Time: 12:10am Monday morning. (This morning)
Place: Westbound, La Palma Blvd, 2 blocks away from the Orange County line going into LA County.
Conditions: Clear sky, dry conditions, cool night, no other cars on the road.
Speed: in my mind: 50mph in a 50mph zone. actual: 56 in a 40mph.

So I got pulled over last night on a 5 lane road (2 lanes each direction with center turn lane), by a La Palma Police Officer who caught me on laser doing 56mph in a 40mph zone. It's 12:10AM, 1 car passes us in the 10 minutes we're sitting on the side of the road. I tired to tell him that I'm new to this area, I just moved into my new place over this past weekend and I'm not completely familiar with all the speeds around this area, but where I'm from (Palmdale/Lancaster) 90% of the streets are 55mph, so naturally, i'm tried and I go the pace I'm used to, especially considering the conditions... clear, not a cloud in the sky, stars are out, no one on the streets, city is dead.

I asked the officer to give me a break cause I'm new to the area, I'm used to speeds being 50/55mph, there is no one else out right now cause it's midnight and I'm less than a mile from my new place. He doesn't budge.

officer: "Well let me tell you about La Palma. This is a small community, people are still out walking their dogs. You could blow out a tire and then hit them. What would you do if you hit them? This is a matter of public safety."
Me: "Wait, wait.... It's Midnight. Are you telling me there are people still out walking their dogs at midnight?"
Officer: "Yes, people are still out walking their dogs at this time in the morning."
Me: "Oh you gotta be kidding me. We're on a 5 lane road, there is no one else out on the street. Plus where we are there are 10 foot brick walls on both sides of the street blocking the houses from this road."
Officer: "Well your going too fast and could cause and accident and hit someone, etc etc.." (I kinda tuned this asshole out at that point.)

Seriously, I was driving through an area that was businesses at the stoplights I just passed. (Stoplight that I had stopped at) Then entered a 1/2 mile section with neighborhoods on either side, having 10+ foot brick walls on both sides, 5 lanes (2 lanes both ways + right turn center lanes) and a well lighted and traffic controlled intersection as the only spot in and out of the neighborhoods, with Bike lanes (+10 feet) and sidewalks on either side of the street. (This is a wide ass street, yeah, I'm going to blow a tire and go spinning out of control at 50mph and barrel into the guy walking his dog at midnight on the side of the road.) Give me a f'king break. Asshole cop.

 

talk to the prosecutor.. they will knock it down some.

 

Yea do what Mad said, you could probably get it knocked down. Especially since 15+ over the speed limit is reckless driving (at least where I live).

 

Sorry about that, so your speedo said 50, tell the judge maybe hell knock you down 6 mph, I dont know Ive never been in that situation, sorry

 

The cop could've given you a break if he wanted, he was just being a hard ass. See what the judge has to say and hopefully you'll catch a break, if not, I'd take defensive driving if I were you to keep your insurance costs down.

 

ok lesson number one..
never ask for a break...

lesson number two..
COPS DONT LIKE EXCUSES..

lesson number three...
If your going to speed.. dont do it in the middle of the night, when cops have nothing else to do.
At that late at night.. cops will look for ANYTHING to pull you over. LA is known for DUIs (which is why they stop selling alcohol at 2am), you speeding was probably an excuse to check out if your "capable" of driving.

lesson number four...
Once you know a cop is NOT going to cut you a break... let it go.. this will just aggrivate them.
If they are aggrivated, dont EVEN think about fighting it in court.. THEY WILL SHOW UP. Also... thanx to carb laws, ive heard of people being asked to pop open their hood after pissing off a cop.

Trust me.. i have A LOT of experience in this area

Tips..
If you get pulled over.. your screwed. Be apologetic. You were caught speeding.. so apologize. If your caught speeding with the radar.. your REALLY screwed, cause the cop was obviously looking for someone to cite.

Also..
If you notice a cop that late at night (and your driving a car with an aftermarket exhaust), shift the car in nuetral so your car quiets down and doesnt demand attention.

If your speeding..
Learn how to slow down with the ebrake. If a cop thinks you were speeding and proceeds to chase you, if he sees you brake lights and your still barely doing the speed limit...
its a give away..

That cop was not that bad man.. he pulled you over with a purpose, and just got agitated by you trying to get out of it.

Go to court and try to take traffic school so you wont get a point on your record.

sux man...

Oh btw.. people do walk their dogs that late at night.. they do in inglewood. Not smart considering all the nuts out there... but its not that uncommon.

 

I used to live there and still frequently visit. My grandparents house where i stay sits right behind one of those Huge brick walls and at night i used to hear cops pull ppl over all the time. They are ruthless and bored. Like he said its a small community and guess what they have NOTHING better to do. Good luck in court, hope all goes well for you.

 

I used to walk my dog that late before going to bed. It was the best insurance against finding a pile or puddle on the carpet in the morning

 

Fact is, that ASSHOLE cop was doing his job, and you were speeding.

Only ways out of it 100%.

1. Try one of the multiple radar stories on the web, one of them could get you off. Prolly not though.

2. Prove that there is not a CLEARLY marked speed limit sign that controls the area you were pulled over in.

3. Get someone to lie their asses off that they were in the car, the cop was rude, and you were doing 35 looking for your grandma in the area that was walking her dog.

Ways to get it knocked down.

1. Cite the Hyundai Webtech table that shows Speedo accuracy.

2. Combined with #1, put some aftermarket rims on your car, explain that you bought the car with those rims on it and that the combination of those factors your speedo was off by 5% or whatever # you come up with. (Actually worked for me in Kansas, got my fine halved, but the court costs made it back to the same amount.)

3. Cite your driving record (if it is good), tell the judge the same story, and tell them that the Speed Limit sign there was obstructed by...

a. 12 foot tall hooker.
b. Escalade with 22 inch rims and neons so bright you couldn't see.
c. Graffiti (Run out and spray the sign and take pictures.)
d. Shotgun blast from gang shootout that occured as you were passing by, you sped up to avoid being ganked.

4. Claim Profiling on the basis of the car you drive.

The fact is man, you were speeding. Weather or not in your mind you were doing right, you weren't. It sucks, I know it, but man, they got ya.


BTW, I often walk my dog to go to the bathroom, anywhere from 10 to 2 in the morning. Depends on when I go to bed.

 

^ Agreed. He caught you.

Jaws021 has got a good point too man. They are just waiting for reasons to pull people over, especially at night.

I had the same thing happen to me I was caught doing 140kph in a 100 zone. $295 and 3 points on the license. Cop explained to me that for 5 more kph he could have got me for reckless driving. Bye Bye License.

Take it to court, explain your new to the area and that insurance rates are going to kill you with this ticket. Maybe they'll see that you're a good guy and knock it down. It can't hurt to try. But remember, you did get pinched, hard too. Sorry man.