So I haven't gotten a traffic ticket in well over a decade. Today while out to lunch in Hillsboro, I got pulled over by a motorcycle dep. sherriff for rolling through a stop sign on a right turn. Fair enough, I'm pretty sure I did it, since there were no other cars around me. Gave the cop my info, leaned back and waited for the inevitable warning after he pulled my records and found out I wasn't a menace to the roadways. He comes back, with a printed-out ticket (from a neatly hidden printer underneath his seat on the cycle... kinda cool) for..... $287??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! W......T......F?????????? Maybe it *HAS* been a long time since I got a ticket. What the hell is this? I was thinking $75... MAYBE $100 for that type of infraction, especially since there were no other cars or pedestrians anywhere near me... but almost 300 bucks? You gotta be kidding me! I fully plan on going to my court hearing. I plan on flatly telling the judge that I am not arguing with the ticket, but with the fine. That's re-DONK-ulous! What say you all?
You'll get it reduced just by showing up and paying the ticket. Also if you fight the ticket and the cop doesn't show up, you get out of the ticket. But if he shows, you're probably paying the full amount.
Those things have really gone up. I got a parking ticket a few months ago near the RG and it was $60. I fought it and had it reduced to all of $55.
I showed up to fight a photo radar ticket. The cop showed up and looked prepared. I talked to him and he agreed to reduce the ticket as much as he could. I think It was about 20 to 30 percent reduction in fine. I pled no contest to the reduced fine.
The last time I got a ticket the judge dropped the fine ($25) but I had to pay the court costs ($195)
I am not saying throwing away money is a good thing... but if you did it pay it an be done with it. Your time has got to be worth more than the amount you get it reduced.
Right now it's more the outrage of the seeming unfairness of the amount I have been penalized for the infraction. I don't deny that I committed it, I'm saying that the fine seems very excessive, given the fact that I've talked to people who have gotten speeding tickets of 20+ MPH over the limit and been fined less. If it's ultimately what I owe, I'll begrudgingly pay it, however, I want my say to the judge.
Officers can make mistakes . . . have you checked if he put in the right fine amount? You can probably just google the statute number they put on the ticket.
Fines and jail sentences are insanely high. The legal system is not subject to public purview like the other parts of the government. Everyone is afraid of the police state (and the hateful civilian bureaucracy working for the prosecutors, and the media which they control, and the political blowhards who introduce the punitive legislation).
photo tickets are over $400 here. WTF is that shit. fucking too much. lazy fucking 5-0 PIG MOTHERFUCKERS.
I got a speeding ticket at about 2am with nobody around me. I went to the clackamas courthouse for my "hearing" and i didn't get to see a judge unless i wanted to plead not guilty. I couldn't get it reduced or take traffic school because "it's already lower than we're suppose to allow"
Someone's gotta pay the city administrators and the excessive salaries of the top officials running "the show", otherwise they may have to take a furlough! And guess what, not only will you pay the ticket, albeit up to 20% reduced, you're fucking insurance goes up as well, so you'll be paying the increased rate for three fucking years! Talk about a fucking scam! I seriously hate this shit. I haven't had a ticket in 3-4 years since I've had my radar detector, but good lord. I hate it no matter what. and there is nothing as a citizen we can do about it. nothing. Even if we had a chance to put forth measures or something along those lines to advocate change, the people running "the show" would just scream "oh we need the money for the city services and to keep your streets safe, bla bla bla, et cetera".
They don't want any procedure to hear complaints, or they'll hear millions of them. For example, there is a section of freeway I drive on. The speed limit was 65 for years, and everyone went 70 because it's outside of a city and has little traffic. They lowered it a few years ago to 60. Everyone still follows their instincts and goes 70. It's now a profitable speed trap. It's maybe 4 miles long, but in over half of my trips I see a cop either radaring us from a stopped position, or driving behind us. In other words, they are there making money at least about 6 hours per day, in this little 4-mile stretch. The victims are mostly new to this piece of freeway, and don't know they should do 70 on the straightaways and slow to 65 coming around curves, where the cops hide. I drive it fast, but very paranoid, and have avoided tickets there for years by keeping an eagle eye around curves and in my rear view mirror. My point is that I have often thought this: The regulars who drive a particular stretch (of freeway, street, etc.) should be able to vote on the speed limit we believe is best. If we lived in a democracy, authority would set up such a procedure. The current procedure is, if one person who works for the police lives in the neighborhood and complains to the police about traffic, police start giving tickets there. There is no method to increase the speed limit or take out a useless red light, only the reverse, to slow things down. Customer service is far smoother and friendlier from private enterprise than from government. If Republicans pushed points like that (and that government employees are overpaid), I could agree with them. But they're afraid that would cost them votes from those employees, so they won't say it.
i got one in tillamook i think it was for around 230 when i got mine a year ago and got it reduced for 190 something for calling in because it was so far away... now i have two tickets and two accidents now im paying 800 bucks every 6 months for insurance.... basic shit too.... AWESOME!
