ok so about 3 weeks ago, i was driving down a road i always take to my gf's house. as i neared a bend with a 25mph speed limit, i noticed that about 100ft ahead, there were blue flashing lights, so naturally, i slowed down so i was going the limit as i was a little over, and really, i only mean a little bit like 5mph, and as i got out of teh corner and started to speed up to the new speed limit of 30 (maybe higher but not lower) i saw a cop had responded to an accident involving two young kids and a toyota supra that was wrecked on teh other side of the road. as soon as the cop heard my car he wipped around and yelled at me "HEY. HEY! PULL OVER NOW" and in the most horrifyingly angry voice ive heard ever...

so naturally, scared as shit, i slam on my brakes and stop on teh side of the road. he comes up to my car as i roll down my window and instantly yesll at me saying "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING DRIVING LIKE THAT??? GIVE ME YOUR LICENSE AND GO TURN AROUND IN THAT DRIVWAY AND PULL UP BEHIND MY CAR NOW!"

now first of all, he didnt ask for my insurance, which of course i had, and he also didnt ask for my registration or even notice i had expired tags for which i had no idea about til later on.

anyways, on with the story. the fucked up part is i was sho scared i accidentally handed the cop my credit card instead of my license and he told me that was not my license and i felt dumb as shit... so i pull up behind his car totally dreading what was abotu to happen since i knew that a crashed supra pluss a kid with a loud car passing an accident equalled trouble. so i sat there while he did his thing, and he came back to me and started telling me, not in a calm voice but in an extremely angry raised voice about how i was driving like a lunatic when there are wet roads, and how its no wonder that accidents (points to supra) liek that happen. in mid sentance, another car comes round the bend, a lot faster than i could have possibly been going and he yells at the car same as he did to me and the car jsut kept going on without even hitting the brakes. he then tells me that hes giving me a ticket for reckless driving which is what i was doing and that i need to slow down because he is tired of seeing these accidents happening because of people driving like "that".

so today i go online to pay my fine and i see the words of death "must appear in court"

now i already thought about going to try and fight it, because i really felt like i had been totally done injustly, but now i know i have to go, and my date is on wedneday.

i have already taken out my best suit and a shirt and tie. all i can say to the judge and the officer is what i said above. i feel like because of the situation the officer had been put in, i was dealt with harsher then i should have been. i know i wasnt going any more than 5 mph over the limit after exiting the turn, i SAW the fashing lights (it was overcast and covered with trees on teh road at about 5.50pm) and i just didnt know why he was there. i checked my speed when i saw him and i wasnt going above 30. i slowed down aroudn the corner and exited safely but he wrote and i quote " driver came in a curve at a high rate of speed and came close to loosing control while i was working an accident"

that is really unfair, as none of that happened, and he didnt radar me at all. i know its totally at his discretion but its totally unfair to be told i was going at a high rate of speed when i wasnt even close to it. i know im most likely going to loose my license and have to pay the 680 dollar fine, but id do that anyway if i didnt have to go to court.

please, anyone, what can i say in my deffense? am i allowed to say what i said above, that i feel it was unjust and that if he had clocked me with a radar, and taken the conditions into account, that the ticket would be one for 5mph over the speed limit, possibly a warning since i may not have even been going that fast, since i didnt check my speed after the first time i checked it before entering the corner.

i really need to know what i can do to try and eitehr lessen the fine or something. i knwo ive gotten tickets in the past, whidch i deserved totally, but this one is jsut too harsh, i never drive recklessly, and i certainly wasnt loosing control or driving at a high rate of speed when i SAW the officers car from 100ft away and acknowledged its presence.

i really am scared shitless abotu the consequences if the judge doesnt see this in my favor. i feel like its my word against theirs, no matter how unfair it is.

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dunno what to say, that sucks. wait till glenfiddich_man comes on.

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yea, im the nervous twitchy one

That really sucks, good luck man!

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im totally in the shitter here...

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I say fight it. The cop may not even show up.

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James C.


Check my vB garage

i know he may not, but this isnt a minor violation, its reckless driving and possible suspension of license. its something that would be worth his while to come to. and even if he doesnt, i still have to make my case to the judge who may totally side with the cop and give me the same fine or wores fro trying to get out of it. either way. im pleading not guilty and representing myself to the best of my ability. i have no other choice, i cant make it much worse for myself than i already have

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get a lawyer.

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The only problem is that there was an accident and the road conditions if they were in fact wet. Seeing an officer and an accident you should severely slow down, for every ones safety. The speed limit is the maximum speed you can technically go. When condition worsen you need to adjust speed accordingly. And with people standing on the side of the road you need to slow down even more. So just because it says 25mph, doesn't mean that's what you have to do.

I can't tell what you did, and won't say if you were in a wrong. All I can do is explain the situation.

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even if he doesn't show up they can reschedule. Make sure you ask if he has in car camera. If so you want the footage there in court. From that footage they should be tell how you were driving. If they don't have that then it's your word vs the po po's and at that point your at the mercy of the judge.

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thanks glenfiddich, i know you cant tell since you werent there and technically i was in the wrong and i understand that, and i guess i really am just at the mercy of the judge. i will do my best to look as presentable and clean cut as i can, and when i go there and try to explain myself, i will do it in the most polite way possible. if all else fails, ill have to pay the fine which i was ready to do since i knew it would be pretty hopeless already. i just hope the judge gives me a little bit of a break, i really think its so harsh to get a 680 dollar fine for something like this. there is even a fine for driving innapropriately for the conditions, and i think that would have been much more fitting, but hey, im not the cop. ill jsut have to take it as it comes. im nervous as shit and i still got 2 days.

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dude get a lawyer. wreckless driving is not something you wanna show up to court for by yourself nomatter how clean cut you are. In this situation you put the officers life in danger as well as the other people on the side of the road. do yourself a favor and pay a lawyer trust me. even if he cant get it dismissed he can get you a plea deal and you can cop out with something less than wreckless driving. You do not want that shit on your driving record. you can kiss any kind of insurance goodbye after that shit. ontop of that it carries enough points to warrant a suspension.

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i cant, its too late and i cant afford it. im just going to have to suffer the concequences of my own actiuons on this one

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I hope between now and then you reconsider. This is not something you would want to or should want to face on your own this is a lil more serious than you think. I dont think you realize what could happen there. But hey man good luck with the whole thing and when is the court date?

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its the 26th, wednesday. not much i can do. im just pretty much fucked here and i have no where to turn

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Hes right marc^

i don't know about GA, but reckless driving is a misdemeanor here in FLA. Its serious shit.

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you can probably see a lawyer right there in court and talk to him and maybe he can get you another court date so you have time to save up money to pay him and build your case and help you out. Kiss your insurance rates goodbye as high as they will soar after that. maybe you can knock it down to something less if you have proper representation and he can work something out with the DA.

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blah... I've had reckless driving here in GA... big fucking deal.

mine was turned into a disorderly conduct charge, which is a misdemeanor, but bullshit, nonetheless.

Lawyers are good for stuff like this, because they know the full extent things can be carried to, and are better at cutting deals... (hence how my reckless driving charge was changed into a disorderly conduct charge). Most solicitors aren't going to cut deals with the defendents, because most defendents have no idea what they're talking about, and 99 times out of 100, they're guilty anyway.

Honestly... if you can't afford a lawyer, you really have one of three options. Go into court and let the hammer fall... chances are, unless they're feeling leinent that day (and Fulton County/Sandy Springs rarely is), then you'll lose your license for 90 days or more, you'll pay the full fine amount, and possibly get community service, not to mention the points on your license.

Fuck all that... if it were me, I'd use one of two tactics... either go to court and ask the solicitor for a continuance, tell him you need more time to speak with legal coucil, and assess your case. They'll grant you a continuance, and set a new date, most likely a month or two later... three if you're lucky. In which case, you can save for a lawyer, seek better legal advice, whatever. If you continue enough times, they might dismiss the case altogether, as it'd be too old. it's happened to me before. Continuance is a good tactic, because it supplies time... time makes people forget things, and makes animosity towards a bad situation (say... on the judge's part) have time to die down... when they see the case again, they may not care as much, and be more likely to grant leinency.

The third tactic you could use is your Nolo Contedre (or No Contest) plea... in which case, while you'd still pay the full fine amount, you'd get to keep your license, assess no points towards it, and I dont think you'd end up with community service, either. You're still admitting guilt, but it's safer if you dont plan to get in trouble again, as you can only use this plea once every five years in GA.





good luck, hope it works out. Haha, does it seem like I've done this enough? I've spent enough time in legal trouble, I might as well be a lawyer myself.

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2001 Honda S2000
201.63 whp : 135.74 ft/lbs

lol well i got a lawyer and hes moved it to state court lol. he knows a lot of judges and said that sandy springs or fulton is a no no. going to state court, it will almost 100% get thrown out by the time i actually get a new date.

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sounds about right. if not thrown out, at least degraded... maybe disorderly conduct or some shit liek that.

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2001 Honda S2000
201.63 whp : 135.74 ft/lbs