Im 17 yrs old and got a ticket...please help

[alyssaw]

hey. well im seventeen years old and am very responsible. i took the teen-smart drivers training program and also have straight a's in school. so i get two discounts on my insurance. well i was on the freeway in CA in the fast lane. little did i realize i was going 85 mph! i was listening to my music singing along. minding my own business then all the sudden lights appear in my rear view mirror! i had no idea i was even going 85. well the cop said he clocked me at 90....ANYWAYS.i am so scared and dont know wat to do. im such a goodie-good. clean record. no points. full coverage insurance. my court date is in january. are they going to take my license away?! is there anything i can do? i work two jobs, go to school....etc. please help me. ):

[retdetsgt]

I'm not sure how you think we can help you. All you can do is go to court and tell the judge what you said here. He's the one who decides. The idea behind tickets is to punish you for bad driving. You could have killed yourself and/or someone else driving that fast, especially if you were listening to music and not paying attention. Learn a lesson from it and move on.

[Gutwrench]

Hello Alyssaw,

Many crimes require specific intent, in other words a specific frame of mind when committing the act. However, speeding (along with many other traffic violations) is a general intent offense. What that means is that you don't need to mean to do it. The offense is complete by the mere act of commiting the violation. In this case exceeding the maximum speed limit. The reason I point this out is due to your statement "little did I realize." As a driver, particularly a young driver, you need to know what you and your vehicle are doing at all times. Peoples lives depend on it.

I recommend you turn down the music and pay attention to the road. If you are as "goodie" as you claim them you probably have no prior cites so perhaps you will be eligible for traffic school.

[scott715us]

Soooo..you're asking for our help on a pro-LE website, but then you imply the officer is wrong when he told you he clocked you at 90mph even though you were not sure how fast you were going...riggghhhtt.

How about you turn your sentence around a little bit. Here's how it should go>>> " I live in x state and was caught going 90mph on x freeway. What can I expect in court?"

[Samuel]

hey. well im seventeen years old and am very responsible. i took the teen-smart drivers training program and also have straight a's in school. so i get two discounts on my insurance. well i was on the freeway in CA in the fast lane. little did i realize i was going 85 mph! i was listening to my music singing along. minding my own business then all the sudden lights appear in my rear view mirror! i had no idea i was even going 85. well the cop said he clocked me at 90....ANYWAYS.i am so scared and dont know wat to do. im such a goodie-good. clean record. no points. full coverage insurance. my court date is in january. are they going to take my license away?! is there anything i can do? i work two jobs, go to school....etc. please help me. ):

Is your license provisional? What did your parent(s) say? What kind of "help" are you asking for/expecting?

IF you are as responsible as you claim to be - admit you screwed up, humbly request leniency, ask if you can attend traffic school, suck up whatever penalty the court/judge gives you.

[Aussie George]

The following is not legal advice. For that see a lawyer.

However, here are some options for you.

1. plead guilty if you believe you committed the offence (the reason is irrelevant as per above posts)
2. don't do it again.
3. be thankful you did not crash
4. Pay more attention. turn off music, phones, and other ditracting devices. Tests show that they can contribute to crashes (and 20 years of riding motorbikes and getting cleaned up, run off roads and nearly killed a million times by people talking on phones and listening to loud music has shown to me that those tests are correct).
5. apologise to the officer for wasting his time and making him risk his life to stop you to prevent you from hurting yourself. He was doing you a favour by risking his life that day.
6. Learn from your mistake.


Good luck and I wish you all the best in the future.

[mcsap]

If you are 17 and are so engrossed in the radio etc that you didn't know you were doing 85 or 90 mph....it is time for a lesson in life.

I recently got zinged by photo radar doing 67 in 50 zone on an interstate highway ( Maryland Construction zones are " active " 24 hrs a day , even when the workers aren't there !!!) at 12:16 am with little traffic in sight. I knew how fast I was going and I have to pay up.

In my state , you would lose your license for 30 over.

[ChesCopPodz]

If you're responsible, as you say you are, the be responsible for your actions. Either pay the ticket or go to court and tell the judge that you honestly werent paying attention and that you screwed up.