Dear all,
I live in the Netherlands (Europe
) and frankly I have some difficulties in comprehending the sometimes complex wording on this site.
I'm in need of some information and advise as I just came back from my holidays in the US and got a speeding ticket while driving in Death Valley, California.
The situation:
The part of the road where I was "radared" by a policecar from the opposite direction was bumpy, straight and had a steep downward slope. In the Netherlands I'm used to driving a 1,4L stickshift, but in the US I rented a 4L automatic gear. The thing is: an automatic car accelerates on a downward slope (even if you do not touch the throttle), while a stickshift more or less keeps the same speed. This is where I went wrong and before I knew it was going too fast (I have my doubts if it was really 100+), but for sure well over the limit of 65MPH. The police officer was so kind not to throw me in jail and impound the car, but he got my personal details and guaranteed the fine would arrive in the Netherlands in 3 weeks time.
Summarised:
- two lane road (one for each direction)
- 65 MPH is the speed limit on the road (also indicated on the fine)
- Method of detection is radar (taken from the front from a moving police vehicle on a bumpy road --> reliability of 101 MPH measurement seems low to me)
My questions:
- what is the approximate fine I can expect in 2 weeks from now?
- what are my options and chances in fighting this ticket (please note: I do not want to be thrown in jail upon my next visit in the US)?
- what does the exact procedure look like (what (order of) forms, etc)?
- what does immediately pleading guilty to a <100 MPH / <90 MPH reduce in fine amount?
- can I simply "not pay" and get away with it?
Thank you in advance for informing / advising me in this matter.
Kind regards,
JeeVee
I live in the Netherlands (Europe
) and frankly I have some difficulties in comprehending the sometimes complex wording on this site.I'm in need of some information and advise as I just came back from my holidays in the US and got a speeding ticket while driving in Death Valley, California.
The situation:
The part of the road where I was "radared" by a policecar from the opposite direction was bumpy, straight and had a steep downward slope. In the Netherlands I'm used to driving a 1,4L stickshift, but in the US I rented a 4L automatic gear. The thing is: an automatic car accelerates on a downward slope (even if you do not touch the throttle), while a stickshift more or less keeps the same speed. This is where I went wrong and before I knew it was going too fast (I have my doubts if it was really 100+), but for sure well over the limit of 65MPH. The police officer was so kind not to throw me in jail and impound the car, but he got my personal details and guaranteed the fine would arrive in the Netherlands in 3 weeks time.
Summarised:
- two lane road (one for each direction)
- 65 MPH is the speed limit on the road (also indicated on the fine)
- Method of detection is radar (taken from the front from a moving police vehicle on a bumpy road --> reliability of 101 MPH measurement seems low to me)
My questions:
- what is the approximate fine I can expect in 2 weeks from now?
- what are my options and chances in fighting this ticket (please note: I do not want to be thrown in jail upon my next visit in the US)?
- what does the exact procedure look like (what (order of) forms, etc)?
- what does immediately pleading guilty to a <100 MPH / <90 MPH reduce in fine amount?
- can I simply "not pay" and get away with it?
Thank you in advance for informing / advising me in this matter.
Kind regards,
JeeVee