Well, it happened. I was doing some spiritted driving and got pulled over by Highway patrol on the 101 South in the Calabasas area.
He said I was going at 100 mph and gave me a choice of either taking me to jail or writing me up for 90+ citation. I had no choice and accepted the second.
What will happen to me? I have a very good record.Do you recommend that I go to court and try to argue that he does not have proof of my speed? He never showed it to me and just assumed I was going that fast according to his own speed of 80 mph.He said I blew past him.
I have the Passport 8500 50 x but that didn't help.He was in front of me.
Please,give me some advice on how to proceed.This is my first time and I am very depressed.I don't know how I am going to drive my beloved G now.I drove with 60mph on the way home after the incident.I got completely paranoid.The jail thing really got me.
Thank you guys in advance for your help.

 

cops are highly trained individuals and that excuse (He never showed it to me and just assumed I was going that fast according to his own speed of 80 mph.He said I blew past him) wont fly! the judge will be on his side 100%!

i say you either talk to a lawyer or handle it yourself and just plea guilty...

 

well, it depends on how fast of 90+ he wrote you for,... i believe..over 94+ is federal case, and below 94 is state... if he wrote you for 94+ your ticket will be quite expensive.. and i believe you do have to show up in court, not sure if they will grand traffic school for that.. as if below 94, 2 option, first, goto court and pray that cop dont' show up then you will get your ticket dismiss, but if he shows up, most likely you will lose your case and your chance to goto traffic school (hey, but it is not always the case, you can appeal and still goto traffic school depends on the judge), 2nd option is just pay the ticket goto traffic school and keep your eye open for the next 18 month (legally you can't goto traffic school within 18 month from pervious ticket date...yet, there's always excpetions for extended traffic school (12 hours compare to the normal 8 hours one), but don't count on it... and extended traffic school sucks)

GOOD LUCK...

 

i dont know how it is in LA but in FLA, you can just take it to a lawyer and they will take care of it, or you can go to court yourself and plea no contest, this usually leads to court fees and traffic school depending on your driving record.

 

I got a couple of tickets in my life. The best thing to do is to plead not guilty and go to court. More than likely the cop is going to be there and just go and talk to him and he'll definitely work out something with you. Like KPC said, just pray that he wont be there and hopefully they'll dismiss your case. I would definitely get a lawyer in this case. More than likely you'll pay alot for the fines. And Good luck....

 

Back in 2002 I was ticketed for going 103 on the 5 freeway on my back to LA from Napa. I'm not sure how I got lucky by being lasered at 103 - at some point I was going 130 in a BMW 5 series.

The situation is obviously bad. I was 22 at the time, with several tickets already to my credit. I did some research on the subject, and came across a few websites that recommended that I go with a "Trial by Written Declaration". In my written dec I first requested Level 2 traffic school, then asked that the case be thrown out if the CHP officer did not provide his response. I then made my case by throwing out all sorts of BS - the cars alternator and AC system caused RF interference that fouled the Laser, it was a hot day in the middle of the desert, etc.

It didnt work, and I was fined $550 and license was suspended for 14 days. Luckily I scheduled a business trip for 5 of the days, I was in Virginia. The other days fell weekends, etc.

The real hit came in the form of my insurance. For instance - this is termed a major violation, 2 points on the license. Insurance for me with a G35 and a major violation is $3500 year. When the violation clears in July, it will drop to $1400. Thats a huge difference.

I'm not sure if its possible for all of the above to happen to you. I believe that 100mph is 2 points, major violation. I THINK that you still fall under a standard "basic speed law" violation, and you'll just have a large fine. I think I recall that there is a special CVC law specifically for idiots like you and me that exceed 100mph, which is why my license was suspended, which was mandatory by law.

The good news - my fine could have been up to $1500 and 30 days suspension.

Also, I tried another "Trial by Written Dec" about a year later for a ticket doing 85 in a 65.

I won.

 

Interesting thing about that "Trial by Written Dec" ....

where can I find more info on it?

 

Rule #1 you NEVER EVER plead guilty! Get a good lawyer... one who is in traffic court everyday. The judge will know him... And the lawyer will plead your case down ... TRUST ME... the money spent on the lawyer will pay off in the long run... Insurance will be less affected, & the judge knows you already spent money to retain his services ... That helps big time. Once you find the right lawyer to take the case... he will guide you through this and make you feel at ease.... They can lock you up in court and post bail if the cop does not show up and the judge wants to hear the full story. Been there done that.... It sucked.... GET A LAWYER, NEVER PLEAD GUILTY

 

Reading over some of your old posts I gather that you like to run your G hard. Getting popped in this fashion shouldn't really be a surprise for you - it was bound to happen sooner or later. A black G coupe rolling 100 is like shooting fish in a barrel to a cop. You'd have trouble not attracting attention at a stoplight, much less blazing down the highway.

In the position I'm in, I get to escort young (and not so young) sailors to traffic court several times A WEEK - thus my attitude about speeding - the carelessness of these 'fast laners' takes up a LOT of my time - time better spent doing other things. I attend these wonderful occasions in several different counties and get to deal with all variety of judges - from the backwoods 'slip me a $50 and we'll forget about it' characters to the 'hang 'em high and make an example of 'em' type.

The advice to get a lawyer can work both ways. Some judges respect that you're prepared and take it into account. Others look at lawyers in traffic court as a challenge to the police department and its authority and it works against you. Unless you know the judge, it's hard to plan for.

What I would hope for is that you really do have a clean record and the judge reduces the charges against you. In Texas/Florida/Virginia you would be looking at a 4 point ticket - reckless/careless driving wouldn't be out of the question and I'm surprised the cop didn't charge you for that on the spot. I've seen charges at this level reduced to 'failure to obey a highway sign' for two points, and then the two points being cancelled by a first offenders driving school. For first offenders it isn't out of the question.

As for the cop not showing you his proof, he doesn't have to. He doesn't even have to tell you how he measured or estimated your speed. Rest assured though, I'm sure he has a canned answer ready for the judge, and the odds are the judge will take him at his word. I've never seen a judge take the word of a citizen over that of an experienced law enforcement official. They've heard it all before - believe it.

Hopefully you learn from this and slow your a$$ down. Be thankful you only got a ticket and not a ride to the hospital. Unless you had a small child in the back of your G that had been bitten by a black widow and had 25 minutes to live or your wife was halfway through the delivery of a breached baby and you were taking her to the hospital I doubt you'll dodge this completely. Hope for the best and learn from it. Keep your fingers crossed and maybe favor will shine your way.

Good luck.

 

you can go ask the judge to reduce the fine or something if that IS your first ticket in a while.. but your choice is probably a $300ish fine and go to traffic school for like another $20

 

As mentioned by some other folks - your best bet is get a lawyer - period. If judges in your area don't like lawyers - your lawyer will tell you that as well. A lawyer that is in traffic court in your area all the time will be able to give you more valuable insight to your individual situation than anyone on this board ever will.

- pink

 

Is it too obvious or rude of me to simply give the advice Slow Down!?!?

 

You were going that fast, sometimes you just need to bite the bullet, or hire a good attorney. Did the radar go off? If he was in front of you and had his radar on, I would think the radar would have went off.

 

Thank you all for the valuable advice.I think it will be best if I went to court with a lawyer and see what happens.
This is my first speeding ticket in my 11 years of being licensed and I know I shouldn't be driving so fast.I just accelerated for 5-6 seconds and that's when it happened.My radar did not go off either.I didn't even have a chance to see how fast I was going but it must have been 100-105 mhp.
Somebody mentioned that if I went to court and lost, I may not be able to take traffic school.That is a big gamble as I prefer to go to school and clear it from the record.Have any of you had lost their traffic school privileges as a result of going to court?
Thanks.

 

IF you can get driver school without going to court, go for it! I don't know about there, but you can rent the videos for it here at Blockbuster or do the school online.