I hate you all... Virginia traffic officers

[U2@NYC]

Yesterday, I got my first ever speeding ticket, after 12 years of clean and impeccable driving.

It was in the relatively famous, but not very happily remembered, Route 66. I was charged a ridiculous amount for going over the speed limit, despite the fact that 90% of the cars in the same highway were going faster than me (that is, firstly, why I did not notice that I was going over the speed limit).

However, what got me even madder was the traffic officer's attitude, who had this Commando look and pretended that he had just caught Osama Bin Laden. He approached me and insinuated that I was a road maniac and, with irony, he asked "whether I knew how to read a speedometer".

It did not matter that (i) I had a clean record up to then, (ii) that I was with my wife and we mentioned that we had gone Christmas shopping (no holiday spirit for him, I guess), (iii) that I explained that I was driving a rental car and, as such, I was not very familiar with the steering power and (iv) that I, very politely, apologized for my mistake.

No, he continued to make fun at me and charged me the, ridiculously high, fine.

I am really mad. I felt that Virginia traffic officers do not care about traffic education at all, but just about making fun of drivers (and I consider myself a good one). Obviously, I am extremely busy and do not even have time to argue my case in court, which would imply going 40 miles away from where I live to make what I think is a hopeless case.

I just feel terrible, as I saw the price of a U2 golden circle ticket being ripped off from my hands.

Therefore, know that I hate you, Virginia traffic officers, and that I honestly feel that you only do your job because you like to make fun of people.

I seriously have zero respect for you. You do not serve and you do not protect.



P.S. And you are lucky that I am not a friend of Iron Mike's... otherwise, I would send him to your place to eat your children...

 

[Bonochick]

My ex-fiance's brother is a police officer in Virginia.

 

[starsgoblue]

Golden circle ticket?!

 

[Mr. BAW]

"I honestly feel that you only do your job because you like to make fun of people."

Its true! we were paid a who lotta money just to make fun of people!



Signed,
(with a snarl)
former motorcop
Mr. BAW



JK!!!!!!!
by your own admission, you gave every reason why you were going too fast...fact is, you were going too fast!!! he couldn't stop everyone, he just got you! Its just a ticket for pete's sake. go to traffic school!

 

[anitram]

It's only a matter of time before I get one and I know that, but I can't help myself.

 

[U2@NYC]

Ok, I realized I was too mad and complained too much. I have asked the mods to delete this thread and I would very much appreciate if you do so.

Thanks a lot.

 

[bsp77]

Too late! You probably deserved a ticket but he had no right to be an asshole. I actually got a ticket last week. I deserved it as I simply did not realize I was going 15 over. But the officer was very nice. So nice that it was almost more upsetting when he wouldn't let me go with a warning.

 

[indra]

You know what I hate? I got stopped once and got a ticket. I was speeding and deserved it. No problem. But my sister (who is a major leadfoot) was stopped seven times in two years and NEVER got a ticket, and most of the time she was going faster than I was when I DID get a ticket. That pisses me off -- she didn't get a ticket!

 

[U2@NYC]

Just to clarify... I am not saying I did not deserve a ticket... I am plainly complaining about the officer's attitude...

 

[Liesje]

Well, what I always say is, at least they were doing their job One time my dad got pulled over while driving home from a meeting in the shittiest neighborhood in town. He's on the board at a local inner city community organization (they run a daycare, clinic, and mentoring service) in that neighborhood and the police assumed a white man in a suit could only be there for the wrong reasons, so they pulled him over. They wanted to search our minivan and my dad decided he might as well let them b/c they threatened to take my dad to the station and make him wait hours for a warrent if he didn't just let them do it then. So my dad let them search every inch of our minivan and of course they found nothing. The whole business took a few hours, but you won't ever hear my dad complain because he was the one that fought to get extra cops on every corner in that neighborhood.

 

[Macfistowannabe]

And you are lucky that I am not a friend of Iron Mike's... otherwise, I would send him to your place to eat your children...

I suppose you mean Mike Tyson. Hey look at him, at least he's been in more cop trouble than you.

 

[U2@NYC]

True, that was my ironic comment of the night... I assume he's got several more tickets than me...

 

[U2Kitten]

I can't say for any other state, but as a lifelong resident of VA I have to say I agree. Last year, I also got my 12 year clean record ruined by a cop with an attitude. No matter how correct it is, there is one thing NEVER to say to a VA cop, and that's "why don't you go catch a dangerous criminal and stop sititng on the side of the road harassing people going 7 miles over the speed limit?" It only makes them want to get you even more. I told that to a yokel in a town where there had recently been a murder rampage in a trailer park and there were no leads on suspects, yet all the cops spent their days hiding alongside the road giving tickets. They literally give a ticket, go back into position and do it again. They must catch someone every 5-10 minutes. They spend their money on new red Intrepids to fool people who are only looking out for real cop type cars. They change the speed limit 3 times in a half mile to try to trick you. I could rant on but I'd better not.

 

[U2democrat]

before we moved here my dad was traveling through virginia, where radar detectors are illegal. he knew that radar detectors were illegal, so he had it up on his shoulder. when he passed a cop he moved his hand to cover it up but the cop saw, and pulled him over. the cop asked if he knew radar detectors were illegal and my dad said yes. i can't remember if he got off but i think he did because he was actually honest

 

[verte76]

I've gotten two speeding tickets. Both times the cops were friendly and were just doing their jobs. I sure am glad they weren't holes about it. I have avoided one of those towns like the plague ever since that happened, however.

 

[U2Kitten]

Oh yes, hide the detector in VA, but the sad thing is they only work when up on the dashboard, but then the cop can see them.

Some tips for traveling through VA:

All state cops like to hide in the little dirt 'official vehicles only' cut throughs along the interstate. 64 between Richmond and Charlottesville is especially bad for this.

When you come into a small town and it says reduce speed ahead, at least make an attempt to slow down, because there is almost always a local yokel sitting at the first country store waiting for you (sometimes in unmarked cars or Intrepids)

In VA, there are 2 types who drive Crown Victorias and lookalike cars: the old, and unmarked cops. Count every one as a potential cop until proven otherwise. If you can get close enough to see if it is being driven by old farts, or at least if it has a personalized liscense plate. If it's old people, there will likely be a stuffed animal or pillow in the back window, if it's a cop, you'll see a square blue light. Once you can confirm the drivers are old people, go on about your business.

Cops in VA (and NC) (especially unmarked) will try to 'goat' you into speeding up by driving beside you on a road with 2 lanes in the same direction, with their noses at your side door to back fender. They know that when people are constantly followed by someone like this, they will speed up to get away from them. My husband once became so annoyed by this he did speed up even though he knew it was a cop and got a ticket. Also, on long drives where there is only one lane in each direction, they will follow you closely waiting for you to make a mistake. My Daddy always told me, if he follows you long enough, he'll find a reason to pull you over. If you notice you are being followed, or even have one behind you, and are planning to be on the road for a long time, my advice is to pull over at the next business even if you don't intend to buy anything and give him long enough to get way ahead of you. If there are so stores, turn off on a side road, then go down about a fourth mile and turn back. He should be gone by then. This may sound ridiculous, but it works.

I don't know if it's like this in every state, but if you see someone coming the other direction blink their headlights at you quckly once or twice, that is a signal there is a cop hiding up ahead and to slow down. Heed the warning.

Work zones: when they say 45 mph, as slow as it may be, do it anyway. They have signs up that say $250 fine for speeding in the work zone, and they will get you. NC is even worse.

VA is, unfortunately, a cashbox justice state. The towns of Waverly and Wakefield (where I got my last 2) were threatened with being labeled a speed trap in AAA books if they didn't tone it down. In the 50's and 60's VA was well known as a speed trap state. While it's not as bad now, it's still worth looking out for the things I mentioned above if you don't want a ticket.

 

[U2Kitten]

Okay, all this being said, I don't mean to tell everyone it's okay to speed. I'm talking about people who are driving 10 mph over but are safe, and probably trying to make time. I don't want you to get caught. However, there are some people who are such asses that they deserve to get caught, like the girl who used the side berm as a passing lane weaving in and out of traffic, cutting across and doing the same thing in the one by the fast lane, and the gas truck going so fast cutting people off that his trailer was swinging with one or two wheels off the ground. I have seen drivers like this and thought how dangerous they were and where is a cop when you need one, only to get down the road and find them pulled over. In cases like that, the cops HAS done his job, and a favor to everyone, and protected our safety. I just don't like it when they sit around getting picky just to make money.

 

[Bono's Doll]

When my husband used to travel--he called VA the communist state---he said cops would stop you for going 2mph over the speed limit. He learned his lesson after a couple times. (Same way in Ohio too!)

 

[melon]

"Virginia is for Haters", as some people say. Perhaps we can widen the boycott purpose to include asshole policemen?

Melon

 

[U2@NYC]

And I thought I was the only one complaining... it seems that I should have been better informed about the practices of VA traffic officers...

And since the mods seem to have ignored my request to close the thread... I will also comment that VA charges a $57 processing fee on top of the ticket.

I am curious to find out how much they pay to processing clerks, given the fact that they need to charge such a high fee.

(Note that I am not also defending speeding, I never did and I won't. I deserved my ticket. I just complain about the general attitude of VA traffic officers as my case was not the first one about a cop with a bad attitude).

 

[U2Kitten]

Was that in addition to court costs? Whether you pay by mail or come to court, you get socked with court costs of at least $35 (some cities charge 50 or 60) on top of your fine. If you don't pay you lose your license. We didn't know this and thought if you only sent it by mail and didn't show up at court you didn't owe court costs, so we sent the fine only. Then one day I got a letter in the mail saying my husband's license had been revoked for failure to pay the court costs. This letter was postmarked 10 days after it was dated on the written letter, so it seems they were either inept or hoping he'd get caught driving with no license before he found out and they could get another fine! To get them reinstated, we had to pay the remaining fine plus a $70 processing reinstatement fee. You'd better believe it's not the clerks who get the money.

 

[Sicy]

And since the mods seem to have ignored my request to close the thread...

I'm sorry Pablo, we dont mean to 'ignore' you... but normally when a thread has this many members involved in discussion and there are no rules being violated we cannot simply delete it because the author decides he/she shouldnt have posted it. This leaves members going 'huh where did that thread go' and confusion. In certain cases we might but this is why you need to make sure you really want to post what you do. We do allow an hour to edit it if you want to. I'm sure everyone has wanted to take back something they have posted at one time or another. We cant go around deleting people's threads just because they 'changed their mind'. I think this discussion seems fine.

 

[U2Kitten]

And since the mods seem to have ignored my request to close the thread

Oh so I'm not the only one, same thing happened to me last night. Another message board I'm on allows you to delete your own posts at any time, I like that better, though it does get confusing when sometimes parts of a conversation just vanish (in some cases the WHOLE thing would be better off gone)

 

[Sicy]

Yes of course, why so you dont have to be responsible for your actions?

 

[U2Kitten]

I thought it was enough for a person to realize they made a mistake and try to correct it. I don't understand the rationale of leaving them to stew in it because they deserve it, it couldn't be good for the mood of the forum, well IMO anyway.

 

[U2@NYC]

1. To Sicy: I do not think people would mind my thread being deleted... I guess I just felt that I ranted for too long and vented my frustration in a way that does not define my personality (you can tell by the fact that some people thought I was complaining about the ticket and not about the officer's behavior). You know me rather well, as I have been a member of this forum for more than 4 years and I have never said anything aggressive to other board members. Therefore, I felt that this thread does not represent my personality and, as such, I asked for it to be closed.

Unfortunately, I wrote this yesterday night and, before going to bed, I decided to edit my post. As you may imagine, more than an hour had gone by.

With this in mind, if you reconsider and delete the thread you would do me a great favor.

2. To U2Kitten: my understanding is that you do not have to pay for court costs if you pay via the Internet or credit card, but I might be confused. It also says that if you mis-calculate the amount and pay by credit card, the clerk will fix it for you and charge you the right amount. There is an interesting Speeding Ticket forum at http://groups.msn.com/speedingTicketCentral/messages.msnw. I have just posted my case to see if there is any hope. All I am trying to avoid are the points (and the additional insurance premium) on my license.

3. To Mr. BAW. Unfortunately, traffic school does not seem to be an option in VA.

 

[starsforu2]

** Knocks on wood **

I've lived most of of my life in Virginia, but ironically enough, my first two speeding tickets were issued in the last two years in New York, and Maryland. In Northern Virginia everyone speeds. I have seen (routinely) people going 80 on the beltway (25 miles over the speed limit) and of them might have been me
Anyway, I think different parts of Virginia handle things differently because the flow of traffic here is simply too delicate to mess with. Most times I see cops, it's because they are checking out the HOV lane. Everyone is routinely going 15 over. I think the threshold is 10 though. Anything over 10 probably puts you in jeopardy.
I feel for you on 66. Whenever I'm on it, I feel compelled to go as fast as humanly possible to make up for the hours I've lost going 5 miles per hour for 15 miles. I don't think I've been on 66 since I've moved though

 

[U2Kitten]

2. To U2Kitten: my understanding is that you do not have to pay for court costs if you pay via the Internet or credit card, but I might be confused. It also says that if you mis-calculate the amount and pay by credit card, the clerk will fix it for you and charge you the right amount.

I paid by card over the phone and I still got charged. Maybe it's different for out of state people, they get your money no matter what.

3. To Mr. BAW. Unfortunately, traffic school does not seem to be an option in VA.

It IS if you haven't taken one in the last 4 years. One traffic school removes one ticket IF you go to court and IF the judge says you can. When I went, she recommended it for most of the people (she wasn't as hardcore as the cops themselves) Also the cop tried to get the book thrown at me for being rude to him but she would not even listen to him. The second ticket I got (same area) I had to keep on my record because I had already been to one traffic school. I also don't know if it goes for out of staters, if it did you'd probably have to come back down here and attend (8 boring hours) plus it costs $40, add that to your travel bill you might as well pay the fine

 

[U2@NYC]

True, but I think that there is a difference with out-of-staters.

I have been doing quite a bit of research on the topic and found that going to court is not going to do much good. Apparently, VA judges are pretty annoying.

 

[Theedge555]

Can I ask what lane you were in when the cop "got" you speeding? Were you in passing lane? Just curious...