pic: Extreme Harry Potter Reading

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

Surely you can't get a ticket for going -5 MPH relative to the limit?

I do like the carpool lane fines: $1 for the first, $1000 for the second, $2k 3rd - you think you'd learn the first time...

Don

$1 for the first? Here in CA my dad just got a $280ish fine for his first one.

[Wayne Doenges]

My dad almost got a ticket for going 56 mph in a 55 mph zone. This was in Ohio. Thats ridiculous. He talked his way out of it.
I think they give you 3-5 mph over to allow for tolerance. The tolerance for your speedometer is 2-3%. The radar gun also has a tolerance but I don't know what it is.
I like the quote from Cannonball Run. "No state has the death penalty for speeding. However we are not to sure about Ohio."

[Koko Ed]

Heh. I got bawled out by a traffic cop taking Libby, Julia, Morgan and Joey to the airport on Sunday. Man. that guy was really in a foul mood! He said I ran a red light but none of us saw it. I wasn't given a ticket and I got them to the airport on time so it's not so bad leaving with my tail between my legs.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Wayne Doenges

The radar gun also has a tolerance

Generally accepted is 2% maximum, but most are kept within the display tolerance (+/- 1 MPH)

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

$1 for the first? Here in CA my dad just got a $280ish fine for his first one.

I was just commenting on the post by Jeff K; I live in NJ and haven't been to CA since 2001.

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

Heh. I got bawled out by a traffic cop ..... I wasn't given a ticket .... not so bad leaving with my tail between my legs.

It's well worth a few minutes of humble pie and groveling to avoid a ticket. Officers have bad days, too, just let them vent, look very remorseful, and maybe they'll feel remorse (and eschew the ticket!)

Don

[Borisdamole]

ya i got hit by a van when i was on my skateboard in a cross walk when i had the right of way, but the driver was on his cell phone.... and reading would be even WORSE.... You might think Harry Potter is worth your life, but most people care a little more about their lives....

[Jeff K.]

EDIT: TYPO!!
IT'S NOT $1, BUT $1K. Somehow the k slipped..

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

$1 for the first? Here in CA my dad just got a $280ish fine for his first one.

Also, the $1,000 fine was put into action on July 1, 2007, and what is your dad doing in the carpool lane minus a passenger?!
haha

Originally Posted by Don Rotolo

Surely you can't get a ticket for going -5 MPH relative to the limit?

You never know. Cop might have a bad day and feels like being a hard @#$ and can pull you over for obstructing the flow of traffic if you're going 60 on a 65 mph highway and everyone is changing lanes around you. Sometimes a simple wave tends to distract them from their radar gun. Edit: It is probably safer just to go with the flow of traffic around you.

Originally Posted by 234smidget

I wonder if that man would of crash, could he sue j.k rowling. That would be a fight to see in court.

HARRY POTTER FANS ARE CRAZY!!

Oh great...not another "McDonald's fat lawsuit". haha "Man those Big Macs have heart attack written alll over 'em but they're soo darn tempting."

[chris31]

Originally Posted by Jeff K.

You never know. Cop might have a bad day and feels like being a hard @#$ and can pull you over for obstructing the flow of traffic if you're going 60 on a 65 mph highway and everyone is changing lanes around you. It certainly is safer driving than going 68 or 70, but just depends on the cop. Sometimes a simple wave tends to distract them from their radar gun.

Actually most people will disagree with that. If the speed limit is 65 and everyone is running 70. It is much better to go the same speed as everyone else and avoid all of the havoc and lane changing you are causing. My friends, parents, and even my driver ed guy agrees. Plus, I know this isnt the attitude you should have, but if everyone is doing it, a cop cant pull you all over.

[Jeremiah Johnson]

Originally Posted by chris31

Actually most people will disagree with that. If the speed limit is 65 and everyone is running 70. It is much better to go the same speed as everyone else and avoid all of the havoc and lane changing you are causing. My friends, parents, and even my driver ed guy agrees. Plus, I know this isnt the attitude you should have, but if everyone is doing it, a cop cant pull you all over.

Possibly true in your state, but I've been in cars multiple times that have been pulled over going SLOWER than the average person, yet still over the speed limit. Never gotten a ticket, though.


BTW - The person in this photo must have something seriously wrong with his/her head. Harry Potter is not worth your life or anyone elses, and reading the book behind the wheel of a deadly machine maximizes the danger. I thought it was bad when Lacey ditched me on Sunday to finish that stupid book... this is exponentially worse.

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by Jeff K.

You never know. Cop might have a bad day and feels like being a hard @#$ and can pull you over for obstructing the flow of traffic if you're going 60 on a 65 mph highway and everyone is changing lanes around you. Sometimes a simple wave tends to distract them from their radar gun. Edit: It is probably safer just to go with the flow of traffic around you.

The only time it is definitely illegal for going too slow on a limited highway is going under 40mph. (Unless it is a work zone with a restricted speed limit.) Cops can pull you over for 'needlessly delaying other traffic', but most of the time going 60mph in a 65 zone shouldn't get you pulled over - unless you're acting like an idiot going that speed in the left lane.

Also, statistically, it is safer to go the exact same speed as the average traffic flow. Going +-10mph from the average speed drastically increases your chances of an accident. Since cops are there to keep the roadway safe for everyone, most of the time they won't pull you over if you are going the same speed as everyone else, unless you have a car that draws attention to itself, like a convertible or a red car.

[Dan Petrovic]

Originally Posted by Wayne Doenges

My dad almost got a ticket for going 56 mph in a 55 mph zone. This was in Ohio. Thats ridiculous. He talked his way out of it.
I think they give you 3-5 mph over to allow for tolerance. The tolerance for your speedometer is 2-3%. The radar gun also has a tolerance but I don't know what it is.
I like the quote from Cannonball Run. "No state has the death penalty for speeding. However we are not to sure about Ohio."

Wow... 1 MPH tolerance?

People frequently go 15 over the speed limit in NH (Merrimack at least) and nobody flinches when a cop drives by.

[Jeff K.]

Originally Posted by InfernoX14

Wow... 1 MPH tolerance?

People frequently go 15 over the speed limit in NH (Merrimack at least) and nobody flinches when a cop drives by.

It really just depends on the cop. Today I was going down this street downhill. Cops sometimes hide behind the bushes or in the shade. I thought the speed limit was 45, but it was only 35, and so when I saw the cop, it was a bit late, and I just waved at them. He had his radar gun pointed at me, but as I waved he waved back and smiled. He didn't pull me over, so I guess it worked. Either that or he probably thought I was going at a relatively safe speed. I do not recommend or endorse speeding and waving. The wave is subject to use as only a nice courtesy as you pass cops.

[Jay H 237]

Originally Posted by chris31

Plus, I know this isnt the attitude you should have, but if everyone is doing it, a cop cant pull you all over.

Not true, I got pulled over and a ticket last year in a line of vehicles, 6 in fact and I was #4. Here's what happened,

I was on a 4 lane road I sometimes travel to get to work and just staying in the right lane going with the flow. Up ahead I saw a guy run out into the road and stop the 1st vehicle up front. After stopping, that vehicle made a sharp turn into a parking lot and each vehicle afterwards did as he approached them. I could see he was a cop as he got to the 2nd vehicle. He ordered me to turn into the parking lot also and park behind the vehicle that was just in front of me and shut the motor off. I will admit it, I got scared as I pulled into that lot and parked as I had no idea what was going on with me and all these vehicles, why we were getting ordered off the road and killing our motors. There was an unoccupied marked cruiser hidden behind some shrubs near the entrance, I guess it was his, and another cruiser with two officers parked futher back in the lot. 2 of the officers started going to our vehicles, they started in front, and they carried all the paperwork from each driver back to the one sitting in the cruiser, appearently he was running everything through the system.

When he got to me he first asked for my license, registration and insurance card. I asked what was up and he just said to stay put and walked my stuff over to the guy in the patrol car and then came back to me. At that point he then asked if I knew why I was stopped here. I said no and then he said he was hiding on the side of the road running radar and caught the first vehicle going 52 mph, the problem was the speed on the stretch of road we were on dropped to 35 mph in the spot where we were. He told me to wait as they checked my background and wrote out the ticket, then he went to one of the vehicles behind me.

(He had to come back to me between this time and when I got the ticket, but since it has nothing to do with the ticket I'll post it at the end to simplify this.)

When he handed me all my stuff back he explained the ticket he was giving me. It was a $142 fine but the speed wasn't on there since he said he didn't clock me, just the first vehicle, so he didn't know my true speed. Instead my ticket said "traveling fast". By this time he had softened some, I had just got done minutes before speaking to him for some time (see above paragraph) and he explained all my options with the ticket. He realized this was the first ticket I have ever recieved since getting my license in 1992 and he wanted me to fully understand the ticket and my options with it without even asking him to go over it! He told me to keep a watch out for the changing speed limits on this road and that I could leave now.


(He had to come back to me after the officer in the car called him over and showed him something with my paperwork. When this happened I knew exactly what it was as he walked back over! The CT DMV either has some code on my registration for the model or they just outright have got it wrong and they refuse to fix it (I suspect the latter, as my other 2 vehicle say exactly what model they are) and I have tried several times to get it fixed but they insist on keeping what it says. My car is a 1997 Toyota Camry LE, but the registration insists I drive a 1997 Toyota UEX. The problem is what is a "UEX"?!?! The officer came back to check my VIN out, I've already been there and it matches. The insurance card is correct with "Camry" but the DMV insists the car is a "UEX" no matter what I've said or presented to them in paperwork, including a Carfax with the VIN. I gave up and just left it wrong on the registration and it's staying that way. I had to explain the whole thing to the officer as he checked the VINs out.)

[geeknerd99]

Brings "speed reading" to a new level, doesn't it?

[alex1699]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

...Which is why states like Connecticut have banned using cell phones while driving. Now, one must either use a hands-free headset or pull over to the side of the road to talk on their cell phone here. Lately, the police have really started to crack down on enforcement of this law.

Since the Mythbusters have shown that talking on one's cell phone is just as bad as being legally drunk when it comes to controlling a car, I'd expect that more states around the country would continue to enact similar laws.

ya well that all is true but Ct doesn't have a law that says no reading while driving so i think governor rell should put one in hahaha just for that picture

[KathieK]

I hate being on the road, it is far worse today than ever (or maybe because I am getting old). I rarely have a day's commute to work when I don't pass an accident. After going over 20 years without being in one, I was in two within 7 months. One was within sight of my house when an elderly woman tarveling in the opposite direction turned onto a side street right in front of me. I was doing the speed limit but could not stop in time. No injuries thankfully, but my car was totaled. I was rear-ended in Hartford back in May. Minor damage to my car but it took two months to settle the claim (and TWO HOURS and FOUR 911 calls for the police to arrive). I now commute each day looking ahead, to each side and in my rearview mirror constantly.