Hey guys, had my court hearing today where I represented myself (no lawyer) on an infraction the cop stated was 106 in a 55 and a careless driving ticket. The officer called me into the room before the hearing and wanted to hear what I had to say. I told him I didn't feel the speed was accurate and that I was falsely clocked at 106 - he gave me a lot of attitude and cut me off in talking etc. My mother was present which I am sure helped a lot - my mother, thankfully, is real supportive and knows I accept I was wrong etc., and stood behind me the whole time. The officer claimed that whilst leaving the BlockBuster parking lot I squeeled my tires and "broke traction with the road" through a left hand turn. I told him that I too heard that noise and suspected it was the other car he pulled over but no way did my tires squeal at all - I then said, if he had witnessed this alleged careless driving and the fact that the black car was traveling at a distance too close to my car, why did he let it escalate and pull the black car/me over at that point? He had no answer. He then proceded to tell me he followed me for "8 miles" yet I was stopped and pulled over only .92 miles from the BlockBuster video I left (can you say ********?). Anyway, he wasn't a push over by any means, but I got the ticket reduced from 106 in a 55 mph zone to a 85 in a 55 zone which means I do not lose my license for 15 days. The points are still there I think, but that's fine as my insurance doesn't change (says the insurance company) and thus there's no real problem.

I've learned from this - I am now a granny behind the wheel of my car (not that I wasn't previously!) and this will never happen again. I am just glad I represented myself and got the offense reduced rather than spending $1,000 for a laywer. The end.