Traffic violation procedures

Look, the whole point of the law being written this way is to protect you and me from idiots, even on those days when we end up being the ones acting like fools ourselves.
I honestly can't wrap my head around why they drafted it so clumsily, but hey, you're more than free to use every bit of leverage you've got at your disposal.
All I did was state my opinion, which, thank God, isn't something anyone else is legally required to follow.

I mean, look, the government doesn't go out of its way to protect anyone except its own interests, so I don't really see why regular citizens shouldn't take advantage of things whenever they get the chance...

So, look—I ended up killing someone the other day with a knife. Actually, make that two people—one with a blade and the other with my bare hands. Man, things got messy. Now everyone is telling me I’m going to be arrested, but honestly, it’s not like I went overboard or anything; it was just a little thing. Plus, I've never even hurt anyone before this. Is there any way I can actually file a complaint or appeal this?🙄

The fact that you didn't get punished isn't really the point here—I mean, I filed my own complaint, and honestly, I'm just surprised the judge didn't label me the biggest jerk in the room for doing it. I guess I shouldn't complain about taking up his time, right? But look, if Gucić had been on the receiving end of this, he would’ve been looking at a two-year sentence and that would be the end of it—just like how Mishko handles things.
I'm done complaining from here on out... so you can decide for yourself what you think about all this. 😉

Look, I don't see why anyone would complain if they actually have solid grounds for an appeal or if they manage to spot a loophole in the law... you wouldn't really go through all that trouble just to end up admitting guilt in court while begging for leniency, right? 🙄
You need a legitimate legal basis to file an appeal. In my experience, my arguments have always been upheld.

I’m honestly curious what his actual grounds for an appeal would even be. 😕 😁 😁

You were brave enough to floor it—so be brave enough to just pay the ticket. Don't go getting soft now and trying to dodge it without any real ground to stand on...

Just pay up, keep quiet, and keep on driving 😁

Whether you pay up or not isn't the point... just realize you're damn lucky nothing worse happened on the road, considering you're clearly an inattentive driver. Learn from this and pay more attention next time.

People usually only start grasping the consequences once they've injured someone, killed someone, or hurt themselves.
Don't be one of those people.

Take a lesson from this one. It’s pretty much all you’ve got left besides opening your wallet.

Exactly. These are my absolute favorites: they commit the violation, then try to manipulate the system by claiming the rule of law isn't functioning properly, as if that justifies their extra little...

Look, if you wanted to act like a rebel and speed, then have the resources to be a rebel and pay the fine. Don't go burning through fuel and acting reckless just to realize you can't afford the ticket when it actually comes due. Complaining about it later is pathetic. Speeding isn't some social justice issue.

And for the record, this wasn't even outside of town.

(5) A driver caught traveling in a residential area at a speed exceeding the posted limit—or the speed limit sign—by more than 30 to 31 miles mph will be issued a fine of $233 and receive two points on their license.

I honestly don't give a damn—in Des Moines, you're looking at five years behind bars, and since they haven't even implemented community service yet, man, you could basically drive however you want and just give them a polite little nod.

Anyway, don't pay those guys a cent; they'll just take you for a ride.

Way to go
I’d love to see someone acting this much of a tough guy when they find out their most precious belongings have been snatched right off their porch, only to be told they’ll be waiting five years just to see a courtroom, and they couldn't care less about justice anyway.
At that point, a polite little nod would carry some serious, legendary weight.

hollowtrucker77, you’re totally barking up the wrong tree here—this isn't some deep philosophical debate about being a saint or anything. Don't try to lecture me... if I see a cop waiting around a corner just to slap me with a ticket because some drunk official decided to put a sign in a weird spot, you bet I'm finding every loophole in the book to dodge that fine. You can pay up if you think following every little rule is your ticket to heaven, but hey, leave the road victims out of this just so you can act like you're better than everyone else.

Nah, you’re the one who gets to decide exactly where the signs go and how they’re placed, while the actual victims on the road end up being those decent guys who actually bother following the rules in the first place.
🙂
The only thing I find remotely interesting about this whole debate is watching how some people can flip their entire worldview just by shifting their perspective—you know, depending on which part of the pile of garbage they happen to be standing on at the moment.
On one hand, it's "this isn't a functional rule of law," but then suddenly it's "well, why isn't this a functional rule of law?"
And of course, we have to act like all this chaos is happening to someone else entirely, because we're just citizens living here and aren't responsible for our own actions, since we always have some convenient excuse ready to justify whatever suits us best.

hollowtrucker77, you're the one footing the bill...

I happen to have some experience dealing with traffic violations, and I suppose I would suggest contesting them, since my appeals have managed to save me quite a bit of money so far.

Patagonia said:I’m genuinely curious, what kind of legal ground would he even try to use to complain? 😕 😁 😁

I suppose he might argue that his speedometer wasn't functioning while he was rushing a patient to the ER, or perhaps claim he can't afford the fine because, on a meager salary of $833, he's already stretched thin paying for his kid's college tuition
.
But, honestly, you could probably just pay it, and once you factor in the $167 plus court costs $37, you're looking at roughly $203, which basically means some bureaucrat is going to go out for a fancy dinner of lobster and caviar instead of actually fixing the potholes in our roads. On top of all that, you'll still be stuck paying the registration fees and buying new shock absorbers😬

I’m not usually one to speed, but I recently got pulled over on a straight stretch of Broadway. I was doing 52 miles/h when the limit is 37 miles/h.

Look, I take full responsibility if I break a rule, provided that rule actually makes sense and serves a logical purpose.

In this specific instance, I don't intend to pay the ticket. Setting a 40 mph limit on a wide, multi-lane boulevard without any crosswalks or intersections just seems nonsensical. If the road is empty, you could cruise at 65 without an issue, and when it's busy, everyone is naturally hovering around 50 miles/h anyway.

I honestly believe our legal system would be much more effective if we included a clause for instances where an accident occurs due to exceeding recommended speeds and:

- someone suffers physical injury—5 years in prison.
- someone loses their life—20 years in prison.
- someone loses their life and the driver flees the scene—life imprisonment. And if there's only property damage? You pay for it. If you can't afford it, they go after your assets.

The only people losing out would be the police officers, who'd lose their little "coffee money" fund... 😁

If something goes sideways, you're looking at a double penalty anyway...

The actual dollar amount isn't even my primary grievance—though I truly believe we should adopt a Scandinavian-style model where fines are scaled based on income—it’s more about the blatant fact that the police simply aren't doing their jobs.

If someone chooses to rush, let them pay; they earned it.
Even if the fine were $1667, they've lost far less than I did when some absolute moron ran me over, crushed my leg, and saddled me with months of intensive psychotherapy.

Honestly, whenever I see some reckless idiot speeding through—especially those who blow right through a red light—I find myself wishing a similar maniac would run over their kids. Just so they can finally understand what it feels like.