Whatever anyone is driving, they better know both their own and their vehicles limits. If I have to brake suddenly when I'm in an Evo and I stop in xx amount of feet - is it MY fault that the person behind hit me, because their vehicle takes xxx amount of feet?

I did not create that sticky situation. You better know your vehicle takes longer to come to a stop, and drive at an appropriately safe distance behind me - just as I will keep a much greater distance in front of me when I'm driving something other than an Evo.
If I'm the type of person who has a lot of distractions in the car - that's a situation that I created myself, not anyone around me, and I better drive accordingly i.e. keep a safe distance so that I compensate for an increased reaction time.

I'm pretty confident that at least a handful of us can say that our cars not only get us out of sticky situations but in fact DO help other drivers around us. I don't know how many times I've been cut off or brake checked, and I've had to brake/accelerate/steer to safety. If I wasn't driving an Evo, I know for sure that I would be in a mess along with a few others around me.

 

I have the 6 speeding tickets in Europe at this year ( I dont remember the alls, but first and second was about +40km/h)

 

Instead of a lawyer, maybe try going with one of those companies comprised of "ex-copers"(retired policemen). They have them both in Canada and in the U.S.
My sister was speeding about 60+ km's over the speed limit on a long lonely stretch of highway, and the ticket and demerit points off her licence would have been horrible...never mind the increased insurance afterwards. These companies guarantee that they will get you off your ticket and it may be that in some cases that they also have connections. To make a long story short, they got my sister off the ticket...apparently there was something wrong in the specifics of how the ticket was written. She paid about $175, but the price of the ticket alone was going to cost more...it was a good investment.

 

I don't completely agree (I love derailing threads i guess). Not everyone is used to an Evo and how they brake. They are used to how other cars brake. That is why there are speed limits, so everybody can brake within reason. When I brake hard in my Evo, I always watch my rearview mirror because 9 times out of 10 the guy behind me isn't read for such a sudden stop. It's not normal. People aren't used to it. Therefor aren't prepared for it. I've had to compensate a few times to make sure I wasn't rear ended. Technically it would be their fault if I was rear ended, but I would feel bad for them because it was something out of the ordinary of something coming to a stop like that in front of them. Should he have been further behind because I was an Evo? That's not really fare. Now people need to profile cars? Should all people assume that the thing in front of them will stop much quicker than anticipated? Probably. But following the general rule of thumb mixed with all sorts of different driving abilities on the road, the government / highway management must take into account everyone. Make it safe for everyone. We shouldn't be extra privileged because our cars are better than everyone else's. That's why there are speed limit signs and why everyone should obey them within reason.

I don't necessarily agree with it, I am just reasoning with it. I think there should be different tiers of licenses that allow drivers special driving abilities. But that will never happen because the state / city / county will lose out on $ and there would be an increase in wrecks because 80 year old grandpa wasn't read for 25 year old college grad to go flying by him 20mph quicker.

It's sad it has to be this way, but it makes it safe for everyone. I say get all of the people that can barely drive off of the road and let me go as fast as I can within reason.

 

I think I know what deepee is saying. There have been times where head's up driving with an impending issue caused me to brake relatively hard (harder than I normally would in traffic) then ease off the brakes and come to a stop gradually.

In doing so I definitely avoided the accident, even though I could have hit the brakes later, but I also probably helped the guy behind me in the big *** pickup (or what have you) also avoid an accident. In those cases I kept an eye on those behind me, cause you have to in these cars, and checked for an escape if I needed one.

What does **** me off are people that don't respect what the fugg I'm driving and sit on my fuggin' bumper - especially when they know what I'm driving (some little ricer, neon, scion, etc.). I haven't done a brake check yet in this car but I've been tempted to at times.

 

What are you? The freaking Punisher? LOL. 12 over..........who cares! He's breaking the law!...........oh please! Why don't these bored cops do some real good and catch some bad guys doing burglary or other heinous crimes rather than bother a guy on his way to and from work. Speeding tickets don't save lives.......They are a great source of revenue for government and that's about it.

 

^more of a Judge Dredd flair, no?

 

Very important to get representation before going to court. While waiting for my court date for a guy who hit my car and then ran, I sat and watched a few of the cases. One bothered me in particular. A lady had been going off a ramp merging onto a freeway...the freeway traffic was bumper-to-bumper, so she went along the side of the traffic until she could safely enter. Police grabbed her and ticketed her for not getting in ASAP. She was well prepared for court. Gave a great explanation, and finally ended with the traffic rules of safely merging into traffic which was to "go at the flow" beside the traffic until you can get in. The judge disregarded everything she said and let the ticket stand. I was shocked, as she was quoting the traffic rules from the handbook. I think the problem was that the police officer showed for the court date and the judge wanted to show solidarity. Therefore you need representation in my opinion and you would benefit I think from the solidarity of ex and current police. Good luck! Let us know the outcome.

 

That's an extremely good point, I never thought of it from that perspective. It's relatively easy to know what the car your driving is [in]capable of - but not so clear to know what the ability of the guy in front/behind/to the sides. Whenever I'm braking - it's always after looking in the rearview mirror and always at a much slower/gentler rate than I could if I needed to.

It would be awesome if we could not only have tiered licensing - but also roads/lanes that support the tiers. Imagine, one day, after going to a few advanced driving schools and passing a 'vehicle qualification' inspection - being qualified to drive in a designated lane for high performance vehicles and drivers ONLY. Our own private strip of autobahn.

Anyways, to return the thread back to the OP topic - Yes, he was speeding/over the speed limit. Yes, it is dangerous (research shows a drop in 5-10mph reduces mortality in collisions by more than 80%). However we have been all fortunate that no one has gotten hurt in this particular case. With that in mind, let's cut him some slack and just try and help him sort out his tickets.

 

What do we have to do to get these lanes damnit!

So what options does the OP have? Well he can go back to the scene and take pictures of the road, the last sign compared to where he was. This will help the justification that maybe it shouldn't be a 35? Maybe it felt more like a 45? Perhaps the speed limit sign was hidden by a tree. Perhaps he can prove the cop was profiling him in one of the cases.

I personally don't believe in the representation, I think it will end up being a waste of money. I went down that road once and it became such a huge hassle getting my lawyer there that I had to show up in Grants Pass 4 times. Eventually I ended up representing myself and still had to pay lawyer fees (though I talked them down). I did fine myself and even got both my fines lowered. I was sympathetic to the situation, wasn't cocky and explained to the judge that it was an accident and wouldn't happen again.

Sometimes kissing *** and sympathy are the best tools.

 

I agree with this 100%
When I was in court and won my case, I had printouts of research and current legislature. But I don't think I would have won even though I had a really strong case, if I didn't have representation. I sat with my lawyer in the prosecutors office before the hearing. I presented my spiel, the prosecutor looked at me and then my attorney and it never even went to trial.
It's a game. Figure out the rules and use them to your advantage. Give them an easy way to let you off gentler. Going in heavy handed, trying to make the police and the system look bad is never going to help.

 

He Won't know about your other one but just go to court and chances are you can talk to the cop before the hearing and he'll make an agreement with you to just pay the ticket and not get any points. Thats what happened with me.

 

Exactly migs.

You have two choices - either stand up for yourself and fight, and then eat the points and pay the fines and insurance... or suck it up, kiss some major *** and have a really good chance at getting a lighter punishment. You can't have both.

I've represented myself too, and the only difference was that time I was prepared to pay whatever it took to not have points on my license. Cash will ALWAYS bring down the punishment (within reason. Don't expect to go home if you've been seriously dangerous or reckless).

 

I didn't even bother reading the rest of this dribble. The judge CAN'T bring up the other ticket unless it was the same damn officer who gave you both on seperate occasions. The fact that you haven't had any in a while shouldn't matter, but wierder $hit has happened. Don't bother trying to beat em'. Taking the defensive driving course (if avail in WA) will only remove DMV points and will not remove it completely from your record. What does this mean? Insurance company will still hit you with it. However, if you drag both of them out long enough (meaning a warrant will be issued and your license suspended) the filing will usually get mixed up between the court house and DMV and it may not appear on your driving record at all but rather as a municipal violation and warrant quash. Wouldn't advise chancing the latter though just to save money on insurance for 3 years.

 

+1 to you...now you have no ticket, no demerit points and no increase in insurance...well worth the representation cost!!!
Yes, you can beg the police officer, but what happens if he doesn't show??? Take representation and also beg...two birds with one stone.