Posted: 10/3/2007 1:12:46 PM EDT
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Hey fellas: After living here for 8mos, I got my first speeding ticket in Indiana...and I have no idea how this works. First, cop said I was doing 55/35, and I totally disagree. My radar detector never went off, not even a single beep. Second, when he gave me the ticket, and I signed it, he took all the copies, and didn't give me one. I saw a court date on there, but I don't remember when it was. Is it customary to not get a copy of the ticket? What happens next? Anyone have any tricks up their sleeve that I could try to get out of this ticket? I hear tickets in Indiana run about $250. Thanks guys. Erick |
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WTF? of course he has to give you a copy of the ticket. hell looks like someone is going to be getting out of a ticket on account of a cop fuck up. What county was the ticket issued? If the dumbass didn't give you a ticket, exploit it for all its worth. There used to be a program called a "deferral" where you could pay $80 "processing fee", take the 5th and not admit wrong doing. If you dont reoffend it comes off your record in 6 months, but it was ruled unconstitutional and done away with 
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When did they do that? I got a deferral for "running" a red light back on 02/21/05. |
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I have never heard of such a thing as deferral, but it sounds cool. As long as it is off your record so your insurance rates don't go up it is a win win situation. Although, it appears that having a program like that proves that speeding laws have nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with raising money. A tax on the adrenaline challenged if you will. On what grounds was it ruled unconstitutional? |
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Need more info about the agency, location, etc. As for your radar detector, he may not have been using radar. He could have: -used VASCAR -laser -paced you I know that ISP tickets have deferrals. If your moving citation meets certain criteria (ie, not driving ridiculously faster than the speed limit) you are eligible for a deferral, it's usually $150 and if you pay within a set timeframe they will not send it to the BMV, ie your insurance won't know and your rates won't go up. |
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What county were you in? You need to call the ticketing officers agency & advise them you did not get a copy. If the ofc turned in his copies & they have been sent to the clerks office then you are responsible for paying the fine or showing up on the court date to schedule a hearing to contest the ticket if the fine isn't paid. I would get on this right away so your DL isn't suspended later if you don't find out before the court date. Radar detectors are a waste of money & they don't have to beep to let you know you were going 55MPH. If it radar was used to get your speed.... Radar 101: My radar's powered up, but there is a hold button on the remote control device & the antenna is not emitting a signature for your detector to pick up. I see you coming & leave it on hold 'til you're a couple hundred feet away, but at the most parallel angle possible. Once you're "in the zone" I'll take the radar off hold & obtain your speed. Then I push the lock button. This only takes one or two seconds & your radar detector was never able to pick up my signature during that time. These detectors do not immediately detect a laser or radar emmission. Call the manufacturer & tell them they need to pay your ticket. If you go to court to fight said ticket in my county & you tell the judge you were using a radar detector then he's gonna enter a judgement against you with court costs & fines payable. |
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Atleast your dog is safe......sorry couldn't resist. Anyways, I'm sure this will get dropped since he/she screwed up and didn't give you a copy. BTW, you can still enter into the pre-trial deferral program and, yes, it is nothing but a money-making scheme for county governments. When you apply for a deferral, it goes across the judge's desk and it is up to him as to whether or not you can get one. The judges are likely to sign off on it because it is a big money raiser for their courts. |
Buckfever has it right (ask him how he knows ).It is up to the Prosecutor in each county how the Deferral program is run but his office gets to keep the money so most Prosecutors push the program. It will cost you a little more than just paying the ticket but in six months, if you don't get another ticket, it's off your record. Needless to say, this does not apply to DUI, reckless driving etc. |
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Hi guys: Thanks for your replies. I got pulled over in Lake Station (Lake County). I have no idea what method was used. He was stationary. Is calling the Lake Station PD really a wise choice? I would think that the judge hears things like "Oh, but I never got a copy of the ticket" everyday... Thanks, Erick |
Yes, call whatever department gave you the ticket. How the fuck are you supposed to pay for a ticket, when you have nothing to send in? Just tell them you believe you were issued a speeding ticket but don't think the officer gave you a copy. Sounds very odd to say the least. |
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Just called Lake Station PD, and they said I have to speak with the officer that gave me the ticket... It was a Detective, but he wasn't on duty. Should I call back and leave a message? I'm a tad confused about this, because if I call him, it'll give him a chance to fix his mistake, I think. Thoughts? Erick |
Four words. Lake Station...The Region. Affirm. Call the officer & advise the situation. Mistake or not, you received a ticket & you need assume that the arresting officer has turned in his copies & that they have been delivered to the clerks office regardless of his mistake. And mistake on his part or not. It's your responsibility to try & get this deal situated before your DL gets suspended. If the officer doesn't seem concerned then call the clerks office & see what they can tell you. If that doesn't work then call the prosecutor. If all else fails, IM me his name & tx & I'll call up there have an officer to officer talk. It was prolly a brain fart on his part. Chances are if he is a detective that he was working a grant project & had tickets galore to sort out. Detectives usually don't stop veh's unless they are working project in uniform. |
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Strongly disagree! RADAR DETECTORS ARE OUR BEST PROTECTION AGAINST RIDICULOUS LOW SPEED LIMITS IN THIS STATE!!!! Most cops will tell you that they are waste of money cause they don't want you to use it!!! Cops either keep their radars on hold or off hold, if they keep it on hold and wait for you to get "in the zone" you will easily spot them and slow down to speed limit as you will have plenty of time to do that! Furthermore, if the cop is doing the trick WARPIG described on a person ahead of you, your radar will warn you, by beeping for a short time, then you know that somebody who thinks its too smart is a mile or two ahead, so you drive with speed limit for the next few miles, this happens too often. If they keep it off hold, you radar will warn you in time to slow down! So folks, buy radar detectors and use them, they pay for them selfs fairly quickly! Make sure you stay away from bad brands and please, DON'T buy COBRA from Walmart as they are JUNK. Best for the money is BEL (BELTRONICS) or WHISTLER, of course there are better, but more expensive (VALENTINE 1, ESCORT). Don't buy older models as they don't support all the new bands! And, before you buy, read the reviews at RADARTEST.COM About the ticket ... call the clerk and schedule a pre-trial conference with the prosecutor that is assigned to this case. Make sure you know your DRIVING RECORD before you meet with the prosecutor! You can get a copy of your DRIVING RECORD at most BMVs for a mere sum of $4. If your driving records is fairly clean, offer to the prosecutor, to reduce it to NO REGISTRATION IN POSSESSION charge which carries no points and its cheap. Pay the fine for NO REGISTRATION IN POSSESSION. If you get ticketed again your record will be still "fairly clean" as most prosecutors see "NO REGISTRATION IN POSSESSION" as a non-serious charge. So you can do the same again. IF your record is not that clean, get a lawyer to talk to the prosecutor, most will charge $150-$200 for that and its well worth it to keep your record clean. Have fun and drive responsibly.
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What's the point of doing all that if he was already offered a deferral? Why not just pay the ticket and it will not be counted as points on his license. That's the whole point. No need to get a lawyer and talk with the prosecutor, because chances are if things don't go his way he'll get stuck paying the ticket anyway plus court costs. |
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The point is that deferral is not always the best option, if he gets another ticket before the deferral expires he will get both tickets on his record + pay for the first one AGAIN. Besides, the deferral is ALWAYS more expensive that the ticket, sometimes almost twice as much. Deferral and lawyer are PLAN B, when you can't work it out yourself, or when your Driving Record is not as nice ...
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Hahahaha!! I'll bust your A$$ with my VASCAR and plain car every time!  I love giving UTT's with VASCAR and they say, "You're lying, my RADAR detector didn't go off!!" Just havin some fun with ya! |
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Don't forget that ISP and other police agencies in IN use light airplanes to look for speeders. They do it ocassionally down here around Evansville. The plane times the car for a certin distance to see how fast its driving and then radio's cops on the ground. My advice if you driving and see a light airplane of helicopter flying around a road don't drive to fast. My brother is in law enforcement, and not getting copy of the ticket would normally void the ticket. Though call the department and make sure, and when you go to court remind the judge you never received a copy so you may get out of it. |
Correct, they use VASCAR in our planes for those details. |
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I got a ticket several years ago... I didn't have a radar detector but it wouldn't have mettered because the airplane clocked my speed by timing my rate of travel between marks on the highway. Ever since then I watch my speed much more closely. And IF I see those hash marks incorporated in the center white line every tenth of a mile or so, I definately slow down to the posted limit!
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Hey fellas: I'm still going to try and get out of it...I think it was just pure genious that he didn't give me a copy of the ticket, plus a Detective on traffic duty??? Wonder what he did to fuck up??? Since then I haven't seen him on the road...maybe his punishment was over and he has since been able to go back to sitting behind a desk and shoving donuts in his face. Plus, since the court date is in January, maybe he'll forget about it by that point. Would be nice to be in LE at times like this...a flash of the badge gets you out of most things...(I can't wait to hear the replies for this line) but its true and everybody knows it. Cops can speed all they want, and its OK. We go 10 over and get popped for it. |
Your post right there tells me a lot oabout what type of person you are! What makes you think tht he was being punished?? A lot of detectives go out on the road in uniform and work special project for overtime, it's really the only overtime that many get. I think that you have a lot of growing up to do, and along with that comes with admitting that you made a mistake and owning up to it, not thrashing everyone around you and trying to weasle your way out of it. JMO! |
Perhaps if you knew me better, which you don't, you'd know that I do have respect for police officers...its the ones who act like they are better than everyone else because of their position are the ones that I hate, and I'm not the only one on this board that feels that way. A simple warning would've been fine. But, its hardly fair when we get popped for the small things that you, yourself do everyday. Please, do not tell me that you don't speed, because I see State Troopers everyday that whiz past me on 94, and don't tell me you're going to call, each and everytime. Obey the same law that we are forced to obey, and we'll get along great. And, yes, you told me a lot about yourself in a recent reply to this thread, where you stated, "Hahahaha!! I'll bust your A$$ with my VASCAR and plain car every time! I love giving UTT's..." My advice is to take the gloves off, respect individuals, and in turn, you'll get the respect that you so crave. Oh yeah, it'll help if you obey the speed limit. Again, be respectful of others, and you'll get respect. Respect is not a one-way street. Its a 2-way street. You don't get respect, you have to earn it. That's today's lesson on life 101. Take it or leave it. (My guess is you'll leave it since you're so much better than a lot of other people.) I'm surprised they didn't teach you that already. Replies welcome... |
| Evil: Like I told you via our IM's a few weeks ago. Det's are still leo's & they work the plethora of traffic projects on their off time that provide OT money via gov't grants just like patrol ofc's do on their off time should they sign up for the project's. You have to do it off your regular duty time since the grants have to be taken as paid OT. |
You are not nice ! See if I buy any more tickets to the Policemen's Ball.
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Hahaha!! Our guys are so disgruntled, we don't even have post Christmas parties anymore! 
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Get your date, go in and see what happens. Its been atleast 8 years since I recieved my last ticket. Got pulled over at the beginning of Sept 07 for speeding. Officer said I made an unsafe lane change and was speeding. No one else was on the road, and I tried to tell him I was swerving around the sunken sewer caps, but didnt help. Got a ticket for 61 in a 35. Was going no faster than 45, but he said it would be cheaper with one ticket. All I thought was BS.... Got to court, Judge asked prosecutor about my record. I ended up with 4 hrs driving school. No probation, no fines. |
Yup...its all BS...I don't care what people say. Its all about revenue, and its been proven time and time again. If you are doing something that is absolutely unsafe, then it is warranted, however, getting cited just to fill an officer's quota is something I have no patience for. In your situation, how did the cop know you weren't trying to swerve around a sewer cap? Until its an equal playing field, I have no patience for those in law enforcement who are on a power trip. I work with a guy who is an auxiliary cop, and he thinks he's total bad ass. He was late for work this morning, and was bragging how he called one of his buddies from a police department (leaving dept. unnamed), and got a lights and siren escort to work. That's what I have no patience for. Congrats on your success! Erick |
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That tells me exactly what kind of person you are ... You need a lot of growing up to do ... And don't forget that I (the taxpayer) am paying your paycheck ... you work for ME!
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Bad advice! Don't pay the ticket if you believe that you were treated wrong! Talk to the prosecutor and make sure you mention that the officer did NOT give you copy of the ticket!!! If the prosecutor is fair he/she will cut you a deal, if they don't, go to a lawyer! Make sure you find out officers name and badge number and provide it to the prosecutor! Fight for your rights, as we still have the chance to do this in this country!
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Taxpayer money spending at its best ... As Indiana is becoming one of the biggest meth producing states in the country they buy airplanes to catch speeding drivers ...
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