ticket for 110mph in a 65 zone

[PhotoGT]

So I did something pretty stupid a couple of hours ago. The story follows - So, I was working on our new GT trying to locate an annoying vibration under the dash. Well I found it and managed to eliminate it. So I took her for a spin to make sure and see if the noise was gone. I cruised up on an interstate right outside of town and drove for a bit, never going over 70-75 (I was making sure of that, I didn't want a ticket). then from behind me this white early 90s mitsubishi eclipse with regular plates cruises past me on my side doing like 90 maybe. I looked over and saw him talking on his cell phone. So stupid me, down shifted and gave it some gas. I pulled up beside him and then he sped up a bit so I gassed it and was up to maybe 100(I'm guessing. I wasn't really paying attention to the speedometer) in no time. So he floors it and tries to catch up but I'm pulling away, prolly doing 110-115? Cars are up ahead so I hit the brakes, he flies up behind me and all of a sudden I see red and blue lights. I'm like "what the heck" I see his internal light bar flashing on the top of his windshield I kept saying, "there's no way" "this guy must be trying to pull a trick on me or something" so I floored it again thinking maybe it was a joke or something. Then I see this flipping spotlight light up on his driver side. And I was like "this cannot be real." So I chilled out and backed down to like 75-80mph. i thought about it for like a split second and realized "this has to be a cop" It's too much to be a joke or prank, and if it is a cop I thought it would be super dumb to try and run since he already had my plates. so I pulled over onto the next offramp and kept it in first gear just in case it was a prank or something and he was gonna try and jump me. But it was a cop. I saw his badge and vest and stuff, and my throat just sank into my chest. Man I was shaking. Dumbest thing I've ever done. He comes up to the window and asks for my license and registration, and says "you do know what you did back there right" and I was like "yeah" in a dazed sorta way. "Thats a Class A misdemeanor" he said. Then he asked me if I wanted to go to jail or if I wanted him to bond me. I didnt understand at first, but then I said bond. and he was like "duh". so he went back to his car for 15 minutes or so and then came back with a ticket and court appearance forms for me to sign. so that's the story of my stupidity. please take my experience as advice and don't race people on public highways. It's just stupid. Not to mention the fact that you're endangering other people in the process. I learned a very expensive lesson tonight. And it really humbled me. Very big mistake I will regret for a long time. I looked it up, and in Illinois the fine could be as much as 2,500.00. I have to go find a lawyer tomorrow. Anyone in the Peoria/Norma/Bloomington Illinois know of a good traffic lawyer. any help would be appreciated. Just thought I'd post this so that maybe someone could learn from my mistake.

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[damronjr]

Man, that REALLY sucks! Good luck with that, let us know how it turns out! I got one for 83 in a 65 a few years ago and it was like $190 if I remember right! That one is going to hurt big time!

[northvibe]

so the eclipse was a cop or a cop got behind you after him? damn that sucks if that eclipse was a cop. ive seen and heard about cops using some normal "cool" cars they impounded as cruisers on hwy's to pull people over. good luck with that ticket

[PhotoGT]

The eclipse was a cop unfortunately. I had no idea. even his plates were normal civilian plates.

[tcam]

talk about bad luck dude. It's pretty uncommon to find hidden cops in sports cars. I feel ur pain

[PhotoGT]

man, I felt so juvenile and ashamed when I told my wife what happened. she is definately not happy, and rightfully so.

[KNINE]

I had a similar experience when I was in the Navy. I was home on leave, cruising with some friends in my '63 Impala, stereo blasting, when this car pulls up behind me flashing his headlights. I thought he was some joker, so I speed up to get away. He starts chasing me, so I go faster. Then I turned the stereo down and heard the siren. It was a Pa. State Trooper in a plain car. I thought I was going to jail for running from the cops. I told him I would've pulled over, but he didn't have any blue lights. He took sympathy on me since I was home on leave and gave me a warning. I was shaking like a wet puppy. Thank goodness he was ex-military and happened to like old Impalas!

[ColonelPanic]

That was pretty stupid of ya. But you seem to be genuinely concerned about what you have done, so ... We all learn from this sort of stuff! There are plenty of people that would be *****ing right about now about how that "a-hole cop" busted them for doing something so incredibly stupid that they knew was incredbily stupid that they shouldn't have been doing in the first place. Let this be a lesson to many. You're right, these sort of things do put others at risk, especially losers like me who are chugging along at the speed limit who get plowed down by someone running 100 MPH. Good luck to you in the future, and I'd say you'll be taking it a bit easier on the ol' Vibe from this point forward. It really isn't worth it in the long run, there's far too much to lose.

[18stars]

I am sorry for you. There aren't any of us who has not done anything stupid. I hadn't had a violation in like 10 years and then a month ago I was in an unfamiliar area and the speed limit changed from 55 to 45 however my speed stayed at 61! I got a hefty ticket and a fine. I would consider printing out your post if you hire an attorney. Maybe he can use it to show your remorse. You've done a good service here by sharing your experience as a warning and lesson for others. Thanks.

[2002sportside]

Maybe I'm reading the ticket wrong, but... Pontiac made a Vibe GT in '96? And he was using radar in a marked cruiser? That's what the ticket says...

[ColonelPanic]

I saw that about the cruiser... But didn't catch the '96 GT. Kinda reminds me of when jersey's finest said raging was driving a Ford G6.

[drunkenmaxx]

wow, that sucks man! lesson learned i guess though. perhaps this will save your life some day. around where i live (granite city IL, right by st. Louis) they have camaros, cobra stangs, f150s, and who knows what else patrolling the highways.

[Baltovibe]

Quote, originally posted by PhotoGT »Then from behind me this white early 90s mitsubishi eclipse with regular plates cruises past me on my side doing like 90 maybe ... I looked over and saw him talking on his cell phone ... then he sped up a bit so I gassed it and was up to maybe 100 ... So he floors it and tries to catch up.Seems to me that the cop should have given himself a ticket also, for initially doing 90 in a 65MPH zone, and pretending to race. He was just as much a hazard on the road, doing 90 and using a cell phone at the same time.

[zionzr2]

Next time you see some jerk going 90 and yaking away on his cell phone get his plate and report them to the police. I get miffed when marked cruisers disobey common traffic laws (i dont mean when it obvious they are after something). If they are suposed to uphold the law and be an example. How can they expect the general public to do like wise. Maybe I should start reporting all these traffic violations and esspecially if its a cruiser marked or not in a non pursuit situation.

[kostby]

This smells exactly like 'ENTRAPMENT'. A car passing you at, say 72 in a 65 zone is one thing. 90 is quite another, IF YOU CAN PROVE IT. Even if Officer John Law had a video camera in the car, I doubt that it was 'recording' when he was 'enticing' you.You'd have a heck of a hard time proving entrapment. You might try to get help from the American Civil Liberties Union (or local chapter), but don't hold your breath. If you find a good lawyer to take the case, he'll probably cost you at least as much as a ticket/fine, but you won't get the points/suspension on your license, or the extra premium hit on your insurance, because they could legitimately cancel your policy if you're convicted of 'engaging is a speed contest' or some such BS.The very best you can hope for is that the cop doesn't show up for court, and the case will be dismissed. BE SURE that YOU and your legal representation show up on time for court!EDIT: I also noticed that on the ticket in the "METHOD" section both "Plain" and "Marked" are checked. How is that possible??? Did he lead you through a radar trap operated by a marked unit? Then your case for entrapment gets stronger.

[bogey523]

Sorry about your ticket, that sucks. I hate to be blunt, but racing is a stupid idea and it spells trouble. I see it on the news every once in a while about racers crashing and killing themselves or others, especially people not even involved in the action. The main plain tag one that I have seen is the Mustang, they use it to get racers around here. They even had an old crappy van years ago to get people passing in a NPZ and speeding, according to some friends. I am glad to see that you are remorseful and have learned a lesson and others here have too.

[northvibe]

yea for sure bring up that the cop was speeding with out his lights on, that has to be illegal i would think

[bogey523]

I would agree with the last couple of posts and complain about the marked car and entrapment. However, that is just the way things go here in Illinois. I have heard numerous times about people not knowing that it is the state police Mustang and being foolish enough to accept the challenge offered by the cop for a race. ie revving up engine at a light, doing stuff like what happened to OP. Generally you can complain and lawyer up and it still doesn't help you. As a driver, you have to be responsible for your actions and not race the car. It will usually come down in the end to what you did, not what the cop was doing. I wish you the best of luck and hope it get dropped, but don't get your hopes up. The judges generally side with law enforcement.

[Atomb]

Quote, originally posted by bogey523 »As a driver, you have to be responsible for your actions and not race the car. EXACTLY.It blows me away that 2 people in this thread had the same reaction toward police lights in their rearview mirror! Speed up?!?! (removed)?forget speeding up to race another 'civilian' vehicle...

[silver_vibe]

When I was younger (and dumber), I was glad California didn't have unmarked traffic cops. Now that I'm older, I wish California did. I constantly see some real a-holes driving 90 in moderate traffic. It's one thing to do 90+ on the 15 heading to Vegas on a weekday (wide open, straight, well paved desert hwy), and something else doing it in the city. If you crash on a secluded hwy, you're killing yourself; you do it in the city, you're taking people with you.

[Mavrik]

People make mistakes, at least you didn't get the good ol pit manuver or spike trap. You only ran because you didn't understand the sports car was a cop. I can understand how that can happen. While I don't approve of street racing... stuff happens. You learned a lesson without hurting anyone but yourself. I say its a good lesson.

[NascarXprt]

i never heard of an unmarked eclipse before! maybe an impala or charger or f150.hope everything works out for you and we wish you Luck on the days to come.

[damronjr]

There sure are a lot of soap-boxes left in here! Wish I was so innocent and great.

[jimincalif]

Quote, originally posted by silver_vibe »It's one thing to do 90+ on the 15 heading to Vegas on a weekday (wide open, straight, well paved desert hwy), and something else doing it in the city. If you crash on a secluded hwy, you're killing yourself; you do it in the city, you're taking people with you.Exactly right. On weekends I'll be going along the 405 here in OC between 75 - 80 (limit is 65) just to keep up with the flow of traffic, which is heavy. Inevitably a couple of cars pushing 100 will go by weaving in and out, putting all of us at risk.Where's the CHP? They are out on the mostly-deserted toll roads 241 & 73 picking off speeders there, even though the higher speeds are safer there. Why? Because the toll road agency pays the CHP for patrol. So the state gets the ticket revenue and the extra patrol fees from the toll agency. In the meantime people die on the 405. I've passed two fatal wrecks this year.PhotoGT - glad no accident occurred and he didn't haul you off to jail. You've learned a valuable lesson, get it taken care of and don't beat yourself up too much. You made a mistake, just like every other human being does.

[drunkenmaxx]

dude it has nothing to do with being a "bad boy" or innocent, it has to do with doing 100+ mph around other drivers. sure, i have done it before, but i'm not proud of it. if you want to do it on a desserted road somewhere, go for it, just leave joe schmoe and his family out of it and away from your reckless behavior.(don't get mad) besides, your just mad because your car is rarely running good enough to get up that fast...

[damronjr]

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »dude it has nothing to do with being a "bad boy" or innocent, it has to do with doing 100+ mph around other drivers. sure, i have done it before, but i'm not proud of it. if you want to do it on a desserted road somewhere, go for it, just leave joe schmoe and his family out of it and away from your reckless behavior.(don't get mad) besides, your just mad because your car is rarely running good enough to get up that fast... He never claimed to be proud of it either, and I'm sure 90% of those here have done it before at some point whether or not they would have the integrity to admit it. The problem is certain people are always so quick to jump in and throw their $0.02 out there criticizing and scolding like they're so damn perfect.

[NewNeptune]

I had something similar happen to me several years ago. I was driving on a road, two lanes in each direction with a lot of cars. Speed limit 50 MPH that almost everyone ignored and went 60-70 on (straight flat road, few roads connecting to it, might as well be a highway). I'm passing cars in the right lane, I'm going probably 60-65. I see this white Dodge Stratus weaving through traffic behind me and he finally catches me. I'm still going about the same speed and he just glues himself to my bumper. I can't even see his lights. I continue passing cars and all the while he is moving side to side in the lane. So as I get near a break in the cars in the right lane, I floor it and try to move over. No go, he remains glued to my bumper, swerves into the right lane and passes me going about 90-100 (double the speed limit). He cuts me off and slams on the brakes and lights up special flashing white lights in his tail lights. Since I had never seen a car behave like this, I initially tried moving to the right lane to pass, but he blocked. So I pulled over, shaking wondering if it's some jerk I pissed off or if I'm going to get hauled off to jail. Turns out it was a unmarked Phoenix detective on his way to the scene of a crime. I explain the situation, how it looked to me and a marked Phoenix motorcycle cop pulls up and asks if he needs help. Thankfully the detective said he was fine and let me go with a warning.About a year prior to that, I was driving on I-17, a few minutes after 9 AM. Since our HOV lanes become general purpose lanes after 9 AM, I get into the HOV lane. Speed limit is 55 MPH, I'm going about 70 MPH. I look up shortly after getting into the lane and see a Phoenix motorcycle cop just a few feet off my bumper. I could clearly see his face he was so close. I have no where to go on the right since traffic is packed and I don't dare speed up to let him by. I keep looking up and I see him looking down into his motorcycle (at 70 MPH, just a few feet off of my bumper) and think "oh great, if I have to stop for something in the road, I'm going to have a cop under my bumper". Looking further back, there are several cars all tailgating each other and the motorcycle cop. So I proceed at 70 MPH, careful to hold my speed and not risk having him rearend me. I hit a break in traffic and quickly move over to the right. He flies by me and I move back into the lane and pick up to the real speed I want to go: 75 MPH (which is what traffic usually goes). He gets to be about a mile in front of me and is going about 85 or so and he finally catches up to traffic. I see him again glued to the bumper of the car in front of him. After awhile I catch up and we're going about 60-65. I'm not tailgating him by any means. Now probably it's about 9:10. After about 1/4 mile he cuts hard into the lane to the right, slows to 45 then cuts in on my bumper and turns on his lights. He said I was going 80 in a 55 based on the fact that I was "keeping up with him going 85" (which I wasn't, he was pulling away) and he said I was lucky he didn't write it for higher. I get the ticket and he wrote it for 9:02 AM (liar, he really wanted to write me a HOV violation ticket), 79 MPH in a 55 (higher and I would have had to go to court) using radar. I ended up getting to go to traffic school for $100. It could have been worse, but the cop was a jerk.

[drunkenmaxx]

i'm not one of those who say they never did. hell, i'll admit that i did 115mph in my vibe once after some drinking and while heading to another bar with 3 friends in the car. there, i said it!that being said, i have never had the maxx even up to 90. i am over the whole driving crazy thing. i read somewhere that the maxx is elec. limited at like 105 anyway though.

[NewNeptune]

Quote, originally posted by damronjr »He never claimed to be proud of it either, and I'm sure 90% of those here have done it before at some point whether or not they would have the integrity to admit it. The problem is certain people are always so quick to jump in and throw their $0.02 out there criticizing and scolding like they're so damn perfect.I admit it, I've done 115 MPH in my Vibe, on an empty stretch of I-10. I do not like being caught not knowing what my car can do, after all, you never know what crazies are out there. I also check my car's handling and braking on empty stretches of road, so that I know what I can do in an emergency (it just saved me earlier this week from a spinout, due to someone trying to hit me).

[NewNeptune]

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »i'm not one of those who say they never did. hell, i'll admit that i did 115mph in my vibe once after some drinking and while heading to another bar with 3 friends in the car. there, i said it!that being said, i have never had the maxx even up to 90. i am over the whole driving crazy thing. i read somewhere that the maxx is elec. limited at like 105 anyway though.The Malibu and Maxx are electronically limited to 115-120 MPH. They are very smooth and stable at that speed.

[damronjr]

I think I've only been brave enough to get to 110mph on an open stretch in TX while driving from San Diego, but I get too scared that I will get caught, not about crashing or killing myself or anyone else. Hell, the way I see it, I would rather die in my car than any other way anyways!

[808 Vibes]

Oh no!!!! Sorry to hear about that! Here there are cruisers and there are officers own vehicles, but they all have the blue light on top of the roofs. The cops buy SUV's, sports cars, whatever. I've seen a GTO, Firebirds, Camaros, but I've also seen a Toyota Camry, Nissan Maxima and Saturn. Anything goes nowdays, so I just keep my eyes out for the blue light on top of roofs.

[NascarXprt]

not only on th eroofs HPL you also need to watch out for the unmarked (doesnt matter what kind) cars/ trucks.

[NewNeptune]

Quote, originally posted by NascarXprt »not only on th eroofs HPL you also need to watch out for the unmarked (doesnt matter what kind) cars/ trucks.Doesn't matter what year either. Eariler this year I saw the Pinal Country Sheriff on a highway with a 90s Tahoe, with one wheel jacked up (litterally sitting on blocks) but there was an officer inside with a radar gun.

[Navtrtl]

I don't buy into any of that "entrapment" crap. A cop can pull up next to you at a light and rev the engine, or he can tease you on the open road at high speeds. It doesn't matter. If you choose to race him, you broke the law. Unless he held a gun to your head, I don't feel that it is entrapment. As far as speeding because the rest of the cars on the road are speeding, it's still your choice. You have to decide if you want to risk getting a ticket by matching speeds with everyone else, or if you want to be grandma doing the speed limit in the right lane. In court, it doesn't matter what speed everyone was going. It only matters what your ticket says. If everyone was doing 80 in a 55, and your ticket is for doing 70, you were still speeding. Was it ethical for the cop to pull you over with the oters going faster? No. But, you were speeding regardless of the other cars. I know some people will say you become a hazard by going slower than the masses, but I don't buy it. I set my cruise control for the speed limit and leave it there. I have yet to get rear ended on the highway. Basically, speeding is speeding reguardless of what everyone else is doing, what kind of car the cop is driving, and if the cop teased you. If you drive over the posted limit for any reason, you are speeding.This is not directed at anyone in particular, just my opinion on "entrapment" and such. I am a father, husband, brother and son. I travel the roads with my family along for the ride. If someone does something stupid on the road that endangeres or hurts any one of my family, I take it personally. I have been known to have my wife grab the digicam from the glove box and get a video of a car driving crazy(even a cop once) and showing it to the local PD. They didn't like the one of the cop, but I guess showing them was better than giving the video to the local news.

[PhotoGT]

while the fine is not pleasant, that is not the reason I'm remorseful (as silverawd26 said). I really did learn a lesson through all of this. It was a stupid and rediculous decision I made to speed up and race the eclipse. I realize now that I endangered myself, the police officer, other vehicles on the road, as well as hurting the relationship with my wife and impacting both my wife and I financially. It was truly juvenile and irresponsible. Hindsight is a remarkable thing isn't it.

[AKLGT]

yes, hindsight is always 20-20. we've all done stupid things, especially in our cars. last May I did something extremely stupid and got caught. I was lucky because the officer could not get us on radar. instead i got a ticket for passing in double yellow at a high rate of speed. had he clocked us, we were going well over 120+ mph and passing the slower vehicles, sometimes in passing zones and sometimes not. it was reckless, careless, and just plain foolish. we endangered a lot of people including ourselves. so, am i glad i got nailed? yes, because it taught me a very valuable lesson: slow it down, keep things in perspective and if i want to race or drive fast, take it to the track where it belongs! as for insurance increases, it sucks but i'd rather pay a little more each month than be dead or have killed someone else.

[VforVIBE]

Sorry to hear about the ticket, here in Florida, we have an undercover 2006 Dodge Charger gray (moonstons-ish looking) the car looks like an every day car except it has limo tint all round. The cop driving it is on the look for aggressive drivers or people looking to race. In fact, I saw the car just the other day, he had just pulled somebody over (glade it wasn’t me).

[joatmon]

at least you didn't get your picture in the paper like this Viber:http://www.recordnet.com/apps/.../1001(odd roof curve distortion in that photo)

[Jahntassa]

By the way, the fact that he checked the 'radar' thing on there is complete crap. You cannot use radar while you're in a moving car, the technology doesn't work that way.Unless his speedo has a record keeper on it, how can he argue how fast you were going?

[harryyiii]

[You cannot use radar while you're in a moving car, the technology doesn't work that way.]WRONG: The technology (moving radar) has been around at least since the 70s. It was widespread in NJ when I used to live there. It is not a gun but an permanent attachment above the driverside window. The officer activates it from behind the wheel, and the computer records the speed. It works by sending two radar signals, one to the other car and one to the road to record the cop car speed. Since it is comparing two relative speeds, it can get you from behind or going the other direction. Be afraid, be very afraid.

[NewNeptune]

Quote, originally posted by Navtrtl »I don't buy into any of that "entrapment" crap. A cop can pull up next to you at a light and rev the engine, or he can tease you on the open road at high speeds. It doesn't matter. If you choose to race him, you broke the law. Unless he held a gun to your head, I don't feel that it is entrapment. If he held a gun to your head then it's police brutality. Doing anything unusual or anything to provoke someone else into something unlawful is entrapment. When the cops know full well that revving an engine causes some people to want to race, that is clearly entrapment.Quote »As far as speeding because the rest of the cars on the road are speeding, it's still your choice. You have to decide if you want to risk getting a ticket by matching speeds with everyone else, or if you want to be grandma doing the speed limit in the right lane. In court, it doesn't matter what speed everyone was going. It only matters what your ticket says. If everyone was doing 80 in a 55, and your ticket is for doing 70, you were still speeding. Was it ethical for the cop to pull you over with the oters going faster? No. But, you were speeding regardless of the other cars.It depends on your laws. AZ is reasonable and prudent. I would argue strenuously that it is not reasonable and prudent to be going 55 when most traffic is going 80, especially when the police are not pulling traffic over for going that speed. It is a fact whether you like it or not, all accidents relate from differences in speed. If most traffic is going 80 there is nothing you can do to get them to go slower, but you can reduce the speed differential by speeding up. It is probably actually the state's responsiblity, since speed limits work best when set at the 85th percentile. Personally, every time I've tried to go 55 when everyone was going 80, nearly everyone tailgated so close that I couldn't see their headlights and came within inches of my bumper when passing. Doesn't happen when I go with the flow.

[AKLGT]

if you speed, then you are breaking the law. pretty simple really. whether a cop is going faster and you speed up to match, he can still pull you over. happens here all the time. it's always better to go with the speed of traffic as long as it's within reason. if the speed limit is 55 and you are going 80, you are going well over the limit. so if a cop snipes you on radar and pulls you over, well, it sucks, but guess it's just your time. no different from if someone else gets sniped and pulled over, you're probably thinking to yourself, "glad it wasn't me." then usually, most people will slow down a bit by seeing a cop pull someone over. it's just unfortunate you get to be the one that's pulled over that time.

[VforVIBE]

http://www.tampabays10.com/new...40227h ... .40227THIS is why doing 100+ is dangerous, this is not even 1/2 a mile away from my house, I saw that car as it was being taken away, I couldn't even tell what it was, it was so mangled, that picture doesn’t even being to show what a mess that car was. I felt sick when I saw that car. The KID was going so fast, he hit the ROOF of the gas station; my pity is little for people who do stupid things like this.

[Chief_O.]

About the radar thing. Being a police officer myself I can tell you not only does radar working while moving there are also units that have "same lane" capabilities. Decatur Radar site says "The Genesis II Select DIRECTIONAL is able to automatically determine if a same lane target is going faster or slower than the patrol car. The unit can now provide the operator with the proper same lane target speed instantly, requiring no additional steps by the operator. Same Lane Mode has become simple."Here in Georgia we have to offer to "test" the radar prior to issuing a citation to make sure the unit is operating properly. If we do not offer then the offender can get the ciatation thrown out in court. With laser (LIDAR) you do not have to offer this test.Also here in Georgia you must be stopped by a "marked" unit. Lettering has to be a specific size on the car. Several different little things to kinda help the "offender" some what.Botton line what others have said. Lesson learned move on.

[dirtydeeds]

Down in Boca Raton, i saw a 2006 black mustang with white pinstripes, maybe 20% tints all around driving down I95....i was driving next to him for about mile, not racing, but doing about 85. Then a honda civic just comes screaming by us both...next thing i know blue and red lights come flaring out of this mustang...they are getting tricky. Ive also seen a cop driving a '94 nissan sentra in orlando.

[VforVIBE]

Quote, originally posted by dirtydeeds »Down in Boca Raton, i saw a 2006 black mustang with white pinstripes, maybe 20% tints all around driving down I95....i was driving next to him for about mile, not racing, but doing about 85. Then a honda civic just comes screaming by us both...next thing i know blue and red lights come flaring out of this mustang...they are getting tricky. Ive also seen a cop driving a '94 nissan sentra in orlando.My only worry is that how can you tell who is a cop and who isn't any more? Any one can go out and find light bars and put it in their car.