I hope I'm in the right area. I need advice

[JDog037]

Illinois

So here is my story. I was driving on I 70 east in Illinois going to a bowling tournament. As I approached a construction area, I did what the signs said and merged but did not slow down. Right as I saw the speed limit being 55 and I was doing 70 , I pushed my brakes right as I saw I was going fast. No more than 5 seconds later a cop pulled out waited until out of the zone and pulled me over. I have to go to court or plead guilty and pay between $300 and $600 he says. I was slowing down as I saw it because the signs saying construction ahead and didn't start until then. I was at the 70 speed limit because I was running late to meet my parents who haven't seen me in a few months for my 21st birthday. I'm not trying to make things up but we had plans and they were messed up throughout the day. Any advice on what will happen, I never get in trouble ever and since I got pulled over I have be so nervous and really can't believe I would do this. I am a college student near St Louis. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Proserpina]

Illinois

So here is my story. I was driving on I 70 east in Illinois going to a bowling tournament. As I approached a construction area, I did what the signs said and merged but did not slow down. Right as I saw the speed limit being 55 and I was doing 70 , I pushed my brakes right as I saw I was going fast. No more than 5 seconds later a cop pulled out waited until out of the zone and pulled me over. I have to go to court or plead guilty and pay between $300 and $600 he says. I was slowing down as I saw it because the signs saying construction ahead and didn't start until then. I was at the 70 speed limit because I was running late to meet my parents who haven't seen me in a few months for my 21st birthday. I'm not trying to make things up but we had plans and they were messed up throughout the day. Any advice on what will happen, I never get in trouble ever and since I got pulled over I have be so nervous and really can't believe I would do this. I am a college student near St Louis. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

That's not going to excuse speeding. Standby though.

 

[ecmst12]

You are nowhere near the right area. The traffic tickets forum is towards the bottom of the page.

 

[quincy]

Illinois

So here is my story. I was driving on I 70 east in Illinois going to a bowling tournament. As I approached a construction area, I did what the signs said and merged but did not slow down. Right as I saw the speed limit being 55 and I was doing 70 , I pushed my brakes right as I saw I was going fast. No more than 5 seconds later a cop pulled out waited until out of the zone and pulled me over. I have to go to court or plead guilty and pay between $300 and $600 he says. I was slowing down as I saw it because the signs saying construction ahead and didn't start until then. I was at the 70 speed limit because I was running late to meet my parents who haven't seen me in a few months for my 21st birthday. I'm not trying to make things up but we had plans and they were messed up throughout the day. Any advice on what will happen, I never get in trouble ever and since I got pulled over I have be so nervous and really can't believe I would do this. I am a college student near St Louis. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

From the Illinois State Police, here is a link to Illinois Speed Limit Enforcement:
http://www.isp.state.il.us/traffic/speedlimitenf.cfm

And here is a link to the speeding laws in Illinois (scroll down to 625 ILCS Article 6, Speed Restrictions): http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs4.asp?DocName=062500050HCh.+11&ActID=1815&ChapterID=49&SeqStart=108800000&SeqEnd=133200000

You are fortunate that you were not going 26 mph over the speed limit as that is now a Class B misdemeanor in Illinois, subject to 180 days in jail and a $1500 fine. If you think you have a defense to the ticket, you can consult with an attorney in your area.

Finally, here is a link to Illinois Legal Aid, with information on what to do if you are ticketed:
http://www.illinoislegalaid.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.dsp_content&contentID=5696

Good luck and drive safely.

 

[Reto]

Illinois

So here is my story. I was driving on I 70 east in Illinois going to a bowling tournament. As I approached a construction area, I did what the signs said and merged but did not slow down. Right as I saw the speed limit being 55 and I was doing 70 , I pushed my brakes right as I saw I was going fast. No more than 5 seconds later a cop pulled out waited until out of the zone and pulled me over. I have to go to court or plead guilty and pay between $300 and $600 he says. I was slowing down as I saw it because the signs saying construction ahead and didn't start until then. I was at the 70 speed limit because I was running late to meet my parents who haven't seen me in a few months for my 21st birthday. I'm not trying to make things up but we had plans and they were messed up throughout the day. Any advice on what will happen, I never get in trouble ever and since I got pulled over I have be so nervous and really can't believe I would do this. I am a college student near St Louis. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I used to get so many tickets I was at the point of losing my license three times then I bought a radar detector. In 8 years not one ticket since. Now, with that said, I had a few things I'd pull to lower my ticket costs. First, I had a lawyer who would go to court with me when my mph over was so high I didn't have a "payable" option. Usually it got my ticket bumped down from something like 25+ over to 10 over. For 150.00 a pop...it was worth it. No reason to be afraid or nervous, they are speeding tickets. They are revenue generators for the county/city, etc. They say they are keeping people "safe" but really it's a revenue thing....so you are NOT a criminal and you won't be treated like one.

You can also try traffic school if the state allows it. In my state, Kentucky you could go to traffic school once every few years and it would keep points off your license. You still have to pay the ticket AND for traffic school....but if you are a serial speeder it makes a huge difference if you think you might get another ticket soon. Especially since this one might rack up some huge points for you.

And then there's the "I know the prosecuting attorney/county attorney" etc. I come from a small place of only about a 2K population in my town, so in your case I have went into his office, sat down, told him what happened and he printed off a paper for me to sign and if I didn't get any more tickets in 5 years in that particular county I didn't have to pay that ticket. Of course....it takes being in a small town and knowing everybody for that to work. So...those are your options if you want to try to alleviate damage....because you will have to pay it...and the police officer WILL show up to court more than likely.

 

[Zigner]

I used to get so many tickets I was at the point of losing my license three times then I bought a radar detector. In 8 years not one ticket since.

Wow, and to think that I've never owned a radar detector and it's been 27 years since my one (and only) speeding ticket.

(I was cited doing 70 in a 55 zone. Ironically, it wasn't too much longer before that section of freeway was reclassified at a higher limit.)

 

[Proserpina]

I used to get so many tickets I was at the point of losing my license three times then I bought a radar detector. In 8 years not one ticket since. Now, with that said, I had a few things I'd pull to lower my ticket costs. First, I had a lawyer who would go to court with me when my mph over was so high I didn't have a "payable" option. Usually it got my ticket bumped down from something like 25+ over to 10 over. For 150.00 a pop...it was worth it. No reason to be afraid or nervous, they are speeding tickets. They are revenue generators for the county/city, etc. They say they are keeping people "safe" but really it's a revenue thing....so you are NOT a criminal and you won't be treated like one.

You can also try traffic school if the state allows it. In my state, Kentucky you could go to traffic school once every few years and it would keep points off your license. You still have to pay the ticket AND for traffic school....but if you are a serial speeder it makes a huge difference if you think you might get another ticket soon. Especially since this one might rack up some huge points for you.

And then there's the "I know the prosecuting attorney/county attorney" etc. I come from a small place of only about a 2K population in my town, so in your case I have went into his office, sat down, told him what happened and he printed off a paper for me to sign and if I didn't get any more tickets in 5 years in that particular county I didn't have to pay that ticket. Of course....it takes being in a small town and knowing everybody for that to work. So...those are your options if you want to try to alleviate damage....because you will have to pay it...and the police officer WILL show up to court more than likely.

What does Illinois provide?