High Speed Ticket

[DBD2010]

I posted this on the general board and they referred me here. Our son received a speeding ticket on I-10 on sunday at 10:30am for going 101 mph. A total lack of judgement and he knows that. He was coming home from SLU and was late for work but that is no excuse which he also knows. He is 19 and has never had a speeding ticket or accident before. He doesn't drive fast so this is out of character for him also. He currently has but will no doubt lose his good driving discount and good student discount with State Farm. He will be going to court in December. He knows that he was wrong and is ready to accept his punishment. He has never been in trouble before so this is new for us also. He is signed up to take the Defensive Driving course in BR in early November. Is there anything else we should do before going into court? Will he likely go to jail? The ticket code was section 32:61. If it's likely he will get his license suspended, we need to be getting ready to see how to get him to school as he lives 9 miles from SLU. He knows this was a very serious and stupid thing he did but he will have to suffer the consequences? Can i have your thoughts on this? Thanks, we are pretty upset about this.

[mavriktu]

No jail,No suspension(if this is indeed his first,or is it his first that you know of??:rolleyes:),It will likely be pretty expensive,if he completes the driver course before his court date,he can take the certificate with him and try to get a "pre-trial" with the Asst.D.A. in court that day,they will usually play Lets Make a Deal.
The amount will vary,was it Tangi or St.Tammany?? I think Tangi is cheaper.At that much over I am pretty sure it is a mandatory court appearance and can not be pled and paid before court.Not sure "I just writes em,I dont pays em";)

edited to add,show him yesterday and todays newspapers,I think this weekend the troop handled about 6 fatalaties on I-10 :(

[DBD2010]

Appreciate the reply. Yes it is his first but he will go to court and face the judge. Knowing our son, that is going to make a huge and lasting impression on him. He was and frankly still is upset with himself as he knows he let us down. That's a big deal for him. We haven't had tickets before as we just aren't in that big of a hurry. But he has a responsibility and will fulfill it one way or another. Have a good one.

[eman2k5]

No jail,No suspension(if this is indeed his first,or is it his first that you know of??:rolleyes:),It will likely be pretty expensive,if he completes the driver course before his court date,he can take the certificate with him and try to get a "pre-trial" with the Asst.D.A. in court that day,they will usually play Lets Make a Deal.
The amount will vary,was it Tangi or St.Tammany?? I think Tangi is cheaper.At that much over I am pretty sure it is a mandatory court appearance and can not be pled and paid before court.Not sure "I just writes em,I dont pays em";)

edited to add,show him yesterday and todays newspapers,I think this weekend the troop handled about 6 fatalaties on I-10 :(

Yep, that wreck going from Covington to Slidell before Lacombe didn’t look so pretty......

[creolecop]

First offense like that no jail, however, if I stop someone going 101 which I have stopped a 102, he already beat the odds, because I would have locked him up and towed the vehicle on the spot. I would have charged him with 14:99 Reckess Operation that would have suspended him for sure.

As for Jail, I doubt he would get a jail sentence with a clean record, however, be prepared he may have his license suspended for minimum 30 days. Thats what I'v seen handed out for first offenses like that. The fine is going to be around $450 I'd bet.

[DBD2010]

He ends his semester term on dec 13th and after he drives home, his car isn't going to leave the driveway until he goes back in early January. That much is already a done deal with us. I guess we can all get stupid sometimes, but he was brought up better. Thanks for the reply.

[trinityalumnus]

He currently has but will no doubt lose his good driving discount and good student discount with State Farm. .


Not to rain on your already-soggy parade, but you and your son should also mentally prepare for a potential hike in your insurance premium, apart from losing the discounts. Maybe, maybe not, but speeding that much over the limit is going to get State Farm's attention.

[DBD2010]

Thursday is the court date. Will update as to how it ends up. He understands that he may go to jail and he is shook. We shall see. Lessons in life are not always easy. Thank heavens that no one was hurt. Thanks again for your honesty.

[Gtiapr3]

Get an Attorney!

I don't want to publicly brag about how fast of a speeding ticket I got out of by having an awesome attorney, but the right attorney is absolutely imperative.

Pay $1k for a good attorney, this will keep it off your record (hopefully), insurance never finds out, no time in jail (probably wouldn't happen anyway), reduced fines (if your lucky). The fine isn't the problem, its your adjusted premiums you will pay for insurance. Criminal speeding is a misdemeanor in my state and you probably don't want that on your record. This is not the time to be teaching/learning lessons by getting thrown under the bus and taking what the court gives you and saying thank you. YOU teach your son a lesson dont let a judge.

Bottom line get an Attorney.

[mavriktu]

DBD,I am about 100% positive he is not going to jail(ya dont have to tell him though),they are WAYYYYYYY to full right now and traffic violations with no injury etc,it just aint gonna happen.Ask E-man2k5,he works there and I bet can assure you they dont have any traffic violators in there .

[formerNOPD]

He is very lucky to only get off with a ticket. I would have took him in on signal 99 for that speed. Too darn dangerous to be driving that way. 10 over the limit is one thing, but 30? No way. Good luck with the court time, hopefully he will learn a lesson, and thank god he is alive and did not harm anyone while having this lapse of judgement.

[DBD2010]

We talked with an attorney friend of ours who came along and spoke with the ADA. Ended up with a medium fine and court costs, a driving course that he had already completed, 15 days jail suspended however he is to go for two 8 hour days on any two saturdays to the jail and will spend it most likely picking up trash. 90 days probabation no suspension of license. Judge was tough but they talked. This has left our son understanding the potential consequences. He can go pick up trash and work it off. Thanks for everyone's comments. If this wouldn't have been his first ticket, he would have gone to jail for 2 full days immediately. This for others information. St Tammany is not as lienient as New Orleans. Thanks

[eman2k5]

Oh ok, Your son will be in the 8-4 program....

[eman2k5]

AKA the training center in Pearl River.....doing yard work etc...

Orange and white pants and a regular joe shirt on top.

[RoadKingTrooper]

He is 19 and has never had a speeding ticket or accident before. He doesn't drive fast so this is out of character for him also.
Probably a hard nosed answer, but isn't he old enough to take care of this himself?

we are pretty upset about this.


JMHO RKT

[creolecop]

I can guarantee you another reckless Op type of situation, his license will be suspended and he will spend some time in jail, how much is a big toss up but I'd say enough to think about what he did. Hope he learned, sounds like he'll be ok.

[DAL]

Things are different in California. Speeding is part of the California culture. Where else is the normal flow of traffic 80 - 85 mph on a freeway with a posted 65 mph limit? Reckless driving is driving a "vehicle upon a highway in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property."

In California, driving in excess of 100 mph is not considered reckless driving, absent other aggravating factors. Violation of CVC section 22348(b) (driving in excess of 100 mph) is an infraction, which means that the penalty cannot include jail time.

If driving over 100 mph were reckless driving per se, then law-enforcement officers could never drive over 100 mph, because even when exempt from the rules of the road, the driver of an authorized emergency vehicle has a "duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons and property."

[DBD2010]

For any part of his normal life, i.e. college, job, etc, yes at 19 he should and does handle everything. When he asks for our opinions or help we give it. For something like this which includes legal responsibilities however that he has never experienced, we don't feel it would be prudent to be left to chance. Here again he asked for help and we gave it. Experience is useful at times. Have a good one.