I knew this day would come (my first speeding ticket)
Well, he said he was going ~55, which is at least 10 over the limit. Oh, and I absolutely agree.
finally, don't listen to people from other states or even people from your own state without doing some research. most states are not the same. advice such as plead guilty, take the class and the ticket is wiped from your license is not universal. for example that is true in florida and completely untrue in new york.
either do your research in advance or hire an attorney who knows what they are doing. alot of times, the attorney's fee is worth the time you save in not going to court one or two times. further, if he gets you a better deal, chances are your fee may be made up in the difference you don't pay in increased insurance premiums that may result from your mishandling the whole thing or not getting the same deal an attorney can get for you.
As far as I know Ohio doesn't have the program to defer and take a defensive driving program. As far as pleading not guilty and if the cop is not there the case is dismissed, I'm positive that's not how it works here. If I go to court and plead not guilty, regardless of whether the cop is there or not, the case is sent to a jury trial in Akron (nearest city court.) To the person who asked if I was speeding, and that I accept responsibility, I stated that I was going 55 at the bottom of a hill, at 2:30 in the morning, with absolutely no traffic. I really don't think that my actions were irresponsible or outrageous in any way. Bottom line, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and I got profiled.
first of all, please don't take this advice to heart. it's a great argument if what you were doing was morally wrong. however, with regard to speed limits, most are set as revenue generators and not according to any actual safety concerns/data (thus the reason the speed limit varying on route 95 anywhere from 55 to 75 in areas of road that are similar). the reason many states and localities plea bargain tickets so freely is because they are generally interested in the fine monies and not in reforming the "horrible" behavior of the speeder.
OP should really file an OPS report for being 'profiled' for doing 18mph over the speed limit. Take that **** to the governor, your congress person, hell the supreme court! A letter to the ACLU is in order! You have clearly been victimized and profiled here for doing almost 20 miles per hour over the speed limit during the wee hours of the morning!
Yo! iM So WiT U DaWG!
