Why i hate my e34 (at least as daily driver)

[paul p (chi-town)]

Sad sad day when 75 is ticketable on the Eisenhower. Now that I am legit
Were you ever going below 75 mph while he could see you?
It works trust me.... of all people trust me lol.
Good luck.
Josh

Ain’t that the truth. Sign o the times i guess. Enforcement seemed a little heavy today in general. I guess it’s less of a strain to write tickets when the temps are above freezing.
Legit, eh? Well like you said, “of all people”
lol indeed.

Oh yeah, he must have seen me doing every speed from 75 down to the 56ish that i held for what felt like forever before he finally hit his lights. Honestly i have no idea when he 1st noticed me. I will cruise the route again and try to get a better idea. But yeah, i was very perplexed at why he needed to get on my ass and stay there for so long before making it official

Normaly i have a 6th sense about feeling these guys out, saved my butt many a time. I dunno how many times i’ve spotted one and by the time he hits the instant on, i’ve had a chance to slow.

Oh well, must have been a little tired. I was called into the city last minute kinda late by my teacher ‘friend’.

Thanks for the advice Josh, maybe we can talk more when we get together for Bimmerdood's visit.

93 SE-R---94 530iT&A---92 325i........”Hang up & Drive!”

[Warren N.CA]

I think your main failure was to allow your "situational awareness" to lapse (You didn't see him until it was too late.). Constant 360 degree monitoring is required.

Of course you should try to beat it if you can. But prevention is much more effective.

So i was taking an unfamiliar route on the way to werk this morning.
To those that don’t know, the Eisenhower is a freeway that runs through some of our less upscale hoods here in chi-town. My normal route takes me on a tollway which is heavily populated by luxury vehicles (where i happen to know all the usual state trooper waiting spots).
Needless to say, between being the ‘richest’ target and the midrange punch of the small M60, i attracted some unwanted attention.
Usually pretty aware of my surroundings, but did not notice ociffer friendly behind me until he was right on my ass. Like a couple of inches. Valentine1 remained silent thu the whole thing.

“75 in a 55” (welll duh, if traffic was lighter it may have been more) but how the hell did he clock me?!? Could have easily over-estimated my speed if he was trying to catch up. Ticket says nothing about the measuring method.
“No insurance”, well proof......i have 3 cars dammit, sometimes can’t keep up w/ the expiring cards in the wallet. My agent loves me though and i am always reminded if in jeopardy of a lapsing. So i know i am covered as of today.
Oh here’s the kicker.....”Following too closely (while switching lanes)”. ********. I know how i drive, i do not like being tailgated and i do not do it to others. I am positive that at no time was i any closer than half a car length behind anybody. Unlike the friendly revenue enhancing agent of the state who was literally inches off my bumper. He didn’t hit the lights immediately either. Just in case he wanted to get by i moved a lane over but he stuck to me like glue with a very aggressive move of his own.

He starts up saying he could easily take me in for reckless.....if lane changing behavior is taken into account.
As if i ever do it w/o signaling and checking, unlike 80% of the other brain dead drivers out there on our urban roads w/ cell phones surgically attached to their ears.
Pisser...........i bet if i had taken the Sentra he would not have even noticed me.

SO can someone post a link to that ‘how to beat a speeding ticket website’?
ScottH, Josh any idea other ideas.

Since it is an automatic appearance ticket(s), no school. But i have had supervision dropped on me in the past by judges, once even a simple 'be more carefull' and let go. But i am really in the mood to fight this one, or at least be prepared to do so.



93 SE-R---94 530iT&A---92 325i........”Hang up & Drive!”
”It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error;
It is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error."-- Robert H. Jackson

[Jeff N.]

A "well known" attorney will have several advantages you won't have:

- a relationship or reputation with the prosecutor
- credibility with the judge
- solid knowledge on process and procedure

I've sat in traffic court and watched people attempt to defend themselves vs. use an attorney. It's almost comical to watch the self defense efforts as some of them are sooo bad. You, by association, will be heaped into the class of idiot no matter how prepared you are.

A traffic attorney will mitigate a lot of those issues just by being there. To me, that alone is worth the price. Depends how bad you really want to or need to "get off".

my 2 cents...

Jeff

My 1st choice would be to go myself and get out of it. You know, ‘common man VS. the traffic court machine’. If it was just the speeding ticket, no brainer. There seems to be enough info out on the web. I would go very prepared and even if i were to lose it would have been worth the experience. Just to NOT be another lemming and stand up to say ‘ENOUGH’. But throw in that following too closely and it’s time to swallow pride and make sure i protect my driving history.
Getting in touch w/ the local CCA guys sounds like an excellent idea.

Uh guys, on the other hand could we stop with the ‘pig’ comments, please. I have friends that are officers, (granted city cops who end up in much riskier situations), but remember these guys are just doing their jobs. Many of them find it ridiculous as well, but that’s what it’s all about, quotas are real. Sure many have let the position go to their heads and being above traffic laws themselves is a way of life. But it is still a dangerous profession. Even my guy, once a little more comfortable, was very polite and even encouraging about the potential for a supervision solution.
Now the donut jokes, well those i would say are fair game (hey they do eat for free 99% of the time)


93 SE-R---94 530iT&A---92 325i


........”Hang up & Drive!”

[Jeff N.]

hmmm...dangerous strategy...

The judge is not there to determine if the law is fair or not. That's the job of the legislative branch when the law was passed. The judge is only there to determine if sufficient evidence is presented to find you guilty of crime charged by the state (prosectors office) or not. That, and to determine if the correct processes and procedures were followed.

Now if there was a law you could cite that made it illegal for a police officer to wait to ticket you after the first offense and you could prove they waited, you might have a chance. Without that and using Josh's argument, you have presented no evidence that exonerates you. Instead, you have substantiated the state's case.

Risky approach at best...

[Rory]

So i was taking an unfamiliar route on the way to werk this morning.
To those that don’t know, the Eisenhower is a freeway that runs through some of our less upscale hoods here in chi-town. My normal route takes me on a tollway which is heavily populated by luxury vehicles (where i happen to know all the usual state trooper waiting spots).
Needless to say, between being the ‘richest’ target and the midrange punch of the small M60, i attracted some unwanted attention.
Usually pretty aware of my surroundings, but did not notice ociffer friendly behind me until he was right on my ass. Like a couple of inches. Valentine1 remained silent thu the whole thing.

“75 in a 55” (welll duh, if traffic was lighter it may have been more) but how the hell did he clock me?!? Could have easily over-estimated my speed if he was trying to catch up. Ticket says nothing about the measuring method.
“No insurance”, well proof......i have 3 cars dammit, sometimes can’t keep up w/ the expiring cards in the wallet. My agent loves me though and i am always reminded if in jeopardy of a lapsing. So i know i am covered as of today.
Oh here’s the kicker.....”Following too closely (while switching lanes)”. ********. I know how i drive, i do not like being tailgated and i do not do it to others. I am positive that at no time was i any closer than half a car length behind anybody. Unlike the friendly revenue enhancing agent of the state who was literally inches off my bumper. He didn’t hit the lights immediately either. Just in case he wanted to get by i moved a lane over but he stuck to me like glue with a very aggressive move of his own.

He starts up saying he could easily take me in for reckless.....if lane changing behavior is taken into account.
As if i ever do it w/o signaling and checking, unlike 80% of the other brain dead drivers out there on our urban roads w/ cell phones surgically attached to their ears.
Pisser...........i bet if i had taken the Sentra he would not have even noticed me.

SO can someone post a link to that ‘how to beat a speeding ticket website’?
ScottH, Josh any idea other ideas.

Since it is an automatic appearance ticket(s), no school. But i have had supervision dropped on me in the past by judges, once even a simple 'be more carefull' and let go. But i am really in the mood to fight this one, or at least be prepared to do so.



93 SE-R---94 530iT&A---92 325i........”Hang up & Drive!”
”It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error;
It is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error."-- Robert H. Jackson

Paul,

This sucks, sorry to hear it. It is never fun when this happens to anyone. But, your best bet is going to be to find an attorney. You are going to pay the same amount out of pocket up front, the difference is that it will go to the attorney and not the state. Also, you will save a lot down the road in insurrance costs if you keep it off your record. So, pay a little now or a lot later.

On another note, let me prefeace this with what happened to you SUCKS!! But, if you count the number of times that you break the law (Speeding, changing lanes without a signal, etc) you are most likely coming out ahead. Just look at this as your "price of admission" in order to drive as fast as you do and break the laws that you do on a regular basis. It doesn't make it right or fair, but it is a fact of the society we live in. Hopefully you won't have this happen for another X years. Keep the shiny side up.

Best,
Rory

[Tiger]

At least you didn't do a 3+ counties chase...

[Patrick]

Yep. I've posted it before -not much chance of getting out of a ticket in a BMW. I even had a traffic cop compliment me three or four times on my 740i (when I had it) as he was writing the speeding ticket. Finally I asked him point-blank to not issue me the ticket, but he wouldn't go for it.
On the other hand, in my old, really ugly, 4wd S10 Blazer, I've been let off a few times doing 80+ in 55 zones by the State Patrol.

[DueyT]

....Now the donut jokes, well those i would say are fair game (hey they do eat for free 99% of the time)

93 SE-R---94 530iT&A---92 325i........”Hang up & Drive!”

[Dave Rutkowski]

due to the new highway laws (including no dawdling in left lane) effective 1/1/04. If you're 40+ over, you get cuffed and hauled off to jail and charged with a criminal offense!

Dave

P.S. we need to hit that karting place again soon.....

[tdgard]

While I'm not familiar with IL traffic law, let's just say I have some experience with the Atlanta and surrounding area's traffic court. Hell, we pass the APD through the center of town WHILE THEIR DOING 70MPH --Never ticked for that, they are too busy dealing with shootings.

Some things that work here (your mileage may differ):

If you take a defensive driving class your fine must be reduced by 20%. If a fine is altered from the original, it will not go on your record. This is allowed once every five years--I've found it works once every five years for each court system. I'll bet it could work once every five years per judge.
Downside--you waste a weekend. You spend $100 on the class. You may still have to pay 80% of the fine. The judge is going to ask why you did this. I first told them it was for work insurance reasons--thrown out completely. Once I was cocky & told him the truth--paid 80% but no points.

Second is a little risky and downright immoral. If you have ever sat in traffic court you hear people say their speedo is wrong. The judge will then ask if you have had it checked. Most say no. There are places out there that will check them & some of them have people working there that need a little extra cash. I was once told that the test was $20 and if $20 was accidentaly left on the passenger seat, he'd help me out.

Finally, you could always go the "I was keeping up with traffic" route. Since it was morning rush hour, you did not want to become the 56mph hazard (at least here in Atlanta). These judges live in your town and can probably empathize. Hell, you wrote about just that for the following too closely charge.

Lawyer? Could be a good idea, but I like Dave Berry's suggestion for dealing with Iraq.
"We fly over there and drop lawyers on them. If that doesn't work, we fly over and drop more lawyers on them. If that dosen't work, we put some parachutes on the lawyers."

Good luck