I got my 2nd speeding ticket. What should I do?

Big Bill wrote:

> On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 18:42:06 GMT, Arif Khokar >
> wrote:

>>Then why not just make the penalty for speeding points on license only.
>> Make it enough points so that 2 speeding convictions in a period of
>>one year would result in the loss of one's license for the same period
>>of time.

> Why points only, though. Why not hit the offenders where it really
> hurts?

It really hurts to lose your license. If you end up getting pulled over
without a license, you'll get arrested. That's going to "hurt" a lot
more than a $100 give or take fine would.

> Just because fines exist doesn't mean they only exist to raise money.

No, but it doesn't mean that one shouldn't run the risk of losing their
license for repeated speeding offenses. If I get 5 speeding tickets in
one year and manage to get them all plea bargained down to no points,
I'll never risk losing my license over it. Frequently, the police
officer at the roadside will lower the speed on the ticket to the fine
only speed.

> I'd think that those who speed and get tickets regularly would rather
> have the fines.

It's not what the offender will rather have. If you want to stop
speeding, you need to make it so that losing your license is a real
possibility. The system is set up now so that's hardly the case. It's
quite obvious that fines don't deter people from speeding (or you would
never have situations where less than 1% of traffic obeys the posted limit).

>>The fact that they collect fines, and are more than willing to plea
>>bargain down speeding offenses to fine only without points or not
>>reporting a conviction to the DMV supports the theory that speed limit
>>enforcement is primarily about revenue, not safety.

> Again, I can't agree.
> Plea bargains are done for several reasons, and provong that fines are
> all about making money isn't one of them.
> If fines were really about raising money, then there would be a *LOT*
> more made from those who use the diamond lanes when they aren't
> supposed to, for just one example.

There are no HOV lanes in the state that I live in.

> The number of people speeding are
> volunteering for fines right and left, yet few of them get nabbed; how
> is this all about revenue?

Because the government just fines people enough so that they don't
really see it as a serious penalty. Points on the license is a serious
penalty since they stay on there for several years (at least in my state).

As long as they're not really deterring the behavior, they're just
making money off of it. They're not actually interested in taking steps
that would significantly reduce the incidence of speeding.

>Try from the eastern border to past Billings on I-94. What's that about
>150 miles with no restricted corners? I drove that route both before
>and after the interstate and there were only a few places you couldn't
>safely cruise at 80-90 when it was two-lane.

Hmmmmm.....what about Huntley hill and the canyon at about mm 65??????
Forget about those?????


>I also drove (once ) the
>I-90 route from the southern border to Billings in a 54 chev in 1963
>(again prior to the interstate). That trip may have been on US 212 -
>it was the one passing through the Custer battlefield..

212 comes out at GarryOwen just north of the Custer Battlefield....

>Pushed my
>cruise up to 75 when I crossed the border and maintained it.
ROTFL.....not up Aberdeen hill or Pryor hill, you didn't....

>With very
>few exceptions there is nowhere on the interstates that cruise of 80-90
>is not safe.

LOLOL....yea sure.......

>The few exceptions are the last few miles to the summits
>of passes. I am still trying to figure out WTF wind/snow/ice/rain have
>to do with there being or not being long open stretches.

It is about going "80-90" on "open stretches"....you can't do that in MT in
the winter....which is at least 8 months of the year...

>Anyone with
>eyes can look at a map an see that you are wrong.

LOLOLOL....yea, sure.....map tells you everything about the roads in MT,
doesn't it.......Look at the stretch between Butte and Bozeman....map makes
it look like a straight "open stretch" doesn't it.....

> Even in the western
>half the highways follow the valleys and again are 'long and open' by
>anyones definition except when crossing a pass. Been there, Done that
>and have the T-shirt.

>Harry K

ROTFL......OK.....I'm not sure WHICH state you were in, but it sure wasn't
MT.....

>Try from the eastern border to past Billings on I-94. What's that about
>150 miles with no restricted corners? I drove that route both before
>and after the interstate and there were only a few places you couldn't
>safely cruise at 80-90 when it was two-lane.

Hmmmmm.....what about Huntley hill and the canyon at about mm 65??????
Forget about those?????


>I also drove (once ) the
>I-90 route from the southern border to Billings in a 54 chev in 1963
>(again prior to the interstate). That trip may have been on US 212 -
>it was the one passing through the Custer battlefield..

212 comes out at GarryOwen just north of the Custer Battlefield....

>Pushed my
>cruise up to 75 when I crossed the border and maintained it.
ROTFL.....not up Aberdeen hill or Pryor hill, you didn't....

>With very
>few exceptions there is nowhere on the interstates that cruise of 80-90
>is not safe.

LOLOL....yea sure.......

>The few exceptions are the last few miles to the summits
>of passes. I am still trying to figure out WTF wind/snow/ice/rain have
>to do with there being or not being long open stretches.

It is about going "80-90" on "open stretches"....you can't do that in MT in
the winter....which is at least 8 months of the year...

>Anyone with
>eyes can look at a map an see that you are wrong.

LOLOLOL....yea, sure.....map tells you everything about the roads in MT,
doesn't it.......Look at the stretch between Butte and Bozeman....map makes
it look like a straight "open stretch" doesn't it.....

> Even in the western
>half the highways follow the valleys and again are 'long and open' by
>anyones definition except when crossing a pass. Been there, Done that
>and have the T-shirt.

>Harry K

ROTFL......OK.....I'm not sure WHICH state you were in, but it sure wasn't
MT.....

truckinsp wrote:

Harry K wrote:
>>The few exceptions are the last few miles to the summits
>>of passes. I am still trying to figure out WTF wind/snow/ice/rain have
>>to do with there being or not being long open stretches.

> It is about going "80-90" on "open stretches"....you can't do that in MT in
> the winter....which is at least 8 months of the year...

If the roads are covered with snow here, I can't go 80 or 90 either.
That still doesn't mean I can't go that speed in the middle of summer.
The same applies in MT.

truckinsp wrote:

Harry K wrote:
>>The few exceptions are the last few miles to the summits
>>of passes. I am still trying to figure out WTF wind/snow/ice/rain have
>>to do with there being or not being long open stretches.

> It is about going "80-90" on "open stretches"....you can't do that in MT in
> the winter....which is at least 8 months of the year...

If the roads are covered with snow here, I can't go 80 or 90 either.
That still doesn't mean I can't go that speed in the middle of summer.
The same applies in MT.

More of the same weaseling and avoiding admitting that you are WRONG.
You have mentioned a -few- (very few) places where the 'long open'
wouldn not apply in over 150 miles of highway. Here I will set it off
so you can't miss it this time:

What does bad driving conditions have to do with there being (or not)
"long, open stretches?" You seem so enamored of those conditions maybe
you should move to Alaska. I have driving MT both winter and summer.

You're denial of road layout in MT leads my even further into doubt
about your claims.

Harry K

More of the same weaseling and avoiding admitting that you are WRONG.
You have mentioned a -few- (very few) places where the 'long open'
wouldn not apply in over 150 miles of highway. Here I will set it off
so you can't miss it this time:

What does bad driving conditions have to do with there being (or not)
"long, open stretches?" You seem so enamored of those conditions maybe
you should move to Alaska. I have driving MT both winter and summer.

You're denial of road layout in MT leads my even further into doubt
about your claims.

Harry K

>More of the same weaseling and avoiding admitting that you are WRONG.
>You have mentioned a -few- (very few) places where the 'long open'
>wouldn not apply in over 150 miles of highway. Here I will set it off
>so you can't miss it this time:

>What does bad driving conditions have to do with there being (or not)
>"long, open stretches?" You seem so enamored of those conditions maybe
>you should move to Alaska. I have driving MT both winter and summer.

I went and reread the original post.....I should have said there are no wide
open roads in MT where you can go 90 mph for any protracted period of
time.....even in the summer we get snow and high winds.....

>You're denial of road layout in MT leads my even further into doubt
>about your claims.

>Harry K

LOLOL....I've given you details about MT roads, you've given me stuff you
could pick off a map.......

>More of the same weaseling and avoiding admitting that you are WRONG.
>You have mentioned a -few- (very few) places where the 'long open'
>wouldn not apply in over 150 miles of highway. Here I will set it off
>so you can't miss it this time:

>What does bad driving conditions have to do with there being (or not)
>"long, open stretches?" You seem so enamored of those conditions maybe
>you should move to Alaska. I have driving MT both winter and summer.

I went and reread the original post.....I should have said there are no wide
open roads in MT where you can go 90 mph for any protracted period of
time.....even in the summer we get snow and high winds.....

>You're denial of road layout in MT leads my even further into doubt
>about your claims.

>Harry K

LOLOL....I've given you details about MT roads, you've given me stuff you
could pick off a map.......

>LOLOL....I've given you details about MT roads, you've given me stuff you
>could pick off a map.......

Tell me the worst road you've ever been on in MT....that out to tell
everyone if you've ever "driven" in MT or not.....