South Carolina Speeding Tickets ....

[Stevie Ray]

Well ... I got a ticket yesterday just outside of Myrtle Beach, SC. He clocked me at 55 in a 40 mph zone. From what I understand, this is a 4 point ticket and Virginia and South Carolina participate in the multi-state pact that swaps this sort of info (DMV to DMV).

As I understand it, the South Carolina ticketing process is that they give you the ticket without the actual statutory fine listed (it should be $75 according to the SC DMV website). Instead they post a bail amount on the ticket which may be submitted in lieu of appearing in court ($180 in my case). If you simply pay the bail amount by mail, you forfeit the entire amount if you choose to not show up on the listed court date. Unlike Texas (the last place I was ticketed), there is no place on the ticket to enter a pleade (nolo contendre sp ? or other). Obviously this is their established practice down there, but I'm not happy about it ... :mad:

I don't have any other points accumulated on my license and I was doing 55 (heck, I had it on cruise :rolleyes: ). It was 5:30 am, and NOBODY ... was out there aside from the officer and ... me. He got me fair and square.

Any advice from folks that live down in that neck of the woods ?? I'm thinking I'll just go ahead and pay it. The only other alternative is to hire a SC lawyer and that could be pricey too.

[JD Spydo]

The protocol structure of a lot of traffic courts are totally unconstitutional and completely rigged to be a revenue enhancing tool. Now please don't misunderstand me because I do indeed think that there should be speed limits and that they should be enforced. These CELL PHONE ADDICTS should be at the very top of their priority list. However on the other hand to strip a guy of his rights to where he has no means of mounting a viable defense is completely draconian.

The last traffic ticket I got was in March of 1995. They even made me give a thumb print which I thought was a total rape of my constitutional rights :mad: . To me it looked as though they were equating my alleged speeding on the same level as holding up a convenience store. With that totalitarian mindset I am surprised that they don't make simple traffic tickets a felony.

Unfortunately my friend you really need the services of an attorney. I took my ticket to trial against my lawyers advice and won. I proved that I was innocent and was very fortunate to prevail ( after also being raped of $300+ attorney's fees). I do believe that my decent driving record might have helped but I don't know for sure. But beware because some of these municipalities are dastardly corrupt. :mad:

[zenheretic]

I actually agree with most of what JD states in this thread. It is naturally a revenue enhancing tool set up near a resort area. They well know that most folks ticketed are out of staters who will be unable to attend court due to being...out of state. Likely one of those "No points on your License Lawyers" would be worth it for the points and insurance hike...You have to weight the attorney fees vs. overall cost of increased insurance premiums and the risk of future points on the license.

[Stevie Ray]

The more I've thought about it, the more PO'ed I get. Yes, I was speeding and got caught, but I resent the game SC plays with their traffic ticket procedures. I did fish around a little bit for a SC attorney on the net and just for openers, (for the poor ole out of state guy) it's $300 bucks. Even at that, I have no clue who I would be dealing with.

Guess I'll just be a bit more careful about my speed the next few years. My record is clean as my last ticket that stuck was in Texas 15 plus years ago. I did get pulled in Virginia about 8 years ago when I was doing 61 or so in a 55. This time, the officer said he had me on radar doing 81 .. :eek: I politely denied that I was doing 81 and he reduced the charge to 69 or something like that (which was still bogus). In any case I showed up in court on this one. The officer showed up at the last minute, passed a note to the clerk of court (after I had entered my innocent pleade), and my case was dismissed due to lack of evidence ... Go figure... No ticket that time.

I guess I'm going to pony up the bail amount on the SC ticket. As the SC cops know, it's just a whole lot less hassle to pay the pumped up amount than to try to fight it from 500 miles away. :mad:

[psimonl]

My brother in law, who is canadian but has his green card and has been living in Washington for the past five year got a Speeding ticket last year, in Pennsylvania I think, I had to hire a lawyer because he could have lost his right of residency in the USA!!!!

Can you imagine, being kicked out of a country just because you were 15 MPH over the limit!!!!

Back to your case, Like you said, he got you fare and square... I would say bite the bullet, pay the fine and stop thinking about it!!!

Simon

[JD Spydo]

My brother in law, who is canadian but has his green card and has been living in Washington for the past five year got a Speeding ticket last year, in Pennsylvania I think, I had to hire a lawyer because he could have lost his right of residency in the USA!!!!

Can you imagine, being kicked out of a country just because you were 15 MPH over the limit!!!!

Back to your case, Like you said, he got you fare and square... I would say bite the bullet, pay the fine and stop thinking about it!!!

Simon

Simon with all due respect I think you really mean well. If we were dealing with a Police department that was above board and a municipality that was playing fair and treating Stevie Ray in a rational and reasonable manner I would say your advice should be considered. But with the facts I have heard coupled with what ZEN said it seems to me like we have a classic case of tourist/speed trap. The entire scope of the way Stevie describes it just does not pass the smell test. If you were dealing with honorable, decent people that would be one thing. But what you seemingly have here is a devisive, sinister revenue trap. Intentionally targeting tourists knowing that they can not mount a viable defense by virtue of them living hundreds of miles away and the defense would be prohibitive expensive is just a cowardly "set up" to me.

But on the other hand Stevie was man enough to admit that he was speeding but did elaborate that was not going nearly as fast as they claim. And I believe him. I have talked to this man too many times here on the Forum to believe that he is telling us anything but the truth. It also appears like you have a case of "selective enforcement" in targeting people who don't have the means of mounting a viable defense to have their side of the story told. The really dangerous road menaces are these abominable, disgusting, inconsiderate Cell Phone Addicts. These people are far worse than your nominal beer drinker. They are far worse than a teenager not using good sense. And with the exception of a few intelligent states that have brought about some legislation to eradicate this phone talking & driving which has proven to be by far the very worst menace on the road with no close second. And I would bet that this group of yo-yos don't do anything about that or anything else to geniunely make the roads safer :mad:

With that being said it is clear to me that road safety is not their primary concern. They are using this tourist trap situation as a sleezy revenue enhancing tool. I am not for people speeding or going too fast but I would bet in this case that the limit that he probably broke was incredibly, unreasonably and artificially low in which almost everybody driving through that road probably breaks it. A classic speed/tourist trap all the way :(

[Jordan]

I've been given three speeding tickets in New Mexico while traveling towards the Gila national park, one a year from when I was 16 to 18. None of them were for speeding more than 10 miles over the speed limit, all three times I was pulled over by a cop in a motorcycle (which basically means that all they are capable of doing is giving speeding tickets... seeing as they cannot detain a suspect in their vehicle), and all three times that I traveled a hundred and twenty miles to attend the court date, the state trooper didn't feel the need to show up. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad it didn't end up being a my word against his type of deal... but it really accents the sleazy nature of the whole ordeal. I think most police officers start their day's thinking that they are going to do some good for the world. How must it feel for these highway patrolman knowing that they are essentially embarking on a quest to ruin as many people's days as possible... I realize that is probably undeservably harsh for any troopers who might be on the forum. But look at it from my perspective, 200 bucks unexpectadly taken off my paycheck means I go without food for a week.

[BlackNinja]

I guess I'm going to pony up the bail amount on the SC ticket. As the SC cops know, it's just a whole lot less hassle to pay the pumped up amount than to try to fight it from 500 miles away. :mad:
I think that's the right move! If you didn't live 500 miles away, IMO, it would be a different story. That's a VERY long distance hassel! There's really no other choice, other than getting a lawyer, and that expense, with someone you've never even seen, would cost much more money, time and longer bs litigation process. For me, it's a POed :mad: no brainer.
Sorry to hear about it! :(

[zenheretic]

Off topic point of interest here is the way people from different parts of the country view 500 miles. In Montana, Texas, California, and Alaska, 500 miles isn't that far. It isn't even out of state.

[BlackNinja]

Off topic point of interest here is the way people from different parts of the country view 500 miles. In Montana, Texas, California, and Alaska, 500 miles isn't that far. It isn't even out of state.
500 miles is what, a 7 - 9 hour drive in any state! Unless you want to get another speeding ticket. I've traveled up and down the east coast, and 500 miles is no fun, especially for $180.

[Stevie Ray]

With that being said it is clear to me that road safety is not their primary concern. They are using this tourist trap situation as a sleezy revenue enhancing tool. I am not for people speeding or going too fast but I would bet in this case that the limit that he probably broke was incredibly, unreasonably and artificially low in which almost everybody driving through that road probably breaks it. A classic speed/tourist trap all the way :(
No question about this particular road setup being used as a speed trap. The speed limit had been 50 for some number of miles. As the officer mentioned, I must have missed the 40 mph sign about a mile back. :mad:

I'm sure there was a sign, and I'm sure it accomodated some reasonable need for lowered speeds, but the speed limit went right back up to 50 about a 1/2 mile down the road. I'm guessing that it is likely that they target out of staters due to the extra revenue potential. In looking into this over the course of the week, I'm sending my money order to a city court even though the ticket was a South Carolina state ticket. Interesting ...

In any case, I'm just going to pay it ... Regardless of the circumstances, he did catch me doing 15 over the posted limit. I guess I'm lucky it wasn't 20 + mph over the limit. If that got posted on my Virginia record, it would be a reckless driving charge ... 6 points ...

Another interesting fact I turned up is that North Carolina folks that get tickets in South Carolina that are 15+ mph over the limit are forced to hire lawyers to have the ticket contested or they risk losing their licenses in NC. Seems that reckless driving in SC is either 20 or 25 over the limit, but only 15 over the limit in NC. When 15+ mph points / ticket info gets transferred from NC to SC on an uncontested SC ticket, the NC driver has his license suspended!!! They get informed via a little letter from the NC DMV ... How do you like that one... :eek: According to what I read, this is a common occurance in NC.

Signed by the guy with a lighter wallet .....

[fret]

Steve, this is the type of thing that is happening all over. It's a lot easier to catch an honest person going a few miles over the speed limit than it is to go looking for the criminals. There is a speed trap down the street from me. I hear sirens all night long. This is a money making racket for the cops in our area. I drive at least 5 miles and hour below the posted speed limit. I haven't gotten stopped by them so far. I'd be very angry about that too. But they know you won't hire a lawyer and go to court. That's how they make their big money. :(

[psimonl]

Simon with all due respect I think you really mean well. If we were dealing with a Police department that was above board and a municipality that was playing fair and treating Stevie Ray in a rational and reasonable manner I would say your advice should be considered. But with the facts I have heard coupled with what ZEN said it seems to me like we have a classic case of tourist/speed trap. The entire scope of the way Stevie describes it just does not pass the smell test. If you were dealing with honorable, decent people that would be one thing. But what you seemingly have here is a devisive, sinister revenue trap. Intentionally targeting tourists knowing that they can not mount a viable defense by virtue of them living hundreds of miles away and the defense would be prohibitive expensive is just a cowardly "set up" to me.

But on the other hand Stevie was man enough to admit that he was speeding but did elaborate that was not going nearly as fast as they claim. And I believe him. I have talked to this man too many times here on the Forum to believe that he is telling us anything but the truth. It also appears like you have a case of "selective enforcement" in targeting people who don't have the means of mounting a viable defense to have their side of the story told. The really dangerous road menaces are these abominable, disgusting, inconsiderate Cell Phone Addicts. These people are far worse than your nominal beer drinker. They are far worse than a teenager not using good sense. And with the exception of a few intelligent states that have brought about some legislation to eradicate this phone talking & driving which has proven to be by far the very worst menace on the road with no close second. And I would bet that this group of yo-yos don't do anything about that or anything else to geniunely make the roads safer :mad:

With that being said it is clear to me that road safety is not their primary concern. They are using this tourist trap situation as a sleezy revenue enhancing tool. I am not for people speeding or going too fast but I would bet in this case that the limit that he probably broke was incredibly, unreasonably and artificially low in which almost everybody driving through that road probably breaks it. A classic speed/tourist trap all the way :(

I really would like to answer, and it seems you have a point, but I am now to tired to answer and had one (!) drink too much..

See you tomorrow!!! Hips!!!

Simon

BTW... As for Police corps, I think it is meaningless to discuss their attitude here because from what I have experienced through my travelling (Canada, USA, Europe)..... It is a Mather of less than ten miles and the cops your are running into have a completely different point of view ...

Human nature is a Mather of its surrounding!!!

Simon

(Does that sound deep or drunk!!!)