So I was heading down the GW Parkway in Virginia this morning, kind of just rolling and not completely paying attention to my speed, when I see one of VA’s finest on the side of the road ahead and instantly check the digital readout: 67 mph. Unfortunately the Parkway’s limit is 50, so I knew I was busted. Sure enough, he pulled in right behind me and waited til we got to a suitable spot, then hit the lights. I was completely cooperative, had license and registration ready (til today I had zero points and l&r are completely up to date), and the cop says, ”You were doing 75 mph when I clocked you.” I didn’t argue, but the fact is, I am certain it was 67. Anyway, this ticket is $160.00. A lot of money, in my view. My question is, should I try to fight it, or is that just futile?

 

If he clocked you at 75, that would be a wreckless, so it would be more than 160 I would think. I'm not positive, what did he write down on the ticket?

 

I thought it would be reckless too, but it doesn’t say that on the ticket. All it says is: ”SPEEDING. 75 mph in 50 mph zone. GWMP at the CIA.“ The cop also wrote a bunch of what I take to be radar identification numbers. The ticket is for $135 plus a ”$25 Processing Fee.“ It lists a court date of 5/8/08 if I wanna fight it. Would my fine be less if my speed were actually less than 20 mph over the limit? If so, should I fight it?

 

clean record, go fight it for sure. They should just give you PBJ or at least reduce the fine. Worth it imho

 

/agree always go in and say not guilty your not a va resident so its not gonna cost you 3k :-)

 

I just said guilty and got PBJ on my first ticket (clean record)

 

I live in MD so I know the laws are a little more lax but when I was in college I got pulled over for doing 30 over when I was racing someone. Ended up going to court paying a 100 bucks and got pbj which essentially kept my record clean. long story short go to court, wear a suit and you should at the very least not get all the points. because thats the big problem not the fine. A few points can raise your insurance rates a few hundred on a 6 month policy.

 

wreckless is under discretion of the officer. For example, 80 is by law wreckless, but 80 can also be speeding. If he put "speeding," then you're safe.

 

How long is PBJ in MD?

 

Well if you aren't from VA they wont take points, but court is gonna hit ya. From a cop i know I would suggest going to the driver school and it shows that you took the initiative to take care of your problem speeding. I would fight against it after i went to the driver school and wait for your insurance to go up. Sorry man

 

It was 2 years for me. I have heard of others having shorter timeframes tho.

 

Thanks for the info and opinions, guys. I'll think about it a little more, but I'm prolly gonna fight it and hope for the best.

 

I'm from New York.....what is "PBJ" ???

 

PBJ - Probation Before Judgement... Meaning, you are cleared of all charges against you HOWEVER, you must not get a single ticket within the Probation period or else you must pay the original ticket cost along with obtain all the points that ticket would have given you. For me it was 2 years...

I was going 72 in a 50 for my first ticket (got PBJ after fighting the ticket) and it was a $175 fine. With the new laws in VA, if you were going 75 in a 50, I would assume that the ticket would be a lot more. I would fight it, simply state you have been driving for X number of years and you have never received a ticket. You should be able to get PBJ, but it is a choice you make, be on probation for 2 years or pay a fine and pay more insurance.

 

Unfortunately I caught a similar ticket in the same fashion not even a month into owning the Z. The cop did not write down wreckless and I was notified that was my "break" even though I have not received a ticket in 5 years. I went to court and plead guilty and the judge did not hesitate to hit me with the full fine even with a clean record that she actually pulled up in court.

You can try your luck @ court but it might not be worth the time you miss from work.

 

must have been a bad day for her, try and get there early b4 someone pisses her off and your luck goes out the door.

 

+1. If you have a late court case or you get there and have to wait a while you can always request an extension which will give u a few months and may reduce the probability of the cop showing on a new date. It worked for my sister. Just for reference my father used to be state police so I learned all the dirty tricks from him and his freinds.

 

i had a friend who got screwed speeding on gw parkway (i think) becuase technically certain stretches are considered goverment property or some other technical b.s. she lost her license for a bit...gl