$300 speeding ticket

[DeepO]

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
It's funny you say that, but I think that showing a bit of leg got me off being nicked

Yeah, I was wearing shorts

Well... that's good for you, of course, but I can't agree that it should be possible. A policeman is not a judge (neither a court judge nor a miss beauty queen judge). A policeman is only there to enforce the law. He cannot decide, in any circumstances, whether a punishment is just, or a warning is better, that's for a judge to decide. And, given the amount of speeding tickets those poor judges have to deal with, it's far easier to make a fixed, automatic system, where you get send a picture of the back of your car, together with how fast you were going and the price you have to pay.

BTW, it is in Belgium always possible to appeal, of course, but the initial fines are settlements, not criminal fines. If you appeal and lose, the fines will get a lot higher, up to 110,000 (some $105,000) euro for going 40 kph too fast in a school environment. Nobody in his right mind is going to try losing that in court, or he should have a very good case to make. And remember, a picture is evidence you don't talk out off, quite a bit different than the personal opinion of a traffic agent.

DeepO

[NeOmega]

We are staging the Loons right now because we don't care, we ain't gonna win. Right now are strategy is to show force, show a name on the ballot, let people know we exist, without corporate donations. For example, our Sheriff won 15% (400,000) of the vote in my county, but between you me and Apolyton, I would rather the democrat won, cuz this guy's loony. However, we also have another man on the back burner, a 17 year veteran of the South Central precinct in L.A.

Oh yeah, he is clean cut good looking too, but he knows what Libertarians are about.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by tandeetaylor
For instance, I can discriminate about who comes into my house, I can decide who I want to associate with, however bigoted or wrong my opinions are. The government, as a being which must be dealt with when one lives in a country, does not, nor should it, have that power. I really don't mean to start another discussion, but I would like to point out that this is the same argument I use when defending my position that gays be allowed to marry. Any individual, organization, or church has every right to discriminate as they see fit. The government does not.

This is irrelevant. Speeding laws in no way discriminate against a particular group of people, they apply to everyone. There is not violation of equal protection, which is constitutionally protected.

I also happen to believe that roads should all be private, but that's a whole 'nother thread.

Which would be pretty disasterous.

Suffice it to say, your argument is flawed in that the government can't just "do whatever it wants" with its "property" as it can legitmately be argued (with the many examples of the fradulent use of emminent domain and other seizures of property by government agencies) that no property rights exist in this country, and therefore all property is government property, and just because it can "do whatever it wants," it shouldn't.

That's not quite the same thing. While the seizure of private land is another issue, the land that is clearly already government property is obviously and rightly subject to the rule the government deems fit, so long as those laws don't violate constitutional rights. There is no violation of constitutional rights where speed limits are concerned.

As I implied before, I don't believe in most zones that driving higher than the posted limit is reckless.

And you're wrong, as excessive speed is a frequent cause in many accidents. By engaging in reckless speeding, you put others at risk, not just yourself. That's where speeding laws, IMO, obtain their legitimacy. You have every right to do what you want so long as you don't infringe on the rights of others, and it is entirely suitable to assert that excessive speed is reckless and therefor puts the safety of others at risk.

Just because drunk driving is riskier doesn't mean excessive speed is o.k.

Umm... that's another topic of goverment regulation that we don't have to get into to discuss this topic. Let's just say, I don't agree with such things and therefore its ineffective to use them in a discussion with me.

Well, if you don't want to discuss why, that's your choice, but I think it just makes your views look nutty. Laws protecting public safety are perfectly legitimate within reason so long as they do not violate the constitution. There is nothing in the constitution that doesn't give the government the power to regulate speed.

[NeOmega]

Originally posted by DaShi
I drive fast to protest for the environment.

dood, hilarious as it sounds..... I coast exceptionally fast down hills (clutch) to save gas money.... I'm cheap like that

[1]

For the books, I wasn't putting anyone in danger, I felt safe at the speed of which I was going, and no one was in the left lane, on which I went in, to pass the person in front of me. I Accelerated to pass the dewd, so its not like I was going the constant 97, or whatever the officer claimed. (my speedometer only goes to 85 mind you, so I doubt the validity of his accusations)

[tandeetaylor]

Originally posted by rah
I have a few friends that can be legally drunk but still have better reflexes than a lot of older drivers. Should we outlaw older drivers?

Umm, YEAH, if they can't drive.

Some people can be way under the legal limit and still be a danger.

Well, I have to admit I am no expert about levels of intoxication... so, can I concede without admitting fault? I don't care enough to go inform myself right this second.

It sucks, but there has to be some limit.

You know, being a believer in private ownership of roads, I shouldn't have engaged in this. For me, it is like arguing about what sort of national dress code should be enforced.

Heck, in front of my house I'm glad the speed limit is 25 since kids play near the street all the time.

As far as residential streets are concerned, I think 25 is not too strict. I don't know about you, but I don't drive mostly on residential streets. In fact, since I live in an apartment in a complex, my "street" is a parking lot, so I could go for weeks without driving on a road with houses facing it.

So in a way, I'm glad the police have a little leeway when deciding to give out a ticket

Scary. I believe that an individual's rights must be strictly protected, therefore I cannot agree with you.

There is always room for a little judgement when it comes to hard and fast, (and sometime ridiculous) limits.

If so, shouldn't be a law, like I said before, but we're obviously not going to get anywhere with that.

I still speed

Maybe we should switch arguments (not that I want to), because I don't.

[Ming]

Originally posted by 1
For the books, I wasn't putting anyone in danger, I felt safe at the speed of which I was going, and no one was in the left lane, on which I went in, to pass the person in front of me. I Accelerated to pass the dewd, so its not like I was going the constant 97, or whatever the officer claimed. (my speedometer only goes to 85 mind you, so I doubt the validity of his accusations)

I love it... his speedometer can't answer the question since it was pinned, so all he can do is doubt the cop

YOU BROKE THE LAW! WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!

You might have "felt" safe at that speed, but that's all it was, YOUR OPINION... You're the one that wasn't paying attention to your OWN EXIT... so obviously you weren't in total control of your situation...

So stop your whining and pay the ticket... every post you make just proves why you got it in the first place

[Az]

This has been a great reading. I was lucky to dodge the laser speedometer, twice in two days, due to the local radiostation warning, only to get a parking ticket today.

some statistics from Israel.

speed limits
inside the city: 50 kmh
inside the city: wide, outerperimeter roads: 60/70/80
highways : 90
freeways: 90/100/100 kmh

the number of deaths per year in traffic: around 750. population: >6M.

perecentage of traffic accidents caused by speeding 0.8%

yet the traffic police still devotes most of its resources to that , and the politicians target that area as the problematic one.

there is no logic in going 100 kmh, on a three-lane highway with no traffic lights! a more suitable speed would be 120 kmh, which is a rather concervative and careful speed limit , IMHO.

[1]

For another thing, I missed my exit cuz of 3 long @$$ 18 wheelers that blocked the right lane. I couldn't get to the right lane at all without passing the ppl in front of me. I then missed the exit, the highway ends in 2 more miles, so I have to get ready for the next exit very soon. I knew the next exit was in about a mile... A MILE, so I had to speed. I don't feel bad for speeding, trying to pass ppl to get off the highway, it was a short burst, and the cop was a *****. Case closed.

[DinoDoc]

Blah, blah, blah.

I hope you aren't like this in court.

[Ming]

No... you were the ******... instead of trying to pass, you could have slowed down and gotten in behind them. But you were so busy trying to get there as fast as you could, that you ended up costing yourself more time and MONEY by breaking the law in an attempt to solve your problem.

So stop your whining and take it like a man

[1]

Ugh, everyone is so quick to convict me. Ironically I feel stupid for overestimating the level of reason people had one this forum. You basically speak to me as if you've NEVER EVER done anything wrong. The bible would typically be the LAST thing I'd ever want to quote, but this one is rather good. "Let he without sin cast the first stone"

[1]

And no I could not slow down, people were behind me (obviously, its a highway) and if I slowed down, they would have to pass me on the right side, which is against the law AS WELL! So instead of making them break the law, I just did what anyone with a half a brain would have done, passed the person in front of me.

[Boris Godunov]

1, out of curiousity, what was the posted speed limit on that stretch of highway?

[Asher]

This thread is too serious

Would you prefer the cop gave you a spanking?