Who Will Be the Next To Get a Ticket?

[Morris Minor]

In Georgia we have the "Super Speeder Law." This is a $200 surcharge on "a driver convicted of speeding at 75 mph or more on a two-lane road or at 85 mph and above on any road or highway." The max on a 2-lane is 55 & that on a freeway is 70, so it amounts to getting fucked for being >15 over the limit.  But get this, it's not assessed by the courts, which have their own sets of fines & penalties: it's over & above, assessed by the Department of Driver Services (DMV), who will suspend your license if you ton't pay inside 120 days.

So total costs could easy could easily run to more than $1K, not really doable if you're young & living paycheck to paycheck.

It's wrong. 85 in a 70 is something I see every day, all it takes is cop's random roll of the dice to decide it's your turn to have your life made miserable.

[68_427]

I got a ticket Sunday on my way into work.  I have yellow tinted bulbs in my car.  I prefer the way it reflects off of white reflective surfaces like since and road lines.  So I'm stopped at a light and a cop drives by.  No biggie, I'm not doing anything wrong I'll just continue on my way once the light turns green.  I do however try to watch which direction he turn at the next intersection, just because I'm curious and don't want to end up driving behind this guy for 10 miles on my way to work.  So I watch him turn on his right turn signal, then look away assuming that's where he's going.  My light turns green and I drive, continuing straight where I thought he turned right.  BUT... he ends up behind me.  Ok nice one dude.  Fool me once; shame on me.  I'm doing 1-2mph over the speedlimit and I'm light on the throttle to keep my car as quiet as possible then his lights turn on and I'm just thinking "Oh great what the fuck man, you're going to make me late what could you POSSIBLY be pulling me over for?".  I pull over, lower my window, shut my car off, put my keys on the dash and by now he's at my window.  He says the generic "how are you doing, where are you coming from, where are you going" etc.  Then asks me what's up with my headlights.  I'm confused for a second, because I just replaced my fuse block so I know they're all operational, so I answer him admitting I don't understand what he's asking.  He tells me "They're yellow.  That's illegal."  (It's not, and I know it's not)  I politely tell him that NYS permits white and/or yellow, and ONLY white and/or yellow lights on the front of pedestrian vehicles.  This stuns this rookie cop.  He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready.  To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin'.  What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud.  He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out.  Ok only that last one is true.  He finally says, after a couple seconds of slack jawed silence "but this color is different, they call it sunburst aroma".  SUNBURST AROMA EVERYBODY  I choked on some laughter and he went back to his car, which he sat in for 5 minutes before coming back, and handing me a ticket for my exhaust, and unlicensed driver.  So I get my exhaust signed off my one of my many friends with inspectors licenses and go to the court to hand in my tickets.  I explained my situation at the court, and both tickets were dropped on the spot since I was only pulled over because of this officers insufficient knowledge of the laws he's supposed to be enforcing.

[Raza]

In Georgia we have the "Super Speeder Law." This is a $200 surcharge on "a driver convicted of speeding at 75 mph or more on a two-lane road or at 85 mph and above on any road or highway." The max on a 2-lane is 55 & that on a freeway is 70, so it amounts to getting fucked for being >15 over the limit.  But get this, it's not assessed by the courts, which have their own sets of fines & penalties: it's over & above, assessed by the Department of Driver Services (DMV), who will suspend your license if you ton't pay inside 120 days.

So total costs could easy could easily run to more than $1K, not really doable if you're young & living paycheck to paycheck.

It's wrong. 85 in a 70 is something I see every day, all it takes is cop's random roll of the dice to decide it's your turn to have your life made miserable.

Yes, it's wrong. Speeding enforcement in this country is utterly ridiculous. It's overzealous, but at the same time somewhat lax and random.

[Raza]

I got a ticket Sunday on my way into work.  I have yellow tinted bulbs in my car.  I prefer the way it reflects off of white reflective surfaces like since and road lines.  So I'm stopped at a light and a cop drives by.  No biggie, I'm not doing anything wrong I'll just continue on my way once the light turns green.  I do however try to watch which direction he turn at the next intersection, just because I'm curious and don't want to end up driving behind this guy for 10 miles on my way to work.  So I watch him turn on his right turn signal, then look away assuming that's where he's going.  My light turns green and I drive, continuing straight where I thought he turned right.  BUT... he ends up behind me.  Ok nice one dude.  Fool me once; shame on me.  I'm doing 1-2mph over the speedlimit and I'm light on the throttle to keep my car as quiet as possible then his lights turn on and I'm just thinking "Oh great what the fuck man, you're going to make me late what could you POSSIBLY be pulling me over for?".  I pull over, lower my window, shut my car off, put my keys on the dash and by now he's at my window.  He says the generic "how are you doing, where are you coming from, where are you going" etc.  Then asks me what's up with my headlights.  I'm confused for a second, because I just replaced my fuse block so I know they're all operational, so I answer him admitting I don't understand what he's asking.  He tells me "They're yellow.  That's illegal."  (It's not, and I know it's not)  I politely tell him that NYS permits white and/or yellow, and ONLY white and/or yellow lights on the front of pedestrian vehicles.  This stuns this rookie cop.  He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready.  To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin'.  What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud.  He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out.  Ok only that last one is true.  He finally says, after a couple seconds of slack jawed silence "but this color is different, they call it sunburst aroma".  SUNBURST AROMA EVERYBODY  I choked on some laughter and he went back to his car, which he sat in for 5 minutes before coming back, and handing me a ticket for my exhaust, and unlicensed driver.  So I get my exhaust signed off my one of my many friends with inspectors licenses and go to the court to hand in my tickets.  I explained my situation at the court, and both tickets were dropped on the spot since I was only pulled over because of this officers insufficient knowledge of the laws he's supposed to be enforcing.

Don't you know you're supposed to roll over and let them do whatever they want? You're lucky to be alive.

[dazzleman]

I got a ticket Sunday on my way into work.  I have yellow tinted bulbs in my car.  I prefer the way it reflects off of white reflective surfaces like since and road lines.  So I'm stopped at a light and a cop drives by.  No biggie, I'm not doing anything wrong I'll just continue on my way once the light turns green.  I do however try to watch which direction he turn at the next intersection, just because I'm curious and don't want to end up driving behind this guy for 10 miles on my way to work.  So I watch him turn on his right turn signal, then look away assuming that's where he's going.  My light turns green and I drive, continuing straight where I thought he turned right.  BUT... he ends up behind me.  Ok nice one dude.  Fool me once; shame on me.  I'm doing 1-2mph over the speedlimit and I'm light on the throttle to keep my car as quiet as possible then his lights turn on and I'm just thinking "Oh great what the fuck man, you're going to make me late what could you POSSIBLY be pulling me over for?".  I pull over, lower my window, shut my car off, put my keys on the dash and by now he's at my window.  He says the generic "how are you doing, where are you coming from, where are you going" etc.  Then asks me what's up with my headlights.  I'm confused for a second, because I just replaced my fuse block so I know they're all operational, so I answer him admitting I don't understand what he's asking.  He tells me "They're yellow.  That's illegal."  (It's not, and I know it's not)  I politely tell him that NYS permits white and/or yellow, and ONLY white and/or yellow lights on the front of pedestrian vehicles.  This stuns this rookie cop.  He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready.  To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin'.  What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud.  He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out.  Ok only that last one is true.  He finally says, after a couple seconds of slack jawed silence "but this color is different, they call it sunburst aroma".  SUNBURST AROMA EVERYBODY  I choked on some laughter and he went back to his car, which he sat in for 5 minutes before coming back, and handing me a ticket for my exhaust, and unlicensed driver.  So I get my exhaust signed off my one of my many friends with inspectors licenses and go to the court to hand in my tickets.  I explained my situation at the court, and both tickets were dropped on the spot since I was only pulled over because of this officers insufficient knowledge of the laws he's supposed to be enforcing.

Damn dude, you're a cop magnet even in the rare cases when you're doing nothing wrong.  Nailing you for faulty lights is like nailing Al Capone for tax evasion.

[Rupert]

Have you seen his car? Cops love that shit.

[CaminoRacer]

Ya gotta get more classic cars - then you can do cool stuff and/or stupid stuff and cops don't bother you.

[68_427]

Yeah there's still a clear bias against anything that isn't American

[Rupert]

Nah, it's the lowered 15 year car with shiny wheels and shit hanging from the bumper, not the foreign-ness.

[68_427]

That doesn't explain why the straight piped, hood scooped 4th gen F bodies and SN95 Mustangs with black or chrome wheels and shitty blacked out head/taillights don't get a second look.

[Rupert]

Don't they? All I know is my foreign car hasn't ever attracted undue attention.

[68_427]

Not where I live.  Seems any American truck or "Muscle car" gets a free pass.  From what I've seen the East side of the city is much different.  The west side is much more blue collar which probably explains it to some extent.

[Rupert]

I think there is some observer bias happening here...

[CALL_911]

Nah, it's the lowered 15 year car with shiny wheels and shit hanging from the bumper, not the foreign-ness.

Yeah, this.

[68_427]

I agree 

[Klackamas]

Some interesting reading (tech reports) from Valentine One

http://www.valentine1.com/Lab/

[MrH]

I've never owned a radar detector, but every car I've ridden in with them just blare false alarms the entire time.

Waze + knowing the typical cop hiding spots is all it takes. 

[280Z Turbo]

I think radar detectors are just ticket magnets anyway. if you have one, the cops will try to fuck you as hard as they legally can.

[Byteme]

I think radar detectors are just ticket magnets anyway. if you have one, the cops will try to fuck you as hard as they legally can.

That's why you mount it as high on the windshield as possible.   I fabricated a bracket and attached it just under the header with 3M double sided emblem tape.  the wiring runs up the A pillar and across the header under the upholstery.  The cop has to get on his knees to see it.  It also helps to reach up and shut it off before the cop walks up to your car if you are stopped.

[Byteme]

Waze + knowing the typical cop hiding spots is all it takes.

That's much more difficult trips into new territory.  A radar detector supplements smart driving, it doesn't replace it.

[dazzleman]

That's much more difficult trips into new territory.  A radar detector supplements smart driving, it doesn't replace it.

I think that's the main point.  It'seems one of several tools that can be helpful.   Though I have long since stopped using one.  The false alarms drove me crazy.

[CaminoRacer]

My solution is to drive old vehicles that are obnoxious to drive above 75/80 for extended periods.

[68_427]

So been considering registering my car in Florida to give NYS less money

[dazzleman]

So been considering registering my car in Florida to give NYS less money

Where would you save?  Registration fees?  Insurance?

[68_427]

Where would you save?  Registration fees?  Insurance?

No NYS inspection 😂

[dazzleman]

No NYS inspection 😂

That seems like a lot of work to avoid an inspection fee.  Maybe you should prioritize getting your license back and holding onto it for a while. 

[giant_mtb]

Wouldn't out of state plates just make you even more of a target? 

[dazzleman]

Wouldn't out of state plates just make you even more of a target?

He could hardly be more of a target than he already is, apparently.....

[68_427]

Wouldn't out of state plates just make you even more of a target? 

No.  Plenty of colleges with out of state students.

[Rupert]

College students make great targets.