Got a speeding ticket...I'm so upset

[IluvKingLouis]

I just got a speeding ticket today. I was in a construction zone and going 41 in a 40, but didn't realize the construction zone meant I needed to be going 25.

I'm 44 and my last speeding ticket was when I was 22. I"m such a careful driver.

I have been struggling with a lung infection (I'm asthmatic) and spent some time in the ER this weekend, and I'm on a ton of drugs and behind in my sleep, and I was probably just too tired/sick to pay attention. I know, that's no excuse.

I feel so terrible.

I need to go to court because I couldn't find my proof of insurance (I know....my fault and very bad). But the ticket has a slash in the spot of fine amount and another slash in the spot for points.

What does this mean? Will a judge be deciding my penalty, or is this a warning?

 

[David 1980]

I am sorry but as you stated you were in a construction zone and that is to fast. I have read about many workers getting killed because people will not slow down in those construction areas. I know in my state the judge will not be to kind and hopefully your judge might cut you a break.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

There were no workers, just orange barrels. I always slow wayyy down whenever there are workers. I know I was in the wrong, I'm just hoping the fine and points won't be too damaging.

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

Let's see: You're speeding, "on a ton of drugs," sleep deprived, admittedly too tired and too sick, admittedly not paying attention, and driving without insurance.

You should not have been driving in the first place. Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? I'm glad that you got pulled over, before you could hurt someone or yourself.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

I can't help entirely but I will give you what I found on the internet and some hugs
Colorado Point System
Speeding 5 to 9 mph over limit: 1 point
Speeding 10 to 19 mph over limit: 4 points
Speeding: 20 to 39 mph over limit: 8 points
Speeding: 40+ mpg over limit: 12 points

As for the fine, it varies by area and is set by whatever jurisdiction you were in at that time.

Maybe you just have to prove you are insured? Or maybe you will find out the points & fine later?
I know around here a warning looks completely different than an actual ticket (ex-DH is a huge speeder and I often found warnings in his truck, in addition to the tickets he got).

It sucks you got a ticket but we all make mistakes. I hope you are feeling a little better from your illness and don't let this ticket get to you. Your health is far more important than worrying about a ticket.

 

[rflorek]

I don't know about Colorado, but I know that fines are doubled in work zones in NJ.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

Let's see: You're speeding, "on a ton of drugs," sleep deprived, admittedly too tired and too sick, admittedly not paying attention, and driving without insurance.

You should not have been driving in the first place. Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? I'm glad that you got pulled over, before you could hurt someone or yourself.

I'm not on mood altering drugs, and received no warnings from Doctor's about driving or operating machinery. I've never driven under the influence, and live a very modest lifestyle.

I'm was driving to school because my husbands job is shaky and we will most likely take a 40% hit if he is laid off. I'm working towards my paralegal certificate because my economics degree is practically worthless with the lay-offs in the financial services industry.

I'm very serious about seeing my family survive financially as we have a 5 year old child.

I'm sorry for not "grounding" myself, but I'm sure I'm not the only person on the road who might be on meds or a bit behind on their sleep. Yes, my bad, but frankly didn't realize my state until I reflected upon it afterwards.

BTW, I've never used my cellphone while driving because I think that's dangerous....can you say the same?

 

[HelenePA]

Okay I think its just a warning, they would have had an amount to pay on it if it was a fine ticket, I think, I've never had a ticket so I'm not sure, but dh just got one for the stupid light being out over the licence place (who checks that daily???) and it had the amount he had to pay on the ticket. My dad is one of those workers on the road, we all make mistakes. I'm sure it wont happen again with you, you sound really shook up.

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

but I'm sure I'm not the only person on the road who might be on meds or a bit behind on their sleep. . . .And that is a problem for everyone.

BTW, I've never used my cellphone while driving because I think that's dangerous....can you say the same?

I'm glad you are safe. All I'm saying is that you are very lucky. You know that. You want your family to "survive" financially, but take precautions to survive, period. Hind sight is always 20/20. Sorry you find yourself in this situation, but at least you may now be one less person on the road "who might be on meds or a bit behind on their sleep" that will be the cause of a major accident with my children in the car.

And no, I do not use the cellphone while driving. I've ticked off many people in our grocery store parking lot sitting in the parking spot if I need to make a call and they are waiting for my spot. I don't drive and talk.

 

[msmayor]

Read the ticket carefully, and look for an area that contains the actual "violation". Sometimes it clearly will say "speeding" and indicate what level over the limit you were. Other times, it will have a number to indicate the statute number of the violation. That can tell you whether the officer opted to only write you a violation for not having documentation or if he included the speeding violation.

The officer wouldn't necessarily write down the $$ value of the fine on the ticket. In NJ, there is a chart on the back of the ticket to indicate what the fine is BASED on the speed in excess of the limit that the officer indicates, and its up to the person who received the ticket to figure out how much to send in.

Also look on the ticket for a court date. If it is an actual ticket, I believe the officer is supposed to write the date of your court appearance, should you choose to contest the violation. If there is no court date then its possible that it is only a warning.

If there is any confusion about whether it is a warning or an actual violation, you should contact the police department or court to clarify.

 

[IluvKingLouis]

Read the ticket carefully, and look for an area that contains the actual "violation". Sometimes it clearly will say "speeding" and indicate what level over the limit you were. Other times, it will have a number to indicate the statute number of the violation. That can tell you whether the officer opted to only write you a violation for not having documentation or if he included the speeding violation.

The officer wouldn't necessarily write down the $$ value of the fine on the ticket. In NJ, there is a chart on the back of the ticket to indicate what the fine is BASED on the speed in excess of the limit that the officer indicates, and its up to the person who received the ticket to figure out how much to send in.

Also look on the ticket for a court date. If it is an actual ticket, I believe the officer is supposed to write the date of your court appearance, should you choose to contest the violation. If there is no court date then its possible that it is only a warning.

If there is any confusion about whether it is a warning or an actual violation, you should contact the police department or court to clarify.

Thank you for your input. There is a court date. I didn't have my insurance card (I do have insurance), as I was headed to school and threw my wallet into my school backpack. My insurance card is in my regular purse. I know, very very dumb, and I"m beating myself up over this.

I'm very curious as to why there is no dollar amount on the citation. I plan to plead guilty and I'm perfectly willing to take whatever penalty the court deems reasonable.

So ironic, but I'm the type of driver who not only slows way down in construction zones, but does one of those little thank you waves to the sign holder. Once again, there were no workers around today.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

Let's see: and driving without insurance.

She didn't say she was driving without insurance. She said she couldn't find her insurance card. Two different things. If you leave your license at home you're not driving without a license, you left your license at home.And at least here, both you have to go to court (to prove you have the documents you say you left at home/couldn't find). PITA, but not a big deal.

OP, Speeding tickets suck. Where I live, 10 miles over is 2 points, and my ticket was $160. I can/am going to go to traffic school (another $50) and it will stay off my record. Since it was a construction zone you may be hit with the double fine.

You can call your local courthouse for more information.

 

[Muushka]

Hugs to you. You remind me of me! If I got a ticket I would be so very upset. In fact, I was!

I won't get into the details because I am certain it would turn into a big discussion, but I passed someone illegally. When I went to court I was going to plead innocent because of the circumstances (the cop that gave me the ticket could not tear it up once he understood what was going on and he told me to plead innocent also).
But the new court date would have been while we were at WDW so we decided to ask for 'prayer for judgment'. Which I did, got the charges dropped, paid the court fees but not the fine, no points, but had to be very careful for the following 3 years. That ticket would count if I had another ticket during that period of time.

I hope everything works out for you. And thank you for the reminder that we need to slow down through construction sites.

 

[msmayor]

Thank you for your input. There is a court date. I didn't have my insurance card (I do have insurance), as I was headed to school and threw my wallet into my school backpack. My insurance card is in my regular purse. I know, very very dumb, and I"m beating myself up over this.

I'm very curious as to why there is no dollar amount on the citation. I plan to plead guilty and I'm perfectly willing to take whatever penalty the court deems reasonable.

So ironic, but I'm the type of driver who not only slows way down in construction zones, but does one of those little thank you waves to the sign holder. Once again, there were no workers around today.

No chart on the back? That's how I was always able to figure out how much to send in for DH's occasional ticket years ago. Usually, its there as a convenience for folks opting to plead guilty from the start.

Again, call the police department of the issuing officer (be it state or local, depending on who wrote the citation...look for a phone number on the ticket) and someone there can help you interpret everything.

For the future, you really should keep the insurance card in the car along with the current registration. This way, whoever is driving the car has access to those documents which are required for any traffic stop.

 

[kandeebunny]

Ask your insurance company for a 2nd insurance card, this is what I did.

I have 1 copy in my glove box and 1 copy in my wallet so I am NEVER without it. In FL if you don't have proof of insurance you have to go to the court house (no specific time or date) within like a week and show proof of insurance and then your fine is REDUCED to $75.

 

[lttlmc3]

I know that where I work, there is no chart on the back of our tickets. Proof of insurance can be proven in court, but you may still have a small fine for not having it on you at the time of the traffic stop (it's only $10 here).

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

She didn't say she was driving without insurance. She said she couldn't find her insurance card. Two different things. If you leave your license at home you're not driving without a license, you left your license at home.And at least here, both you have to go to court (to prove you have the documents you say you left at home/couldn't find). PITA, but not a big deal.

Around here you will still be fined if you don't have proof of insurance. And if you are driving without your drivers license, then you will also be fined. Yes, you will have to go to court to prove that you have both things, but failure to have them at the time of being pulled over will result in hefty costs. The officer just won't dismiss it and let you go home to find your proper paperwork. Is a big deal when it is monetarily added on to your fines and could be added on to your charges. It's always in our local papers that the state I live in has some of the worst drivers and these issues are frequently discussed.

 

[Passions71203]

It's always in our local papers that the state I live in has some of the worst drivers and these issues are frequently discussed.

its never in our papers...

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

its never in our papers...

And your location is stated as Ohio. I'm on the Gulf Coast. Wow! Imagine that we wouldn't possibly have the same information in our newspapers. Shocking, I know.

 

[rflorek]

IN NJ, failure to exhibit documents fine has been increased to $150 so I make sure I always leave my registration and insurance card in the glove box.