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

[chadthestampede]

I'm glad we have such titans of intellect as jbird and cjdontthink to lead us in our fight against entrapment and police brutality. What would George Washington say if he saw young uppity middle class white women unable to do 20 over in their parents' new bmw and get away with it? What is our great nation coming to? Oh the humanity!

Fight the power jbird. Keep making convoluted posts about how you aren't really mad about the ticket but that you shouldn't have gotten it and you are mad because speeding shouldn't be against the law. Never mind that people are pointing out that speeding is against the law and always will be, and that it's one of the easiest laws to follow. You don't want to go the speed limit, so why should you? Truly you should never be denied anything you want in life.

I see a future where people everywhere stand up and fight. Not against world hunger, not against social injustices that are actually injustices, not against genocide or cancer or other diseases or the dumbing down of Americans or shit education or anything else, but against traffic offenses. We will not stop until going 20 over because there are no other cars on the road is a SECONDARY TRAFFIC OFFENSE! We will not stop until the jbirds of the world can avoid the blatant ENTRAPMENT of being pulled over for speeding! We will succeed, and when jbird gets a parking ticket for parking in a clearly marked no parking zone and makes a thread about that we will FIGHT THAT TOO.

[mr.vang]

[nebulous123]

I love these threads. Used to think like the OP and others in this thread...then I grew up. Whether or not you think the limits are low or high or advertised speed suggestions, they are there to ensure EVERYONES safety.

I should look this up again but there was a statistic I read about breaking distances vs speed. I remember reading something about after 65 the breaking distance doubles every extra 20 MPH. So while you might think its "safe" to drive at a faster speed, you need more room to stop which shortens your reaction time.

Also off-topic but relevant. There is no real reason to speed...an average commute of 15 to 20 miles to work and back, only a few minutes different. Not worth the ticket and/or possibility or hurting someone else or yourself.

Off the soap box...carry on.

[TDE30]

So, when the cop came up to the window, he first asked how fast I was going, I said "between 70 - 75", he said he clocked me at 76. Then he proceeded to ask us if my boyfriend and I had been drinking, because "he could smell it". My boyfriend and I were coming back from a friends house after checking out his new 3D printer. We both shared one mixed drink with ice that we both slowly sipped on over the course of about 1.5 - 2 hours. So, it seems like there would be hardly any way that he could "smell alcohol" especially after 30 minutes of driving home. We both believe that the cop was lying when he said that he could smell alcohol.

He then proceeded to ask more questions, "Where are you coming from?", "Why are you coming from there?", "Where are you heading?" But I'm sure a lot of cops ask these exact questions and whether you have been drinking to try to read people and catch them or something.

Is that some sort of entrapment?

Did zomeone zay entrapment???



Edit: Wait, 76 in a 55?! The cop could have been in the middle of putting a dead hooker in his trunk and I think he still would have had grounds to pull you over.

Making the argument that speeding on a limited-access highway should be permitted is ridiculous. Just because there isn't a bike lane on a highway doesn't mean that an accident at 55 mph would be the same as an accident at 75+ mph. The element of risk is just as great travelling on a highway at 76 mph as it is driving in the bike lane in a 25 mph zone; you chose to disregard the posted limit (not like we don't all do that to some degree,) and travel well above it and now you're making the argument that there is no risk in travelling 20+ mph over that speed limit. And looking at the Google picture of the highway stretch where you were speeding: WTF?! Wide open highway with no other traffic, and that's where you choose to travel at 20+ mph over the posted speed limit, I'd say that was unwise.

[InuFaye]

Why is it so hard to learn that you cant change the law through bitching.

[slammin.e28]

Do accidents and mistakes never happen to you? Have you ever been driving a normal route, and suddenly realized the speed limit sign has changed values, and you wonder when that happened? Do you pay all income and sales taxes on all income and financial transactions?

There is a certain "pay to play", and in that regard sure, I guess you can think of the system as a "Step right up, pay $300 to go however fast you want on the freeway!". But I personally don't that is a good way to think about laws, or justice. A crime should have a punishment, and that punishment should fit the crime.

Financial punishments are difficult because the level of punishment is dependent on the individual. This is why we get upset when we see that a company like Apple has been fined 10,000 dollars for breaking the law. We all instinctively realize that the punishment did not fit the crime. If you or I broke the same law and were fined the same thing (depending on the law broken) we might consider it just.

I got pulled in my M3 for doing 56 in a 45, right before the sign changed. Literally pulled over in front of the 55 sign.

Did I bitch, yes, maybe a little. I was the last one in a line of traffic and just happened to be "that guy" in the loud Euro import.

Did I try to fight it? No. I wan speeding. I got caught. I paid up.

Every other ticket I got was reckless, and you're damn skippy I fought those because reckless driving in Va is a misdemeanor. Read: Criminal offence. I don't need a criminal record, so yes, I called a lawyer friend of mine and for $100 + $50 court costs I walked out of court and drove home scott free.


You gotta pay to play.

What does my tax paying have to do with this anyways? And yes, I pay what I have to when I have to. It's only fair.

[BimmerJeff]

I'm not 100% on this, but I believe a police officer on the side of the road must, at the very least, have his parking lights on. Otherwise it's a pretty serious safety issue. Might want to explore that possibility if you have a lawyer/friend in the law biz

It all depends on the state's laws. In PA, the cruisers do not have to be visible when enforcing traffic. But you'd be surprised how poorly people drive even when you're sitting in a marked police car.

[HawaiianE30]

Heck here in Hawaii you can't even tell if a car is a cop... I'm always looking out for supped up 4runners, Camaros and Mustangs, you can't even see the super thin black bar on top until it's too late.

It always bugs me when people play the saint on the interwebs, yes she sped, everyone speeds at some point! We're car enthusiasts for crying out loud! She admitted to the fault (I would have pushed the skinny pedal a little there too... looks like a fun stretch) so everyone on their high horse can stop bugging her about it.

As far as the cop facing the wrong way... yeah they can pretty much do whatever, I have brought a weird instance speeding ticket to court a few times, showed pictures and got it taken away... be reasonable and if the cop is not there to defend his judgement then it can go your way... possibly.

[Earendil]

so you were going more than 20mph over the limit, and got a ticket? somehow that's a surprise?

Yes, that's what OP said, she was shocked and confused that she got a ticket

Technically I should receive a ticket for speeding, and I'm not trying to get out of it and say that I shouldn't have gotten one.

The discussion has more or less been about the severity of the punishment for the crime, and whether (regardless of the ticket) what the cop did was legal by sitting where and how they were.

[nando]

so you were going more than 20mph over the limit, and got a ticket? somehow that's a surprise?

[craiggroves91]

Or do a TBWD like I've said a million times and increase your chances of winning three fold or more.

[evandael]

ITT, vindictive waffleswaffleswaffleswaffless and holier-than-thou douchenozzles.


Just show up for the hearing and hope the officer forgot. Pay the fine, go to traffic school to mitigate the points, and be more aware of patrol cars.

[jlevie]

Whether the stop was legal with the officer parked on shoulder, lights off, and facing the wrong way, depends on the laws of the state. But it probably is.

The simple fact, regardless of where the where the officer was is that the OP was exceeding the posted speed limit. The type of road, the time of day, or traffic has nothing to do with that. If you break the law you run the risk of punishment.

[Mossman]

just be happy you're not black, pay your fine and move on.

[LSM3]

:-(