As some would say, DOH!.

Well I got my first ticket in about 19+ years. How things have changed since my last one. Finally had a chance to get out and do some riding for a day, before the weather took a nose dive again.

I got pulled over by a Illinois State Trooper up around McLean County, of Illinois, District #6
I had no disagrement with the officer about the speed I was going. I was cruising doing 80mph in a 65mph highway.
I knew there was no talking my way out of the ticket. Since the first words out of his mouth was, "Sir, the reason I pulled you over was you were doing 80mph, and passing everyone." My response back was, I was just keeping up with traffic." "Which I was keeping up with traffic, just passed the one jamook that was doing 55mph."

The Illinois trooper didnt even crack a smile. The trooper handed me my ticket, my license back, and this is the part I hate when they say this.

"Drive carefully, and HAVE A NICE DAY!". I was having a nice day till I got pulled over.

Also found out that for me to get court supervision now, the law has changed. This county requires four (4) hours of traffic safety school. Along with the cost of the fine, and a additional amount of money for requesting for court supervision to keep it out of the DMV records for the insurance company. And court supervision is now six (6) months.

And before some Officer of the Law on this web site tells me that Speed Kills. So does a lot of other ****, including cagers that dont pay attention, and arethose damned idoits that talk on cell phones while driving, including Officers of the Law that I constantly see on their cell phones while driving...

And here is the kicker of this story. Road up to Mclean County to pay the fine with a friend, in his car, heis a cop, he drove, since he knew where the court house was for me to pay the fine.
He drove 75 to 80 all the way there. Same ISP decided to pull him over. NO TICKET. Reason "Profesional courtesy."

My rant is over.

ToadsUltra07

 

My brother is a LEO and I'm always harassing him about that "get out of jail free" star he carries in his wallet...lol Of course, he's always harassing me about speeding...lol

 

i think speeding tickets are absurd...going fast should fall into the category of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..lol

 

I had a similar experience near Quincy but the nice officer reduced my speed for the ticket to 72 MPH. $275 andone attorney later, it was reduced to operating with a defective speedometer. not a moving violation and no points. I probably should have just paid the $75 fine.

 

I'm a hunter and a beliver that speed kills .............I use a 300 Win mag

 

I feel for you...I had my last one a few years ago and am about due for another. My wife, she who claims she is a much better driver that I, got ticketed three, yes, three times, in one week a few years ago. Good on ya for holding your tongue while he wrote the ticket.....

 

If you speed and know you're speeding, then you have to be ready for the consequences. I am a cop now, but wasn't always. I've had my fair share of speeding tickets in my day. I once got caught doing 93mph in a 45mph zone. I lost my license for a while due to that one. I always got a little mad at the cops for citing me, but I really didn't have anyone to blame but myself. Now that I am an officer, I take my time going places. I'm more conscious of the speed limit when I drive now than I ever was as a civilian. For me, getting pulled over can get me written up at best, suspended at worst. I have no ill will for the officers who wrote me up in my early years, they were just doing what they're supposed to do. As an officer now, about 90% of my speeding stops get away with a warning.....I guess cuz I can remember being in their shoes.

 

My friend doesn't call them speeding tickets, he just calls them a fee to use the road faster than everyone else.

 

I have no problem with citations for speeding. Problem I have is the ridiculous fine. Most are close to $200 minimum and on up. Which makes me think it's a revenue generator and cash cow more than "it's about safety."

OK, you got me going 78 in a 65. $75, OK. $100, alright. $275? C'mon. That's just ridiculous.

 

$275 bucks for 13 over????????????? Where do you live, I don't want to go there!!! Ours here are 80 bucks court cost plus $3 a mile. (LEO 25 yrs and counting) 15 over is $110. Still to dang high, but so is everything else these days. Back in the day when they weren't so expensive, we wrote tickets at 11 over. Now that they all are over $100, most of us around here usually give 15 over before a "hard copy" is issued. (if you are on a bike, any bike, and slow down when I meet you, I usually just wave!)