Should this be a ticket?

scupking

Active Member
Sep 18, 2005
1,186
1
36
Enfield, CT
Kind of a funny story, I didn't drive my stang to work today because of the snowstorm we are having in New England. I got dropped off at work this morning and tonight I had my dad pick me up in his Expedition. On the way home there was a guy in a Silver Maxima going 15-20mph in a 45mph zone. We passed him in a white doted line-passing zone going about 30-35mph and then got pulled over. My dad got a ticket from $100. This is how it all pans out.

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Road conditions = light snow covered.
Road type = white doted passing zone
Posted speed limit = 45 mph on rt. 140 across from Chesters Plaza.
No posted reduced speed or road hazard sings.

Car in front was a Silver Nissan Maxima going 15-20mph
Silver Nissan Maxima had a completely covered rear window and break lights (obstruction of view)

Pasted Silver Nissan Maxima at 30-35 mph in a designated passing zone (going 10-15mph under posted speed limit)

Cop pulled out of MardiGras (local stripe club/bar) roughly three miles back down the road.

Cop was roughly in his late 20s early 30s.


Ticket $100 for passing on unsafe conditions.

No illegal maneuvers were performed and I can 99.9% grantee you the cop or anyone else would have passed the Silver Nissan Maxima.
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I don't think this should be a ticket at all and he should go to court and fight it.
 
Sounds to me like he passed at an unsafe speed for the given conditions. Many people do not realize that 4wd vehicles take just as long to stop in the snow as a car. And when you are driving a 6000lb behemouth, in the snow, in traffic, you need to consider the damage you can do. But then again, maybe the cop was having a bad day and he didnt deserve the ticket.
 
Yeah, he kind of put it under the "driving too fast for conditions" umbrella. I'm sure there's some sort of base criteria to meet the definition, but it's mostly the officer's opinion of the road conditions at that time. I've heard of similar situations.
 
Sounds to me like he passed at an unsafe speed for the given conditions. Many people do not realize that 4wd vehicles take just as long to stop in the snow as a car. And when you are driving a 6000lb behemouth, in the snow, in traffic, you need to consider the damage you can do. But then again, maybe the cop was having a bad day and he didnt deserve the ticket.
No other traffic besides the car in front of us.


did this officer pass this same car to get up to you and pull you over. If so what gives him the right over you?


Yes the cop passed the other car to get to us.
 
Ya it was really slippery out this morning going to work and also on the way at 3 PM. But man that cop definitely had a bug up his ass for stopping you especially if he had to pass the Max too. I would fight the ticket and have it reduced.
 
I remember this time when it snowed and the posted speed limit was 40mph, and I was going 30 and this a hole suv flashed his bright lights and nearly rear ended me and kept honking. The roads were horrible, I had no traction, snow was coming down hard, it just got done sleeting and freezing rain.


Why can't people and you realize that people are driving slow because they prefer to keep their lives unlike people who decide to drive faster in bad conditions. Snow and rain are bad conditions and 20 miles an hour is still a little bit too fast to slow to a complete stop in a quick time.

I am glad your dad got a ticket.
 
I remember this time when it snowed and the posted speed limit was 40mph, and I was going 30 and this a hole suv flashed his bright lights and nearly rear ended me and kept honking. The roads were horrible, I had no traction, snow was coming down hard, it just got done sleeting and freezing rain.


Why can't people and you realize that people are driving slow because they prefer to keep their lives unlike people who decide to drive faster in bad conditions. Snow and rain are bad conditions and 20 miles an hour is still a little bit too fast to slow to a complete stop in a quick time.

I am glad your dad got a ticket.

Sometimes going to slow in the snow is just as bad as going to fast. You go to slow up a hill and your going to end up going backwards. I hate when I’m stuck behind someone going excessively slow in the snow. Granted tonight was on a long strait flat road. I'm just saying slow is not always go in the snow.
 
Hmm going slow saved my rear when a deer popped out right infront of me on a straight road.

Along time ago this lady drove me home in a blizzard type snow storm. She was going way to fast (35 in a 45) next thing you know a deer jumped out. She slammed on her brakes and ran that poor animal over...

Going slow only takes more time... Learn to be patient. I'd rather go 5mph than 30mph when it's snowing. Maybe that is the reason I have never wrecked any of my cars in my life.

It's funny that the slow people are blamed when the faster people pass the slow person and then they wreck. That happend to me when I was going home with my mother. She was driving, and I told her to slow the **** down. She did, and this lady in a yellow car got into the passing lane and started to pass us when all of a sudden she lost control and ditched it. Being PATIENT would of saved her nice new car from being damaged.

Here is a tip I do to determine how fast I will drive in bad conditions. I go 25mph on a backroad (since they never get plowed) and then I slam on the brakes. If it takes me more than 1 car length to stop, then I drive slower than what I am suppose to. Reason being, if it takes 2 car lengths to stop going 25mph, think about going 50mph. That'll most likely be more than 4 car lengths to stop, and if you are like most people that ride others rear when it's bad, then that is called a collision.

Most to all people drive impulsively wether they think it or not. Just use your head and not be on your cell phone or anything else when it's snowing or bad road conditions and you or your father wont get ticketed.

Just send the $100 into the court and apologize for driving fast in bad weather.
 
Sounds like total BS - take it to court and play it smart and you'll be fine. There is NOTHING wrong with passing a vehicle doing 20-25mph UNDER the speed limit, pretty much no matter what the conditions...unless it's full on blizzard, but then you shouldn't be able to pass anyway lol.
 
Hmm going slow saved my rear when a deer popped out right infront of me on a straight road.

Along time ago this lady drove me home in a blizzard type snow storm. She was going way to fast (35 in a 45) next thing you know a deer jumped out. She slammed on her brakes and ran that poor animal over...

Going slow only takes more time... Learn to be patient. I'd rather go 5mph than 30mph when it's snowing. Maybe that is the reason I have never wrecked any of my cars in my life.

It's funny that the slow people are blamed when the faster people pass the slow person and then they wreck. That happend to me when I was going home with my mother. She was driving, and I told her to slow the **** down. She did, and this lady in a yellow car got into the passing lane and started to pass us when all of a sudden she lost control and ditched it. Being PATIENT would of saved her nice new car from being damaged.

Here is a tip I do to determine how fast I will drive in bad conditions. I go 25mph on a backroad (since they never get plowed) and then I slam on the brakes. If it takes me more than 1 car length to stop, then I drive slower than what I am suppose to. Reason being, if it takes 2 car lengths to stop going 25mph, think about going 50mph. That'll most likely be more than 4 car lengths to stop, and if you are like most people that ride others rear when it's bad, then that is called a collision.

Most to all people drive impulsively wether they think it or not. Just use your head and not be on your cell phone or anything else when it's snowing or bad road conditions and you or your father wont get ticketed.

Just send the $100 into the court and apologize for driving fast in bad weather.

It seems to me even in perfect conditions it would take longer than 15 feet to stop a Stang from 25 mph. Horsepower just did an 07 GT and said from 70 it takes a stock GT 170 feet to stop and they knocked it down to 140 something with big brake kit. I think reports state 130-140 feet from 60 mph is the average stopping distance for our cars. So even if ya took off another 30-40 feet for 50 MPH stop that is WAY more than 4 car lengths even in the best conditions:shrug:

Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, I dont say I am dead right but am I close?
 
It seems to me even in perfect conditions it would take longer than 15 feet to stop a Stang from 25 mph. Horsepower just did an 07 GT and said from 70 it takes a stock GT 170 feet to stop and they knocked it down to 140 something with big brake kit. I think reports state 130-140 feet from 60 mph is the average stopping distance for our cars. So even if ya took off another 30-40 feet for 50 MPH stop that is WAY more than 4 car lengths even in the best conditions:shrug:

Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, I dont say I am dead right but am I close?

Yeah and my dads Expidition is just over 6,000lbs so thats almost twice the weight of our stangs. I don't think an Expidtion can stop in 15 feet. I told him he should still go to court and fight it.
 
I think the ticket is justified.

Even though it would have been a perfectly safe legit pass on a dry day, snow changes everything.

I don't know what the road conditions in CT were like, but in MA they were pretty bad.
 
I drive a ford pos Taurus.

If I skid for more than a car length. I should of replaced the word with skid. My bad. I was being a little sarcastic about it taking longer to stop going 50, because it's common sense that any car wont stop that quick. In good weather anyone can stop within a car length going 20-25mph


The point of my little story was just to get people to realize their stopping distance. Then they will realize that going fast in bad weather isn't good.
 
I'd fight it.


It's officer discretion as to what is safe and unsafe. Obviously if it was unsafe to pass he should not have passed the car behind him with ease.

If you hit someone, you could be going .0009 mph and still be traveling too fast for conditions.

I've passed people in my Mustang when it was snowing out, a good 3" of snow on the road with no problems. It's not my fault other asshats have horse crap tires on their fancy cars that don't handle for crap. Get off of the road.

You got labeled by a rookie.

1) You passed in a passing zone under the posted speed limit. Your speed was adjusted to meet the weather criteria accordingly.

For those of you who say he desevers the ticket, get off of your high horses and get vehicles designed to safely transport you in treachorous conditions.

35 mph in a light snow isn't anything. Now if he blew past the guy at 50 mph exceeding the speed limit I could see the 100 dollar ticket.