speeding ticket question (insurance and such)

travisHAZE · Post by **travisHAZE** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:02 am

so i got hit with a bogus ticket, 15 over (45 in 30) coming across belleaire bluffs 34 (construction zone in indian rocks, fl)

well, i'm already paying $364.14 a month (yes, a month. its something like $1,866.92 for 6 months) which i personally think is ridiculously high for even a teenager

this is my first traffic violation on my record aside from 2 non-motorized vehicle tickets i got when i was 8 and 13

i have friends (older and younger by just months) who are paying $110 a month in insurance with 6+ speeding tickets, running stop-signs and red-light tickets, etc. etc. etc.

my questions are as follows:

if i contest this in court (there was no possible way he clocked me at 45 coming down through a curvy and bumpy construction zone in a 1996 ford explorer with dying struts, i would easily flip that beast. my speedometer is accurate (i passed by 6 or 7 "Your Speed Is" signs all saying my speed was where it was on my speedometer) and it was at 29/30, would i stand a chance of winning, without taking into account i had two other people in the car with me, one being 280 lbs the other being 150 lbs and a 46 lb dog (all in all, 626 lbs not counting the weight of the vehicle or any cargo in it)

and what would this infraction do to my license and insurance rates if i decided to go ahead and pay it and be done with it

and now to the rant about this censored...
he tried his very hardest to get me arrested, asking me questions about my license to see if it was a fake ID, from address to DOB to age to my license # (which i actually told him thats not something that he should expect people to memorize, but told him what i knew (C-580)), to issue month and year to when i would turn 21

he then went around to my passengers, got their info (standard procedure i know) then proceeded to open my car's doors to inspect the seat-belts to see if there was anything else he could hit me with

then he did a walk around my vehicle inspecting everything from tire pressure to brake lights
i actually had to refill the air in my tires, thats how much air he let out

Ragnarok · Post by **Ragnarok** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:35 pm

hey.. mine is exactly like yours, they do that so ppl our age dont do nothin crazy.. yet i got 4 speeding tickets, 1 imporoper turn, and 1 reckless driving, so my insurance is 467 every 3 months.. but if you get a ticket the insurance rises, and if you dont the insurance price decreases. before my tickets, it was about 230ish.

Archangel · Post by **Archangel** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 6:05 pm

First......remove that link of the ticket picture from your original post (security issues).

Second....If this was a traffic officer that issued the ticket, you won't have a chance. These officers are specifically trained in handling traffic citations.

Third......The infraction was issued in a construction zone. The number of injuries & deaths to construction workers is a big time issue, so they will make an example of you by a high fine.

Fourth.......Your a teenager........your going to get a lesson on how traffic court works. You'll probably get a couple of points out of this and the fine of $500.00 or more (cause it was in a construction zone)........Then when your insurance company does it's quarterly client DMV check, your insurance rates will at least double, if not triple and you'll be put on high-risk cause of your age and the ticket.

Fifth.......You could go to court and ask the judge (very nicely) if the ticket can be placed "Under Advisement" for 6 months. If the judge agrees, your basically under a 6 month probationary period in which you can't get ANY traffic citations. If you complete the advisement, the ticket goes away (you'll still probably get the fine though) and hopefully, it skirts by the insurance company's DMV check. Some insurance companies do quarterly, 6 month or only once a year DMV checks.

Hope this helps and...........Drive safe !!!!

travisHAZE · Post by **travisHAZE** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:20 pm

in FL construction zones work a bit different than anywhere else ive lived

in construction zones, the heavy fines only apply when workers are present, it being 11:50 at night on a bridge construction site, there were no workers present, so its qualified as a standard ticket

the ticket i posted i removed all of the sensitive material so if an admin feels it really should be removed, by all means, but im not worried about it

my ticket is just for $206, but my biggest worry is my insurance jump, im already paying more insurance than ANYBODY i know

this is with me being 17 with a 2.9 GPA, top 10% on standardized tests (country wide), having a 4 month old daughter and having a full-time job as well as school

im paying more insurance than people who have several tickets, street racing tickets, collisions, etc. and this is before my rates will climb from this single ticket

Archangel · Post by **Archangel** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:08 am

Try asking your insurance agent why yours is higher........

And there is enough info there on that ticket that if someone wanted to cause you a lot of grief, they could.

Big_Meat · Post by **Big_Meat** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 9:42 pm

You should try contesting the ticket in court. If the officer who issued the ticket doesn't appear at the hearing (and there is a good chance that he won't), the ticket will very likely get thrown out.

And do your friends use the same insurance agency that you have? Did you shop around and compare rates and use that to get the insurance companies to offer you a lower rate?

Archangel · Post by **Archangel** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:53 pm

Big_Meat wrote:You should try contesting the ticket in court. If the officer who issued the ticket doesn't appear at the hearing (and there is a good chance that he won't), the ticket will very likely get thrown out.

And do your friends use the same insurance agency that you have? Did you shop around and compare rates and use that to get the insurance companies to offer you a lower rate?

LOL........True........but most cops do show up in court.....the reason....MONEY.....yes, they get paid to show and most do as they also have to pay bills.....haha

Kid....and I call anyone that under 35......Your insurance will be high until you reach 26 yrs old, then it goes down....and those other kids are probably on their parents insurance or are only paying for PL/PD and NOT Full Coverage.

travisHAZE · Post by **travisHAZE** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:02 am

im looking at the bare minimum for my state

souless · Post by **souless** » Sun Aug 31, 2008 1:44 pm

if ur worryed about ur insurance rates going up/ or if u know that they will go up u should see if u can go to traffic school now cause usually if u do that the insurance company wont raise ur rates

but thats just my opinion and i dont know what the florida state policy on that stuff is

Renegade · Post by **Renegade** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:16 am

then proceeded to open my car's doors to inspect the seat-belts to see if there was anything else he could hit me with

{All this is assuming you're in the USA} He can't do that. The only time an officer can open your vehicle and look at anything that would normally be obstructed from his view is if he states sufficient probably cause or you grant him permission

Problem with "probably cause" is he can claim a piece of trash was used as drug paraphanelia

As for being clocked and you do choose to fight it, have your lawyer ask who calibrates the radar gun, whether or not they are certified to calibrate it and if the calibration tool used is the one that is specific to that particular radar gun

Anyway, that is very screwy that your insurance is so high, even for a teenager