And yet another...speeding question (Post, Ingram: lawyer, buy, calculated)

[hadleyzoo]

So I was doing 40 mph heading east on Wurzbach between Ingram and the back of the Best Buy area (that hilly, somewhat curvy, but not overly curvy road). Posted speed limit (black and white sign) is 40 mph. My ticket even says I was doing 40 mph, conditions were dry, traffic was light.

But the Bexar County Sheriff ticketed me because he said the posted speed was 30 mph. I didn't want to argue, so I smiled, said yes sir, took my ticket and went on my way to my appointment. Well after my appointment I drove back through there and see that he gave me a ticket based on a yellow advisory speed limit sign.

I kind of find it funny too that when I asked the officer if I could just send in the payment for the fine and be done with it, he said I could go to court and the judge "would probably" dismiss it anyway so it is in my "best interest to go to court" (quotes are his words exactly). So that sent red flags for me to do some research.

I *thought* yellow advisory signs weren't enforceable. Now I can understand if I was doing over 40 down that road, or conditions were wet, or there was a lot of traffic, or I was driving erratically, but I was doing 40 which is the posted speed limit on a black/white sign on a dry road with little to no traffic. So I have google'd and cannot find any actual law, but am seeing several commentaries, articles, forums, etc that the yellow signs are not enforceable in Texas. True? Or not? I mean I can't go off of what people say on the internet, but that I have to find the regulation, law, etc if I am going to appear before the judge and fight it.

I was speeding based on the yellow advisory sign and admit that and will gladly pay the ticket if it is enforceable.

40 years old and my first speeding ticket in my life...first ticket of anything in my life ever actually.

[pobre]

According to TXHWYMAN The Texas Highway Man Pages - Texas Traffic Laws (and good driving habits) they are not enforceable. Not sure why they would have ticketed you, then.

[hadleyzoo]

Me either pobre. And that's the only thing on my ticket...there's nothing else like license/registration issue, nothing. Just the speeding. I wanted to politely disagree with the Sheriff, but decided to hold my tongue. I could have SWORE the speed limit was 40 and I even told him that. He said no it's 30 mph and promptly issued the ticket.

[dastexan]

Glad the Sheriff's department are so on top of their games still.

[John911]

Heh. You could go after the wayward deputy for false arrest, filing a false government document (and swearing to it), unlawful restraint and official oppression. He didn't bat an eyelash to drop the hammer on you, you should return the favor. There is an old cop saying: "You can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride." Show him the same mercy he showed you.
(All this coming from someone who spent 13 years in law enforcement)

[Soviet]

John911, does a lawyer need to be hired in order to do what you just said?

[Soviet]

I also forgot to mention this, which I believe is rather important. Those yellow advisory speeds are all calculated according to a very specific formula. Now, I'm not a traffic engineer, but I do know that the formula for the advisory limits has not been changed in decades.

But what has changed in decades is automotive & tire technology & safety. Many of those advisory speeds, in the dry, are grotesquely unrealistic for the 2nd decade of the 21st century.

Edit: In addition, I think it's highly misleading to include "speeding question" in the thread title when at no point was anyone speeding in this particular situation. *chortle chortle*

[John911]

Originally Posted by Soviet

John911, does a lawyer need to be hired in order to do what you just said?

You can file a complaint with the original agency involved and/or an appropriate law enforcement agency of jurisdiction, and chances are most likely they will listen to you and then do nothing.

A written and sworn complaint to the District Attorney's office would get more attention. Of course, retaining an attorney to over see this, plus in addition to seeking civil actions (both state and federal) will get best results.

In the academy it was drilled into us that "the easiest way to get in trouble was to violate someone's civil rights." I don't know what runs through some of these officer's minds sometime. The more uneducated the collective populous is, the more they seem to think they can get away with.

And a disclaimer, I am NOT an attorney, but work for counsel.

Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-law enforcement, just in my experience and training the actions of a few reflect poorly on the masses. Sometimes and example needs to be made to keep some of the bad apples in check.

[Azure110]

What is the point of advisory speed limits if they are not enforceable?

[bigtexan99]

I vaguely remember a comedy routine where he was joking about the yellow speed signs. The sketch went to the effect that there was no consistency state to state. In some states the yellow sign limit was like a locals contest, the fastest speed ever recorded around a curve in wet conditions was posted on the yellow sign. And in some states, the yellow speed was designed for a 15 year old farm truck, carrying a heavy load, with worn out suspension. Might have been Seinfeld or Belzer.