Just got pulled over for doing 88

[Rich_NYS]

~snip~
Talk to the prosecutor and/or the officer before court begins and see what they have in mind for you. Maybe take the car to a local hospital for some kids to sit in for community service or a DARE program?

+1

This is similar to what I've had very good luck with. You have nothing to lose by having a simple conversation with the "opposing team." It's easy to see you have a great attitude and that will get you further than you might know.

A few simple sentences, a good attitude, and some humor costs zero and could save you hundreds:

-"Is there any chance I can get this reduced?"
-"I've been using my car for good, not evil..."
-"By any chance, has one of the news outlets offered to pay my fine?"
-"I was totally planning to go back in time and slow down....honest!"

I would absolutely recommend [first] talking to the cop, he knows you're a good guy and I wouldn't be surprised if a reduction is already in play.

[Lwanmtr]

-"I was totally planning to go back in time and slow down....honest!"

Ill have to remember that one....lol

[delgato]

I don't think you can get out of this ticket.

You have a photo of the speed gun and that pic has been published in many news outlets now.

I would be very impressed if you did get out of it.

[DaraSue]

There was a cop behind me on my way to work today. I made sure to keep it right at 65 just in case. Eventually he passed me. He must have been disappointed.

[Lwanmtr]

Maybe you shoulda gunned it for just a moment...hehe

[Ryan King]

I'm just tired of getting tagged by friends of friends who know I have a DeLorean asking if it was me. No. It wasn't.

[Peripatetic]

So YOU'RE the one!

Good game. Perfect 5/7.

[Boingonut]

sadly, you are as guilty as a puppy sitting next to a puddle of pee.

Yeah, I don't think I'm getting out of this one even with the best lawyers on the planet. Here is the thing, they only really want the money. Also this is California, our unofficial speed limit is 80-85, as far as I'm concerned I was going 3 over.

I had a nice long chat with he cops, the one who pulled me over and one who was a supervisor in the CHP while shooting the spot for Inside Edition. They pretty much have to pull you over and give you a ticket if you are going 20 over, no warning no anything just ticket. I'm sure there are exceptions, but with all the press I'm not going to be one.

Mostly the reason they don't pull you over for going like 80 is that if you have somebody pulled over on the side of the road it makes traffic jams, and thats when people start shooting at each other in Los Angeles (kidding...kind of). That, and they would be pulling over 75% or drivers. Its sometimes dangerous not to go at least 80 here. So when they pull you over they need to make it worth their while and be sure that they can get you for speeding and get the ticket to stick. That means they have try to use 2 different tactics to confirm evidence that you were speeding. First by radar and second if they can they try to clock you once they are behind you. They do this you by sneaking up on you once they got you on radar without their lights on then try to clock you. You can usually spot them when they do this, and I did the second he pulled out, so he only got me on radar because I had slowed down a lot once I saw him pull out. But with all the press and me admitting I was speeding in multiple interviews its an open and shut case. Hell, the cop is kind of my friend now, and it would be a dick move to try to back out of the ticket now.

I get fighting the ticket out of principle, and if he had me for 87 or 89 you better believe I would fight tooth and nail. For example when I get pulled over I never EVER incriminate myself when they ask me how fast I think I was going. When he came up to the car he said he said he had pulled me over for speeding and asked how fast I thought I was going was going, you know the typical questions they ask so they can try to get you to incriminate yourself crap. I asked how he knew I was speeding, and he said it was by radar gun. I then asked how fast the radar gun said I was going and he said 88. Pretty much after that I just started laughing, I guess because of the car and the 88mph thing the ticket suddenly became kind of cool. I mean come on guys I have in writing a ticket saying I was going 88mph in a freaking DeLorean, thats awesome! Also now I have proof when some jackass says "DeLoreans can't even go 88 hahaha" I can whip out my ticket and say "yes they can". And believe me she had a lot more in her, I was barely pulling 3500 rpms.

If I had wanted to fight the ticket I would have never ever posted anything anywhere online once I got it. The minute I posted here and then other places I pretty much made my own grave and became guilty as a puppy next to a puddle of pee (I like that). I thought it was a funny story, obviously so did a lot of other people, way more then I could have ever imagined haha!

As far as points go and insurance I talked to CHP about all of that stuff and all I have to do is this little online traffic school thing and they take the point off of your license. They actively try to get people to get points off of their licenses because we have a insurance problems in California and they don't want anybody to have any excuse to not have insurance so they make it really easy to get rid of points. I'm not sure if it is a bigger deal in other states but here they make it easy for you here. Really they just want the money from the ticket.

I've thought about doing some kind of charity by using the car, but that would perhaps generate more press and I really just want this thing to die already. It got way way WAY bigger then I could have ever imagined. I just thought it would be a small local story here in little hometown north of L.A.

If I had known how big it was going to be I would have kept my mouth shut and just quietly fought the ticket. Because now not only do I have to deal with the typical DeLorean comments, now I'm the 88mph guy. Sad to say that the car has stayed in the garage since most of this has gone down because of all this. Once things die down in a few weeks I'll be back to driving 10162 on a daily basis.

I will say this. I'm not going to accept a gofundme or anything (had two people try to set something up) because again that will just generate more press. I will say though that the AC broke on my DeLorean shortly after all this happened so since I have to pay for a $400 ticket I might have to put off fixing it (I have no idea how to fix it myself, although I have a good idea what is wrong). So if there are any DeLorean mechanics who enjoyed the story here in Los Angeles area who want to help me out with the AC I would not turn that down. The brakes also need work.

I was going to take it down to DMC in Orange County but if anyone wants to help out with repairs I wouldn't turn that down...just saying haha!

[David T]

I am not saying to fight the ticket, just try to get the best deal you can. Being guilty and getting sentenced (fined) are 2 different things. I hear you when you say you are guilty but the court has some latitude in how to impose fines and fees. They can reduce the charges, suspend sentencing, probation, a whole host of options depending on the message they want to send. Offering some form of community service can be a huge face-saving option. The court gets it's pound of flesh and you get a lighter treatment. If you are ready to take anything the court has to offer you have nothing to lose by trying to negotiate the sentence. It sounds like the officers would go along with it. A lawyer would probably not help much and would cost a lot. Talk to the prosecutor beforehand and see what he offers.

[Rich_NYS]

I am not saying to fight the ticket, just try to get the best deal you can. Being guilty and getting sentenced (fined) are 2 different things. I hear you when you say you are guilty but the court has some latitude in how to impose fines and fees. They can reduce the charges, suspend sentencing, probation, a whole host of options depending on the message they want to send. Offering some form of community service can be a huge face-saving option. The court gets it's pound of flesh and you get a lighter treatment. If you are ready to take anything the court has to offer you have nothing to lose by trying to negotiate the sentence. It sounds like the officers would go along with it. A lawyer would probably not help much and would cost a lot. Talk to the prosecutor beforehand and see what he offers.

+1, my thoughts exactly.