Speeding ticket in Bethesda with DC license

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You were speeding. Period.

No sympathy.

Good thing she didn’t ask for any.

She was going nearly 50mph on a road posted at 35.

Frankly, 1 point is getting off light. It should be at least 2, maybe even 3 if she was near a crosswalk.

Have you been on that road? He wasn't driving in an unsafe manner, your righteous indignation aside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was a highly controversial speed limit change. After a driver going over 100mph smashed into a car making a left turn (it failed to yield) resulting in the deaths of 3 people, some vocal neighborhood members launched a huge campaign for safety on this road.

Note River Road was designed for 45mph and higher. It's a divided road, 2 lanes each way, with no blind curves, no driveways or entrances directly on the road (there's a service road for that), and even guardrails, on the stretch of road where the speed limit was reduced.

SHA (highway admin) did an extensive report on this -- over 200 pages. It found pedestrian traffic in most stretches averaged 0-2 people per hour, and made no recommendation about lowering the speed limit. With additional pressure, SHA caved.

For an example of absurdity, drive Bradley Boulevard that is parallel to River. It's got a 35mph speed limit, but it's not a divided highway, it has blind curves, and driveways back up directly to it. River Road is considerably safer design-wise, and does not merit the same speed limit as Bradley.

Won't someone think of drivers and their god given right to drive as fast as possible?

DP. So speed limits should be lowered even if there is no safety reasons for the change to occur? PP's rendition about what occurred is accurate. This was about political pressure by a very vocal minority. It has nothing to do with legitimate safety fears.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure, but surprised they nabbed you for going just 9 miles over. Where in Bethesda were you?

44 in 35 is exceeding the speed limit by 26%. That's a big difference.

Also, if your car going 44 mph hits a pedestrian, there's about an 80% chance that the pedestrian will be severely injured, and a 65% chance that the pedestrian will be killed. For 35 mph, the chances are only (!) about 60% and 35%, respectively. That's a big difference, too.

I see VA/MD tag cars speed, run reds, and force their way through crosswalks downtown every single day.

When a MD tagged car drives likes a maniac in DC it's "oh poor woman she just wants to get home". When a DC driver goes 47 in a 35 on a 4-lane highway in MD they're a baby killer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

DP. So speed limits should be lowered even if there is no safety reasons for the change to occur? PP's rendition about what occurred is accurate. This was about political pressure by a very vocal minority. It has nothing to do with legitimate safety fears.

But there are safety reasons. Maybe not for drivers -- and I have my doubts about that, given the regular crashes -- but for everybody else who uses the road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure, but surprised they nabbed you for going just 9 miles over. Where in Bethesda were you?

44 in 35 is exceeding the speed limit by 26%. That's a big difference.

Also, if your car going 44 mph hits a pedestrian, there's about an 80% chance that the pedestrian will be severely injured, and a 65% chance that the pedestrian will be killed. For 35 mph, the chances are only (!) about 60% and 35%, respectively. That's a big difference, too.

I see VA/MD tag cars speed, run reds, and force their way through crosswalks downtown every single day.

When a MD tagged car drives likes a maniac in DC it's "oh poor woman she just wants to get home". When a DC driver goes 47 in a 35 on a 4-lane highway in MD they're a baby killer.

And when a DC tagged car goes 60 mph on River Road in Bethesda to get to the beltway...oh wait, that never happens...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You were speeding. Period.

No sympathy.

Good thing she didn’t ask for any.

She was going nearly 50mph on a road posted at 35.

Frankly, 1 point is getting off light. It should be at least 2, maybe even 3 if she was near a crosswalk.

Have you been on that road? He wasn't driving in an unsafe manner, your righteous indignation aside.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You were speeding. Period.

No sympathy.

Good thing she didn’t ask for any.

She was going nearly 50mph on a road posted at 35.

Frankly, 1 point is getting off light. It should be at least 2, maybe even 3 if she was near a crosswalk.

Have you been on that road? He wasn't driving in an unsafe manner, your righteous indignation aside.

Have you been on that road while not driving in a car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You were speeding. Period.

No sympathy.

Good thing she didn’t ask for any.

She was going nearly 50mph on a road posted at 35.

Frankly, 1 point is getting off light. It should be at least 2, maybe even 3 if she was near a crosswalk.

Have you been on that road? He wasn't driving in an unsafe manner, your righteous indignation aside.

Have you been on that road while not driving in a car?

Yes, I live right off that road and cross it regularly to get to/from the T2 or 29 bus and also to get to activities at the school. I cross at the light. I recognize when I am both driving and walking that driving 45 mph is not unsafe. If someone blows a red light or drives at 100 mph, that is an entirely separate issue that won't be helped by this change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Go to court, plead guilty with an explanation. Explanation - you had been there before 6 months ago nor whatever, and it was 45. Uou don't travel that way often and didn't realize the change (it did just happen). Likely you'll have to pay the fine but they will knock off the points.

So lie under oath. Gotcha.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP- He said he was doing me a favor as he claims I was going 47. I thought I was going with the flow of traffic but truly who knows. It’s my first speeding ticket in over 20 years. I’m a safe driver who generally goes within a few miles of the speed limit which is why I’m so upset at myself.

If this is your first ticket in years, and you rarely speed, why on earth do you care about the point? Pay the damn fine, don't speed any more, and it's a non issue. You don;'t have to waste any time going to court.

Or just go to court. Officer maybe did do you a favor as you've driven the road for 20 years or whatever and you were proceeding (at 44 mph) under the speed limit that had been in place for all that time. I had a speeding ticket in VA that never transferred. Yes they can transfer, but whether that really happens is unclear. You know how efficient our local jurisdictions are.

The officer already did her a favor by writing the ticket for 44 instead of 47. I’ve gotten breaks on the road like that before, and then had them backfire once I sent the ticket in indicating I would contest it.

Just pay it, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Go to court, plead guilty with an explanation. Explanation - you had been there before 6 months ago nor whatever, and it was 45. Uou don't travel that way often and didn't realize the change (it did just happen). Likely you'll have to pay the fine but they will knock off the points.

So lie under oath. Gotcha.

Where’s the lie?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, I live right off that road and cross it regularly to get to/from the T2 or 29 bus and also to get to activities at the school. I cross at the light. I recognize when I am both driving and walking that driving 45 mph is not unsafe. If someone blows a red light or drives at 100 mph, that is an entirely separate issue that won't be helped by this change.

That's good that you have a traffic signal you can use to cross the road to get to and from the bus. (The people who use the bus stops that don't have traffic signals aren't so lucky.) But the fact is that driving 45 mph around pedestrians is unsafe.

[Anonymous]

I like the number of armchair quarterbacks here.

MD SHA did a 200-page study. There was no mention of the need to lower the speed limit. They are professional traffic engineers, and they felt the speed limit was fine... yet it has been lowered solely due to political pressure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was a highly controversial speed limit change. After a driver going over 100mph smashed into a car making a left turn (it failed to yield) resulting in the deaths of 3 people, some vocal neighborhood members launched a huge campaign for safety on this road.

Note River Road was designed for 45mph and higher. It's a divided road, 2 lanes each way, with no blind curves, no driveways or entrances directly on the road (there's a service road for that), and even guardrails, on the stretch of road where the speed limit was reduced.

SHA (highway admin) did an extensive report on this -- over 200 pages. It found pedestrian traffic in most stretches averaged 0-2 people per hour, and made no recommendation about lowering the speed limit. With additional pressure, SHA caved.

For an example of absurdity, drive Bradley Boulevard that is parallel to River. It's got a 35mph speed limit, but it's not a divided highway, it has blind curves, and driveways back up directly to it. River Road is considerably safer design-wise, and does not merit the same speed limit as Bradley.

Won't someone think of drivers and their god given right to drive as fast as possible?

DP. So speed limits should be lowered even if there is no safety reasons for the change to occur? PP's rendition about what occurred is accurate. This was about political pressure by a very vocal minority. It has nothing to do with legitimate safety fears.

It’s not a very vocal minority. It’s everyone who has or have ever had a child st Whitman high school, and anyone else who has crossed the street - such as elderly ladies and gentleman walking home from the club at night, or teens crossing to get to a restaurant, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like the number of armchair quarterbacks here.

MD SHA did a 200-page study. There was no mention of the need to lower the speed limit. They are professional traffic engineers, and they felt the speed limit was fine... yet it has been lowered solely due to political pressure.

You’re seriously smoking something