a red light). We used tip #7 (car not registered to the person driving) in the combination of tip #9 (mailing address was out of state). We sent a picture of the driver (female) proving it wasn't me (male) and that was the end of it.

Unfortunately, we cant use same reason as yours. As car is registered under my family member and they were driving at that time.. And we arent starters. We have 10 year clean driving record with no accident, NOTHING. This is first ever ticket!

[wit-nit]

School zones are 15mph when school is in session, 25mph when not. According to your post the ticket was for 45mph which qualifies for 20 over the limit.
And your violation observations is ridiculous since there cannot be cops at every section 24/7.

[useruseruser]

Originally Posted by observer53

They are expensive, in large part, as a deterrent of exactly what your family member got a ticket for. A posted limit of 35 around a school, even when school is not in session, seems a little high, unless it was on a major street bordering a school and not during posted school zone hours. But "Kids don't have to be on the road" in order to obey the posted limits. Lesson learned. Pay it, have the family member go to traffic school (which does not cost any less, but gets rid of the ticket and the points that go with it, which can affect insurance) or try to get out of it as discussed above. Hopefully your family member will learn to be more careful.

Thank you for your advice. My family member has signed up for driving school lesson. Since this is first ticket i am assuming that after doing the course it will be taken off record and points will be gone too. Oh yes, lesson learned!!

[useruseruser]

Originally Posted by wit-nit

School zones are 15mph when school is in session, 25mph when not. According to your post the ticket was for 45mph which qualifies for 20 over the limit.
And your violation observations is ridiculous since there cannot be cops at every section 24/7.

According to ticket posted limit there is 35 NOT 25 so its 11 MPH above posted limit...

[wit-nit]

Was it an active school zone? Even if it wasn't you got caught speeding.
Besides get over it, you're acting like juvenile about the situation. How many times a day have you broken the law and not got caught?

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by useruseruser

Unfortunately, we cant use same reason as yours. As car is registered under my family member and they were driving at that time.. And we arent starters. We have 10 year clean driving record with no accident, NOTHING. This is first ever ticket!

They are 12 ways to beat it. Go with another approach.

I come from the school of thought that I can learn a lesson without paying a fine. I was also able to teach our teen drivers lessons without costing them big money. In fact, years ago, I fought a ticket with my daughter and got a concession. It didn't go on her record and we paid $50 versus $200. But the punishment was "don't speed for a year or the ticket goes back on the record". MY fine was speed again and you will lose the car. Period. She knew I wasn't kidding and I would have absolutely no problem to follow through with my promised threat.

If I was you, I wouldn't rationalize that students weren't present. IMHO, a parenting mistake is to take your kids sides when they mess-up. Don't rationalize their behavior.

That said, I get why there are fines. If there were no fines, the overwhelming majority of people would continue to speed. Still, don't assume that cities and counties don't view tickets as revenue streams. Some police themselves for instance LOVE going to court. That's overtime for them. So the cities and town win revenue, the police win with overtime compensation when they are challenged, and the fines are high hiding under the spirit of people need to learn a lesson.

Back to our approach back in the day with our kids. I went to court with her and she claimed her case in front of the judge. She said someone next to her was speeding and passed her and it wasn't her. She believed this was the case. My point to her in person was I didn't believe her. That I've warned her to slow it the Hell down a couple of times and therefore even if she wasn't, her days were probably numbered. So to the judge, I said my promise to my daughter was if she got caught speeding, I was going to take the car away from her for a year. So if the judge viewed her explanation as inaccurate, my penility was going into place. The judge knew I wasn't kidding and she said the reason for her reducing everything was because she knew that I had a harsher sentence. In the end, we got a compromise and my daughter learned her lesson at $50. A $1000 ticket would have been the same lesson.

For me at least, I would be reflecting on making sure I didn't give the speeder any fuel to rationalize why they weren't wrong. I've watched that parenting approach in action before and the outcome isn't good. Still, I would be fighting the ticket. I would be educating the driver that fighting an atrociously overpriced penility is rational so long as you learned your lesson. If they continued to be in denial, then I'd be the one to tell the ticket server where my child was. Because $280 still isn't enough.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by useruseruser

I am aware of this but they werent going over 20 MPH.. Anyways, i commute on 101 5 days a week. I have witnessed so many crazy drivers going way over speed limit wonder why they dont get caught.Also, I was just driving through phoenix saw two people running red light and didnt get caught. ....

All traffic violators don't get caught, anywhere. There's nothing wrong with the "system" here. You think so because your family member got caught. And since none of you ever had a ticket before, you have no idea what they cost elsewhere and whether the ticket here is out of the normal price. Good choice to use the traffic school option.