Good one... Something tells me that whenever you encounter a police officer the only words that manage fall out of you mouth or "Yes/No Sr. or Mam." But only in real life of course, not sitting behind your PC screen.
I was going 70mph on a new stretch of Highway 90 in east Houston when I saw a cop parked in the emergency lane after a dip. I was able to slow down to speed limit (60mph) by the time I got in front of her, but she pulled me over anyway. She tells me I was going 75mph and prints out a ticket. I didn't ask any questions at the time; I was too pissed for being pulled over to think straight. There was no radar reading on the ticket and as I said, by the time I was ahead of her, I was at speed limit. Is it possible that she didn't use the radar to clock my speed and just guessed instead? Are they required to put the radar reading on the ticket? I do not feel like coughing up $200, especially after the court screwed me over last time.
^ No, I don't think they are required to do so, madam, but it could be depending on jurisdiction or area or state. Another Brother? Houston???
Traffic cops in Texas all suck. Every last one of them. I hope that 80 mph law gets passed for interstates so we don't have to see any of those ******* state troopers.
Wow, I'm impressed by your refreshing and original commentary in this 8 page thread. I'm not sure what's more unbelievable, my tickets in the last 10 years or your 5000+ original posts such as this in the last 12. I'd love to hear more of your unique analysis. Thanks.
It'll be a while before the speed limit is raised to 80 and, even then, it will be on "desolate" stretches. You won't be able to cruise from Houston to Dallas legally going 80 in the foreseeable future (if ever).
Just wanted to chime in to clarify a few things... In Texas, going above the posted speed limit does not automatically mean you are guilty of speeding. The statute defines speeding as driving at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then existing. Check Texas Transportation Code Chapter 545, Section 351. Evidence that you were driving above the speed limit is only some evidence that your speed was not reasonable and prudent, but you can still try and disprove that. It is up to the jury to determine what is "reasonable and prudent." If you are going 74 in a 70 at 2 AM on a country road, a jury can acquit you of speeding and still be following the law. But if you are going 20 over the speed limit, a jury will rarely ever find you not guilty, no matter if you were following the flow of traffic or if you were the only one on the road. Pacing is a valid method of measuring someone's speed. A police officer can certainly go onto the witness stand and testify to the method by which he measured your speed. But it is easier to raise doubts in the jury's mind about the accuracy of pacing than it is to raise doubts about a radar or laser gun.
I just opted for deferred adjudication because I got a ticket right before I was leaving the country for the rest of the year. You do not need to show up to court, but if you are under the age of 25 you will end up sitting in defensive driving anyway by request of the judge. Just a heads up.
If I get pulled over for doing 84 in one of those stretches, I will be PO'd. How is 80 safe but 84 not?
Please, get out of here with that. We all know cars nowadays are much better equipped for faster speeds. Freeways are equipped for faster speeds as well (we all know how Houston's are). Any freeway speed limit of 55-60MPH is WAY too slow. 65MPH-70+ MPH should be the speed limit. I live in DFW, and the tollways up here have a 70MPH speed limit. No one rarely goes above 80 (and that's passing only). Why? Because most people see 65MPH-75MPH as comfortable speeds. What you cops really need to do is pull over people for riding slow in the left lane (usually on the phone, old, or think they own the road), instead of pulling over the safe driver passing on the left going 10 over, but with full attention (and will move right back over once done passing). Many states have laws against the left lane hogs actually. Don't deny it. You know these low speed limits is just a revenue stream. There is absolutely no reason why the Katy Freeway should have a 60MPH speed limit. Just look at how wide the lanes are and the design of that thing. It's ridiculous how low speed limits are nowadays.
And this is true also. You have to know when to speed. I live in cop infested Arlington, Texas, and it's an unwritten rule not to speed at night in Arlington. During the day, don't go above 65 when going up hill, because there will be a cop just on the other side waiting. If the sight lines is great, you'll never see a cop in certain sections of freeways. People just don't know how to speed. My first speeding ticket (been driving for five years and got it last week) was when my lane was merging and there was an 18-wheeler next to me. I was pretty much side by side with the front of the 18-wheeler, so speeding up and getting over was no problem. Too bad Arlington police were waiting for me right when I got in front. Stuff like that just pisses me off about many cops. You see stuff like that, but would rather me brake really hard and get behind a big rig instead of going the safer route?
