[looking4home]

I re-read my post, and it sounded snippy, which I didn't intend at all. So I hope you didn't take it that way, arel. We all have been there regarding traffic violations. I can't even count how many times I've been guilty of doing a "California rolling stop" at a stop sign (probably because I live in CA!).

[arel]

Not to worry.

I didn't get any sense of your post being snippy. Seriously. Not at all.

I just reread the post to see if there was anything in it that seemed snippy to me.

There wasn't.

[Bigfoot424]

Imagine the costs had you hit someone.

[arel]

You're right.

$214 is a small price to pay if the experience prevents such an accident.

But I still think the fine was excessive.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by arel

You're right.

$214 is a small price to pay if the experience prevents such an accident.

But I still think the fine was excessive.

Considering when I started in LE over 30 years ago running a stop sign (in VA) cost around $85 with fines and court court costs so all things considered it's not that high. Go to court as others have suggested and you'll likely see it reduced but there are no guarantees.

[arel]

Too late. I paid the fine last week. I was running out of time and I didn't want any problem with my driver's license.

Unfortunately, I acknowledged to the cop that I had missed the stop sign, even though I told him, truthfully, that it was an honest mistake. Now I know that you NEVER talk to a cop. See those videos that Arcichomesteader posted on post #10 in this thread.

If I went to court and the showed up, I might have gotten an even bigger fine with court costs added on top of it.

Of course, if he hadn't shown up, the case would have been dismissed.

No judge would have cared if I made an honest mistake and not a deliberate breaking of the law. He probably wouldn't have believed me, and, furthermore, public safety was equally jeopardized whether the violation was deliberate or not.

The truth doesn't matter in a parking or traffic fine.

I had an experience in Ossining, NY in the 1980s. I parked overnight on the street, which is illegal. I didn't know it was illegal, because where I came off the highway and turned left into town, the sign warning that overnight parking was illegal was placed where I couldn't see it. I would have had to turn right and then make a U-turn back into town. When I told the judge, truthfully, that I never saw the sign, he flat out didn't believe me. I then turned to a techicality. Parking was illegal between 3 and 5 am, and the ticket was written at 2:45. The judge then said, "Good defense" and dismissed the case.

With traffic or parking violations, you are guilty until proven innocent, not innocent until proven guilty.

And if it comes to your word against a cop's, I think the cop's word will stand, even if you are telling the truth and the cop is lying through his or her teeth.

[BickleTravis]

Originally Posted by Logs and Dogs

I can see both sides of this……………Speeding tickets routinely cost $200-300 in most states when you get clipped for 76mph in a 65mph zone etc. and in all reality you aren’t putting anyone’s life in danger statistically speaking by doing 76mph vs. 65mph……..it isn’t like you are out of control. So if that fine is easily $150-300 for highway speeding with little risk, it almost makes the stop sign running a bargain given the higher probability of causing a collision and or injury with the stop sign infraction.

That being said, $214 does bite the big one, but actions have consequences. I’ll bet you won’t roll another stop sign for a long time though…..so it served it’s purpose.

Wow, spoken like someone who's never done 5 over.
High tickets in VT are the result of a state that is broke. Financially, the stuff is hitting the fan here.

[BickleTravis]

Originally Posted by arel

I'm going to speak to the town about this.

I can see the need to enforce traffic laws, which we all need to stay safe on the roads.

But this fine really seems excessive. And I am concerned about its regressiveness. It can seriously harm people with little money, but not at all affect people with a lot of money.

But thanks for letting me know the range of fines for speeding. Missing a stop sign is potentially more dangerous for the public than going a little bit over the speed limit.

There is simply no way to make a speeding ticket progressive. Income taxes are progressive, speeding tickets are not. Do you expect the cop to ask how much money you make, how much your house costs, how many dependents you have, etc? That would be a bit ridiculous.

[arel]

That could be true, but then give a fine that would not cause hardship to limited income people. Not everyone has $214 of discretionary income.

It's bad enough to sacrifice discretionary income - you are deprived of a couple of dinners at a swanky restaurant, or you have to postpone some discretionary expense - but if you have to sacrifice money that is not discretionary, what do you sacrifice? An insurance premium, your full mortgage payment? Your full health insurance premium? Heat? Food? School fees for yourself or your children? Me4dical care? Veterinary care?

I've heard that people sometimes go to court to plead hardhip, and are asked how much they can afford. Then their fine is accordingly reduced. Of course, they then get hit with a court fee.

I suppose some less sympathetic judge would say, if you can't pay the fine, then you shouldn't be driving.

Some judges are less sympathetic than others. I knew someone, in New York (in a county north of the city), who forgot to renew her car registration. She was preoocupied with her mother's death, which is what she told the judge. Well, the judge prohibited her from driving her car for an entire year. Her job required a lot of travel, and she ended up having to sell furniture to pay for transportation.

[Bang!]

So this is a little off topic, but, how fast do you all drive? What's the biggest/fasted ticket you've ever gotten? In which state? Does anybody have their favorites runs? Mine's route 91 south Monday mornings around 4:30 AM. While its true that driving my Porsche at 150MPH is a lot of fun its not the speed that makes me so happy its that I'm heading south.