so, i was driving back home from san luis obispo to redlands to visit family and stuff


i am in grover beach, like 20 minutes after i left school, and im going to go pass a big rig on the 101...

well it happened to be going downhill, and my rsx picked up alittle bit of speed. Luck has it, a chp is right at the bottom of the hill, and by the time i realize how fast im going, he has already clocked me at '80' mph.


Damn hills.


what kinda sucks, being a broke college kid, is he tells me he gave the the lowest fine possible. I asked what the fine was, and he said he didnt know. Makes no sense


whatever, it was my fault, but i seriously didnt feel like i was going that fast, becasue the only other car was the big rig. and yea, obstructed my chp view ahead, so yea, this sucks

Hmm...so it was the CHP's fault, the hills fault and the big-rigs fault...but not your fault?

LOL. Kids today...

A "downhill" section of the 101 in Grover Beach? The 101 doesn't go through Grover Beach (although it does come within a mile or so of it), and the closest southbound downgrade is probably in Nipomo, 3-4 miles from Grover. You sure you're in our reality? What's an RSX?

The Cap'n

The RSX is what the Acura Integra became. They changed everything over from names to letters a few years back.

Yeah, it was your fault but why did he HAVE to give you a ticket? It's really not like you were dangerous or out of control. Oh well, live and learn.

So the CHP wants a person to stay under the speed limit in order to pass someone that is going slow?

That's increased time in the wrong lane, no?

Yup. The limit's the limit. And if you're passing in the left lane, you're not in the wrong lane. The Cap'n

makes perfect sense ...

he had you clocked at 80, but he wrote you up for the lowest he could do. let's say the speed limit is 65 and their lowest speeding number is 70. meaning, they start giving tickets to everybody doing 70 or faster ...

he got you at 80, wrote you up for 70 (the lowest he can do) and you should be

the cop does not know how much the ticket will cost you. that's not up to him ...


i had the same happen to me last year on my way up to thunderhill. got clocked at 96 in a 70 zone. the cop wrote me up for 80, which was the lowest he could do ...
Andy

Chp and PA State Police must take lessons from the same source. Always beware of downhills on interstates; beautiful places to sit and wait for speeders.

My bud got one on RT79 north of Pittsburgh on a long downhill. Pulled us over; had to wait 45 minutes for the ticket; there were 4 other cars in front of us to ticket first. They worked in 3's; one with the radar gun, one on the side of the road out of his car flagging us down about a 1/4 mile later, and the 3rd giving out tickets.

Even with a radar detector, instant on radar guns just lets you know if you've been zapped or not. Usually no time to react and slow down.

no, he wrote me for 80. i really believe, and know i was going slower in reality. 75 at tops


it is my fault, but still a bummer

it said grover beach, but i think it probably was nipomo or maybe pismo. I do not really know all the city names in the area except for where SLO is

it is again my fault, just sorta sucks.

Yea, i may be a 'kid', but up until this point (a few years of driving now), no tickets, no accidents, or anything similar, which means i beat the statistics for a new(er) driver.

-Though to the concept of what happened to kids these days...i think anytime anyone gets a ticket, they have a right to be a bit upset about the event, no matter who is to blame. After all, you still end up paying it.

But one thing I'll add is that I think passing is misunderstood. Passing isn't for the guy doing 65 in a 70, and passing isn't for the guy doing 70 in a 70. Passing is for the guy doing 40 on a tractor in a 70. IMHO passing isn't a part of everyday driving.

Ben,

You are correct. Anyone who gets a ticket is probably going to be upset. I think what the person was refering to is the way you characterized the event. In your words it was the hills fault, the big rigs fault for going slow, the big rigs fault for obstructing your view of the CHP etc... He is talking about a general resistance of your generation to take personal responsibility. I think he means he would respect you more and be more sympathetic if you said you kicked it up to 90 and got caught. Instead, you take no responsibility for what you did. I'm not trying to start a flame war, just pointing out that you are missing his point. He would be upset about getting a ticket. So would I.
The CHP officer did you a real favor. At the lowest speed he can write you for, you can do traffic school and wipe the whole thing off your record. He rewarded you for not being a dickwad.

you are right. My initial statements did sound like it was the cops fault, etc. It was really supposed to be why i sped up, and then where he happened to find me. I was the one on the gas pedal so it inheriently was my fault.

My issue was more was he said he clocked me at 80, and said that he was going to give me the lowest fine, and wrote me up for 80.

What is the higher fine, writing me up for 80?


on a similar note, does anyone have any approximations of how much the ticket and traffic school costs? I need to start saving now, and i wont find out for a month

If its was wrote up for 80 mph then expect it to be over 300 plus a fee for traffic school if you chose to do so. You can find online traffic schools for less than 20.

Figure around 250 for the ticket and about 30 for the traffic school.

It will be a little less but that will give you a ball park.




I was clocked at 76 behind a semi in the 944 turbo (Just put bigger new tires on the week before, I was indicating 72 where previously that would mean me doing ~70) I saw the CHP looked at my speed and though "Oh %$#^" I was just cruising behind a semi not noticing my speed! CHP was the last in a row of cars coming the opposite direction, and I was 6 car lengths behind the oversized semi not being able to see the oncoming traffic that far ahead, the CHP zapped the semi; I was behind it thus had to be going that speed, I was at 55 by the time the CHP pulled around (no lights) then he caught up to me very fast (the semi is 1/8 mile ahead of me at this time) and pulled me over. Had the ticket written and handed to me in 10 seconds I asked him how fast I was going and he told me and I told him there was no way I was doing that, he told me to sign the slip and contest it in court. He was next to my car for 45 seconds in total, went back in his car and turned around and never went for the semi...
I never trust semi's to cruise behind anymore, but hey I should have been watching my speed right?

Ben,

It could be that he gave you the speeding ticket and didn't give you a ticket for the pass in a no passing area or that he could have given you an unsafe lane change ticket... Any of those rise to misdemeanor from petty misdemeanor. A whole different class of ticket. The latter two carry jail time (rarely) while the first is just a fine.

I have not had to do traffic school in 15 years but when I did it was more than the ticket. It was mind numbing but it was over in about 8 hours instead of the years that the ticket would have been on my record along with the insurance costs and such. These days I think you can do it online even...
Taking personal responsibility is a big thing with us old farts. My 10 year old knows that owning up to what he did wrong gets him 1/10th the punishment. Your not my kid and so not my problem. I just thought you sounded sincere when you wondered why your whole generation was being attacked.
You live and learn. Your lessons have just begun...

according to the officer, all i did was drive 80. I just dont understand why he said he gave me the lowest fine, if he wrote me for 80. It made no sense to me, and still doesnt. I understand, that if i had been speeding, and then did something else, then he gave me a break. But what he did seemed redundant.

its like, i order a cheeseburger. it costs $3s. The guy goes, here, ill give you a deal. 1 cheeseburger, for $3. Yea, it is a 'deal', but i dont see the difference.

and yes, i believe you can do traffic school online, which i will be most likely doing.

I am paying for my ticket myself, doing all this stuff, and i did say at the first post, it was my fault. The events were what led me to let my guard down on the speedo, nothing else. I added it to clarify that i wasnt purposely driving 80 the whole time, driving like some bat out of hell. If i am driving, then anything that happens to me and the car, short of being rear ended, is my fault.

After reading through the entire thread, I can only believe that if I really closely scrutinize the information, it could have been a LOT worse...




It could have been me

Just goes to show all those smart asses that all our money does NOT go into parts for our cars.

Some of it goes to pay tickets on our cars...

OK, look at it this way. You order a cheesebuger, but tell them to hold the cheese. They still charge you $3, right?

There you go...

You were speeding! Breaking the law! You have no excuse. Not even a good reason. You got caught!! Now take some responsability. Pay the fine, go to traffic school or whatever. This incident doesn't even deserve a mention on this forum. GROW A PAIR. OH $HIT, I feel better now.

Nah...he wasn't speeding...and I quote "The events were what led me to let my guard down on the speedo...

That whole "5 Cities" area is a cesspit that is growing too fast. Grover City is now Grover Beach....whoop te fucking doo.....cue Chris Farley voice.....

Arroyo Grande, another shithole....gotta pass thru to get to SLO and Lake Nacimiento....I watch my butt thru there. Each city has it's own agenda and won't cooperate on Urban Planning.

i will try to be the perfect citizen like you, and never break any law again. So, next time i see someone breaking the law, i will take no compassion for them.

so, for those with carbed 914 in california, that is against the smog laws. you need to fix it!!! Also, if you drive 66+mph, you are breaking the law too.

I didnt break a bad law, and i didn't put anyone at risk, so calm down.

they pull over some kid for going a bit too fast, yet some guy who is buzzed drives scott free. There are bigger fish to fry

but really, i am taking responsibility. I am paying the ticket. I have no money, and i am still going to pay it. I was upset i got caught, and what the officer said didnt seem to really help me. I am sorry for wasting your time, and sorry you dont like how i responded to the ticket.

Though, if you go to so cal, most people drive 80 on the freeway. I can sit at 75 and be passed by everyone on the road. CHP dont seem to care, but it is just this county where chp actually work with pulling over speeders.

Also, im sure most people have had an incident where they got a ticket, and the trooper was in a good hideout. Washington, you can find troopers on an overpass, and you will get caught before you even notice they were there. It does suck. Yes, it is our own fault, but doesnt make me happier about it.

The CHP has been tasked with making California's Highways safer, so be aware they're out there doing their job with diligence.

true, but does speed in an almost empty highway make things more dangerous? For instance, the german autobahn has no limits is parts of it, and it technically is a safer highway than our own.

whatever, i have had a bad week, and i think this ticket sent me over the edge. Sorry for you guys seeing me getting upset about this ticket, and sorry for being a bitch about the situation. I was speeding, and i got caught. Iknow that already.

I dont normally break the law, for instance i dont smoke, i hardly ever drink (cept my parents make their own wine so i will have that every special occasion), and i dont do anything else bad, or reckless, and it kinda sucks that i make one mistake that i get punished when others get away.

but whatever, im being a bitch again, and im sorry and I really dont care anymore

Hey, don't sweat it, you took responsibility. It happens to everybody. They're just busting your chops for sport.

Chalk it up to experience. Let this hone your sixth sense - cops tend to hang where the fishing is good. Anticipate. It also doesn't hurt to make sure you have a rabbit.

thanks for the kind words

what sucked was that i was actually in cruise control doing 67ish before, and for some reason i turned it off (i think to pass the big rig (which was a gravel truck, hence my hurry, but again, i should stop the excuses))

hindsight is always 20/20 though