Really, are all cops like this?

[Docta]

I just got my first ticket.. 61 in a 55, at 10:15 pm. I drive on that road to work EVERY DAY doing 65+. There was literally people passing me as I was driving tonight.... do cops really profile that bad? They see a black Camaro with a 18 yr old driver and get me out of a crowd, while I was going the slowest. What the hell... like I'm not mad. I just don't understand. At all. Music was low, my car's not that loud... I guess they thought since I'm young that clearly I was off drinking with friends? I don't know... This is my mini-rant about my first ticket after over 2 years of driving... Am I the only one that this has happened to?

[CFreed11]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

happened to me on the highway here when I was 19 in my Grand Am. (my 2nd ticket) I was doing 77-78 in a 70, but the big pack of cars that had literally just caught me and were passing on both sides were doing atleast 85 and the cop picked me cuz I was in front ofthe group. I told him I had my cruise set at ~77, but he insisted that I was leading the pack at 83mph... Wouldn't even let me finish a single sentence that started to come out of my mouth. I was just another punk kid in shades behind the wheel of a coupe..

[Docta]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

I definitely wasn't in the front.. I was near the back. There was two Yellow 'Stangs up front, side by side doing 70+..

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

Without knowing the whole story it’s hard for me to comment specifically about your incident. Did he get you with radar, lidar (laser), or did he pace you? Was the cop setting up a trap or did he just happen to be there at the right time? When cops are setting a trap they generally pull anyone over that is above their threshold.

If this was a trap they may have picked you because:

1. You were in the line of sight they were targeting. This is very common if they are stationary using radar antennas built into their car instead of held hand radar. If they were using lidar through their door or using lidar on a tripod, they also have a limited line of sight.

2. Lidar and radar are both affected by cosine of the angle of the shooters position relative to the target position. Lets say the officer was shooting from the shoulder of the road. The cars in the left lane that were speeding (faster) may have been at a much larger angle to his line of sight (especially around a bend!). What does this do for radar or lidar? If the officer is stationary it makes the target's speed appear slower than it really is. If the officer is moving it makes the speed of the target appear faster than it really is. It's possible the lane you were in was the most favorable for measuring speed accurately via the officers line of sight.

2. If it was at night and you had HID they may have targeted you specifically due to the HID.

3. If they used radar, even hand held radar, you have to remember it's a wide beam. They may have assumed you were the one going faster because of profiling if it wasn't super obvious you were being passed at the time.

4. They knew you were slower out of the group and you, your car or your behavior drew their suspicion.

If a patrol car caught you by chance, decided to pull you over while not working traffic AND there were faster targets to choose from, then you did something to draw their attention. Many small things can draw attention, such as out of state tags, looking similar to a vehicle they’re looking for, etc… You or your behavior did not match your car’s profile. Say you were a young African American driving a $100k car at 3am in the hood, who’s he going to pull over YOU or the guy in the beat up Toyota Tercel going a few mph faster?

This is probably the most common cause of being “targeted” by non-trap stops. I’m a clean cut white male in my mid 20’s, I’m driving a well maintained American muscle car and casually speeding at speeds exceeding 90mph. What could be more stereotypical? I’ve literally had cops just kind of nod at me to slow down when they’ve caught me by surprise by merging onto the highway at similar speeds to myself. I’ve had a cop in Florida hand me back my new york (at the time) license after stopping me for doing 85 in a 45 and say “New York, figures!” and drive off without giving me a ticket. I fit my own stereo type of new yorkers coming to south Florida and doing dumb things on the roads.

Speed traps don’t discriminate nearly as much. In the Camaro I’ve only been ticketed by speed traps. Thankfully I have a lot of protection against traps these days in the form of a Valentine 1 detector and Blinder LIDAR jammers. Haven’t had speeding tickets since, knock on wood!

*EDIT*: Before I forget, since it's your first ticket:

1. Don't just pay the ticket. For the same sort of money (unless its a super cheap ticket where you're at) you can hire a traffic attorney, because there are so many variables to each police interaction as I mentioned above it's always possible to win, even if you're guilty. If it is a cheap ticket (like under $150) and you want to risk it, enter a not guilty plea, go to court on your own and ask the judge to allow you to take a drivers safety class as form of probation (you still have to pay the ticket) if you enter a guilty plea. Some jurisdictions also have just straight up probation where you pay the ticket and promise not to get any more within a certain amount of months and it won't go on your driving record. Usually you can't get either if you've done either recently or your violation is particularly excessive.

2. Find a good traffic attorney. You can pick a random one, but I like to win so I would recommend you get a referral from someone who's had a lot of tickets before and has a squeaky clean driving record (like myself.) A good person to ask would be a regular (non-traffic) attorney, doctor, businessman / executive type person, etc.. Basically people with a large income that are prone to speeding should know a good traffic attorney.

3. If the attorney tries to convince you to take a course and plea guilty once you're at your court date he's trying to screw you and not do any work. They sometimes do that with new clients that are on the younger side because it makes their job easy. The words out of your mouth should be "I could ask the judge for that myself, what did I pay you for?"

4. Hopefully you picked a good attorney, your case should get dismissed or plead down to a parking ticket. Enjoy a clean driving record, cheap insurance and keeping your license!

[vanbibber]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

i got nailed when i was younger going 29 in a 25. it happens all the time, just go to court and it'll get thrown out

[Docta]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

1) It was a trap.
2) Radar
3) I don't have HID's
4) It's only $113.
5) Blacked out car in a "hick" town, I stand out.

I think I'm just going to pay it.. its a 1 pt ticket and it would be a ton more hassle to go to court. Probably more expensive to hire someone too. It just pissed me off cuz it's not at all like I was being suspicious or anything. I'm thinking he saw a young kid in a Camaro with long hair and thought he could nail me for something else. Or it was the fact that he had a ride-along with him. Not sure. Either way I can't do a damn thing about it... just aggrivating. 28 months without a ticket and I get one for 6 over while being passed.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

Docta,

You were probably just the most accurate target to pick up then. Bad luck :(. I strongly advise you don't just pay it. At your age insurance will hate you for it. It's only $113 now, but because you're 18 your insurance could go up by as much as $20/mo next time your insurance contract renews. So figure $20 * 12months = $240/yr in extra insurance costs, figure 3 years for your history to clear (most states) so $720 total, plus the $113 you already paid.

I would at least go to court and see if the ADA (or cop depending on jurisdiction) will take pity upon you and give you a parking ticket. If not ask the judge for some form of probation as I mentioned. I would still get a lawyer personally to avoid any chance of it going on my driving record. Some cheaper lawyers are even less than $100 to hire. Low speed tickets are the easiest to beat.

Consider that if you get another ticket an existing record will make fighting the next ticket harder. My clean driving record alone has saved me before. I got a ticket a year and a half ago in New York while visiting family. I faxed my lawyer that I hired there my Texas driving record and the ticket was dropped. Granted it was a real low ticket, cop thought I was drunk and got mad when I blew a 0.00 and gave me a 3mph over or some nonsense like that (it was late and I was probably being kind of a d**k.)

[kristen]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

i got nailed when i was younger

not so much now with the kid hunnnn lol

but docta....you were speeding...end of story.

[jughead]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

Go to Court. Last ticket I had I got it dismissed. Couple things to do. I do not plead guilty, not guilty or no contest. When he asks me how do I plead, I saw: I claim common law jurisdiction. I do not consent and waive all benefits. When you plead, you enter into a contract, you allow yourself in there jurisdiction. Civil Laws are ONLY enforced if YOU consent. There is no Corpus Delecti =No Crime. Judge may not like this. Ask the Judge are you entitled to Fair trial, if theres a conflict of interest, can I still get one? Ok, Judge, who do you represent here? If its City, they rep the City! This stuff is too easy!

[Docta]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

but docta....you were speeding...end of story.

This is how I see it.

It was a county cop too.. and I already talked to my insurance people, and they said since it was a 1 pt first offence it won't change rates. It all cancels out when I turn 21, just over 2 years... blahh. Not a good situation, but it was my fault. I could fight it, I could lose and then I would be out court fees and then another fine. I'm content paying my one fine and going on with life. I do appreciate the help you guys are offering, but I can own up to my mistake.

Crazy enough, me and my mom both had a feeling it was going to happen when I left earlier that night. Creepy much?...

[1997Canadian3.8]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

I know the pain... Haven't gotten a ticket yet, but a young kid in a Camaro is a cop magnet, I know.

Don't pay the ticket, you're way better off fighting it. Y

[Docta]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

How can you fight something you know you messed up on? That really makes no sense.

[StrtRacer98]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

I got a ticket doing 31 in a 25, going down a hill.

[Docta]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

25 is residential though... that's different than a damn highway.

[Blizzard242]

Re: Really, are all cops like this?

I ran a red light right in front of a cop late one night. I was making a left turn and until a week or two before they used to be flashing red lights at that time of night. So I treated it like a stop sign, halfway through I noticed it was solid red and a cop was coming. I pulled over before he even turned around, I explained to him that I made a mistake and he let me go. I've been pulled over numerous times without ever getting a ticket because I treat the officers with respect. I have a buddy who's got a chip on his shoulder, a victim of this world kind of guy.. He gets tickets all the time almost purely because he has a bad attitude.