I know you like to take the train, but are you really this naive?

Speeding tickets aren't about safety, appropriate action (eg passing a truck) or anything. They're a revenue source. Plain and simple.

So the cop wrote you a ticket because he wanted to. There's no point in trying to put logic to it.

Ken: Perhaps I am being naive to actually believe in police doing the right thing.

Nevertheless, using that same logic, would you consider the points I made an arguable defense in the eyes of the judge if I had attended the trial? That's what I'm asking.

Ah, the cops do that all the time on Rte 81-S, especially in Wythe county (VA): there's a couple of big hills, & they count on the traffic coming up over the hill still being accelerated enough to push them into the 'speeding' zone. They never do it w/truckers, just cars trying to avoid being run down & squashed by the trucks.

All passing must be done under speed limits to be fully legal. Many people don't seem to know this, mostly because driver education is extremely lacking in most states. Yet the law is quite specific on this point, from everything I've read.

True, when everyone breaks the law, enforcement does indeed become an arbitrary means of revenue enhancement in many jurisdictions.

That won't stop a judge from ruling against you when the law is against you.

Oh, this is absolutely true; but what gripes my cookies is that they never, ever pull over any of the 18-wheelers going 85 mph coming down that hill, and having only 2 lanes most of its length, there is nowhere for a car to go to get away from these monsters. You must either run ahead of them, or become roadkill. There are too many to just pull off the road.

Victor, I just think it's a gray area that should not necessarily apply to interstate highways, simply because of the sheer amount of cars on the road that day (which was a holiday).

Passing a truck in a suburban 35 mph zone should not hold the same rules of the road as on an isolated 65 mph highway.

your "arguments", no matter how valid, would NOT have swayed the Judge...

he is in on the "deal"

revenue, plain and simple

Excelsior!

Gonzo: That's true as well.

Would you have done anything differently had you been caught? i.e. go to the trial and see if the cop didn't show up...

Well, it's technically illegal to go over the speed limit for any reason. I sympathize though. There are plenty of people that are actually creating a hazard, and they have to come after you?

Speed limits do not have any "gray areas" that are recognized as part of the law. That's why they're called limits.

If you drive a little faster than the speed limit, the law says you are just as much a criminal as the person who spraypaints graffiti onto a city bus. Drive slightly faster and you're as much a criminal as the person who sneaks out of store with a CD in their pocket. Drive fast enough and you're just as much a criminal as someone randomly firing a gun into a crowded public park. In the eyes of the law, that is.

Judges and patrol officers sometimes refrain from enforcing the full letter of the law, especially when the sheer volume of lawbreakers makes it impossible to catch them all, but that never gives you any guarantee they will do so in your specific case.

Hi Mark: strictly speaking, you were indeed breaking the law but I'm sure the cops, as they also do here in Spain, set people up to be fined.

I got done earlier this year for not having a bank receipt PROVING that my Insurance was paid up to date in the car. I had the policy but not the damn receipt!

On another note: I think many non-urban speed limits are too low. I find it more difficult to concentrate when driving below 80 km/hr (50 mph) than when going faster and having a top speed of only 120kph is a real drag.

In the US you of course seem to have the biggest cars, cheapest fuel and some of the lowest speed limits in the world. What's up with that?

Um... and how is the cop supposed to know you weren't speeding before you made the pass?

After twelve years of nearly flawless driving (meaning no accidents and no traffic violations)

That's not necessarily flawless driving. It only means you didn't get caught making a mistake. And this post does not give me confidence in your ability to always recognize a mistake when you do make one.

Sorry about your ticket, because it is kind of lame; but you probably should know better. I would have recommended going to traffic school if you could; you could lose the points and learn something too (as well as commiserate with all the other unfairly persecuted, perfectly upstanding citizens there.)

BTW, are you sure about your use of the word "chagrin"?

JR: I had about 5 cars behind me as I was passing the truck, and yet the cop drove past all of them to pull me over. And I did admit my guilt to driving 70-75.

I used 'chagrin', because while I was granted a plea bargain, the fine didn't change. Yeah, I should have combined those sentences. Thanks.

heh..and Mark...damned skippy i would have went to court..if the cop doesn't show..i win!

if he does, i explain my side and try and bargain it down form there, folks tend ot be more reasonable when face to face...easier to be a dink via the mail

Excelsior!

Never expect traffic enforcement to be fair. I haven't gotten a ticket in five years, so I know it ain't fair.

i have absolutely no sympathy for speeders.

yesterday afternoon i was passed on a two-lane road by a couple of lunkheads in a honda accord with the standard 'cabbage shooter' muffler. gee, i guess going 40 through a very residential neighborhood wasn't fast enough.

my solution would be for the police to have a portable car crusher towed behind them. think a fine is bad? hah!

p.s. i do understand the difference between residential and highway, where sometimes the limits seem very artibrary.

Thanks for all your honesty, gents. You guys are priceless.

Since I've already paid the fine (and am taking a defensive driving coruse next month), I merely wanted to scan the pros/cons of the issue, and you guys covered it. Peace.

We'll all be looking forward to your review of the defensive driving course.

Well, I will anyway. Seriously, I hope you'll write about what they say in the course and what you think of it.

But hey, no pressure!

Victor: Consider it a future post as soon as I'm able to take the course. I'll try to be less disenfranchised though. ;)

As a lawyer who fights tickets I can say that if you are cited for this kind of violation find a local attorney and fight it. In my jurisdiction some judges will be receptive if the driver acts reasonably.

Right... find an attorney whose fee will probably end up being more than the actual ticket. Nice try, Perry.

I eat a similar ticket due to an elegant passing. Difference was that I was on the left most lane and tried to get off the highway. The police officer was driving left ahead. All the cars were following him closely. There was no space for me to move to the right most lane without passing him. After a few seconds' following, i finally decided to pass him on a road with a 55mph limit.
u know what happened then. he told me he was at 58,and I reached 70. Heh, I turned my right light, and I immediately slowed down after I move on to the right most lane. What's the problem of such elegant passing?
I am going to debate on the court. Wish me good luck!
This is the first ticket in my life. I don't really know what to say, how to act on the court. I appreciate if you have any good advice. Thanks