Traffic Violations

[M-SIL 2]

Hey guys, I just want to ask that has anyone recieve any traffic violations throughout your drive career if so, how many? Also tell about your experience(s) too (if you want). 

For me, In my 3 years of driving, I recieve 2 speeding tickets (which I recently got one on this valentine's day ), another ticket for turning in the wrong lane and a parking ticket on a college campus.   

[plasticboy 36]

I don't have any problems with it. In my two years of driving I've never violated traffic and hardly ever exceeded speed limit.

[Compromise 1]

Well I am 14 so I have recived non. But a realitive of mine got done for speeding for driving at 40mph in a poorley marked 30mph zone on a dual carrigeway! Most of the locals in the area sum it up as: A licence to print money.

[rhino120 2]

I gave probably over a thousand traffic violations in 17+ years of working the street.  I don't normally count parking tickets toward that total because those aren't typically issued on a moving violation form (there were separate forms for parking violations where I worked).  Most of the people I stopped and issued tickets to took it with a grain of salt, although I can certainly understand why they would be unhappy.  A lot of it has to do with how the officer approaches the situation also...keep it courteous and professional and that would head off many problems. 

People who are stopped also need to realize that the officer is just doing their job and there is nothing (of course there can always be exceptions) personal about the stop for them.  If a person who is pulled over is polite they are much more likely to be issued a warning than if they are rude and/or argue with the officer.  You would not believe some of the things people would say and then they wonder why they got a ticket.  Of course being polite is no guarantee, but the side of the road is not the place to argue your point...go to court and have the judge make a ruling if you really feel strongly that you did not commit a violation.

 

I actually received a ticket a few years, back in 1982, before I became a police officer.  I was involved in an accident and was at fault so no big deal, but at the time it stunk.

[jonno 0]

Its only a violation if you get caught and nine years on i ain't been caught!!

[dev 47]

Bleh...I've never gotten any, but really I don't speed too much...

[Ratieya455 1]

I've been driving on my own for two years and seven months and I've never been pulled over. The closest I've been to being pulled over was when I still had my permit and passed by a cop going 62 is a 55. He turned around and whipped his lights on, but I had already pulled over and stopped by then and he raced by. I don't know if he was going after me or what.

I did a lot of speeding last summer on back roads. There is this one back road in particular that is flat, straight, and cop-free, and is thus a good place to explore the high-speed cruising capabilities of my 455-powered land yacht. It is hard to resist in a car where you can cruise with all the windows open at 95MPH and still keep your hair style.

[villarule 2]

i've got no violations as yet, that's probably because i have only had one driving lesson(got another on friday)

[MayorTim 16]

I got my Learners Permit a about 4 months ago, never been pulled over, but I have done a couple stupid things, especially in my first couple days.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Ive been driving 22 years and have had One accident and only about 6 tickets,the last one 8 years ago in some podunk town in Oklahoma via a speed trap ( the speed limit when from 70 to 55 to 40 in about 100 yards he got me for 53 in a 40 zone)

 

 

 

 

[vidioman 21]

I don't drive. And considering how many laws I break on bike (not having a helmet being a big one) I don't think I'd be a good driver anyway.

I feel safer riding a bike on the left side of the road so I can see traffic, even though that is illegal. The first time I tried driving on the left side, I got sideswiped by a truck, hit a pot hole, crashed my bike, scraped my knee, and still haven't been able to fix my back wheel which is bent out of shape. First time and I almost get killed. Great.

At the moment I use public transit. Way too cold to walk.

[A Nonny Moose 8,261]

In 50 years of driving, I have had one Passed a Stop sign and one speeding.

However, let me tell you about a young man of my squaintance:
He worked for his father in a business doing deliveries. During this time he accumulated several parking violations and other minor (non-moving) infractions. he ignored all of them for several years because his father was supposed to pay them. Recently, he applied for a job with a cable company. They, as a part of their policy, did a criminal records check and discovered that there was a warrant out for him. He called the local police station and they invited him down to straignten things out. He was arrested, jailed over a long weekend in one of the roughest holding centres around here. His girlfriend had to raise $3,000 to get him out on bail (lawyer's fee). Seems, with all the moving around he did, he never got the notice about his court dates, and was cited for contempt of court twice for failing to appear. The fines are now in the order of $20,000. The whole mess is now under appeal because

• He was never served with any summons (they were sent by ordinary mail)
• He was completely unaware you could be convicted of a traffic offense in absentia

And that, my friends, is why you don't get tickets, and if you do, you don't ignore them.

[EAGCE 2]

In over 7 years I have been pulled over twice and had 1 parking ticket. For the parking ticket I was parked 2 inches too far from the curb. I was pulled over for going 50 mph in a 30 mph zone. The officer went easy on me and gave me a ticket for not wearing a seat belt instead of a speeding ticket that would have given me points on my license. (I was wearing a seat belt). The other time I was pulled over was for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign. It was a state trooper and he just gave me a warning.

I've been very lucky in not getting caught many times.

You gotta know the places where the cops like to hide out.

[your_adress_here 11]

In my 14 years of being a passenger, my parents have never been pulled over.

My dad did get a parking ticket though cause it took a hell of a long time to get my mom's cellphone service transfered by Telus when we moved though.

[hummer0328 6]

Lets see:
-Pulled over 2x when my headlight was broken - verbal warnings
-Pulled over 1x for forgetting to turn on my headlights at night (it was a well lit area) - verbal warning
-Pulled over 1x for speeding 14MPH over the speed limit in a school zone (kinda hard to tell it's a school zone) at the local college - verbal warning
-Pulled over 1x for running a stop sign in a high school parking lot. It was during the summer. - verbal warning
-Pulled over 1x for running a stop sign. It was on the main street in an unfamilar small town with bad weather. Unexpected spot for a stop sign, just didn't see it - verbal warning

I have had 2 accidents:
-When I just got my licence I had a fender bender in a parking lot. Total damage: $31.50 Never reported to insurance or the police
-Rear ended by some idiot who was looking behind him when the accident happened. It was minor damage to a real old vehicle so I let it slide.

[Yellowlab 11]

I had an accident about ... 2 months ago? Maybe 3. It was my fault, so I got served with a summons and got to wring my hands over it. In the end, I got off with a warning.

My car, however, was not so lucky, as I was driving a mid-1980s Toyota and hit a Chevy Silverado.

However, I had just spent all the money I had and then some (monthly payments) to buy a 1994 Honda Accord, which I am now driving. It was in the shop getting tuned up because I bought it 2 days before the wreck. I was very lucky not to be driving it when I had the accident, because it wasn't something that I would have avoided had I not had the accident.

I was going to school and was running late (duh). This one street that I go down empties out near the school. Because of the traffic in the morning, and also because people who go to my school apparently do not believe in the Let's Not Park in the Middle of the Intersection Because We Drove in When Traffic is Obviously Not Moving principle, the traffic on this road backs up. Many moons ago, it was a 4-lane road; now it is 2, but it's wide. So every morning I would go past the lines of cars on the right (bad idea No. 1) and turn onto a side street or go down and turn right onto the school's street.

So one day I did that and the truck turned across. There was a large van between us blocking the view; the van driver motioned the truck across and boom.

So the lesson, kids, is never pass on the right! Now, I won't even go around a parked bus. Waiting 20 seconds is much, much better than having a wreck.

[Meg 368]

I've been to traffic court a few times as a witness.  Cars have a strange tendency to crash in front of me.  While I was sitting there, waiting for the cases I was involved with to be called, I got to see an interesting pattern.

 

Most people were there for speeding tickets.  In the vast majority of cases, the judge reviewed their records, the speeder said something like Gosh, judge, I'm sorry or in one case But I had to go to the bathroom.  The judge gave most of them probation before judgement.

 

This means that, if they have no further tickets in the next two years, the current ticket wouldn't be entered into their record, they had to pay no fine, receive no points, and their insurance company wouldn't be notified.

 

On the other hand, if the speeder had skipped court and just sent in the fine, it would be entered in their record, they would get the points on their license, their insurance company would be notified and their rates would go up.  Most insurance companies raise the rates on a speeder for the next three years.

 

My point being, it's worth going to court and saying oops, my bad.

 

[gggg 9]

In my 4 mounths expirians on a motorbike I got Pulled over 2 times for speeding

and was involved in 3 accidents,

 

I also might add that its easy to outrun the cops on a bike, but not recomended due to it being a very dangeros and stupid thing to do.

 

 

Cheers!

[Tolomar 5]

12 yrs no parking tickets no accidents... twice  nailed by the same cop in the same location...both fines $599 plus court costs and 2 pts each time

 

never cut through Aberfoyle at night...their just waiting for ya

[fishstix001 0]

Date: 2/15/2006 8:40:38 PM Author: Easy Bakes

Ive been driving 22 years and have had One accident and only about 6 tickets,the last one 8 years ago in some podunk town in Oklahoma via a speed trap ( the speed limit when from 70 to 55 to 40 in about 100 yards he got me for 53 in a 40 zone)

quote>

I got one going 48 in a 35

the point of violation is on a busy street and guess what...the guy clocked me at a stop light...when there is traffic, its a little impossible to go 48... I was just driving under one mile from work to home about 3pm

 

I know the area...I've been here for 15 years

anyways

 

I went from work which there is one light at least 200 ft away

I'm sitting at a red light...it turns green I turn left

speedlimit is 35 and I have atleast 20 or so houses(normal sized) from one light to the next...It's 3:30pm school's out and some people are coming home from work

 

As I near the light I slow down due to traffic, I get into the left hand turn lane didn't stop fully because as I pull up the light turns green

as I turn onto the next street,  the speed limit goes to 40... a sherriff's truck is behind me, which I didn't think much...His lights start to flash( this is where I think he wants to respond to a call so I pull into my neighborhood which was the next street...as I pull into my neighborhood, he follows me in...thats when I realize he is pulling me over...

 

He gets out of his truck and asks me that I was speeding in 35 going 48... I said to him that I didn't go that fast, and he then says, if you were going the speedlimit, how come I was going 45 right behind you?

this is a tough question because I don't know the exact distance he was behind me at the time he clocked me...

He gives me a citation and drives off

 

this was my second citation in a year...the good thing was that it was at least 8 or 9 months after the first citation...

I have to go to court like march 6th

I really hope I could end up just doing defensive driving thing again and do the video so I can just get it out of the way...

I do not want to end up doing 15 hours of community service

[Easy Bakes 253]

Date: 2/19/2006 4:20:41 PM Author: SkiGeek

I've been to traffic court a few times as a witness.  Cars have a strange tendency to crash in front of me.  While I was sitting there, waiting for the cases I was involved with to be called, I got to see an interesting pattern.

Most people were there for speeding tickets.  In the vast majority of cases, the judge reviewed their records, the speeder said something like 'Gosh, judge, I'm sorry' or in one case 'But I had to go to the bathroom'.  The judge gave most of them 'probation before judgement'.

This means that, if they have no further tickets in the next two years, the current ticket wouldn't be entered into their record, they had to pay no fine, receive no points, and their insurance company wouldn't be notified.

On the other hand, if the speeder had skipped court and just sent in the fine, it would be entered in their record, they would get the points on their license, their insurance company would be notified and their rates would go up.  Most insurance companies raise the rates on a speeder for the next three years.

My point being, it's worth going to court and saying 'oops, my bad'.

quote>

Heck yyes it worth it. just the cost of the rise insurance makes it worth it.  The ticket i got in oklahoma made my insurance  rates go up almost 50%.( it a great racket insurance). the lawyer here said id have to get a lawyer in Oklahoma  to fight it so i didnt.

 

 

This is how it works in Texas

Your pay  trafic ticket lawyer( theres 1000s of them) 35-50 dollars and he goes to cort as your representative to set up court dates and to get them delayed and then reschedualed several times( dont know how many times they can do this) for as long as possible. Basicly its your word against the officers  who gave you the ticket, if at any of those courts dates the officer who  gave you the ticket dosnt show up  the ticket is totaly dismissed.

However if it reaches a point after several  reschedualed court dates you will have to do what they call Defered judification(sp) which means you pay  part of the fine and court costs but if you dont get another ticket in 6 months this one is not put on your record or reported to  the insureance.

 

 

 

 

[Dolfan348488 0]

In chronological order...

- Pulled over for 72 in a 55;
Result: verbal warning

- Pulled over for wreckless driving, illegal U-turn, failure to yield, failure to obey traffic signal, speeding 34 in 20, and exhibition of speed; Result: verbal warning

- Pulled over for 105 in a 55 around a corner;
Result: $300 ticket + 3 months probation

- Pulled over for 67 in a 55;
Result: verbal warning

- Pulled over in a parking lot for cutting across it;
Result: verbal warning

I drive a very loud and very flashy 1997 Camaro... aftermarket exhaust/intake and have put about $1200 into the stereo system. It has racing stripes and some other stuff done by myself and my dad who is an automotive painter/bodyman.

I am 17... its amazing that ive been let off so much.

[Ratieya455 1]

Neither of my two cars are especially flashy. One is a maroon 1970 Olds Toronado, which is a big luxury coupe. It has enough power to get me into trouble, and is quite loud, but the vinyl top and classy styling make it a non flashy car. My other car is a gray 1996 Olds Ciera wagon, and is the exact opposite of flashy. Dull color and generic box shape, plus it's a station wagon.

My dad's high school car was a silver 1966 Mustang fastback, and he had long hair. He was pulled over all the time and got 3 or 4 tickets in less than two years. Plus he delivered pizza.

[nealos101 20]

Im not sure about the US but here in the UK we have this system:

• You get caught speeding there is no way out, either with a speeding camera or a police officer, you will get points on your license and get fined.  If you exceed the speed limit (I think its 25mph over), you will have to go to court.
• You plead guilty you get off better than pleading not guilty, becuase if YOU get caught speeding thats it, and only in the militious case of a faulty speedometer or the court has taken more than 6 months to process you, can you get off.
• In the case of exceeding the speed limit, you will either get disqualified or banned.  If you get disqualified you keep your license (Well, it is taken off of you but they send it back) but you cannot drive for a certain peroid of time, if you get caught driving during the disqualification you get arrested and sent to jail.  If you get banned your license is taken away from you and you cannot get it back usually for 6 months, and to get it back you have to retake a stricter driving test than the one you took originally.  Plus, if you drive whilst banned you face jail and get charged with any other faults the police find on you, oh, and the ban is extended.

It's cruel, but it's tough luck - you choose to speed in the UK it's your own fault, all the speed limit signs are clearly stated and theres more than enough information provided to you that there is a speed camera around, with the case of the Police Vehicle then it's just tough, it's their job to pull you.

Well, I exceeded the 70mph speed limit about a year ago, went to court for it and got off it veery lucky.  I got an 8-week disqualification.  In the time between the day I was pulled to the court date (December got pulled, June went to court), I had an accident and this was on a sweeping curve, and I was simply going too fast for it.  I will definetly write about this in one of my books, but I was thinking of adding the part of what could of happed if I drove whilst disqualified... Yeah...

 

I am regretful for what I did, and if I had a time machine I would certainly change it, becuase there was no need and it only lowered me to the levels of the Chav, a collective of people that I now truely hate.  In the UK we have it good sometimes, but I took advantage and took the mick.

 

What made me learn my lesson was the severity of the crash, and how close I was to dying.  Imagine in your mind of tree on the end of this corner, now if it wasnt there I would have gone upside-down (Where my head was) into a ditch.  The PC who came to the scene didnt give me anything becuase I didnt hurt anyone, and simply enough it scared the living daylights out of me to go with me to the grave.

 

Too many people care about me, and thankfully I am proud to say I am a much more careful, and slower driver.

 

Nealos101

[Ratieya455 1]

Someone my mom works with got off really easy and I'm not sure why. She was driving home from the night shift and was pretty tired, and drove past a cop. She glanced down at her speedometer and was going 94MPH in a 70. She pulled over right away and got off with a warning.

The U.S. is a bit too lenient with traffic laws it seems. Probably part of the reason why our freeway are far more dangerous than the Autobahn, whose speed limits are not far off American ones.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Date: 2/23/2006 7:33:48 PM Author: nealos101

Im not sure about the US but here in the UK we have this system:

• You get caught speeding there is no way out, either with a speeding camera or a police officer, you will get points on your license and get fined.  If you exceed the speed limit (I think its 25mph over), you will have to go to court.
• You plead guilty you get off better than pleading not guilty, becuase if YOU get caught speeding thats it, and only in the militious case of a faulty speedometer or the court has taken more than 6 months to process you, can you get off.
• In the case of exceeding the speed limit, you will either get disqualified or banned.  If you get disqualified you keep your license (Well, it is taken off of you but they send it back) but you cannot drive for a certain peroid of time, if you get caught driving during the disqualification you get arrested and sent to jail.  If you get banned your license is taken away from you and you cannot get it back usually for 6 months, and to get it back you have to retake a stricter driving test than the one you took originally.  Plus, if you drive whilst banned you face jail and get charged with any other faults the police find on you, oh, and the ban is extended.

It's cruel, but it's tough luck - you choose to speed in the UK it's your own fault, all the speed limit signs are clearly stated and theres more than enough information provided to you that there is a speed camera around, with the case of the Police Vehicle then it's just tough, it's their job to pull you.

Well, I exceeded the 70mph speed limit about a year ago, went to court for it and got off it veery lucky.  I got an 8-week disqualification.  In the time between the day I was pulled to the court date (December got pulled, June went to court), I had an accident and this was on a sweeping curve, and I was simply going too fast for it.  I will definetly write about this in one of my books, but I was thinking of adding the part of what could of happed if I drove whilst disqualified... Yeah...

I am regretful for what I did, and if I had a time machine I would certainly change it, becuase there was no need and it only lowered me to the levels of the Chav, a collective of people that I now truely hate.  In the UK we have it good sometimes, but I took advantage and took the mick.

What made me learn my lesson was the severity of the crash, and how close I was to dying.  Imagine in your mind of tree on the end of this corner, now if it wasnt there I would have gone upside-down (Where my head was) into a ditch.  The PC who came to the scene didnt give me anything becuase I didnt hurt anyone, and simply enough it scared the living daylights out of me to go with me to the grave.

Too many people care about me, and thankfully I am proud to say I am a much more careful, and slower driver.

Nealos101

 

Thats what they need to do in the US. the system we have now  is pretty much just a way for the citys to generate income from the fines and court costs and does nothing to change driving habbits.

 

 

 

 

 

[Micah 16]

My dad is wise, extremely intelligent, and much more, but when it comes to his driving... well, let's just say it takes it to the extreme.

 

Here is my dad's rule (I don't follow them at all):

 

 

Green light: Keep at regular speed

 

Yellow light: Speed up faster to avoid a red light

 

Red: Either put on your brakes at the last second or speed so fast that the cameras can't even catch you...

 

Well, that may be an exaggeration for the red light, but he does have his moments...

[marryescher 0]

I got a speeding ticket in Ohio long ago. I think I was going 62 in a 55mph highway.

I had one accident where I was driving on the freeway in freezing rain. Everyone in front of me slammed on the brakes for some reason, so did I, and I turned sideways and got hit in the drivers door, before going in the ditch. That was when I hadnt been driving long, and it was my mothers car. I was so scared I was in big trouble, I hardly noticed my head smashed on the window. I got a ticket for going to fast for the conditions.

 

Another accident many years ago, I was driving along with my best friend in the passenger seat, and this lady decided to make a left turn in front of me. I hit the back end of her car, she did a 360 and hit a BMW that was waiting to pull out of the autoshop where it had just finished being fixed, and was going for a test drive. The lady that pulled in front of me hardly had any damage, and got to drive her car away, while my car had thousands in damage, and the BMW was really smashed. After the air bags shrunk back down, I looked to the passenger seat to see if my friend was ok, and I saw the door open, and my friend was running so far away, he looked like an ant. Nobody knew he was even in the accident, he split so fast. When he finally came back, he said to me I thought your were DEAD! You were just laying there not moving, and there was lots of smoke. I thought the car was going to explode!. Thanks for all the help friend! The lady who hit me got the ticket, not me.

 

Another bizzare accident a few years ago, I was driving down the freeway in Montana, and was passing a truck. The truck then drove over a grapefruit size rock, it shot straight up in the air in front of my car, fell back down and just missed a guy on a motorcycle, then the rock bounced off the ground, shot into my radiator, went under my car and the rock bounce up and down like it was in a pinball machine, smashing the undercariage and exhaust pipe. All the radiator fluid dumped out of my radiator, and the cylinder head burned up. Of course I was in the middle of nowhere. After getting towed  70 miles to Missoula I was stuck there for 2 weeks while they found another cylinder head and radiator. ($1200US) Then on the way home my care broke down the middle of nowhere Nebraska. Towed 70 miles again. (Thank goodness for AAA) Another $300. Then my car wouldnt work right still and I spent another $5000 at least, trying to make it right, until I found out I also needed to rebuild the engine. All because a rock! I finally gave up and sold the car. No tickets for that.

 

[gonzo42005 0]

Most recently I got pulled over going 68 in a 35 construction zone. It was after the super bowl and I had been drinking and we were smoking a bowl driving back. I think he saw me hitting it. He pulled me over and when he walked up to my car, he asked me to step out because he smelled weed. He illegally searched my car and I even confronted him about it but he abused his power and said he can do whatever he wants. He never found anything because my roommate hid everything in his shoe. The cop never breathalized me because he didn't smell alcohol on my breath - the weed covered it up . All he gave me was something like wreckless driving.

Before that I got a ticket for wreckless driving for an accident I got in. I was drunk and was driving like 100 when I lost control and rolled my car into a ditch. I broke my neck and two of my vertabras flipped around which should paralize you (but I didn't get paralized). I originally got a DUI, but got it reduced when I went to court.

Before that I was going through Blair, NE. A cop clocked me somewhere through there, but I never noticed him. I made it outside Blair and was going about 100 through down Hwy 30. I noticed someone in the distance keeping up with me and I realized it was a cop, so I slowed down. He turned on his lights and gave me ticket. He never got me until I reached around Hwy 31 which is over 9 miles away! He only gave me a ticket for what he clocked me doing through Blair.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: gonzo42005

. He pulled me over and when he walked up to my car, he asked me to step out because he smelled weed. He illegally searched my car and I even confronted him about it but he abused his power and said he can do whatever he wants. .quote>

Umm If they smell  the weed its not umm illegal to seach the car.
The have a cause to search the vehicle (IE The weed).
Sounds like you need to retake a driveing course.