Speeding Tickets

[[Desolate Divine]]

What do you think of them? Good way to make people slow down? Or revenue raising? Do you get them often? Or are you squeaky clean.

So today my very first speeding ticket arrived in the mail. I had been bragging about going through the first year of my license (as of the tuesday just passed) without a speeding ticket. Then it arrived. 6 days shy of that one year, and I got done by a speed camera. 65kmh in a 60kmh zone (40mph in a 37mph zone for all you americans). $190 and one of my five demerit points gone.

I am hoping to appeal this, as usually you can get off your first one if it isn't too bad (and this isn't that bad). Worst comes to worst, I will get on a payment plan and try and pay it all. Yuck. But that's what I get for speeding.

[Noblejanobii]

Whoa whoa whoa. Hold up. You got a ticket, for doing 40 in a 37? What kind of messed up logic is this? Well then again it was a camera. Eh, well, I truly think speeding tickets are more for revenue collecting than anything else. I've been fortunate enough to not get one yet but, to be completely fair, I was taught how to drive by police officers, so I kind of know how to avoid getting one. It kind of goes like this:
1) If you're going 1-5 miles over the speed limit, police officers won't pull you over unless they're desperate. It's stupid and not worth the effort since you can usually get that overridden in court.
2) The weeks of the month determine how desperate they are to pull you over. First week of the month they rarely pull people over. Second week they're a bit more strict but not by much. Third week they're somewhere in the middle. Last week, they're pulling over anyone they can get. Plan accordingly for this.
3) When dealing with machines (applies to radars in police cars as well), if you see one, slam on your brakes. It'll cause the machine to temporarily short circuit because it's registering too many different speeds at once and will have to reset before it can file a ticket. By that point, you're long gone and it can't register your license plate. This works better the smaller the vehicle, so a Kia would work better for this than a Hummer.

[Neo Emolga]

I've gotten a couple tickets, but nothing for speeding. I overlooked a "no left turn" sign once and got bagged for that. Still, nothing truly serious. I haven't gotten any points on my license.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

What do you think of them? Good way to make people slow down? Or revenue raising? Do you get them often? Or are you squeaky clean.

So today my very first speeding ticket arrived in the mail. I had been bragging about going through the first year of my license (as of the tuesday just passed) without a speeding ticket. Then it arrived. 6 days shy of that one year, and I got done by a speed camera. 65kmh in a 60kmh zone (40mph in a 37mph zone for all you americans). $190 and one of my five demerit points gone.

I am hoping to appeal this, as usually you can get off your first one if it isn't too bad (and this isn't that bad). Worst comes to worst, I will get on a payment plan and try and pay it all. Yuck. But that's what I get for speeding.

That's rough. :/ So close to a year! You can probably get out of it if it's your first. The trick is to take responsibility for it and apologise rather than trying to make up an excuse, if that helps. xD Also if you don't get any fines while you're a P plater, you get a discount on your full license, which is pretty neat!

I've never gotten a fine. I'm pretty careful not to speed, because I'm paranoid. Everyone always overtakes me so I end up driving along by myself with a pack in front of me. xD Seriously, always left behind! Everyone else speeds!!!

That is some interesting advice, Noble. I didn't know you could trick cameras like that. Police cars don't often chase people down here, I don't think. They use their radar guns and take down the numberplates and then send a fine in the mail. So you still get a fine even if you're only 3km+ over (they give you a 3km buffer iirc, like if they caught you at 67, they'll say you were going 64). I think if you slammed on the brakes in front of a cop car with a radar gun though, they would probably chase you cos that would be suspicious. xD

[Noblejanobii]

That is some interesting advice, Noble. I didn't know you could trick cameras like that. Police cars don't often chase people down here, I don't think. They use their radar guns and take down the numberplates and then send a fine in the mail. So you still get a fine even if you're only 3km+ over (they give you a 3km buffer iirc, like if they caught you at 67, they'll say you were going 64). I think if you slammed on the brakes in front of a cop car with a radar gun though, they would probably chase you cos that would be suspicious. xD

Yeah, I understand what you mean. It would look suspicious here too if not for that fact that most of the time police officers aren't looking and solely rely on their radar guns to alert them when someone flies by. If not for that fun little factoid that trick probably wouldn't work. I also know how to get out of a DUI in Texas, but that probably won't be very helpful to anyone here.

[Neo Emolga]

I will confess, I speed, sometimes around 70-80mph in areas that are supposed to be 65 mph. I usually try to match the cars around me and focus more on just observing what's in front of me rather than looking down at the speedometer. I tried strictly driving the speed limit, and people were going nuts around me, to the point where I felt I was taking a bigger risk by not going with the flow than by strictly adhering to the speed limit.

But yeah, usually I observe the speed limit on local roads, but on the highway, it's a different story.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

I will confess, I speed, sometimes around 70-80mph in areas that are supposed to be 65 mph. I usually try to match the cars around me and focus more on just observing what's in front of me rather than looking down at the speedometer. I tried strictly driving the speed limit, and people were going nuts around me, to the point where I felt I was taking a bigger risk by not going with the flow than by strictly adhering to the speed limit.

But yeah, usually I observe the speed limit on local roads, but on the highway, it's a different story.

Oh man, I feel like that all the time! But I still try not to speed. The only time I do that a little is if I have to drive in the right "fast" lane for a bit because I have an upcoming right turn. Then I try and stick with traffic but I still refuse to go more than 5km over. Sometimes I feel like I check the speedo more than I'm looking out the windscreen. @_@ I try to avoid big highways and stuff though. I don't find them too bad as long as I stay in the left "slow" lane. Then people can just pass me.

I really think they need to do some GPS thing where cars literally cannot go over the speed limit in certain areas. Like the car computer always keeps it below the speed limit for that road. I mean, GPSs can already tell you what the speed limit is and whether you're over. But I guess we won't need to worry about that anymore with self driving cars in the works!

[Vishnal]

I'm still learning to drive & have my learner's permit so I have an excuse if I go over the speed limit :V Though honestly, I try to remain within the speed limit for good measure—especially since driving instructors can fail you if you go a few miles over.

Personally, I'm of the mindset that speed limits should be removed (along with cup holders in cars to prevent spillage/potential accidents from said spillage). Look at the Autobahn in Germany; not too many problems there. However, so long as they're around, I do think it is necessary speeding tickets be handed out. Of course, given how we'll probably all have cars that drive themselves within the next couple of decades (seriously, look at how well it's working for the Google Car—the only accidents it's had were caused by man), this will probably no longer be an issue...

[[Desolate Divine]]

So my stepbrother is an idiot. Like, I always knew it but this took the cake.

See, he got a speeding fine like me. Doing under 10kmph over the speed limit (6 miles) and lost one of his five points, and got a $190 fine. However two days later, he got another one. From the same spot. This time doing 12kmph over the limit (7 miles), which is the next bracket. So the fine became $300 and he lost three points. He has had his license three months and in the space of a few days is down to his last point... He is not gonna keep his license long at all...

[Dragon Master Mike]

Well, I got my permit a couple of months ago, and I'm amazed I haven't been pulled over yet. Do you know how bad of a driver I still am? well, I'm not actively a safety hazard anymore (for the most part), but you wouldn't want to be my passenger if you have any back or neck problems.

And a ticket for going three miles per hour over the speed limit. I call BS. Half the time the entire flow of traffic is going that much over anyway.