Thank you for all the info. I am MOST ASSUREDLY getting a lawyer, and although I don't think i was doing 101, I do admit (to you here) that I was speeding in the 90mph range.<p>Now, a bit of defense. My car is WELL set-up to handle high speeds, and I have much experience in dealing with high speed and what can happen. (Lived 3 1/2 years in Germany, and driving school) The road I was on was otherwise deserted (2 cars passed in the 15 minutes I was stopped), well paved, and smooth. I always slowed to about 65 when passing traffic, and my E-code headlights enabled me to see what was going on WELL down the road, (except when cresting that hill...doh!)<p>I admit I'm going to pay. Nooo doubt about it. However, there is NO difference in the court's eye between me doing this on an empty, good road, vs. in heavy traffic with me cutting in and out of traffic. I simply want to bring points like these up, to try and REDUCE, not eliminate, the hardship this will cause. <p>Of course, deer jumping out into the road can and do happen (although here the areas are well marked), but an asteroid could also come crashing down. <p>I do take it to the track (although I guess it's winter.. I'm jonesing for some track time), but people that scream that I have no business driving the way I do have probably never spent time anywhere where speed doesn't kill.. it helps you get where you're going in a timely manner.<p>Don't ya think that if the officer thought I was unsafe, or conditions were downright dangerous, or my car was unsafe at any speed, that he would have hesitated to haul my butt into jail? I think not. He has a duty to enforce the law, as smart or dumb as it may seem, and he did just that. If he felt I was a danger to myself and others, he would NOT have been as calm as he was, nor would he let me continue on my way.<p>As previously stated, I will pay, but I am just trying to lessen the impact on my already-stretched-thin wallet. Uncle Sam doesn't pay very much to his fighting men and women these days... (I scrimped and saved and worked another job at times to afford the A4, so no cracks about that)<p>Sorry to waste the bandwidth Jason & the staff, but I really felt this needed to be said.<p>Rich Quinlan<ul><li><a href="http://home.att.net/~richquinlan">Quinland</a></li></ul>

you got the attention you asked for.<p>there is no difference in your car than the so-called 'riceboy' honda.<p>you seem to feel that because you believe your car is better(?) than<br>others...or that you did a driving school....that you should get less of a penalty than anyone else.<p>one look at all the silly aftermarket stuff...and i'm sure the trooper knew what he bagged.<p>

would you please *pAy ThE pIpEr*?<p>this OJ simpson/ bill clinton *I aM tHe vIcTiM rOuTiNe* is<br>getting on my nerves.....................<p>

At first I thought it was an imposter...but then I saw only that the last<br>digit was changing from 1-9. Thought I saw that on aol before.<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM

Do yOu NeEd To sPeAk To mE DiReCtLy?

Normally I would ignore all dumb responses but i think you have it all wrong. Rich did not say his was better than anyone else but rather is trying to give the point that all A4's and especially modified ones are setup to be mroe than safe at these speeds. The point is, why is it that in the US, we have been brainwashed that when our cars pass a terminal velocity of 55mph, we automatically die. Why is that? There is no evidence for. I have driven on the autobahn many times at 140mph with not a single problems, much less than drving here at 55mph. Its the drivers and the cars that matter. People need to get off their high horse of saying you were unsafe and going to kill us all because you passed 55mph, give it up. Its more unsafe for me to drive through the inner city everday at 30-40mph than it is to drive 100mph on the highway. I dont think anyone has the right to criticize anyone on this subject anyway, can one person honestly tel me that they have never exceeded the speed limit?<br>Also, what Rich's car looks like has no bearing on who he may be or how fast he may go. <br>Sorry for the BW,<br>Chris

ignoring all the speeding posts (for now)<p>I think that if u talk to a lawyer/paralegel/defender, u will find<br>1/ They don't want to go to trial. Especially paralegel like POINTS, they try to settle out of court.<p>2/ They don't want u to testify. <p>3/ Explinations get u NOTHING. I spend 2 weeks in traffic court preparing for my own trial ( i tried my hand at defending myself), and ALL THE EXCUSES (sorry REASONS) in the world did not do ANYTHING! U DO NOT want to plead or even imply guilt. Hence caveat 2. <p>i think looking for any anomalies on the ticket, moving the date around, and anything else u can do is the way to go.<p><br>I had an aquaintance who was able to PROVE that his vehicle was unable to attain the speed he was charged with, and the citation was dropped.<p>Randall<p>1996 a4 2.8 qm<p>Rich, ignore the speed flames!

His car certainly isn't discreet.....more reason to have a problem with the law.<p>there is a differnce when everyone else on the road is going at<br>a similar pace...and one who is flying by everyone else.<p>he was going at almost double the speed limit...<br>not even close to being reasonable.

unaWhatever, didn't you see Jungle Book when you were a kid? If not, I suggest you rent it. Hence, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all." Your posts lack content, any signs of intelligent thought, and appear to be constructed only to inflame others. Get a life and put the rest of us out of your misery.

Statement one, I agree with you completely.<br>Statement two, there was noone else on the road at the time.<br>Statement three is upto personal abilities of the driver/car and your opinion.<br>

eom

Judges do not listen to excuses. They listen to the points that make sense within legal restraints only (that's their job.) I have had 18 pts on my license and suspended for 6 months a couple years back. I had $250 worth of tickets..about 6 violations... One time I defended myself and lost because the officer had given the model #, yrs of experience with radar gun. My lame excuse did not work. Another time, I defended myself and the cop did not show up twice...I won. THe rest I had a lawyer and on Long Island, NY, you can plea bargain offenses down to equipment failure tickets.. the judge told me I should be put in jail for being a menace to society. It has to do with a little luck, and a good lawyer.<br>Fortunately, your car is white, because if it were yellow, red or Bright blue, you would be chased more often. But on such a wide open road as you were on, and the scarcity of other cars...it was inevitable that you would be seen by a cop. <br>And I have to say, an A4 is no different from the tripped out Toyota, Honda, Mitsu (whatever) that flies by the officer. I think if you have a body kit on your car, it 'looks' faster to the cop. I've seen all types of cars pulled over..if he clocked you, he clocked you. And I've heard that some cops don't like the fact that younger guys have better cars than they do... <br>These are only my experiences and opinions. I hope Rich gets out of trouble soon...keeps the racing to the track and keeps fighting for our right to party!!!!!!

You either obey the law or you don't. If you get caught breaking the law you pay.<br>Or if you're in a more corruption-friendly country you take care of the officer and walk.<p>Gus<br>

I'm not saying it's right because it's not. But having a flashy car makes you a target for pigs oops I mean cops. They don't really care that your car is now safer, better equiped to handle, etc. They just see you drive by with your body kit and assume you are doing something wrong. I know first hand about Washington cops. When their not busy driving around drunk, they like to hassle anyone with a modified car. I got ticketed by a cop for having no front license plate..the bastard had a stack of copies of the code regarding plates and would pass one out to everyone he pulled over. Yes he was selectively looking for no front license plates! Sorry, about the long post but thinking about cops "enforcing" traffic laws makes my blood boil. Because THEY DO IT FOR REVENUE, not for safety.

Everyone seems to have moved the topic of discussion away from the original purpose.<p>I think the original point of Rich's post was to ask how to minimize the damage he caused to himself from this little transrgression.<p>Here are some of my musings on the subject...<p>1- Speed limit was 55.<br>2- Got caught driving way over that and received a ticket with a hefty fine and potentially detrimental effect on driving record and insurance.<p>In my experience, when you go to court and if you have to say anything to the judge, NEVER EVER admit that you intentionally wanted to exceed the speed limit. Although at nearly 50 MPH over, you can't say that you "lost your concentration for a little while". Maybe a "I was sleepy, and my foot must have gotten heavy and pressed down, and before I knew it i was way over the speed limit and was frightened and began slowing down before the officer pulled me over" or some stuff like that... Oh, and never try to be clever and plead temporary insanity or something thinking that it's cute. That's a serious statement and it just might piss the judge off...<p>Bottom line, though, you're at the mercy of the court. The judge couldn't care less about how safe your car is at any speed, he only cares that you exceeded the posted speed limit.<p>Like you said, a deer or cow or moose or armadillo or cat or platypus could walk out in front of you at any time, and since animals can't read signs they'll cross wherever they want to, not just where the signs are posted.<p>Even on a track, you never know when some debris might come out on the track and cause an accident. But the point of being on the track is, EVERYONE on the track is PAYING ATTENTION. Not necessarily the case on regular roads.<p>The judge would say, "well, it's all well and good that you can drive on a private closed track under controlled conditions, but this is an open public road. That's was laws are for."<p>Anyway, all I'm trying to say is, yeah, I love driving fast too, and yeah, I know it's stupid, but trying to rationalize it doesn't help. I've been there, done that...<p>Get thee a Valentine One...<p>-Phil<p>I'm not a lawyer, but I watch one on TV.

Here in S.Cal 100 is the magic no. At 100mph they can and often do haul your ass to jail. (and they often do especially if you give them attitude - DON'T) Sorry to here you got caught but think of the other 99 times you didn't. You have to figure it will have to happen sometime - Law of averages.Good luck - been to traffic school in the past few years?

As stated previously "I had an aquaintance who was able to PROVE that his vehicle was unable to attain the speed he was charged with, and the citation was dropped."<p>Rich Q - Take all the upgrades off of your car and then break (or remove) your waste gate rod. It probably couldn't do 101mph like that. Hmmmm...can't wait 'til I get my next ticket. <p>CraigB 8^)<br>(always thinkin')

..

This kind of prejudice is no different than assuming a minority has done something wrong simply because the color of their skin.

nt<br>

If I was caught Id have only myself to blame!<p>He knows the rules of the road<p>wether or not he agrees with them,<br>has driven the Autobahn, has taken advanced<br>driver course, has a better car than a Buick...<br>means nothing in this case<p>He expects to go to court...essentially saying<br>he drives a better car than the judge, is a better<br>driver than the judge, and tell him the U.S. speed<br>limit should not apply to him..................<br>

Get caught doing 25 mph over the posted limit (on the freeway) and it's no longer just a speeding violation -- it's upgraded to reckless driving. They can, and do, arrest you on the spot for that.<br>Sorry to hear you (Rich) got nabbed. There's a six-mile stretch of road I travel in my daily commute that has NO connecting streets (as it crosses indian reservation land) and allows for wide-open autobahn-in-the-desert style driving. I often exceed 90 and have taken my A4 to its governed 130mph (6:30 AM on a Sunday -- no other cars on the road). Hell, traffic will eat you up if your not doing at least 80.<p>Good luck<p>Rob O

If you haven't found this already, read the link... all questions will be answered.<p>Another note, speed limits are generally absolute. Meaning that if you are exceeding the posted limit, regardless of reason (with extreme exceptions only), car, skill, etc..., you are breaking the law. Period.<p>The only way to get off is to call into question the officers evidence. The linked FAQ explains many of the methods.<p>Good luck (I recently got out of a comparatively mild ticket using these techiniques).<p>DwayneC<br>94 S4