I recently bought a new car for better mobility. Not because I wanted one, but because I needed one. Living in Spencer,NY does not help at all. Far flung from the rest of the civilization by at least 40 minutes of drive, no bus and nothing, kind of takes a car out of the WANTS section and ever so unceremoniously drops it into the NEEDS section. I could not afford to look at any with a "For Sale" symbol with a glint of interest in my eyes anymore. It was replaced by the look of a bloodhound preying its quarry, a rustic Indian over-aged unmarried male ogling a luscious NRI in a small tight skimpy dress and I could go on, but I believe I made my point. Eventually after compromising with reality,crashing any fantasies I harbored for a corvette(yeah yeah I know I am a big dreamer), I settled for a Honda Accord with about 100,000 miles on it. I was told it would run forever and that the car would fall apart before the engine died. That was good enough for me.
So I now had a car. And to my delight, I had roads to run it on. And to further indulge my diablerie, I took to going on a 2.6 hour drive to Rochester every weekend. On occasion, I would briefly, push the car over 93mph only to find my car shaking as if I was in the middle of an earthquake. I would remind myself about the "car falling apart" part and decide it was not worth the curiosity(It could probably get me killed too). One of my friends later told me if I were ever to get into an accident in my 93 Honda Accord going at 93mph, the cops would not probably be looking for me in the car, but rather the car itself. I can see a red flag especially when it is right in my face, so I paid heed.
Karma is a bit slow in catching up, but it does so eventually. I was cruising behind another car and just before I was pulled over 5 minutes later, this expensive looking car which was going full throttle until then, suddenly managed to pull itself into the heavily packed right lane. Now, you should never speed behind an expensive car, primarily because they have enough money to pay the ticket off, wipe the dirt off and walk away, and secondly if they do slow down suddenly, it is a clear indication there is a police car ahead(Police radar in the car blip blip...). I had too many things on my mind then, so instead of slowing down and falling behind I instead sped up,passed all those cars on my right and pulled over to the right lane. Sure enough, a cop car came up like 5 minutes later. I believed I could talk myself out and thought I was just a notch over the speed limit. As it turns out, I was doing 76 in a 55mph(Holy crap! did not look at the speed zone change from 65 to 55). I told him I was going to eat pizza and so he served me a ticket along with it.
A brief look at the Drivers manual freaked me out with charges of reckless driving, etc etc. My friend(the same one)suggested I talk to a District Attorney. While I was in court I was offered the choice to talk to a DA and I did that. Once I was there I confessed it was my mistake to the DA and my job needs me to have my license(I was on my probation, so a speeding ticket will suspend it), told him I had a clean record and all. He gave me a non-moving violation. Here are my words of wisdom to those drivers who sped and are now in court.
Do not plead guilty to the charge which is posted on the ticket. More often than not, once you talk to the DA, he will reduce the charge because it saves court time and money, and he has a better chance of convicting you at a lesser charge than to fight you for the charge on the ticket in the court. The DA is also human, and if your reasons are genuine, he might completely waive the charge.
So when you go to court the first time, say you plead not guilty to the charge, will need an attorney for the trial, and request to talk to a DA. Showing every intention to fight the ticket is really good, you are more liable to get a plea offer that way. Always be prompt to the court, try to be before time if you can be, and be as courteous, crisply dressed and well spoken as you can be. Do NOT show up drunk or stoned. On the date given to meet the DA, make sure you meet him. If you cannot, call the town clerk up to find out if you can reschedule. Talk to the DA and go all out and tell him how it will affect your life. If you like the plea bargain take it(You should most probably do that), else the next best way would be to keep postponing your appearance in the court and hope that the time you choose to actually make an appearance, that the police officer does not turn up. And make the fine payment promptly. All the best!!
These days, I never ever drive over the posted speed limit and try to save myself the trouble. After all, its like marriage. Its easier not getting into it(a ticket) that trying to get out of it.
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