franksville, wi.

so i got busted for going 19 over today. a 4 pointer. ouch. me thinks this is a technicality (aka complete and utter bs) though. here's my case...

was on a county hwy heading west, just past another county hwy and some railroad tracks, there's mobile gas station on the north side of the road. i'm guessing 1/8 - 1/10 of a mile past the mobile station driveway is the 55mph sign. this cop nails me as i'm accelerating between the sign and the driveway. ticket indicates i was clocked at 49mph in the 30mph zone approximately 1/10 of a mile past the county hwy crossing, which is before the mobile station driveway. oddly enough, i didn't gun it today after passing the driveway, which i typically do...had i gunned it, i woulda been doing 60 easy.

never saw him, but he had to have been sitting in the parking lot on the south side of the road waiting to nail someone. the cop also mentions i have to remove the clear plastic cover from my rear license plate because those are illegal and are considered "modifying the plate". oh really? so i guess every wisconsin driver that has a dealer plate frame or some fancy artsy-fartsy border around their plate is also illegal too? i'll get right on that mr. occifer. you bet. the occifer did not cite me for not having a license plate on the front of the car though. he never even looked.

 

I notice you don't deny speeding. And covering the plate with plastic can be a violation because it inhibits the ability of automated cameras at toll booths and red lights to snap a picture of the plate.

Pay the ticket like everyone else who gets caught.

Enjoy the car responsibly.

 

i wasn't speeding. once you can read the sign, you can and should obey the sign. i was accelerating between a 30mph and 55mph zone, not speeding. this is what is commonly referred to as a "speed trap".

yeah, i'm sure that's what mr. occifer was worried about in podunk usa. uh-huh.

actually i'm going to court on the advice of several fellow law enforcement officers i happen to know...like everyone else who recognizes when a podunk occifer has nothing better to do and decides to screw the guy w/ the fancy car at a speed trap.

 

The speed limit sign indicates that once you REACH that point, you can accelerate to that speed, but not before. As an aside, my plastic covering actually worked to my favor once. I was pulled over for 70 in a 55, but the officer decided to just write me up for an obstructed front license plate, I guess because I was respectful, polite and cooperated. The fact that he liked the car also helped, I think. Anyway, I decided to protest that bogus citation, and wouldn't you know...he doesn't show at the hearing, so the judge rules in my favor with some latin phrase that meant that the whole incident never happened. Kind of like the Twilight Zone. The judge said she never had anyone written up for that infraction. I wish you the same good luck I had, but i suspect you're going to have to pony up in these days of revenue enhancement from the pockets of speeders.

My final words: Valentine 1

 

ooThe speed limit changes at the sign, not when you can read it, so yes, you was speeding.

really I did not know that everytime a speed limit goes up it is automatically a speed trap. Dang there are speed traps all over the place then.


Mythbusters covered this one pretty good and busted this one. Pretty much if a person can see the plate then the camera can too. The only way that they was able to beat the camera was to drive by it with a jet powered car, they was just going so fast that the camera didn't even know that anything had went by. But even so, most states have laws against covering your license plates, whether or not it does block being able to see the plate. Either you chose to this ignore this law (however frivolous it may be), or you honestly didn't know that it was in fact against the law to cover your plate. Either way, be glad that the cop didn't write you a ticket for it too, as again you was in the wrong.


This might be a good idea, you never know if the officer that wrote you the ticket is going to show up to court, if not just say that you didn't do it and case dismissed. But then again if he does show and you are found guilty then they could charge you for court fees and end up paying more than if you just paid the ticket to begin with.

 

i'd just look at it as a generous donation to the small town of franksville, that's how smally-towns make their money right?

 

unfortunately a 4 point infraction also is a generous donation to your insurance company.


always fight tickets, unless you don't want all your money...

 

LOL!

 

 

+ 1!!

 

"It's a tarp"

 

Covering any parts of the plate (top or bottom) is illegal. At least here in NJ. Do cops give you tickets for it, usually not - unless you're a ****. Actually it's a great way to escape tickets, my gf was just stopped for speeding and that was the infraction she received instead of the 4 point speeding ticket.

And if it's a trap, and you know about it, why the hell would you fall into it? Seems pretty stupid, on your part.

 

So I read this last night, and subsequently had a dream about it and woke up and was like **** my first speeding ticket!! Fast forward to an hour ago, Rolling up to my street I slow down to 1mph and bam lights! Damn! So I get the ticket and go on my way. I do know about half the police force in the adjacent city (I work in a Coffee shop) who would gladly write it off if it happened in their city, but it's not. I'm not sure wether its worth asking if they know any of the LEO's in my city to see if I could get it removed. Another question which I saw answered above, is it really worth trying to fight a rolling a stop sign ticket?

 

OP, can you go to traffic school? At least that way it won't affect your insurance.... you'll still have to pay the ticket though.

 

Defensive driving duh. Get with the modern times!

 

Here in Massachusetts it has been and is still illegal to have anything covering any part of your plate. Even the plastic frame. In the past it has not been something that has been a problem but the state has mandated that the inspection stations fail any car that has a plastic frame or any other item covering any part of the plate. This has become a real hassle here, and many people are failing there yearly safety inspections. Luckily for us if you fail there is not extra cost the re-inspection is free.

Also as many others have stated the speed limit does not go up until you pass the sign, Not when you can see it.

Oh and BTW in Massachusetts if you get 3 tickets in 7 years (including non moving violations such as parking) you loose your license for 90 days. then after you get you license back if you get another ticket with in a year you lose your license for one year.

So to the OP be glad you did not lose your license. Pay the ticket and move on.

 

Stop sign infractions and seat belt violations are probably the two toughest to fight, but good luck if you decide to. Too bad you don't work in a donut shop; then you'd know the entire police force.

 

which means had i been traveling in the opposite direction, going from a 55mph down to a 35mph zone, i don't hafta hit the brakes, or more like slam on the brakes, until i pass the sign then right? ok good, i was just checking...

...because if i hafta start decelerating to get down to the posted speed limit by the exact time i pass the sign, then i should also be able to accelerate to get up to the speed limit by the exact time i pass the sign.

sorry boys and girls, you can't have it both ways. pick.

 

This isn't rocket science. Think back to your driver education and basic logic. It goes both ways against you. You can start to accelerate to the posted speed limit coming out of a lower speed limit once you pass the new higher speed limit sign, but you have to be at the lower speed limit as you pass it coming from the higher speed limit. How long have you had your license, by the way?

 

Are you really trying to use this as an argument? YES it is like that both ways, like others and I said before. The speed limit changes AT THE SIGN, not before. So if going from a slower to a faster zone, then you can not legally go the higher speed until you pass the sign. If going from a faster to a slower speed zone, then legally you have to be at the new posted speed by the time you get to the sign. It is that simple.

The only other thing that I have to say is that, yes, please go to court and try to fight this, please. Because if you try to use these same arguments against a judge, he will probably tack on any and all fees and fines that he can. Maybe then you will learn what the laws are.

 

Is jpp_zoso for real?

Or have the cereal manufacturers actually started giving out drivers licenses in a box of Cheerios or Captain Crunch.

I hope he/she does go to court and get slapped with the extra fees.

and to jpp_zoso

Yes the laws in ALL states are "the speed limit starts at the sign" this means that if you are going from a 30 MPH zone to a 50MPH zone you MUST wait until the sign to start increasing your speed AND if you are going from a 50MPH zone to a 30 MPH zone you MUST NOT be going more than 30 MPH when you get to the sign, I.E. you must slow down prior to the sign.

So to your logic it must be both ways.

 

That's why I asked how long he's had his license for.

 

it's always worth trying to fight it. if the officer does not show up, the ticket / fine is revoked. even if he does show up, you can more often than not get the fine reduced if not completely removed. most of the time judges are very lenient with first time offenders or people without previous violations.


like i said, unless you like giving your money away, fight it every time.

 

Dookiepower, if you do fight it, please let us know how it turned out. Best of luck!

 

Proof positive that we need to make licenses much more difficult to get.