Mind you, these "kids" were teens...but it was fun to show off, the beast sounds pretty nice when you lay into it. Also in a place where it is virtually impossible to set up a speed trap, with very little cross traffic risk, so no harm done, even though the speed kills crowd would wet themselves.
And then she either tailgated you onto the freeway or merged at 33mph.
U-turners are idiots in my area, they expect oncoming cars to stop for them and love to do it at intersections where the typical Lexus RX driver ends up turning it into an 8 point turn.
One guy in a small town in a beat up sedan (literally beat up - had a few sideswipes in his day) pulled halfway past the stop sign before deigning to stop as I was cruising by on the highway.
Other than that, even the 7 deer we saw were cooperative and stayed well off the shoulder.
Have driven well over 1000 miles in GA-AL-SC in the past week now, a few observations. People generally really move, fun to be going 70 in a 50 and still be being passed by maybe a third of traffic. Speed limit changes are ignored until a cop is seen, which is less that home. Second - tailgaters - people here do it perpetually. Somewhat related is people who go to pass then somehow lose their moxie and pace the car beside them. Saw it 3 times today. And my last one is turn signals - apparently many cars here simply aren't built with them.
Tailgating would be less observed if the slower traffic kept right.
Food for thought.
----
That said, I just finished driving from Florida to Maryland, so I was on the roads in Georgia and South Carolina with you. I'd totally agree that too many people there do lose their ability to pass, petering out halfway through.
To alleviate the problem, I tended to turn on my turn signal as they neared me. Because then the passer would think that I'd be moving over, blocking their ability to pass.
And as no one can stand the thought of anyone getting in their way, people tend to gun it as to get in front... which then gets them to actually pass.
(I never actually changed lanes... but just played a mind game with the morons, accurately predicting how'd they'd react to my stimuli.)
Lane discipline is no worse here than at home....some LLCs but most generally move over eventually. Some will just never move over, but usually there is room to go around.
Good strategy about the wannabe passers, kind of reminds me of the German left signal idea to wake up LLCers.
The passing style that gets me is when I am behind a vehicle traveling at the same speed I am going and then as they near a large slower moving vehicle in the right lane, they inexplicably slow down several MPH and crawl past the rig. Then once past, they zoom back up to their original speed and continue on until the next slower moving vehicle. This constant slowing and speeding back up is aggravating to say the least and unless I commit some serious speed violation by zooming by at near triple digit speeds to get past them on the right, it's impossible to get around them.
The ones I love who speed up and slow down are the drivers from certain southern states who slow down to the speed limit as they approach any exchange. Then they speed up above when they are past and think that there won't be any officers looking for speeders in between the overpasses on the interchanges.
Today I am approaching an intersection. Left turn is onto a one way street, streets in front of me and to my right have a stop sign, I don't. It's a slow area, I am probably going 20-25 at most. BMW E60 5er approaches me oncoming, turning to his right as I am turning left, both onto the same one way street. I don't really slow down as I don't have a stop sign, and proceed onto the street. BMW lurches forward, stops, then lays on the horn like I cut him off. And people wonder how some cars get reputations. :shades:
It's pretty much entirely dark here at 5pm now, saw numerous cars with no lights on, including a late model Lexus LS. Don't those have automatic lights? How are people so oblivious?
Also had two vehicles breach the crosswalk when the green walk symbol was lit, cutting off pedestrians, one was a MDX the other a ML. Drivers were similar but I will stop there. Shocking!
I've noticed the no headlights things too. I think the problem is that many dashes are backlit all the time and people think since the dash is lit the headlights are on. In the last few years most cars have a indicator to tell you if the outside lights on or not.
It is a plague that is only going to get worse as more and more gauge panels are becoming constantly lit. I see it frequently too. The only solution is auto headlights.
To be honest, I have them on all my vehicles and love them. The only time I touch the headlight switch is in inclement weather when it's not dark enough to trigger the auto light sensor.
My Subaru's lights can be left in the "on" position all the time and will shut off automatically with the car. I really like that. Both of the Camry's ('85 and '92) that we had while I was living at home had that feature. My dad always had them in the on position. Back then, though, driving with lights on during the day was not a common practice and we used to get others flashing their lights at us to let us know ours were on.
When I started driving my own vehicles ('69 Econoline and '69 Chevy C20), turning on and off the lights was just part of the routine (like turning on and off the key!). I'll admit though, that I have forgotten one action or the other, meaning I have been greeted by a dead battery once or twice in my driving history.
2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
It is a plague that is only going to get worse as more and more gauge panels are becoming constantly lit. I see it frequently too. The only solution is auto headlights.
Or make it so that the dashboard is *NOT* lit unless the lights are on. In other words, do it the way it used to be done... back when people didn't forget to turn on their lights.
The people haven't changed *THAT* much over the years, it's just the environment they are in has changed.
Saw 3 more lights-not-on drivers tonight, in the rain even. Two Camrys and a Caravan. I am pretty sure Camry has automatic lights at least as an option, my mother's car has this.
Two idiots this morning. First was on a 3 lane (per direction) freeway, with right lane backed up over half a mile due to a freeway exit ramp (rush hour), thus I was in middle lane. Old LeSabre whooshes past me in left lane, then cuts in front of me and... brakes. I have an idea what he's planning to do, so I go around him in left lane. After awhile he moves to left lane too, now behind me, then as we get very close to the exit ramp (the one with a long line of cars patiently waiting), he cuts back to the middle lane, crawls along there for awhile, then finds an opening just big enough to squeeze himself into, right before the exit.
Returning in other direction, I just entered the freeway and the right lane is backed up because of an upcoming exit ramp to another freeway. Cars in the right lane are polite and let me and the car behind me squeeze into openings (i.e. they didn't speed up to block us). Then I wait until the middle lane is clear and signal to change lanes, then start the lane change. Suddenly this Accord blasts past me and cuts into the middle lane, almost side-swiping me. He drove along for awhile and then moved into the right lane. Obviously did not notice that I had my signal on, and that he had plenty of room to change lanes BEHIND me. He got a horn wake-up and a "look" from me as I passed him.
Looks like the La Mesa PD wants a rematch regarding Lake Murray Blvd. in La Mesa. They lost and the case got dismissed last time, will this make it a 2-0 record for me in court regarding this road?
This is the 4 lane divided (2 each direction) roadway I was talking about as the most egregiously underposted speed limit in all of San Diego County.
The young officer was polite and informative as he handed me a ridiculous ticket for 52 in a 35. I don't think I was going faster than 50, but here's the deal.
He used radar, and that makes it a speed trap.
Officer admitted the speed limit was underposted and 85th percentile speed warrants a 40 or 45 MPH speed limit. In CA, I believe cops aren't allowed to use radar where the legislature ignores safety, efficiency, and logic, and chooses to make speed limits lower than 85th percentile method. It's defined as a speed trap. Cop said they had a "special exception" for this stretch of roadway, since there's an "apartment complex" or something to that effect on it.
1. I requested and got the county seat, whereas La Mesa normally goes to El Cajon court house, so round 1 goes to me.
2. Round 2 will be my discovery request for radar logs, calibration, traffic surveys, and if ignored, round 3 will be discovery motions to compel or dismiss.
3. Round 4 will be either a trial by mail or in person, if I do by mail (written declaration), then round 5 will be the real trial in person with officer present if I'm found guilty in round 4. (Trial de novo).
Officer admitted he doesn't bother with anyone going 50 and under because he has a PROVE a safety violation. Why he bothered with me at just 2 MPH over his lowest border limit I'll never know.
Conditions were super optimal making even 65 MPH safe this day. Great visibility 2 days after a good rain, clean smooth high traction roadway, No traffic around me. Wide lanes, divided highway. Car in optimal condition. I can see him pulling over SEMI's going 50 or more, but he should save the tickets for cars for 55 and over, and even then, it's a stretch to argue a safety hazard was comitted without other traffic being around, and without bad conditions.
The speed limit is for "normal" typical conditions. That morning of the ticket, conditions were optimal, perfect, and ideal for high speed. I was also going uphill on a fairly steep grade, so braking distances are vastly reduced thanks to gravity, which thereby makes higher speeds even more safe!
Good luck La Mesa PD!
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Wow. Wish I had that much spare time to waste. Do you go out and speed just for the sport of it? Just to try to get a ticket to fight? Hope you lose. I do agree with the one sentence: "Good luck, LaMesa PD!" Nail this guy.
Knowing what revenue enforcers in CA must make, you're probably going to use about $5000 worth of their wages (10 hours) to fight you. And they will continue to keep it up, because "speed kills" :shades:
So,,,,,,, per your position, actual law breaking should begin 3mph over your speed?????
Nothing is your fault.
Well, taking into account the optimal conditions that day and morning at about 10:00 a.m., I'd argue any reasonable intelliegent officer would have CEASED trying to nail so-called "speeders" since he full well knows it'll be hard to prove safety was an element of the crime (which is MUST BE per the Vehicle Code). In CA, you are allowed to drive faster than the posted speed limit as long as it is SAFE, reasonable, and prudent to do so. The MAXIMUM speed law differs from this BASIC speed law, but regular speed limits are simply "guidelines," and not actual LIMITS in CA.
If I was working for the La Mesa PD that day, I"d have concentrated my efforts on something more reasonable, like red light runners, left lane campers, real crime (theft, rape, murder), and donut eating. Or if I insisted on getting speeders, I'd of saved it for the really fast people, probably 66 MPH and up, since 65 MPH is the maximum speed allowed in CA (unless otherwise posted) and safety need not be an element of the crime to prove the charges in court.
Really what this amounts to is BOLD FACED revenue generation despite knowing their citations amount to false allegations! No crime was comitted. No violations occurred. I was driving perfectly safe, slow, and prudently.
55 would still have been safe in my view, depending on conditions, traffic, and the vehicle. I was just "compromising" with the viewpoint that the officer may have, since he's probably been brainwashed to believe "speed kills" despite evidence and statistics showing speed is not a contributing factor in a majority of fatal and/or injury crashes.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Wow. Wish I had that much spare time to waste. Do you go out and speed just for the sport of it? Just to try to get a ticket to fight?
Short Answer: No.
I'd rather never get another ticket in my entire life. I don't speed except on the freeways where the MAXIMUM speed limit is 65, and underposted. I ALWAYS drive safe and prudently for conditions, which is up to 65 MPH on any road in CA, exceptions include schools (where children are present). So be definition I'm not speeding, though I may go faster than the two black numbers on a white aluminum sign.
So the only place I really find myself regulary exceeding 65 MPH is on the freeway; though I do try to keep it within 14 MPH over as 15 MPH over is their trademark (write tickets to generate revenue territory).
Frankly, in this situation, I could have easily gotten away and evaded this ticket, as he took awhile to leave his hiding spot nestled in the apartment complex's parking lot I'm sure. Perhaps he fumbled his radar gun while trying to get his motorcycle going, or he had to yield to some cars behind me before entering the roadway; either way, he took awhile to catch up, and I slowed down to under the posted "speed" immediately.
I slowed down for two reasons to be honest. One, my radar detector alerted me to his presence and I immediately removed my foot from the accelerator, and the significant upward grade of the road lowered my speed immediately and quickly. I don't really believed I ever topped 50, but certainly I wasn't going 50 or more for longer than a second or two at MOST. Given the uphill climb, absent the radar reading I'd of lifted off the accelerator anyway probably only a second or two later as a curve and red light intersection was upcoming, and just coast into the stop as I normally do saving the brakes for the most part. Given his radar presence, I started my decceleration a tad bit earlier. I wasn't going very fast, and figured I had slowed enough to get under his "BS line of chase or don't chase" I knew there were no false signals on this road (and the 9500ix eliminates all false signals after you own it awhile), so I assumed it was a cop's radar, but then I assumed he wasn't after me as I looked behind several seconds later, and he was nowhere to be found.
I certainly should not have made that assumption that the La Mesa PD could be reasonable in this day and age of revenue shortfalls.
So the light ahead was red (as it almost always is), and I coasted to a slow and steady stop. Then, finally, here comes Johhny law on his motorcycle with lights flashing. If I had not slowed down at all, heeded the radar detector warning, and simply vanished from the scene by turning right (instead of waiting to go straight) immediately at that intersection, he'd have never known where I went nor could he follow, as I"d of been out of view for sure by the time he got there (It's a residential area at the top of the hill). Shame on me for not using the Escort 9500ix to my full advantage, and being alert enough to make the move to vacate the vicinity (as the opportunity to avoid this wasted court time was there!).
Now I'm not advocationg resisting, evading, and running from the police. I wouldn't of had to speed up to avoid him, just maintain my speed and make the quick right turn, and then the next left or right depending..... I would have to do this without knowing whether he was REALLY coming after me or not, which of course would make it all a wasted effort if he wasn't coming after me.
The only way I could really evade and know if he was truly chasing me was if I took that right and then another immediate right into the liquor store parking lot, parked partially blocked view behind the dumpster, jump out, and act like I'm a pedestrian on my merry way to see if he drives by and doesn't notice my car parked there. (I wonder how long he'd wait to see if the driver returns if he did see it parked there and was sure it was the same vehicle)? He'd really have no way of proving who was driving it.
Anyway, here I'm showing I slowed down for him immediately, wasn't going very fast to begin with, it was safe and prudent anyway, what more does the La Mesa PD want? I really didn't think I was going fast enough to make him budge given that I slowed down for him.
They must be desperate.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Hmmm... good idea. I should invite the Occupy people downtown to view and support me during my court case and sit in the viewing area chairs.
Unfortunately, the County Seat for traffic court in San Diego isn't at the Hall of Justice downtown, but in Kearny Mesa up north a bit.
I'm not a betting man, but I'd bet that the officer won't show in this case at 4:1 odds. Very unlikely he shows up at Kearny Mesa.
The El Cajon court house has rigged the system so all there trials are on specific days for specific departments; so that way they get assured and compliant attendance from all the officers. They sort of throw a party.
Go ahead and visit the El Cajaon corrupt Courthouse sometime, you'll see it.
For instance, Monday might be La Mesa PD convention day, where all the challenged cases are booked on Monday afternoons. Tuesday might be Santee Sheriff's day, where all their cases are scheduled Tuesday mornings. Then on Wednesday, they reserve it for El Cajon Police Dept. Party Day. They all get together and hang out, chit chat together talking about how they nailed this guy or another; eating donuts in bulk.
It sickens me that MY trial will always be scheduled around THEM and for their convenience only, to make it as easy on them as possible. Nevermind if my best "act like a lawyer day" would be Friday, can't have Fridays!
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
CA is, for all intents and purposes, broke, isn't it? Wait for that 15mph cushion to come down to 10mph or even less. Or maybe they will lower limits everywhere on roads where speeds are highest.
Just looked at the crime map for La Mesa on 11/16 - 11/17 and there weren't that many "significant" police calls listed, especially if you zoom in a bit to the main section of town. A couple of violent crimes and a few thefts.
You're lucky you weren't surrounded by four cop cars and 8 bored LEOs. :shades:
btw, my wife used to walk to school down one of those hills you were speeding up.
Oh, and it may be best to be careful of how much detail you post here.
That's a great story. The thing of it is I'm not saying anything in here that I wouldn't say in court (well, I'd probably leave the I have a radar detector part out).
Somebodies wife somewhere at sometime may actually walk down this hill I accelerated up (didn't speed). But they certainly wouldn't walk up this hill to go to the school (there are alternate better and shorter quicker routes to the school in this area).
But even better then that, there were no wives at all walking in this particular situation on this particular day. Not only were there no cars in front or beside me, there were no pedestrians. When I say there was no traffic, I mean it, all traffic, if any (light) was behind me (in which case speeding makes it safer and provides more distance between objects)!
I had just made a right turn and accelerated quickly up the hill from Parkway. I was the only car going right and all others went straight or left in front of me. In fact, the officer mentioned he "heard" me before he saw me. Damn, I never intended for that Borla exhaust muffler system to bring that kind of attention!!!
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Even after 40 years of driving, I see new and imaginative ways of driving. Waiting at a red light at an intersection tonight. Lane to left of me is turn lane. There's another driving lane to right of me. A Civic is stopped in front of me. Left turn green arrow comes on, left turn lane empties. The green for straight ahead will come on in a couple of seconds. Suddenly the Civic pulls out, no signal of course, and turns left from the middle lane. Since they've already broken the law, they might as well go all the way so they turn into the right-hand lane. Then they turn right into the shopping center parking lot on the corner.
The crazy things about this (other than the sheer stupidity of it all) are: 1) the light was going to change in a couple of seconds, and about 100 feet ahead was a left-turn lane leading to, guess what, the same shopping center parking lot that he was in such an all-fired hurry to get to; 2) this intersection is a few blocks from City Hall--also city police HQ--and there's often a patrol car in the vicinity of that intersection. Oh, how I wish there had been one there today!
Today's winners - BMW E60 driver throwing trash out of his window - classy. Honda Fit driver weaving all over the place yapping on the phone. Cayenne driver who tried to crowd his way into a packed crosswalk, and got stared down by me (yeah hit me you selfish old [non-permissible content removed], I'll own you), and the winner, a Fedex truck who was turning right onto a crowded street, didn't look close enough apparently, as he pulled out and lightly T-boned a W203 C-class, breaking off the mirror and scraping the door. That'll make for a crappy day.
I am back in the WA groove now, no worries about speeding, just going the limit feels fast with these timid crawlers around everywhere.
Do you go out and speed just for the sport of it? Just to try to get a ticket to fight? Hope you lose. I do agree with the one sentence: "Good luck, LaMesa PD!" Nail this guy.
My exact thoughts.
I feel as if my thoughts have been hijacked...... :surprise:
Appears that you like confrontations. Why not go the speed limit or go 5-10 over if you must. Vast majority of cops will give a pass for up to 10 over except maybe in school zone. Hope the ticket sticks. 52 in a 35 is stupid.
It sickens me that MY trial will always be scheduled around THEM and for their convenience only,
What is sickening is stupidity by some drivers thinking they know better, are above the law and want to pick their own, a higher speed limit. What is more sickening is the WASTE of taxpayer money in tieing up police time going to court.
That's going to happen until revenue enforcers can ante up some proof that the speed limits they dictate to (sometimes marginally skilled, themselves) civil engineers are optimal.
Something being "the law" is not really relevant to it being right.
I dunno about that. I live in an area that has a 4 lane road with a posted speed limit of 35 mph. But the regular flow of traffic on the road *IS* 50 mph.
And the cops won't pull anyone over for it, because they recognize that it's a safe speed for the road.
This would never have started if there had never been the nationwide 55-mph speed limit.
For with that decree, it instantly made lawbreakers out of ordinary, law-abiding citizenry... where they had never been before. Combine that with spotty enforcement and it simply taught the populace that there are truly laws that can be ignored.
Which then got taught to the next generation... and so on.
Before that, people (in general) tended to believe that, if there was a law, then it should be followed.
lol, I don't think so. Growing up in MS, my mom always did 65 or 70 back in the 50s and 60s when the limit was 55 on the two lane blacktops (and that's still the speed limit there on the rural two lanes). My old man kept a pint under the driver's seat. Even crazier, booze was illegal in Mississippi but the state collected a tax on black market liquor. I was 13 the first time I got pulled over by a cop.
Real law abiding part of the world, even before Nixon signed the 55 mph limit into effect in '74.
Around here, radar detector = ticket. You'll not win that argument with the officer at all. And the judges aren't impressed by them either.
There is no vehicle code for radar detectors in CA. If officers bias their enforcement against people that own detectors they are doing so illegally. That being said, that probably is a reason I have to fight a lot of tickets in court, because they do seem to hate that I own a detector, but it has saved me from so many tickets = false accusations, it is STILL worth it.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
What is more sickening is the WASTE of taxpayer money in tieing up police time going to court.
Agreed, they really should only write citations where legitimate safety violations are committed.
Truth of it is though, that the only time that'll be wasted is my own time, since the officer is highly unlikely to show up to defend this false accusation. He knows it holds little water, and was just hoping I'd "pay it and forget it."
That's not going to happen, he shouldn't have wrote the ticket in the first place. He shouldn't have wasted my time by pulling me over in the first place.
I suppose some of his time will be wasted if they even bother to respond to my informal discovery request (but per the penal code they must).
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Otherwise, the only thing that is stupid is the speed limit itself and the La Mesa PD officers who illegally enforce it.
That has me scratching my head. How is a police officer ticketing someone driving 50+ mph in a 35 zone an illegal act? Is that a CA thing--i.e. is it illegal for police in CA to ticket people violating speed limits by 43+%? :confuse:
Yes, there are vehicle codes in CA that make speed traps illegal.
Underposted speed limits that don't follow the 85th percentile guidelines fall within the definition of a "speed trap," where radar is used as the mechanism for enforcement. Officer's are not allowed to use radar in these speed trap zones to do enforcement. By using radar, I believe the officer broke the law; even if he thinks the La Mesa legislature gave him a special exemption for this road, I'll argue the CA legislature writing up the Vehicle Code was much wiser than the La Mesa legislature that thought up exceptions.
I do believe one end around the speed trap law is for the officers to pace/clock you to obtain your speed. This officer clearly used radar.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Wait a minute - you're calling the courthouse corrupt because they schedule trials by police department and not for the defendant's convenience?!? Sorry, but that's nuts. You were speeding and got caught - go ahead and be sickened all you want, but you blaming the system that caught you and is giving you a fair trial is nuts. I'm curious as to what scheduling system you'd put in place for the convenience of law-breakers such as yourself?
Sorry, but you live in the wrong country. You should really move out.
In the good old US of A, last I checked, we had a Constitution and a Bill of Rights. Within these great documents written by men wiser than us, there are certain rights and protections.
Among them we in this country presume innocense, and you are always innocent until proven guilty. There are no law-breakers in a courtroom until a guilty verdict is handed down.
Since I was not driving over 65, the question as to whether I was speeding is debatable, read the basic speed law vehicle code in CA. Unless you are guilty of every single element of the crime in the code, you are innocent. The prosecution has to prove every single aspect and element included within the law in order for you to be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not a "well were you going that fast or not type law!" Admittedly, and unfortunately, that is the way it works on the freeway with the MAXIMUM speed law.
I hope I do get a fair trial, because if I do, I'll be found not guilty. No reasonable judge will side with the officer in this case.
I'd simply have the system of scheduling trials automated online. Let the defendant choose an open date and time slot from what is available. Very simple!!!! Block them in 5 minute increments, as most traffic court cases dont' take very long. Heck, to be safe they could do 10 minute appointment increments. Let the defendant choose from what is available (within certain guidelines - say, at least 2 weeks in advance). However, you do have a right to a speedy trial so they cannot force you to take an appointment more than 45 days away.
'18 Porsche Macan Turbo, '16 Audi TTS, Wife's '19 VW Tiguan SEL 4-Motion
Comments
U-turners are idiots in my area, they expect oncoming cars to stop for them and love to do it at intersections where the typical Lexus RX driver ends up turning it into an 8 point turn.
Other than that, even the 7 deer we saw were cooperative and stayed well off the shoulder.
:P
Food for thought.
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That said, I just finished driving from Florida to Maryland, so I was on the roads in Georgia and South Carolina with you. I'd totally agree that too many people there do lose their ability to pass, petering out halfway through.
To alleviate the problem, I tended to turn on my turn signal as they neared me. Because then the passer would think that I'd be moving over, blocking their ability to pass.
And as no one can stand the thought of anyone getting in their way, people tend to gun it as to get in front... which then gets them to actually pass.
(I never actually changed lanes... but just played a mind game with the morons, accurately predicting how'd they'd react to my stimuli.)
Good strategy about the wannabe passers, kind of reminds me of the German left signal idea to wake up LLCers.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
It's pretty much entirely dark here at 5pm now, saw numerous cars with no lights on, including a late model Lexus LS. Don't those have automatic lights? How are people so oblivious?
Also had two vehicles breach the crosswalk when the green walk symbol was lit, cutting off pedestrians, one was a MDX the other a ML. Drivers were similar but I will stop there. Shocking!
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
To be honest, I have them on all my vehicles and love them. The only time I touch the headlight switch is in inclement weather when it's not dark enough to trigger the auto light sensor.
I've actually never had a car without auto lights, even my crank window 99 S10 has them.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
When I started driving my own vehicles ('69 Econoline and '69 Chevy C20), turning on and off the lights was just part of the routine (like turning on and off the key!). I'll admit though, that I have forgotten one action or the other, meaning I have been greeted by a dead battery once or twice in my driving history.
Or make it so that the dashboard is *NOT* lit unless the lights are on. In other words, do it the way it used to be done... back when people didn't forget to turn on their lights.
The people haven't changed *THAT* much over the years, it's just the environment they are in has changed.
Returning in other direction, I just entered the freeway and the right lane is backed up because of an upcoming exit ramp to another freeway. Cars in the right lane are polite and let me and the car behind me squeeze into openings (i.e. they didn't speed up to block us). Then I wait until the middle lane is clear and signal to change lanes, then start the lane change. Suddenly this Accord blasts past me and cuts into the middle lane, almost side-swiping me. He drove along for awhile and then moved into the right lane. Obviously did not notice that I had my signal on, and that he had plenty of room to change lanes BEHIND me. He got a horn wake-up and a "look" from me as I passed him.
This is the 4 lane divided (2 each direction) roadway I was talking about as the most egregiously underposted speed limit in all of San Diego County.
The young officer was polite and informative as he handed me a ridiculous ticket for 52 in a 35. I don't think I was going faster than 50, but here's the deal.
He used radar, and that makes it a speed trap.
Officer admitted the speed limit was underposted and 85th percentile speed warrants a 40 or 45 MPH speed limit. In CA, I believe cops aren't allowed to use radar where the legislature ignores safety, efficiency, and logic, and chooses to make speed limits lower than 85th percentile method. It's defined as a speed trap. Cop said they had a "special exception" for this stretch of roadway, since there's an "apartment complex" or something to that effect on it.
1. I requested and got the county seat, whereas La Mesa normally goes to El Cajon court house, so round 1 goes to me.
2. Round 2 will be my discovery request for radar logs, calibration, traffic surveys, and if ignored, round 3 will be discovery motions to compel or dismiss.
3. Round 4 will be either a trial by mail or in person, if I do by mail (written declaration), then round 5 will be the real trial in person with officer present if I'm found guilty in round 4. (Trial de novo).
Officer admitted he doesn't bother with anyone going 50 and under because he has a PROVE a safety violation. Why he bothered with me at just 2 MPH over his lowest border limit I'll never know.
Conditions were super optimal making even 65 MPH safe this day. Great visibility 2 days after a good rain, clean smooth high traction roadway, No traffic around me. Wide lanes, divided highway. Car in optimal condition. I can see him pulling over SEMI's going 50 or more, but he should save the tickets for cars for 55 and over, and even then, it's a stretch to argue a safety hazard was comitted without other traffic being around, and without bad conditions.
The speed limit is for "normal" typical conditions. That morning of the ticket, conditions were optimal, perfect, and ideal for high speed. I was also going uphill on a fairly steep grade, so braking distances are vastly reduced thanks to gravity, which thereby makes higher speeds even more safe!
Good luck La Mesa PD!
Do you go out and speed just for the sport of it? Just to try to get a ticket to fight? Hope you lose.
I do agree with the one sentence: "Good luck, LaMesa PD!" Nail this guy.
Just slow down, fercryinoutloud.
So,,,,,,, per your position, actual law breaking should begin 3mph over your speed?????
Nothing is your fault.
Nothing is your fault.
Well, taking into account the optimal conditions that day and morning at about 10:00 a.m., I'd argue any reasonable intelliegent officer would have CEASED trying to nail so-called "speeders" since he full well knows it'll be hard to prove safety was an element of the crime (which is MUST BE per the Vehicle Code). In CA, you are allowed to drive faster than the posted speed limit as long as it is SAFE, reasonable, and prudent to do so. The MAXIMUM speed law differs from this BASIC speed law, but regular speed limits are simply "guidelines," and not actual LIMITS in CA.
If I was working for the La Mesa PD that day, I"d have concentrated my efforts on something more reasonable, like red light runners, left lane campers, real crime (theft, rape, murder), and donut eating. Or if I insisted on getting speeders, I'd of saved it for the really fast people, probably 66 MPH and up, since 65 MPH is the maximum speed allowed in CA (unless otherwise posted) and safety need not be an element of the crime to prove the charges in court.
Really what this amounts to is BOLD FACED revenue generation despite knowing their citations amount to false allegations! No crime was comitted. No violations occurred. I was driving perfectly safe, slow, and prudently.
55 would still have been safe in my view, depending on conditions, traffic, and the vehicle. I was just "compromising" with the viewpoint that the officer may have, since he's probably been brainwashed to believe "speed kills" despite evidence and statistics showing speed is not a contributing factor in a majority of fatal and/or injury crashes.
Do you go out and speed just for the sport of it? Just to try to get a ticket to fight?
Short Answer: No.
I'd rather never get another ticket in my entire life. I don't speed except on the freeways where the MAXIMUM speed limit is 65, and underposted. I ALWAYS drive safe and prudently for conditions, which is up to 65 MPH on any road in CA, exceptions include schools (where children are present). So be definition I'm not speeding, though I may go faster than the two black numbers on a white aluminum sign.
So the only place I really find myself regulary exceeding 65 MPH is on the freeway; though I do try to keep it within 14 MPH over as 15 MPH over is their trademark (write tickets to generate revenue territory).
Frankly, in this situation, I could have easily gotten away and evaded this ticket, as he took awhile to leave his hiding spot nestled in the apartment complex's parking lot I'm sure. Perhaps he fumbled his radar gun while trying to get his motorcycle going, or he had to yield to some cars behind me before entering the roadway; either way, he took awhile to catch up, and I slowed down to under the posted "speed" immediately.
I slowed down for two reasons to be honest. One, my radar detector alerted me to his presence and I immediately removed my foot from the accelerator, and the significant upward grade of the road lowered my speed immediately and quickly. I don't really believed I ever topped 50, but certainly I wasn't going 50 or more for longer than a second or two at MOST. Given the uphill climb, absent the radar reading I'd of lifted off the accelerator anyway probably only a second or two later as a curve and red light intersection was upcoming, and just coast into the stop as I normally do saving the brakes for the most part. Given his radar presence, I started my decceleration a tad bit earlier. I wasn't going very fast, and figured I had slowed enough to get under his "BS line of chase or don't chase" I knew there were no false signals on this road (and the 9500ix eliminates all false signals after you own it awhile), so I assumed it was a cop's radar, but then I assumed he wasn't after me as I looked behind several seconds later, and he was nowhere to be found.
I certainly should not have made that assumption that the La Mesa PD could be reasonable in this day and age of revenue shortfalls.
So the light ahead was red (as it almost always is), and I coasted to a slow and steady stop. Then, finally, here comes Johhny law on his motorcycle with lights flashing. If I had not slowed down at all, heeded the radar detector warning, and simply vanished from the scene by turning right (instead of waiting to go straight) immediately at that intersection, he'd have never known where I went nor could he follow, as I"d of been out of view for sure by the time he got there (It's a residential area at the top of the hill). Shame on me for not using the Escort 9500ix to my full advantage, and being alert enough to make the move to vacate the vicinity (as the opportunity to avoid this wasted court time was there!).
Now I'm not advocationg resisting, evading, and running from the police. I wouldn't of had to speed up to avoid him, just maintain my speed and make the quick right turn, and then the next left or right depending..... I would have to do this without knowing whether he was REALLY coming after me or not, which of course would make it all a wasted effort if he wasn't coming after me.
The only way I could really evade and know if he was truly chasing me was if I took that right and then another immediate right into the liquor store parking lot, parked partially blocked view behind the dumpster, jump out, and act like I'm a pedestrian on my merry way to see if he drives by and doesn't notice my car parked there. (I wonder how long he'd wait to see if the driver returns if he did see it parked there and was sure it was the same vehicle)? He'd really have no way of proving who was driving it.
Anyway, here I'm showing I slowed down for him immediately, wasn't going very fast to begin with, it was safe and prudent anyway, what more does the La Mesa PD want? I really didn't think I was going fast enough to make him budge given that I slowed down for him.
They must be desperate.
Unfortunately, the County Seat for traffic court in San Diego isn't at the Hall of Justice downtown, but in Kearny Mesa up north a bit.
I'm not a betting man, but I'd bet that the officer won't show in this case at 4:1 odds. Very unlikely he shows up at Kearny Mesa.
The El Cajon court house has rigged the system so all there trials are on specific days for specific departments; so that way they get assured and compliant attendance from all the officers. They sort of throw a party.
Go ahead and visit the El Cajaon corrupt Courthouse sometime, you'll see it.
For instance, Monday might be La Mesa PD convention day, where all the challenged cases are booked on Monday afternoons. Tuesday might be Santee Sheriff's day, where all their cases are scheduled Tuesday mornings. Then on Wednesday, they reserve it for El Cajon Police Dept. Party Day. They all get together and hang out, chit chat together talking about how they nailed this guy or another; eating donuts in bulk.
It sickens me that MY trial will always be scheduled around THEM and for their convenience only, to make it as easy on them as possible. Nevermind if my best "act like a lawyer day" would be Friday, can't have Fridays!
CA is, for all intents and purposes, broke, isn't it? Wait for that 15mph cushion to come down to 10mph or even less. Or maybe they will lower limits everywhere on roads where speeds are highest.
You're lucky you weren't surrounded by four cop cars and 8 bored LEOs. :shades:
btw, my wife used to walk to school down one of those hills you were speeding up.
Oh, and it may be best to be careful of how much detail you post here.
Anything you Blog can and will be used against you... :shades:
Somebodies wife somewhere at sometime may actually walk down this hill I accelerated up (didn't speed). But they certainly wouldn't walk up this hill to go to the school (there are alternate better and shorter quicker routes to the school in this area).
But even better then that, there were no wives at all walking in this particular situation on this particular day. Not only were there no cars in front or beside me, there were no pedestrians. When I say there was no traffic, I mean it, all traffic, if any (light) was behind me (in which case speeding makes it safer and provides more distance between objects)!
I had just made a right turn and accelerated quickly up the hill from Parkway. I was the only car going right and all others went straight or left in front of me. In fact, the officer mentioned he "heard" me before he saw me. Damn, I never intended for that Borla exhaust muffler system to bring that kind of attention!!!
Here's a refresher course:
Top 5 Ways To Get Pulled Over by the Cops
Your Day in Traffic Court
This could be you.
The crazy things about this (other than the sheer stupidity of it all) are: 1) the light was going to change in a couple of seconds, and about 100 feet ahead was a left-turn lane leading to, guess what, the same shopping center parking lot that he was in such an all-fired hurry to get to; 2) this intersection is a few blocks from City Hall--also city police HQ--and there's often a patrol car in the vicinity of that intersection. Oh, how I wish there had been one there today!
Oops. Didja hear that, LaMesa PD?
Around here, radar detector = ticket. You'll not win that argument with the officer at all. And the judges aren't impressed by them either.
I am back in the WA groove now, no worries about speeding, just going the limit feels fast with these timid crawlers around everywhere.
I do agree with the one sentence: "Good luck, LaMesa PD!" Nail this guy.
My exact thoughts.
I feel as if my thoughts have been hijacked...... :surprise:
What is sickening is stupidity by some drivers thinking they know better, are above the law and want to pick their own, a higher speed limit. What is more sickening is the WASTE of taxpayer money in tieing up police time going to court.
Something being "the law" is not really relevant to it being right.
And the cops won't pull anyone over for it, because they recognize that it's a safe speed for the road.
For with that decree, it instantly made lawbreakers out of ordinary, law-abiding citizenry... where they had never been before. Combine that with spotty enforcement and it simply taught the populace that there are truly laws that can be ignored.
Which then got taught to the next generation... and so on.
Before that, people (in general) tended to believe that, if there was a law, then it should be followed.
Real law abiding part of the world, even before Nixon signed the 55 mph limit into effect in '74.
(Thanks for bringing back some memories).
There is no vehicle code for radar detectors in CA. If officers bias their enforcement against people that own detectors they are doing so illegally. That being said, that probably is a reason I have to fight a lot of tickets in court, because they do seem to hate that I own a detector, but it has saved me from so many tickets = false accusations, it is STILL worth it.
Only if the 35 is justified by a traffic engineering survey using the 85th percentile method to set speed limits.
Otherwise, the only thing that is stupid is the speed limit itself and the La Mesa PD officers who illegally enforce it.
Agreed, they really should only write citations where legitimate safety violations are committed.
Truth of it is though, that the only time that'll be wasted is my own time, since the officer is highly unlikely to show up to defend this false accusation. He knows it holds little water, and was just hoping I'd "pay it and forget it."
That's not going to happen, he shouldn't have wrote the ticket in the first place. He shouldn't have wasted my time by pulling me over in the first place.
I suppose some of his time will be wasted if they even bother to respond to my informal discovery request (but per the penal code they must).
That has me scratching my head. How is a police officer ticketing someone driving 50+ mph in a 35 zone an illegal act? Is that a CA thing--i.e. is it illegal for police in CA to ticket people violating speed limits by 43+%? :confuse:
Underposted speed limits that don't follow the 85th percentile guidelines fall within the definition of a "speed trap," where radar is used as the mechanism for enforcement. Officer's are not allowed to use radar in these speed trap zones to do enforcement. By using radar, I believe the officer broke the law; even if he thinks the La Mesa legislature gave him a special exemption for this road, I'll argue the CA legislature writing up the Vehicle Code was much wiser than the La Mesa legislature that thought up exceptions.
I do believe one end around the speed trap law is for the officers to pace/clock you to obtain your speed. This officer clearly used radar.
In the good old US of A, last I checked, we had a Constitution and a Bill of Rights. Within these great documents written by men wiser than us, there are certain rights and protections.
Among them we in this country presume innocense, and you are always innocent until proven guilty. There are no law-breakers in a courtroom until a guilty verdict is handed down.
Since I was not driving over 65, the question as to whether I was speeding is debatable, read the basic speed law vehicle code in CA. Unless you are guilty of every single element of the crime in the code, you are innocent. The prosecution has to prove every single aspect and element included within the law in order for you to be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. It is not a "well were you going that fast or not type law!" Admittedly, and unfortunately, that is the way it works on the freeway with the MAXIMUM speed law.
I hope I do get a fair trial, because if I do, I'll be found not guilty. No reasonable judge will side with the officer in this case.
I'd simply have the system of scheduling trials automated online. Let the defendant choose an open date and time slot from what is available. Very simple!!!! Block them in 5 minute increments, as most traffic court cases dont' take very long. Heck, to be safe they could do 10 minute appointment increments. Let the defendant choose from what is available (within certain guidelines - say, at least 2 weeks in advance). However, you do have a right to a speedy trial so they cannot force you to take an appointment more than 45 days away.
This would be entertaining.... but it's scary that there are actually people who think this way. :sick: