Florida Speeding Ticket Rant

I 'm on my 04 FJR driving on the West Tamiani Trail around 8 pm after sunset and I feel boxed in so I throttle to get arounda car,ambient traffic speed is 70 mph, I blip to 100 mph get around the vehicle and a smokey clocks me at 100 mph. So I'm handed a ticket for $305.00 with a mandatory[/FONT] court hearing on April 10. Cop wanted nothing to hear about a warning. He just said' 100 in a 70, can't let you off with a warning.' So I live 4 hrs from the Ft. Pierce courthouse . If I don't show it's an automatic warrant for my arrest plus drivers licence suspension for 6 mos. This is just way over the top Motor vehicle laws for a speeding ticket. I just will have to deal with this mess. It's just a pain in the butt. Had to vent this. :angry2:

If Florida is anything like Michigan they are trying to balance the state budget with traffic fines. I'd say you got off pretty light for only $305 for 30 over especially given the "100" number. Get an attorney, try to plead it down to a lower offense to save the points and plan on an even higher fine.... If the court appearance is really a problem definitely get an attorney in the local area of the court and have him plead for a delay or to let him appear for you. Some courts allow this especially if they are just after the fine and willing to accept a plea to a lower (but more expensive) offense.

I got tagged by a Mich State cop for 85 in a 65 while merging onto the freeway. The fact that I didn't run over anyone in the process might give some indication of the speed of the rest of the traffic but......... Cost me $350 for "just" 20 over. Ended up pleading the ticket down to "Obstructing traffic" (oh the irony) and I had to attend "traffic attitude school" (which was a stitch....and another story all in itself) but the first words out of the prosecutor's mouth were "no matter what, you'll have to pay the fine". Bend over.

Michigan local courts have an excellent scam running. The local municipal cops tag you on the freeway or someplace easy for 10 or 15 over and "invite" you to court casually and "off the record" where the magistrate makes your day by eliminating the points (HURRAY you say) by changing the offense to OBSTRUCTING TRAFFIC which carries no points but then jacks the fine by $20 or $30 for "court costs" and lets you go. The scam is that OBSTRUCTING TRAFFIC is not an offense recognized by the Michigan Traffic Code so there are no points....thus it does not get reported to the Secretary of State and the state does not get the fine (how would they know about a fine that "doesn't exist"). OBSTRUCTING TRAFFIC turns out to be a local ordinance of these municipalities. The local municipality keeps the fine. You never complain because they eliminated the points. Neat arrangement. The cops hold daily "revenue generating parties" along certain stretches of Michigan urban expressways daily. You would not believe the number of people being ticketed like this.

The small towns in Colorado have used the police for revenue generation for years. Between generally slowing down in towns and luck I have avoided their attention for 30+ years.

Untill, last week heading to my sons wedding rehearsal. Mid-day, clear weather, I'm in the shoulder side lane of a four laner following a dump truck and a SUV passes me on in the center lane. I see LEO on duty, then see him hit the lights. I tell the wife and other two sons in the car with me watch LEO get the SUV. Wrong. I'm the selected one. Seventeen over and have to report back to town in 30 days. I ask why me and not the dump truck or the passing SUV and was told to tell it to judge.

Going to the wedding a couple days later, I see the same LEO on duty and wave as I pass @ 8 mph with a large string of cars following behind me. Did the slow drive thing four more times over the next couple of days. My slow driving was child like but fun and I really wanted the obstruction ticket to go with the speeding one.

O'well now it's down to lawyers and/or reviewing the traffic engineeing reports for an error in speed sign placement.

Wedding & party were fun!

ride safe

Every Spring we get reports like this. One of the NorCal riders just suffered the same scenario.

My riding friends will tell you that I do ride leaving not much grass to grow under my wheels. Having BTDT (Fortunately, on the way to WFO 4 in Moscow ID, the Nevada HP officer cut me a break and wrote the ticket for 85mph in a 75 zone rather than the speed at which I was riding.). I'd like to offer an opinion.

The FJR is far too easy to ride at 100 MPH. It is a smooth, powerful, comfortable and deceptive motorcycle. My problems lay with my emotional/mental perceptions. While riding, I tend to operate on perceived speed differences relative to other vehicles rather than the actual speed I am riding. So its an "easy" twist of the wrist to accelerate from 70 to 100 mph. My problem is that I don't always rely on the instruments, i.e., the speedometer is fairly accurate and if the dial indicates 70 and I'm choosing to pass and watch the dial go up to 100, I am actually travelling 100 mph in a 65-70 mph zone. The other issue for me is that I perceive the sportbike riders as the true miscreants and I have perceived a cager travelling 75 mph as blocking my progress. Again, its that perception issue within myself that I am trying to understand and apply "mental motorcycling awareness" to.

I don't know the road you were riding. Here in NorCal we suffer what the CHP calls "Maximum Enforcement Sweeps" where they will flood an area or stretch of highway with a task force instructed to write speeding tickets. These sweeps can be caused by excessive speed ratios, number of accidents per mile/month or citizen's complaints. The tactic is successful as the average speed will drop for a time and the state/county makes revenue. Hopefully you will have "traffic school" available to you to mitigate your driving record, that's not an option for me.

As Spring unfolds and more FJR pilots are out riding on their bikes and should beware the Siren Song of the FJR, "Ride faster, we can do it!" Personally, I hate having to apply self-control, but it is a reality I am having to adjust to as part of the FJR ownership rite-of-passage.

Beware, ladies and gentlemen, excessive speed is hazardous to your license and insurance rates.

Well said. I have only had my bike for about a month and am having a hard time showing restraint. I really do believe that time slows down and the other cars seem really slow when you are on the bike. At least we have a sporting chance in California as the maximum enforcement thing is infrequent. Brian from Rocklin

Speed sweep or no speed sweep, and you can call it revenue generating all you want, but sorry, I can't offer sympathy on this one. If you were all by yourself on a deserted road, I could understand a bit of a rant, but not the way you describe it. 100 mph IN TRAFFIC is not acceptable IMO and the ticket is well deserved. Just because you were on a bike doesn't make it ok.

Sorry NS I'm with Pony on this one...a bit silly really mate, hope it works out for you.

Count your blessings.

As of Jan. 1st, 100 mph in Oregon is a minimum of $1000, with mandatory license suspension.

Dude"Slow" Wado

here in fla, when i was stopped for passing on the shoulder in stopped traffic, the cop shut my fjr off, and took the keys... seemed like arrest and seizure to me...

one of the dudes here pasted a link i've now lost of states that treat xx mph over the speed limit as reckless endangerment and trigger a trip to the local sheriffs hilton...

there is a thread here clicky, about wheelies being outlawed...

i know cops here in fla that cite dudes for 'reckless display of speed' for doing anything other than sitting a position similar to that intend by the bikes designer...

so, if a dude does a one leg streched back to the tail of the bike stunt at 40mph, in a 45mph zone, it's 'reckless display of speed'... ymmy

Thug said:

Sorry NS I'm with Pony on this one...a bit silly really mate, hope it works out for you.

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+2

Gotta watch the speed dude. A related statement comes to mind..."can't do the time, don't do the..."

Speed sweep or no speed sweep, and you can call it revenue generating all you want, but sorry, I can't offer sympathy on this one. If you were all by yourself on a deserted road, I could understand a bit of a rant, but not the way you describe it. 100 mph IN TRAFFIC is not acceptable IMO and the ticket is well deserved.

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Sorry NS I'm with Pony on this one...a bit silly really mate, hope it works out for you

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+2
Gotta watch the speed dude. A related statement comes to mind..."can't do the time, don't do the..."

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Geez, guys, I was trying the "kinder and gentler" approach while wondering about "feeling boxed in" at 70 mph.

OK, let's just go with the argument that it was only a blip and he happened to get caught right at the wrong moment. Where do you draw the line? 110? 120?

The officer in this case does not know the "history" behind what happened, he just knows he got someone going 100mph in traffic. 30mph over the limit has to be a threshold that we can agree is not acceptable while in traffic, right?

Like I said, if we were all alone on a deserted highway, I'm right there with you on the rant side. While I fully recognize it is illegal, there are mitigating circumstances that make it less egregious when all alone IMO.

But "Boxed in at 70mph"? That's called traffic. When I come home from work, I'm boxed in by rush hour traffic all the time and I don't go whizzing by them at 100 mph. While I don't believe that's the circumstance here (meaning not rush hour), again, where do you draw the line?

Nightshift,

I feel the pain of your rant. I know that stretch of road well from years ago. It's not evident how much traffic there was in your scenario, so it's difficult to "judge" whether is was wise or ill-advised blip to get into free space. I tend to keep my speed securely in check after dark because of limited sight distance and the fact that I can't see the smokies who I know are gunning for me. (And I'm even more adamant about going the limit & sometimes slower since motorcycle safety guru Larry Grodsky was killed last year when he struck a deer after dark.) Get a lawyer, be cool, stay safe.

FJR_pig said:

Thug said:

Sorry NS I'm with Pony on this one...a bit silly really mate, hope it works out for you.

Click to expand...

+2

Gotta watch the speed dude. A related statement comes to mind..."can't do the time, don't do the..."

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+100 (Pun Intended)

But "Boxed in at 70mph"? That's called traffic. When I come home from work, I'm boxed in by rush hour traffic all the time and I don't go whizzing by them at 100 mph. While I don't believe that's the circumstance here (meaning not rush hour), again, where do you draw the line?

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P.F., I am in in agreement with you. There was always the option to get off the highway for a minute or so and allow the "boxed in feeling" to pass. I'm sure that's the argument the officer would have used if the "boxed in" idea were to have been brought up to justify the speed burst.

100 mph in a 70 mph zone is a 42% increase over the posted limit. That equates to 35 mph in my posted 25 mph neighborhood or 50 mph in my town posted at 35 mph.

The officer was doing his job: Catching egregious violators and writing them a ticket. Years ago a co-worker got a ticket after asking the officer for a warning. The officer's response, "Warnings don't work. When I give locals a warning I invariably end up writing them a ticket later on. With this ticket you will think before speeding on this road again."

While I hate being on the receiving end, it does work. I am much more likely to think about what I am about to do.

I like running fast as much as the next guy, buy from 70 to 100 is more than just a blip. on the other hand, every time I get a ticket, I think about all the times I've gone much faster and didnt get caught. IMHO

Speaking from 'experience'... go to anywho.com call a few local traffic court lawyers - you'll find a decent one for about $500. He will handle everything over the phone, you will be able to show up (he can reschedule if you need it), sign off to a much lower charge and probably keep points off. Expect to pay a couple hundred to the court that day. Your lawyer will be able to tell you exactly what to expect shortly after retaining him.

It's well worth it, trust me.

Nightshift said:

I 'm on my 04 FJR driving on the West Tamiani Trail around 8 pm after sunset and I feel boxed in so I throttle to get arounda car,ambient traffic speed is 70 mph, I blip to 100 mph get around the vehicle and a smokey clocks me at 100 mph. So I'm handed a ticket for $305.00 with a mandatory court hearing on April 10. Cop wanted nothing to hear about a warning. He just said' 100 in a 70, can't let you off with a warning.' So I live 4 hrs from the Ft. Pierce courthouse . If I don't show it's an automatic warrant for my arrest plus drivers licence suspension for 6 mos. This is just way over the top Motor vehicle laws for a speeding ticket. I just will have to deal with this mess. It's just a pain in the butt. Had to vent this. :angry2:

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"30 over", in most jurisdictions, is wreckless driving. if it truly was for simple speeding consider yourself lucky. some places would have arrested you (unles you lived a lot closer), tossed you in jail, impounded your vehicle, and made you wait for a court appearance the next day (or on Monday if popped in a late friday or over the weekend).

In most of FL, 30+ is simply speeding with a manditory court appearance. Anything else is usually officer discresion.

(Pinnelas County)

6-9 $82.50

10-14 $157.50

15-19 $182.50

20-29 $ 207.50

30+ Manditory court

30+ also negates the possibility of traffic school for the infraction