No ones cares anymore!

SIMply put....no one cares anymore about anyone but themselves.
I got this ticket on my birthday for speeding in pennsylvania and they want me to pya $242!!! Its rediculous....i called them this morning and was told that i would be arrested if i do not pay. They are criminalizing me for speeding in a BS saftey zone where the fines are doubled, the only thing is you dont know that fact until you are pulled over!!
The office manager said and i quote..."We have no problem going after you if you do not pay" almost as if she is working collections for her county. Its utterly disgusting and i dont know what to do. They contacted the NY DOT and requested my license to be suspended and will issue an arrest warrent. Can they do that? Can they suspend my license in NY from pennsylvania? She said NY was a reciprocal state so they can enforce stuff like this but does that mean they get kickbacks or something?
This is injustice at its finest. You have legislatures making unjust and irrationaly laws, coupled with departmental disconnects that allow for an immense amount of red tape.
I AM PLEADING FOR HELP!
Is anyone a lawyer or has anyone ever worked for a state legislature? A police office...someone that understands my plight and why it is important to stop injustice in its tracks.....I do not want them to win this time. These holes have to be filled.
The cop told me that 18 people died on that highway so they made it a saftey zone. Whatever the hell that means.....all they did was raise the fines and lower the speed limit and have essentially created a speed trap under the guise of good will. They probably do not have any social programs in place that teach safe highway driving. SOMEONE HELP!!

mode edit: removed all caps title

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[edit on 27-11-2007 by UK Wizard]

Um, I don't see the problem here. Safety zones have the fines increased to discourage people from driving in an unsafe manner. Hence the high fine for speeding. You shouldn't have been speeding, regardless of the fine. You won't win this fight. Your best bet is to go to court and hope they reduce the fine.

This is all my own opinion though.

Im very sorry to say this but speeding would imply that you don’t care about others?18 people died on that highway so thats fair enough for them to put a speed limit in place and increase the fine. As far as I understand it, speed limits are put in place to prevent accidents.

Its cheaper to just pay the fines,after all they gota squeeze all the money from us now before the illegals end up with the rest of our jobs.and slowing down seams to help

I don't like your attitude to speeding. The fines and speed limits are there for a reason. What if you had an accident and killed someone while you were speeding? Would you still argue that it wasn't your fault and it was unfair to lock you up?

It's quite easy really, you don't speed, you don't get fined.. simple as.

Cut your losses. If you challenge it in court and lose, you will be subject to additional fines and late penalties. Oh, and grow up. Your rights end where other's rights begin, stop whining and accept responsibilty for your actions.

reply to post by GUICE2



Drive that section of highway with a camcorder start recording about 1/2 mile before the BS safety zone. IF the safety zone is not marked as you say you should be able to protest the ticket. If it is marked you'll have to pay.

My mother got caught speeding in school zone, it was not obvious from the way the road was layout that it was next to the school tucked away behind a tree line. Because she recorded a drive down the road and was able to show that the sign marking the school zone was being blocked by trees the ticket was thrown out.

So if you think the zone was not marked and the speed in area doesn't comply with the normal speeds for that type of road get evidence. You should be able to beat the ticket....Unless you were doing something dumb like 60mph through a neighborhood.

P.S. My mother was not speeding for road only falled to slow down for the unknowing school zone. The roads speed limit was 45 which she was doing, at the school zone it drop to 25, and she did not notice.

[edit on 27-11-2007 by ebe51]

Originally posted by GUICE2

. They contacted the NY DOT and requested my license to be suspended and will issue an arrest warrent. Can they do that? Can they suspend my license in NY from pennsylvania?

sure can...when i moved to florida to ohio, my DL got suspended from an unpaid ticket in georgia...

i don't know the ins and outs i just know that i had a florida license and they was able to suspend it...

reply to post by GUICE2


How do you figure this is an injustice? Pay the ticket and get over it! Was there a good reason for you to be speeding? If not, suffer the consequences!

Originally posted by ebe51
reply to post by GUICE2

 

Drive that section of highway with a camcorder start recording about 1/2 mile before the BS safety zone. IF the safety zone is not marked as you say you should be able to protest the ticket.

Probably your best defense, although it will only exclude you from paying the double or increased fine. Speeding is still speeding.

I do see your point that all this is a racket on part of the government. Sure, we have rules to protect others from our negligence, but it is the government who rakes in all the cash from the systems we create.

I did a quick study of the income just from taxes, registrations, and licenses for the 50 US states. This does not include all the associated monies generated from court fees, fines, etc. like you are mentioning.

It comes to 69 billion a year. I would hate to see if I did a really detailed study - probably more.

If you want to talk about the government raking in money, no better place than the UK! One of the top stories last night was that they were going to tax pigeon keepers because racing them cant be classed as a sport, yet baton twirling can.. unbelievable.

Speeding should be punished and the only way to stop the government getting your money through tickets is to not get tickets... Ive been driving for 5 years and drive up to 900 miles a week and have never been caught speeding.

reply to post by fiftyfifty



Wow...i was prohibited from posting for a while now for some odd reason. I dont even know what i did wrong so i didnt even get a chance to explain my full position. I wrote a letter to the magistrate of PA and i have pasted it below to better explain the scenario. Let me make this clear to everyone....i am not an advocate of unsafe driving however i do not create a correlation between aggressive and unsafe driving to traveling at a high rate of speed if the highway status allows it. ANyway read on and hopefully you will all begin to see how certain counties and small municipal governments take advantage of drivers on interstate highways by creating speed traps. Its not about safety for them....its about money. Why else would they criminalize you if you didnt pay it within an alloted time? That's almost as bad as a loan shark called tony with more hair on his nuckles than on top of his head and breath thick with garlic threating to break your fingers.....in my opinion anyway

To whom it may concern,
Let me first preface my response to this citation thusly: I do not advocate unsafe or aggressive driving nor do I support driving while under the influence of any substance that may impair your judgment. The status of our highways in NY are extremely safe and well organized, however they are also subject to drivers who commit the heinous crimes that I have mentioned above and are rightfully prosecuted when needed. What we do not have in NY are properly posted highway signs that are placed at a reasonable and rational intervals along the highway. As a NY driver I understand the concept of driving safe and that it does not only apply to your rate of speed…..and the fact that states define “aggressive driving” by a collection of actions that amount to more than just the rate of speed is testament to this fact. With that being stated, I must also make it clear that in the state of NY speed limit signs are more effective….not because of their speed restrictions but because of their strategic placement on the highway which allow for any rational driver to notice them easily. Unfortunately this is not true of certain sections of I-81 particularly the section in which I was issued a citation for a high rate of speed and as a concerned citizen and tax payer I feel that it is my duty to bring this to your attention. Traveling on I-81 N crossing over from Maryland into Pennsylvania you find yourself in an area that is desolate both in terms of speed limit signs and highway lights. You see, I-81 N, just before you reach PA, has a posted speed of 70 MPH. However, at the state line the speed apparently drops to 65 but that FACT is not POSTED until approximately 10.3 miles from the previous sign.

This could be the reason there were no state troopers patrolling that stretch of highway and explains why after 10 miles I noticed the first speed limit sign with a reduced speed of 65 and a highway trooper. Briefly I will also like to take this opportunity to bring another issue to your attention as well. Although the officer was very polite his physical presence on the highway at that time was completely unsafe. I make this point because the trooper was parked facing traffic on the left shoulder of the highway and not the right shoulder which from my understanding is reserved for emergency stopping only. Therefore the manner by which the offer was situated on the highway itself was unsafe. With that being said I must also submit to you this fact: You place a strict burden of accountability amongst interstate drivers, which in most situations I do agree with (work zones). Yet, where is the same level of accountability when it comes to the organization of the highway itself and the proper posting of signs? It is obvious that this does not exist….or does it? As a student of criminal justice, a citizen of this beautiful country and a child of sociology I submit to you and your authorities that the ticketing which takes place on this stretch of highway is nothing more than frivolous and from what I have described above, it could be argued that this particular area is set up as a speed trap. I understand all of these terms so please do not mistake this as the wild ranting of a disgruntled citizen….I understand the underlying meanings behind ticketing and am respectfully bringing to your attention the hypocrisy of this particular situation. With all due respect, I must say that the only accomplishment achieved by ticketing me in this situation is the instilling of a hardship upon my life for I cannot afford to pay this fine at this time. I was torn when contemplating what to do in this situation and for a short time considered to show up in court to argue my case. I even told the officer to make sure he was there…..however this, is not a reality for the average tax paying in debt American for we have to be glued to computer screens 45-50 hours a week in order to survive. This does not allow much time for much life enjoyment so when the opportunity arises we have to take full advantage of it. I had already taken off two days from work to visit my girlfriend and eventual fiancé in Virginia so I cannot afford to take another day to show up in court and fight the good fight. So…it is with a heavy heart of defeat that I submit payment by way of personal check. However I implore you to have a little understanding of my financial plight and respect the fact that I had to post date this check for the end of December since the funds will not be available in my budget until then. I am not in financial ruin, I can eat and do recreational things from time to time but I am however on an extremely tight budget. I do hope you show some understanding in this situation and accept this post dated check as it is all I can afford to offer right now. I also have the highest hopes that you take into consideration all that I have said above and seriously consider revising the status of your highways in order actually make them safe to drive on. I am entering a plea of no contest and since there is no specific language on the ticket that refers to this please I assume that a post dated check can be accepted by your office…..after all, we are all supposed to work together and have a little understanding for the human condition right? Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response.

P.S.
I have also contacted the PA Department of Transportation in regards to my situation and have forwarded my suggestions.

I think you may have just set yourself up for a bounced check situation. I am not sure about Pa, but I know here in Ky they do not accept post dated checks for fines and such. If you are lucky, they will send it back to you. If not, they will not notice the post date (despite you telling them) and send it to their bank anyways. Then you will have bank fees for a check that bounces.

Your argument that it is a speed trap is sound, though you would need to have proof of this if you expected to actually win the case.

Either way, they win and you lose. They are not going to care about your financial situation, why you do not have the money, why you cannot take off the time to come to the court, etc. The way they look at it is they are doing their job and your inconviences be damned.

VV

You asked for an attorney's opinion, and so here is the opinion of one attorney:

Drive carefully, and obey the speed limit. If you choose to break the law and drive above the speed limit, be prepared to face the consequences.

Here's the only advice I might be able to give you besides what I have already said. If you can go to court in the state of the ticket, go and ask for a continuance. Most cops (at least in my state) have only a few set days a month to go to court. If you get a continuance, and go back to court on the new date, chances are he won't be able to go, and then you can get a dismissal.

If you cannot do that, start driving the speed limit!!!

reply to post by TheHypnoToad


What dont you people understand? Where is the accountability in this situation on the part of the state? Why are we the only onese with such a high expectation of accountability? They are prosecuting people and ticketing them on a highway that is not set up correctly. The entire situation is one be hypocrisy!! That in itself is illegal isnt it? Especially when they are taking money from people....its not about the speeding, its about the irrationality behind the legislation and the way they enforce it. They threaten arrest for non payment....i mean seriously, that is just as bad as a lone shark. So lets say they arrest you....its then a constitutional issue because you have not committed a crime and had no intent to. They set up the language of the law to be vague and then they piggy back stipulations that give the allusion of the authority to place you under arrest if you cant or dont pay. Thats blackmail isnt it!! IF i were to do it to someone that would be blackmail and then i would be arrested for a true crime called extortion! What does shelling out money to a corrupt system have to do with safety? The means by which they go about it are unsafe alltogether and then the harshest penalty is instilled when you dont pay....thats a scheme if i ever heard one before. SOmeone has to stop this freakin madness. ITS NOT ABOUT SPEEDING!!

reply to post by TheHypnoToad


There is no rhyme or reason for tickets....only the allusion of these things are created by their stated reasoning behind their actions. Yet when you look at the situation under the microscope you realize they dont care about my safety because if they did then why not light the whole highway up? Or place more speed limit signs? How unsafe is it to constantly be looking for road signs, 65mph or at 85mph, when you have been driving for 2 or 3 hours straight? They should be so hard to miss that you dont even have to turn your head to notice what the status of the highway is...its mor subconscious than anything else. It takes a half of a second to accelerate over the speed limit and the same amount of time to slow down.....what if i sneezed? What if i had a cramp? Its all BS!!

reply to post by TheHypnoToad


Youre a lawyer then look into this....arent speed traps illegal? They are taking money from people when really all they need to do is speak to them like human beings and say "hey, slow down buddy, i got your plates on file so just slow down and drive safe" And then if they are really driving fast and weeving in and out of traffic (which is aggressive driving) then they get issued a ticket....they just come running out of the gate and take advantage of little people like me.

Originally posted by GUICE2
ITS NOT ABOUT SPEEDING!!

Actually, you're right. It's really about people not wanting to take responsibility for their actions.

When all else fails, blame someone else. Blame the government for having laws, blame police for enforcing them, etc.

Ask for opinions, and then attack those who offer opinions, just because those people didn't agree with you.

I am an attorney. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution, and I intend to do that. If I see some sort of injustice, I do whatever I can to remedy the situation. You tell me to look into whether speed traps are illegal... Sure. But it will cost you. My time is worth money, as you will find is the case with most attorneys. I'll tell you what I DO know is illegal- speeding. Worry about the law that you broke, friend.

You make excuses and weak arguments because you do not like the consequences you face. Deal with it.