Speeding ticket: Cops allowed to park on shoulder facing opposite direction on hwy?

[JBird]

Speeding is speeding, it doesn't matter where. They're going to sit where they think they can catch speeders. Times are tough, they gotta pay the bills.

So you believe that going 15 over in a 25mph zone is the same as going 15 over on a 55mph limited-access highway? I would never even dream of speeding in town where there are many, many different things happening around me.

[JBird]

Don't listen to these guys. Fight your ticket.

It's easy to win. Do a trial by written declaration and fight it by mail.
Speed limits are not posted for our safety, they are posted for our state's revenue.

I believe this as well, especially after seeing so many people run red lights and stop signs, driving in the bike lane, not stopping at crosswalks, and speeding in low-speed areas including school zones and never get pulled over for it. I guess the state doesn't make as much money pulling people over for breaking those laws as they do with people speeding on the highway.

Thanks, and yes I will probably write a letter including me saying that I was indeed speeding and why.

[lostbeachbum]

Can you higher the ticket clinic or similar? that's a pretty cheap way to deal with it.

[Earendil]

Surprised they issued a citation for that, around here they don't even bother cite 15 over in town never mind the highway.

lol. Reminds me of a girl who, while driving on the open empty deserts of Washington headed towards Spokane gets pulled over ans issued a ticket. She couldn't believe they pulled her over because she was "only going 15 over". She explained to us "In Cali they don't pull you over unless you're doing 20 over". We had to explain to her that in OR and WA they'll pull your ass over starting at 10, and even 6-9 can be risky business on some parts of the freeway :)

[M-technik-3]

lol. Reminds me of a girl who, while driving on the open empty deserts of Washington headed towards Spokane gets pulled over ans issued a ticket. She couldn't believe they pulled her over because she was "only going 15 over". She explained to us "In Cali they don't pull you over unless you're doing 20 over". We had to explain to her that in OR and WA they'll pull your ass over starting at 10, and even 6-9 can be risky business on some parts of the freeway :)

Not advocating speeding at all. Just mentioning the norm here. I honestly don't like it, makes people bat shit crazy with road rage. If your cited just face the consequences, pay the ticket.

[InuFaye]

Don't listen to these guys. Fight your ticket.

It's easy to win. Do a trial by written declaration and fight it by mail.
Speed limits are not posted for our safety, they are posted for our state's revenue.

You broke the law, what makes you think your entitled to get around the law?

[Earendil]

You broke the law, what makes you think your entitled to get around the law?

I don't think he's trying to go around the law. He readily admits he broke the law. He doesn't think the punishment fits the crime, but that's nothing he nor we can decide, only a Judge can. If he's willing to risk the court fee to figure that out, more power to him. We have courts for this very thing, and I wouldn't discourage someone from using our legal system, as long as they understand the cost.

Now, if we want to discuss whether speeding tickets, like murder, should have different classifications based on things like intent and circumstance, or if that's a waste of our legal system, we can totally do that :-)

[JBird]

You broke the law, what makes you think your entitled to get around the law?

I am not going to fight it (contest it), but I will mitigate it as I believe the area in which I was speeding was less severe and dangerous than speeding in an area with more traffic and on/off ramps. Also, the speed in that part of the highway may not be set according to highway standards.

BTW, this is a Google maps picture of the exact place that I was speeding in. But imagine absolutely no other cars ahead or behind me. Except a cop sitting in the dark with no lights on, on the shoulder facing the opposite way of traffic.

[slammin.e28]

So it's okay to speed if you feel it is safe and you don't get caught, basically.

[Earendil]

So it's okay to speed if you feel it is safe and you don't get caught, basically.

I can't figure out who you're replying to, since no one has said that yet?
We're discussing the severity of breaking the law in different circumstances and just punishment. No one is saying the law wasn't broken.

[JBird]

So it's okay to speed if you feel it is safe and you don't get caught, basically.

Yes. But of course that doesn't make me or anyone else a perfect judge of where it is and isn't safe to speed.

I can't figure out who you're replying to, since no one has said that yet?
We're discussing the severity of breaking the law in different circumstances and just punishment. No one is saying the law wasn't broken.

And this. Yes, I speed when there are no other cars around me and I am on a wide open highway. I don't speed in town where there are many other cars, pedestrians, and things going on around me.
Like, Earendil said, I am simply discussing the severity of the ticket and the principle of giving speeding tickets in different circumstances. I am also asking whether it's legal to park on the shoulder of a highway with no lights on, facing the opposite direction of traffic.

Also, I think it's just fun to discuss traffic politics. :)

[Roysneon]

So you believe that going 15 over in a 25mph zone is the same as going 15 over on a 55mph limited-access highway? I would never even dream of speeding in town where there are many, many different things happening around me.

Morally, no, not the same. Legally, yes.

[slammin.e28]

I can't figure out who you're replying to, since no one has said that yet?
We're discussing the severity of breaking the law in different circumstances and just punishment. No one is saying the law wasn't broken.

Basically what's been said is that under different circumstances it's okay to speed.

False.

The law is very black and white on this. Speeding is speeding. Done. The judgement call isn't yours to make, it's the arresting officer's and the judge's.

[AntiScope]

Highway speeds are set way too low in my opinion. Look at the autobahn and other European countries with less speed regulations. People who drive there are better drivers in general because of it too. That and probably also because there's less automatics. (So I've heard)

EDIT: I thought they can't pull you over if they were sitting without lights on... isn't that considered entrapment?

[SlamedIAm]

How do you know that? There would probably be about the same exact amount of car crashes with it being a secondary offense as it being a primary offense.

Another problem with making it a secondary traffic offense is that it would probably never happen as speed traps on highways are probably a primary source of income and that's probably the only reason that cops pull people over out there. It's disappointing to see so many people running red lights in town, driving in the bike lane to pass on the right and speeding in 25 - 35 mph zones but never get pulled over for it because the cops are all out on the highway.

I don't know where you live but in most cases the cops out on the highway and the ones in the city aren't even from the same department so your point is invalid.

You sped and you got caught. Stop complaining or saying "technically." It's not like it was some technicality. You were doing 20+ over the speed limit. Where or how the cop was parked doesn't have anything to do with that.

You can say it's for "income" all you want as well but that also isn't likely true. At least in MD all citations/tickets go to the general fund, not to some police fund. They aren't getting anything out of it other than doing their job. Stop speeding. Stop complaining.