Since were telling war stories...

For what it's worth, I was not DUI and did not hit anyone.

back in 2002, I was busted for DUI and Hit/Run. Boy was that a trip through the twilight zone. The guy I allegedly hit on the hwy was an off duty cop. He followed me off the hwy to near my home and I pulled over. Moments later multiple city cop cars come screeching up like I was in the process of robbing a bank. I was sitting on the tailgate of my pickup. All the cops go over to the off duty cop and decide what to do, which was to interview me, give me a sobriety test arrest me in handcuffs and throw me in a squad car.

Then they realized that the alleged incident happened on the hwy outside city limits. So they call the CHP and "unarrest me" we wait for 45 minutes for the CHP to show up, who gives me a whole new sobriety test. The local cops are upset now because I'm passing the test (as I did before) and they look bad in front of the CHP.

The CHP finally arrests me on advice of the cops and off to jail I go. My truck is impounded, obviously, with my motocross bike in the back. My license was almost immediately suspended for 6 months. I filed for a DMV phone hearing with my attorney, the off duty cop and a DMV official. I had my vehicle photographed the day after the incident and used these photos during the hearing to prove that the police report was wrong about the supposed damage to my truck. It didn't matter and the DMV suspended my license and required completion of a 6 month DUI class and pay a $1000 fine. I appealed the decision (for a cost of $250 and 3 months waiting w/ no license--bastards) and had another DMV official review the case, who forturnately saw the obvious and re-instated my license. They send me a letter to go to the CA DMV of my choice to get my license back at no cost. But now I still had to deal w/ all the criminal proceedings.

I didn't pay the $1000 fine that was reversed but they sent it to a collection agency anyway and now I'm getting calls at home almost everyday and I try to explain that I don't have to pay it and to check their records. No avail, they keep calling.

The whole thing went to trial and what a circus it was. There were just to many pertinent details to mention here, but the result was that I was found not guilty of H/R but guilty of DUI. Yea, pretty strange. So then, on appeal of the DUI, the DUI couldn't stand because the DMV had reinstated my license, partly because the final arrresting CHP officer would not say under oath that I failed the sobriety test.

A lot of time and money....

1 year later, I get a letter from the DMV. The letter says that because of my perfect driving record they are enclosing a new 4 year license so I don't have to take another exam or go to the DMV. I remember shaking my head when I read it and thinking $10K for this?

 

^^^^^^^^^^^

Remember, it can happen to you when you're least expecting it no matter your innocense. And the more cops involved at the original "incident" the worse it is. I remembered while being arrested, unarrested, etc., and old saw about boys that I applied to the 5 or 6 cops involved that day:

1 cop is okay. 2 cops is half a cop. And 3 cops is no cop at all.

 

Virginia certainly sucks for traffic offenses. I'm 20 and i've already been pulled over probably 18 times. The worst tickets i've gotten were wreckless at age 17 (dropped), and 23 over (wreckless) at age 20 (dropped). I recently got a 81 in a 65, but after talking with the State Trooper he wrote it as a 79 in a 65 (since 80 and above is wreckless) since I was honest with him that I did in fact have a radar dectector when he asked. I have yet to go to court for the 14-over ticket, it's at the end of March, i'm not sure how i'm going to fight it.

I went ahead and pre-paid the ticket he gave me for having a radar detector, so that it wouldn't be in the case as well - I don't think the judge would like that. So now when I go to court, the only thing discussed will be my speeding ticket.

I was on the interstate early in the morning and went by an entrance ramp at about 81mph, well I continued to drive, and shortly after passing the ramp my radar detector went off. So I began to slow down to around 70. Well I see way back in my rearview mirror blue lights, and sure enough, he was coming on the entrance ramp of the interstate and got my speed as I passed by - I guess I didn't see him getting on? The ramp was hidden by a hill and trees.

Anyways, when he saw my brakes lights go on when I got radar, it was right at the same time he turn his radar ON. So he determined that I was hitting the brakes when I was receiving radar signal.

That's what he asked after telling me I was clocked at 81... He said "now tell me something, you have a radar detector don't you?" and I said "yes, I won't lie" and he said "thanks for the honesty, we'll make this a 79 instead of an 81"... So I guess that was a good thing. I have the Bel STi, which is undetectable, so he HAD to of figured it out based on me hitting the brakes, and not based on his Spectre 3 Radar Detector Detector.

Also, when he pulled me over, he had me get out of my vehicle, and get in the passenger seat of his trooper car. I've never done that? So I went with him, we sat in there and talked about the whole situation, he had me bring the radar detector with me, etc. I didn't think they were supposed to put me in that car, in the front passenger seat, period... and only if I were arrested, in which case i'd be in the back seat. So the whole situation was really weird.


Do you guys have any suggestions on how to beat this ticket?

Thanks!


BTW here is a google maps image of the location of the offense:

I was traveling in the lane of the red arrow



Rear view: Cop was coming on the interstate in the lane with the yellow arrow - which is where he radar'd me. Could the angle at which he radar'd me have any affect on this?

 

I don't know if you've already done this or planned on doing so - if not I'd definitely recommend getting one. Here in Seattle it costs about $300 to hire a good lawyer who specializes in traffic (not DUI or Reckless) cases. Don't know what it costs in Virginia though. Given your age and the cars you drive, that will be low cost compared to what the higher insurance rates will be for you with that ticket on your record.

Good luck and stay safe!

 

Two things:

In Virginia the State makes you pay a simple fine for your radar detector... It's the INSURANCE COMPANY that will bend you over for that ticket. You might get dropped or put in the SR22 category for that one little fine. My youngest son had one of my detectors and got popped and he's now paying $400 per month for that little fine and a speeding ticket associated with it... And the judge will know about the detector... Believe me. Remember, Law Enforcement Officers are "representatives of the court".

I got nailed in the exact same manor coming home from the Federal Police Academy 22 years ago. Had a radar detector (Back then they were still pretty decent). Passed an onramp and the thing went nuts, so I hit my brakes. He wrote me for 74 in a 55 and 6 months later I was informed by my insurance company that I was being dropped from coverage...

http://www.dmv.virginia.gov/webdoc/pdf/dmv115.pdf
Handy little PDF to read just to see what is charged to your license and how long it stays on there!

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp...08000000000000
The Code for all Va. Traffic "laws".

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp...0+cod+46.2-852
And the "general code" for what Va. calls Reckless driving...

I now have the Bel STi as well, but won't use it in Va. More and more of the revenue generators are running instant on here, and I've been hit several times with the thing without being able to respond in a quick enough manor. I was even pulled over once, but the officer chatted me up about some of the "work" I do and let me off with a warning.

Unless I'm on secondary roads, I use my cruise control ALWAYS in ALL of my vehicles. It's not worth the fines... That's why I'm a BIG fan of VIR and Summit Point!

Mike

 

pay the fine. no big deal

 

Friend of mine who owns an insurance agency told me " Never tell the insurance company that you have gotten a ticket. If you never make a pay-out claim, the company will most likely not check your driving record each year because they have to pay for each person's record, and that adds up." I have 4 speeding tickets on my record and have never had a premium increase by following his advise.

 

Wow Mike, when did the facists take over Virginia? I say that somewhat tongue in cheek, since I suppose one may claim that racing, etc have all increased in recent years and that the rules needed tightening.

After reading the PDF you posted a link to, Virginia appears to be extremely strict about traffic violations - I don't believe it's nearly as bad in other states. For example, a Reckless ticket for going 20 over the speed limit or for going over 80? In some parts of California, 80 is what people normally drive on the freeway (though the speed limit may be 65), with people in the fast lane doing 90 or more.

And to anyone who says Renegades' ticket is no big deal: easy to say. It's a big deal for him, especially given that he's 20 years old.

 

Yeah right now I have a clean record, I've done DIP class twice now to ensure that... Both tickets were dropped. I'll be pissed if I get a 14 ticket, cause it's still a hassle and can still affect my insurance.

Now,
About the radar detector... I've gotten 2 radar detector tickets already in the past 1-2 years and my insurance premiums haven't changed a bit. The radar detector violation is a non-moving violation, so I don't think it carries much weight asides from the fine. I could be wrong, but this is my 3rd RD ticket (if I remember correctly) and my insurance hasn't changed at all thank God. It's the speeding tickets that worry me.

 

I live in England, but have some brief speeding war stories from a few different countries:

Stopped at 105mph on I75 in Florida on vacation (Buick rental car), got a $200 ticket which I paid by mail. As a non-US citizen thats all they can do.

Stopped in Death Valley Nevada on another vacation for 85mph in a 55mph, once the cop saw the English licence he couldn't be bothered and after a lecture let us go.

Stopped at 135mph in the UK in a 70mph zone, officer let me off as he loved the car (997 GT2), was sure I was in big trouble and it was an undercover car that had tailed me for miles.

Stopped in Belgium for doing 160kph in an 80kph zone (in 993RS), surrounded by about 10 cops. Was off their speeding chart and would have been an instant ban if I was Belgian. Fined cash on the spot 550 euros, which was the maximum on their roadside speeding fine schedule. (All euro countries require cash fines paid on the spot, if you don't have cash they will take you to an ATM or seize the car!)

Stopped in Germany on the Autobahn (derestricted section), whilst heading for the 'ring. Was doing an indicated 195mph in my Alpina B5, whilst following a friends 997 GT3. Spent 15 mins being quizzed by the Autobahn Police as they thought we might be in a Gumball type rally, we weren't and once they established that they politely let me go, as the speed was legal.

 

Very impressive speeds. 195 haha that has to be a rare one

 

Renegade, Trust me, if your agent ever reviews your file, you are screwed, blued, and tattooed... My youngest thought he was going to fly under the wire for the same reason. His buddy had pulled 2 RD tickets without a blip... And then his agency did a "periodic" review. He was dropped and had to go to "insurance dr." for a "shock."

Craig (My son) wasn't so lucky... Geico picked up on it the next review and his rate went from $120.00 per month to over $400!


Some of you guys might think I'm just to far "left" when it comes to traffic or vehicular violations, so I'll explain a little further...

Rather than "educate" the average driver on how to properly pilot a vehicle, the state (all states) give minimal "education" that is barely enough to get someone into and out of a parking space. Instead of insituting something like "red light" cameras, my state would rather allow people to run redlights at intersections and cause serious issues with traffic flow.

Rather than educate the masses on proper car control and the physics behind mass in motion, they would rather give the bare minimum instructional requirements to pass the exam and send you on your way to collect your first ticket or have your first accident. To me, we'd save far more lives if people were required to SPEND their money learning proper driving skills up front. Speed doesn't kill. Teaching people how to drive properly at ANY speed will go a long way towards lower property damage, less injury, and less death.

However, that isn't the intent. It's just as bad as the "emissions" inspection requirements. We can make a car burn clean, but if it doesn't meet some technical inspectors visual inspection, it'll still fail. The states don't truly care about saving lives through education. Sure, some state trooper will tell of gore on the side of the road in some traffic fatality and state how tragic it is, and it is... But will we do anything about it? No.

Things that I think should be taken seriously? DUI and racing...

Drinking and driving or any type of under the influeince should be prosecuted to the fullest. Should the limits of sobriety be of a certain "reasonable" level... That's another issue all together...

Racing on the street... that's just bad news. Red mist happens on the track, even to the most experienced DE driver. On the street? It's another story all together. Stop light to stop light isn't what I'm reffering to here... I'm talking about people who use poor judgement racing in residential and high pedestrian areas. These people should be thrown UNDER the jail. Simple as that.

Mike