My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California.
I was pulled over a few weeks ago for going 77 mph on a 55 mph highway. The highway was in the middle of nowhere.
Here is what happened: I was traveling down the highway going the speed limit when I came to a green honda that was going slower than I appreciated. Being in a rush, i decided to pass him. Shortly after passing this person, while decelerating, I was pulled over by an officer who was hiding under the shade of a tree. He then proceeded to write me up for exactly what his radar gun said. After trying to explain that I had just passed someone, he just shrugged it off.
The environment:
A remote highway surrounded by farmland. It was a hot 106 degree day. In the other lane, coming towards me as I passed the honda, was a large motorhome. The motorhome was directly between me and the tree that the officer was under. This is why I believe the officer didnt believe me when I told him I had just passed someone.
Questions:
Can an officer even write me up if I had just passed a car?
Is 22 mph over the limit a misdemeanor?
This is my first ticket. Am I elegible for traffic school?
Am I elegible for trial by declaration? My court appearance is in two days.
Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another Vehicle
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07-24-2013, 11:20 AMDimitriClocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another Vehicle
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07-24-2013, 11:57 AMadjusterjackRe: Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another VehcileOf course he CAN do it, he already DID do it.Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
Besides, the speed limit law doesn't have an exception for passing other vehicles. You don't get to break the law because you don't appreciate the way another driver is driving.
Doesn't it tell you that on the ticket?Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
You can look it up in the CA Vehicle Code:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/ca...ebody=&hits=20
If the ticket doesn't tell you that, go visit the courthouse and ask.Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
If the court appearance is mandatory, then probably not.Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
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07-24-2013, 02:00 PMThat GuyRe: Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another VehcileCalifornia law does not allow you to exceed the speed limit to pass.Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
No, it is not.Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
You should be...Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
You should be eligible but with you being as guilty as sin, the TBD is more likely to hurt you than benefit you. For one, traffic school is no longer an option for you to choose after a TBD, instead, it becomes a discretionary matter for the judge to decide.Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
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07-24-2013, 02:32 PMDimitriRe: Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another Vehcile
Can you give me a source where it says that you may not exceed the speed limit to pass? This makes little to no sense in my mind. In drivers ed and behind the wheel with an instructor I learned that to make passing safe, you must travel AT LEAST 15 mph faster than the other vehicle. Does this mean that you cannot legally and safely pass someone unless they're going 15 below the limit? Are you sure that you aren't talking about a freeway?
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07-24-2013, 03:48 PMThat GuyRe: Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another VehcileFirst of all, your questions were answered, completely and correctly.Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
Second of all, lose your entitlement, apologize for acting like a punk and then you might get more information. Otherwise, you and your driver's ed instructor are on your own! -
07-24-2013, 04:18 PMjkRe: Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another Vehcile
There is only one state I am aware of that does allow a driver to speed while passing another vehicle and it is not California.
As to the source that says you cannot speed even while passing: that would be the California vehicle code. To be allowed to speed while undertaking some specific act it would require an exception to the general speeding laws. You are welcome to read those laws to attempt to find some
exception. -
07-24-2013, 05:33 PMDimitriRe: Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another VehcileI really don't understand where you're coming from. Unfortunately i'm a straight A student. This is because i'm not afraid to ask questions and state my current understanding of a subject. All I was doing was expressing my current knowledge of the law and how I don't understand that such a law could be in place. I kindly asked for a source and all I get in return is sarcasm. Something that is unfortunate about not talking face to face with people is the misunderstanding of tone that commonly occurs. Perhaps you misinterpreted my tone when I was clarifying things. Hopefully that is the reason for your inability to courteous.Quote:
Quoting That Guy
I feel like i'm being attacked because I asked for clarification on something you said. I noticed what your signature says. It gently pokes a hint that you don't like being wrong. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just that being irritable doesn't help anyone, nor does putting them down with identities such a "punk".
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Thanks, jk. I'll be spending some time searching for technicalities.Quote:
Quoting jk
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07-24-2013, 06:05 PMcdwjavaRe: Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another VehcileYour question was silly on its face, hence That Guy's reply asking if you were kidding. That was my first thought as well.Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
If you read the CVC sections 22348-22366 et seq. you will find no exception for passing. And there is no realistic way of making a case for a necessity defense simply to pass a vehicle.
But, you have been driving for ... how long? And you did not know this? TG merely expressed what most of us were thinking. You could have responded with a "No, I'm serious. I thought that ..." or something similar. As a note TG is in the top one or two most knowledgeable people on CA traffic law on this site. If there was an exception, he'd likely know about it.Quote:
Unfortunately i'm a straight A student. This is because i'm not afraid to ask questions and state my current understanding of a subject.
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http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=veh&group=22001-23000&file=22348-22366Quote:
Quoting Dimitri
I know of no state where speeding to pass is permitted, but as suggested by another poster, there may be one. California is not one of those states.Quote:
This makes little to no sense in my mind.
That's fine if the other vehicle is traveling at, say, 50 and you are going 65 on a freeway where the speed limit is 65 to 70 MPH. Otherwise, you have to decide whether or not to wait to pass.Quote:
In drivers ed and behind the wheel with an instructor I learned that to make passing safe, you must travel AT LEAST 15 mph faster than the other vehicle.
There is no statutory exception permitting excessive speed while passing - freeway or not.Quote:
Does this mean that you cannot legally and safely pass someone unless they're going 15 below the limit? Are you sure that you aren't talking about a freeway?
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07-24-2013, 06:10 PMjkRe: Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another VehcileQuote:
cdwjava;728578]
WashingtonQuote:
I know of no state where speeding to pass is permitted, but as suggested by another poster, there may be one. California is not one of those states.
that is the only state, so far, I have seen that allows one to speed while passing.
and just to make it clear:
I was not suggesting there is such an allowance in California law. It was simply that dimitri wanted support for there not being such an allowance. The only way for him to understand there is no exception would be to read every section of applicable law. He obviously did not want to take anybody's word for the matter. -
07-24-2013, 06:15 PMcdwjavaRe: Clocked Speeding Shortly After Passing Another Vehcile
Oh, I understand that ... But, I hadn't heard of any state where it was allowed - though with 50 states there's always one that allows something that most or all of the others won't which is why it never surprised me when someone is an exception wo what most of us might consider "a rule."