Well I knew when I got my first yellow 'import' that it could attract undue attention from the police. Well yesterday it finally came true. :| I figured you all might like to read what happened.

I pulled out onto a local road (2 lanes in each direction) here in Centreville, VA behind a cop who just passed me by. So like a normal person I began to pace his speed and remain behind him a car length or two. He was in the right lane, I was in the left. It continued this way for appx 1 mile. Then he let off his gas as if he was preparing to make a turn into one of the local neighborhoods. I maintained my speed. He then decided to pull in behind me and turn on his lights..... So I pulled over right away. The officer sat in his car for a good minute or two before getting out. I guess he was calling it in, or whatever it is they have to do before approaching the stopped car.

He did the usual.... "Son, do you know what the speed limit is here?" I said that I didn't notice any speed limit signs on the road when I was behind him....but that I thought it was 35 or 40. "It's 35. There are multiple signs that say that on this bit of road." he said. "And to me it's a flagrant violation to pass up an officer who is doing the speed limit." Remember, I was pacing his speed, but he slowed down to get behind me... I knew I wasn't speeding. Or if I was, it was by only 2-4mph...But I also knew that I was going the same speed as the cop till he decided he wanted to see what I was up to.

So he takes the requisite gander around my Evo....Then he starts accusing me of having illegal modifications to my car. "You own this car?" Yes sir, I said. "Did you buy it new?" Yes sir, I said again. "When did you put that fancy aftermarket exhaust on?" It's the stock part, I said. "How about these other modifications?" Sir this car is absolutely 100% factory stock, I said. He looked at me with a certain grimace on his face that shows he didn't believe what I was telling him. "Then where did you get it from?" So I told him.... And he turned around and said that he'll be back in a few minutes. IT was plain to me that he has no idea about what an Evo is. And that he wasn't doing his traffic cop homework....which includes keeping abreast of the new cars on the market.

5 minutes later he came back with a ticket for me to sign. "Failure to obey a traffic device- speed limit sign" is what the ticket said. huhu...amazing. So after he couldn't pin any illegal modification or fix-it tickets on me, he decided his police cop pride was at stake and he couldn't leave without giving me some sort of ticket.

Sure it's a minor offense....But it's also total BS. I was only driving the same speed he was going. I didn't pass him till he purposely slowed down to get behind me. It's not like I did a rice boy fly-by and gave him the middle finger when I drove alongside his cruiser! It was certainly less than 5mph over the limit we were going.


I went back to retrace my steps later on and noticed that there are no speed limit signs on the part of the road where I encountered the officer.

Should I fight the ticket? Or should I just pay up since this is a minor infraction? How much are these tickets in VA?

SC~

Give it to an attorney if that ticket gives you points.

Fairfax County Police = idiots

Argue it in court you will get off no problem if you just explain to the judge what you typed in your post.

Find out if it adds any points to your license. I got a ticket like that in NY but I was definately speeding and earned mine. In the end the punishment was less then what it would have cost me to miss work to fight the ticket.

look up this "Failure to obey a traffic device- speed limit sign" violation


is it a fine? point? both?

i never heard of that type of violation here in NY...its usually just "speeding" with a number like "45 in a 30 zone"

Go to court with it...take plenty of pictures of the road to prove there are no signs and see what the idiot cop says once you have evidence. What a ***.

They have the same violation in PA. I got one on the PA turnpike. Cop explained that it was a "no points" ticket (read that: revenue producer only). I paid it and never heard another word. Keep in mind that I am licensed in NJ and there is no reciprocity between NJ & PA, so the Magistrate in PA probaly figured it wasn't worth sending to NJ, once they got their $$$$$.

If it is a points ticket in VA, I'd fight it - just as suggested, with photos and your very rational explaination. At the least you'll get it knocked down to a lesser offense - whatever that may be.

Adios,

Fusoguy

Yeah, these things usually come down to whether it is worth it to waste my vacation time on dismissing a ticket. I usually just pay...but I think I'll fight it this time.

I've never had to deal with getting pulled over in VA before....since I've only lived here for a few months. But I have received one or 2 of these "disobeying traffic signal" type tickets when I was in PA. But they are usually in lieu of getting an actual speeding ticket....and are only given when the cop has hard evidence that you were speeding, and by how much you were speeding. This guy has nothing. He said that he suspected that I was going perhaps 5-10 mph faster than he was.....but he failed to say that was only when he hit his brake pedal to get behind me. ach!

But I'm almost absolutely sure he just pulled me over because he has a hair up his bugger of an **** for "them modified Jap cars"....He wasn't even remotely cordial in his mannerisms! My experience seemed very similar to the ones echoed by others in my area who have actual modded cars when they get pulled over. ie...getting treated like a criminal who just ran over a gaggle of orphaned puppies.

SC~

always fight a ticket .....
esp. moving violations.....

If it's a "no-points" ticket, I'd simply pay the fine and move on.

...And boy am I glad I take the Metro everywhere. I hear cops down here are a PITA (I'm somewhat new to the area).

I'm not sure how to see what violations accrue points, and which do not in this state. I guess I'll call the number on the back of the ticket this week....

Mrbonus, I would certainly take the Metro too, if I could. But I would have to switch trains 2x, and get on a bus to get from here to Rockville, where I work. ach!

SC~

Take it to court, make the bastidge show up, and if he does not it is dismissed. Hopefully it will be his day off... heh

It's funny how they put us in jail for stealing money yet they do it on a daily basis.

bryan

Well I can tell you this, that is a moving violation and I dont know about where you live but in NY all moving violations are accompanied by points. That particular one is 2 points in NY. You might suggest to the DA that it be reduced to a parking on pavement which is obviously not a moving violation. Especially after explaining your whole story to him/her. They don't really like to dismiss tickets completely, remember the DA is supposed to be on the cops side.
The only trouble you might have with getting it reduced is they may say that the cop already gave you a reduced violation instead of just giving you a flat out speeding ticket.
hope this helps
-wes

If it is an area that you will commonly drive through don't **** off the cop.

I fought the law and the law won...

Remember that song?