I received this polite email last evening, from an unfortunate motorists who is displeased over receiving two speeding tickets on two consecutive days. I don’t believe either of these tickets came from the Lincoln Police Department, but I must be reasonably accessible for someone who want to protest that the bag limit has been exceeded.
“To Whom It May Concern:
The purpose of this e-mail is to express my concern regarding a speeding ticket I received yesterday (Tuesday September 14, 2010) between 5:00-6:00 PM. The location was on I-80 going west bound. Normally the speed limit is 75 mph but was reduced to 65 mph. According to the officer it was a "construction zone" although there were no workers and no indication of construction. I informed the officer that this is my second speeding ticket in two days and I have no prior record of tickets. I've already signed up to take the STOP class in Sarpy County on Saturday September 25th which is $96.00 and I don't believe that I should pay the ticket from yesterday. I understand that the officer is doing his job however, this location should not have been 65 mph if there was no construction or indication of any construction on the west bound side. I've been to Lincoln many times and have never had this problem before.
Thank you for your consideration on this matter.”
12 comments:
So, this guy thinks the speed limits should change every time the construction crews leave for lunch. Popular theory has it that all they do is lean on shovels even when they are present; is that working? Maybe he should limit himself to eastbound travel on I-80!
The poorly-marked, no-workers-present "construction" zones are the primary reason I set the CC to about 73 mph between here and Omaha, in order to be less than 10 mph over should one of these zones pop up. +8 and a pleasant demeanor might get one a warning, but if you set the CC the other way, to about 78 mph, being +13 will likely garner a citation, not a warning.
First of all, everybody in LE has heard The comments of: "No prior record of tickets" or "I have never been stopped before" and my personal favorite "I've been driving this way for years and never been pulled over" = "I've been to Lincoln many times and have never had this problem before." This being an attempt by the person being pulled over to use a "Classice response to being caught breaking the law" and turn the finger around to the officer saying you made a mistake. We all know that I-80 is under construction across the entire state with the widening of the lanes and most of use are aware of the change of speed limit when in construction zones. With that being said, I eagerly await your reply to this email knowing that you will be professional and polite in informing this person that you will forward their concern on to the Sarpy County Sheriffs office where the legimate complaint can be addressed and advise the driver to maintain his excellent driving record after he completes the stop program.
Steve,
It's not a guy.
What tickled me was the two-pronged approach to "why I shouldn't have to pay this ticket": 1) There wasn't any contruction underway in the eastbound lanes; and 2) I just got a speeding ticket yesterday and have already signed up for STOP class.
I was just chatting with Sgt. Mike Garnett, who served with me on the ASAP squad in 1974-75. We were both recollecting at least one drunk driver that we arrested three times in the same night. There is no daily bag limit on arrests and tickets.
KUDOS
Chief-So you're saying those big white signs with black numbers on them are not merely suggestions?
She's lucky. A few months ago those were probably 55 mph zones.
I've never seen less than two troopers working in that area. Fish in a barrel as my Dad used to say.
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Please excuse my political incorrectness, profiling, or gender insensitivty. I should know better.
I apologize to women speeders everywhere!
This is a great example of what being concerned about suspicious vehicles in one's neighborhood can give as an end result, so report those don't-belong-there vehicles when you notice them. Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld - going to jail, the irony of it all. Her mom must have been prescient when she made that odd naming decision.
Hopefully they won't let either of them deal this one down to a misdemeanor. They need to keep this as a Class III felony, or a IV felony at the minimum, for both of them. It wasn't a one-time rash action, it was an ongoing criminal conspiracy.
As I understand it there is currently legislation pending in Nebraska that would require workers to be present in construction zones for the increased fines to be applicable. That actually does make some sense to me. Thanks for all you do in the way of speed and traffic enforcement, it makes our roads safer.
On one hand it's hard to believe that anyone could travel between the Platte River and Lincoln on I-80 and not realize the speed limit is reduced to 65 mph. There are orange barrels and narrowed lanes and numerous 65 mph speed limit signs all along this corridor. On the other hand, hmmmm......sigh, never mind....
I find it funny that she received a ticket the day before but still speed the next day in the SAME area. Maybe the ticket the day before should have been a clue.
Because you should only slow down and drive carefully in a construction zone after you see a worker.
Only apply if there are workers present, what a terrible band-aid law. How about using construction zones judiciously.
Nebraskan's have nothing to complain about anyway. Iowa shames you in construction zone abuse.
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