WSP encounter

It has been years since I was stopped by the WSP, (rolling radar) but it again happened Sunday, on the way home (over the North Cascades Highway) from church and grandson's wedding...yes, I was driving too fast (on a piece of road where, in 40+ years of driving in WA, I have never seen a WSP before, there is no place to pull off). There goes 15 years without a ticket. Talk about sticker shock!

Anyway, just want to say, my record is still perfect...I have never been asked by a WSP if I was carrying, and I never said anything...and you know when he checked my drivers license he saw my CPL. I hve no idea if he saw anything on me, or not. He never said anything at all except about my driving a bit quickly, and be safe, as he handed me the ticket.

Phooy, and that is one of the fun sections of road too...that ticket took all the fun out of driving that section of road.

Bummer. Be sure to contest it so you can at least get a deferral.

To get a deferal you have to mitigate it (plead guilty and ask for reduced fine). But that can be done at the hearing after contesting it. Also once you contest it, be sure to file for discovery. Who knows, maybe the officer's statement has errors or what happened in my case, the prosecutor failed to send me discovery so case was thrown out. Anyways there are options to try to keep your perfect driving record.

Not worth contesting it. I am not driving to Mount Vernon (about 500 mile round trip) to contest a ticket I deserved. Only it is about 10X the cost of the last ticket I received,,,15 or so years ago, for the same thing (different place, deserved that one too...got to remember to use that cruise control

It would cost me more than the ticket costs in expenses, and as I said, I deserved the ticket...I was going a bit quickly...always have through that stretch unless there is traffic, and Sunday, everyone was coming west (including the WSP) while I was going home (east). I guess it makes up for all the tickets I did not receive while driving through that section of road. I'm just lucky I wasn't going faster than I was. I can still remember when the North Cascades Highway was 65 and 70, not 50 and 60,,,and I was doing 65 in a 50. 40 years ago that would have been no foul there.

Pledge the 5th!!!!!! wtf!!! Records are worth more than money!

Jayd1981 said:

To get a deferal you have to mitigate it (plead guilty and ask for reduced fine). But that can be done at the hearing after contesting it. Also once you contest it, be sure to file for discovery. Who knows, maybe the officer's statement has errors or what happened in my case, the prosecutor failed to send me discovery so case was thrown out. Anyways there are options to try to keep your perfect driving record.

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I got a ticket in Lacey and on the ticket there is a place where you can defer the whole thing...got a letter back saying that I couldn't have a ticket within a year or something to that effect. No court appearance. Is Washington state different...?

Perhaps "contest" was the wrong term. It would be worth investigating how to get a deferral, because you'd likely be eligible. You may be able to do this by mail. You'd still have to pay a fine, perhaps less than the ticket, and it won't go on your record if you don't get another in a year. I don't claim to know all the details, but it should be easy to do.

i just pay my lawyer and my tickets go away. nothing harder to think about than pay-paling her the money.
i'd rather give my money to a lawyer than the state. f' em. "derserve" 's got nothing to do with it.

on my last WSP encounter, he asked if i was armed and had my CPL simply because he saw my empty Serpa in the back seat.
he looked at the CPL, asked where the gun was and that was the end of it. he couldn't have been more professional about it.

I've found a unique way to avoid tickets. I look for the speed limit signs and then just don't exceed them. I pay special attention to them on 2-Lane highways and City Streets where the limits often don't reflect the capability of the road. It's worked for a long time now. Lost count of the years but it's at least more than 25.

I'd rather spend my money on my shooting rather than give it to the State.

amlevin said:

I've found a unique way to avoid tickets. I look for the speed limit signs and then just don't exceed them. I pay special attention to them on 2-Lane highways and City Streets where the limits often don't reflect the capability of the road. It's worked for a long time now. Lost count of the years but it's at least more than 25.

I'd rather spend my money on my shooting rather than give it to the State.

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I also keep my speed in the limits, I normally use my cruise control to do so, and have never even been stopped when that cruise control is on. That is why it's been something like 15 years since I have had a ticket...

Except for this one little curvy section of highway 20...my 300hp Audi A6 just screems to be let loose from the confines of that cruise control...

amlevin said:

I've found a unique way to avoid tickets. I look for the speed limit signs and then just don't exceed them. I pay special attention to them on 2-Lane highways and City Streets where the limits often don't reflect the capability of the road. It's worked for a long time now. Lost count of the years but it's at least more than 25.

I'd rather spend my money on my shooting rather than give it to the State.

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This. Been pulled over probably a dozen times, only once did I get an award and it was for much less than it could have been (aggressive driving)...

Finally convinced me that it's just not worth it! It's just not worth the potential aggravation and financial loss, and constantly looking over my shoulder & waiting for the "gotcha!" So now I simply do the speed limit or the "standard" 5 miles over. And when I pass a cop I don't get that awful "ohshitdidheseeme??" panic attack. I don't need to worry about being harassed for driving too fast, only the inevitable MWAG call

hermannr said:

I also keep my speed in the limits, I normally use my cruise control to do so, and have never even been stopped when that cruise control is on. That is why it's been something like 15 years since I have had a ticket...

Except for this one little curvy section of highway 20...my 300hp Audi A6 just screems to be let loose from the confines of that cruise control...

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Got a fast car? Want to take it fast? Or at least feel like you're going fast? First check out some of the local drag tracks, many of them have regular "run whatcha brung" events where you can put the pedal down on the quarter or 8th, embarrass some penguins, and not worry about John Law. Heck once in a while they show up to run too.

Second, if you want to test vehicular prowess and driver skill, check out autocross. Most fun you've ever had under 35mph, guaranteed.

And both options let you have your fun without endangering any innocent bystanders.

hermannr said:

Not worth contesting it. I am not driving to Mount Vernon (about 500 mile round trip) to contest a ticket I deserved. Only it is about 10X the cost of the last ticket I received,,,15 or so years ago, for the same thing (different place, deserved that one too...got to remember to use that cruise control

It would cost me more than the ticket costs in expenses, and as I said, I deserved the ticket...I was going a bit quickly...always have through that stretch unless there is traffic, and Sunday, everyone was coming west (including the WSP) while I was going home (east). I guess it makes up for all the tickets I did not receive while driving through that section of road. I'm just lucky I wasn't going faster than I was. I can still remember when the North Cascades Highway was 65 and 70, not 50 and 60,,,and I was doing 65 in a 50. 40 years ago that would have been no foul there.

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Get it deferred. If you haven't had one in 15 years, you're eligible. AND you can do it all by mail. You pay a small fee/fine, usually less than the ticket, and if you're a good boy for six months to a year the ticket goes away and your record stays clean.

Catch is, if you're NOT a good boy during that year, you get to pay the new ticket AND the old one, and can't fight the latter. You also can't do another deferment for I believe 7 years. Just went thru the process with my wife, very easy, no taking time to go to court, and much better than wasting a day in "traffic school"

On a conscience level, it's a way to admit you broke the rules and "promise" you'll never do it again if they overlook it this one time...

Thanks for the "deferment" idea, but the check is already on it's way to Mount Vernon.

lawyer up!

jddssc121 said:

lawyer up!

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Fail to see the logic here. Speeding ticket is probably $124 or so. Maybe doubled if in a "Safety Zone". A Lawyer probably doesn't even shake your hand for less than twice that amount and it goes up from there if he has to show up in Court.

If the person hasn't had a ticket or accident for years and years, it probably falls into the Insurance Company's "forgiveness policy" that gives you one "boo-boo" in a 3-5 year period.

Hiring a Lawyer to fight this sure seems like a waste of money, that is unless this ticket puts him "over the top" and he is going to get his D/L suspended.

Sure, Lawyers have to eat too but over a simple speeding ticket when you haven't had one in years sure seems foolish.

a) it's great to think that your ins co will give you a pass on one ticket, but with that one ticket on your record if you get pulled over again the cop knows it's there and you're now a habitual offender and less likely to be let off with a warning.

b) most cops are dicks, so if my lawyer can hand them their ass in court, all the better.

it's all part of the cost of driving the way i want to. if i feel like dong 130 over snoqualmie pass that's my business. if a cop interrupts me that's his business. i let the lawyer settle it.

so it's worth it to me.

as i said, i'd rather give my money to a lawyer than the state.

why not just do the speed limit and save my money? that's boring.

and you don't use a generic lawyer with increasing fees, us a ticket lawyer with flat fees.

HK_dave said:

if i feel like dong 130 over snoqualmie pass that's my business.

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Since you do not own the road and must share it with other people NOT doing 130, no, it is NOT solely your business, because such irresponsible actions directly endanger those other people.

HK_dave said:

why not just do the speed limit and save my money? that's boring.

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What a mature outlook. Driving public road is SUPPOSED to be boring. When it's not boring, someone, usually an innocent person in the wrong place at the wrong time, ends up injured/maimed/dead. You want not-boring? Go do a public track event where you can drive as fast as you want without endangering anyone other than your fool self. That, at least, IS your business.

The speed limit's there for a reason. When people do NOT do the speed limit, whether that's faster or slower, it at least disrupts the smooth flow of traffic and at worst endangers other people.

What you advocate is no different than setting up a shooting target in a shopping mall and saying "I'm a good shooter, I don't need no back stop or shooing range, where I shoot is my business!"

since you don't know what other traffic is or isn't on the road when i do what i do, you may think as you like, it doesn't effect me.

my points remain valid though.

HK_dave said:

since you don't know what other traffic is or isn't on the road when i do what i do, you may think as you like, it doesn't effect me.

my points remain valid though.

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Uh huh. Unless you are clairvoyant or omniscient to the point of knowing where ALL the road hazards and other traffic are, especially out of sight (and that's a damn long way at 130mph), your actions continue to effect, and endanger others.

Your point remains bull.


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All WSP encounters I have had were very professional and polite. My younger years I collected several speeding tickets, mostly like 10 to 15 over and one time for that seat belt law.
Today I use my cruise control which helps a great deal but from time to time there could be a situation where one could be pulled over and sobeit.

One time as a kid I ran down an empty I-5 at 120 and it was just as stupid then as it would be today as for us to ensure your pursuit of happiness and being secure we must also assume a responsibility that our actions can and do effect others even though it did not happen this time, you may well not be so lucky next time.

yeah i have accumulated at least 3 tickets for about 8 stops now, 2 were speeding, 1 was driving without insurance which i had been given a warning for in one stop, my recent one was around monday evening here in spokane for having my bright lights on, whats he gonna do write me a ticket for running brights even though it was those blue xenons, probably stopping me because my car looks like a drug dealer car