Stopped by Irving LEO

[Bob in Big D]

Driving my Brother and Sister-in-Law out to DFW today and was in the Left Lane coming around a semi I noticed an officer on the side of the road out of his car with his laser. I quickly looked at my heads up display and knew I was probably toast at 72 mph in a 60. We had just come off GB Fwy at 70+ and onto 635 at 60. I was talking to the passengers and forgot about the speed change. Anyway I see him jump in his car as I am slowing down. I pulled over to the slow lane and pull off to the side after he lights me up. Pulled out my DL and CHL and with both hands on the wheel and with window down he comes up to the car sees my CHL and asks if I have a gun on me. I said no it is in the glove box. He says ok, and hands back my CHL, asks me for cell number and work number and where I work. No problem giving him all that. Then he says be right back..... He comes back with a ticket for 76 in a 60 which I questioned that before I slowed down I am positive I was only going 72 and maybe less. He says he was tracking me for 400 ft and to please sign here!! I did, and even though he was professional I think he would have gotten ugly if I had questioned him much more about the ticket.
As I continued on to DFW I noticed another Iving LEO with someone else pulled over closer to the airport. On the way back from DFW both LEO's had others pulled over. After pulling up the Irving website I noticed the ticket is $181 for the first 10 miles per hour over the speed limit and $10 for each additional mile over the first 10 miles. So in my opinion, they can inflate the tickets by 4-8mph and in my case get an extra $40 out of me. and probably most of the other people they pulled over today. I wont fight it for $40 but in my opinion it really is not cool. They were obviously doing a revenue day on 635 today.

[pbwalker]

...asks me for cell number and work number and where I work...

Question to the Legal Eagles / LEO's.

Is this information required by law?

[WildBill]

...asks me for cell number and work number and where I work...

Question to the Legal Eagles / LEO's.

Is this information required by law?

Asked and answered. IANAL

viewtopic.php?f=83&t=31882&p=371817&hil ... sn#p371817" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This has been discussed in previous threads and the answer is that it is not required. The information makes it easier to contact the violator if there are any issues with the citation or court date. In my case, I have a bad memory and don't have my phone numbers memorized.

[SC1903A3]

I understand your frustration with receiving a speeding tick but, I doubt that IPD would inflate your speed to get a few extra bucks. Chief Boyd would come down hard on any officer being less that professional.

[Bob in Big D]

I understand your frustration with receiving a speeding tick but, I doubt that IPD would inflate your speed to get a few extra bucks. Chief Boyd would come down hard on any officer being less that professional.

As soon as I saw the Leo and realized I was going 72 I knew he prob had me so only frustrated at myself. I am more frustrated at him inputting (cause they dont write them anymore) the speed at 76. I would have hopped to at least get the ticket for 72, plus the way they write the fines is certainly suggestive of inflation. If you do the numbers on the amount of tickets they can do in a day times $40-60 each times say 5 days aweek, it can add up to a tidy sum. They certainly didn't give this CHL holder any breaks! Btw I have checked my speedo many times against those stationary radar signs an it is always 1-2 mph slower than shown.

[Heartland Patriot]

Sorry to hear that...all I can say is whenever I go through there I ALWAYS see the Irving PD out radaring...those paychecks don't pay themselves, I guess. While I understand that excessive speed can be dangerous under some circumstances, I've seen lots of people who weren't really driving that fast, but they sure were pulling some dumb stunts acting like they were NASCAR drivers in traffic whipping in and out, and they must have all had broken hands because they were having problems turning on those signals... THOSE are the kinds of folks I'd like to see pulled over, not someone who's going a few miles over the limit in a safe manner.

[gigag04]

THOSE are the kinds of folks I'd like to see pulled over, not someone who's going a few miles over the limit in a safe manner.

THOSE kinds of people think that we should be out catching drunks or murderers or some other type of "more serious crime."

Speeding and getting caught is like eating unhealthy food your whole life and having health issues...it's great until you get caught.

I doubt the LEO inflated your ticket. It is possible, but I can't think for a single motivation. My families well being > My city earning a few more bucks on a ticket.

If you go to court make sure you say "but you're honor, I was not going 76 only 72". JK - tickets aren't fun. Are you eligible for deferred or DDC?

Was it RADAR or LIDAR? Did you ask to see the display? Our policy says that if it is safe and we have it locked in, we should show the violator his/her speed.

[puma guy]

Getting a ticket is a bummer for sure. I got one near Luling from a really spacey DPS trooper. I have only got a couple of tickets in 50 years of driving and it was bizarre. No argument really since I was doing the speed, but the trooper WHOA! I bought one of those dual cam GPS systems for my truck that someone posted on this forum. More for self defense since because I drive in a city with many third world drivers that aim their vehicle rather than drive them. I drive defensively but there's always the chance I can't avoid one.
I don't think a LEO would fudge a ticket. I know this will be a cause for some consternation among some here ... But, DPS and most PD are mainly about catching speeders. Public Safety has been relegated to giving speeding tickets. I drive I-10 and I-45 a lot. All the PD and DPS are stationary trying to catch speeders. That severely reduces their abilty to catch idiot, aggressive, unsafe drivers. Also, no one stops the vehicles with blinding aftermarket HID head lights and driving lights, blue head lights and running lights, the yellow and pink headlights, and smoked out tail lights and blacked out windows because they're sitting on the sideline watching for the radar and lidar to light up and ding!. RANT Over!

[srothstein]

I don't think he inflated the ticket. It is much easier to be going faster than you thought, even when you looked at the speedo. I almost always remove my foot from the gas at the same time as I am looking for my speed when I see someone running radar. From 76 to 72 is easy in most cars to slow to by just removing your foot and not even realizing it.

But as an aside, the tickets, if done by the law, cannot be inflated too much. There is a maximum fine that can be imposed. In general, no ticket can have a fine of more than $200 for the locality and $30 for the state. There are about $110 or so added in court costs, so the maximum can be as high as about $400. Of course, to benefit you in this case that means you would have been going around 22 over the speed limit.

[Bob in Big D]

Let me clarify a couple of things. First I drive for a living (Salesman) and am all over No. TX down to Austin and twice a year to Houston, up into OK & AR, about 35,000 per year, no wrecks. Been in Texas since 1984 with 3 tickets in that time this being the third. I drive defensively and am always alert for the other driver to do something dumb. I will reluctantly pay the fine and do DD.
It was LIdar btw. I did not know I could ask to see the display or I would have asked. I have a heads up display in my vehicle so I am almost always aware of my speed.

[gigag04]

DPS and most PD are mainly about catching speeders. Public Safety has been relegated to giving speeding tickets.

Stats??? I work at a dept of over 130 and, exactly 5 people are traffic units. They are tasked with traffic enforcement, serious accident investigation, and other duties like ops working people passing school busses. Maybe one or two people on each patrol shift work a lot of traffic enforcement, as time allows, and there are many other stops besides speed. I haven't touched a radar in 6 months more than twice.

All the PD and DPS are stationary trying to catch speeders

Or...the equipment violations which you mention in the bottom, and I'll add: window tint, stickers, LP violations, awkwardly weighted vehicles, CVE violations, and many, many others. Possibly waiting to intercept a BOLO'd vehicle.

That severely reduces their abilty to catch idiot, aggressive, unsafe drivers.

False, parking and watching on a busy roadway, intersection, increases your ability to observe violations. You're less distracted, and have many vehicles to observe.

no one stops the vehicles with blinding aftermarket HID head lights and driving lights, blue head lights and running lights, the yellow and pink headlights, and smoked out tail lights and blacked out windows because they're sitting on the sideline watching for the radar and lidar to light up and ding!.

Also false - my traffic unit buddies make these stops all the time. The HID lights are tricky because it is hard to prove, only a certain color range is allowed under federal law, and state law doesn't speak to it, other than saying lighting must follow federal requirements. Color meters are not readily available...

I know this will be a cause for some consternation among some here ...

Not from me, but I'm not really making hyperbolic statements.

Speeding has been proven time and time again to not only increase the likelihood of a collision, but also the severity. It is also against the law. Equipment violations make for better dope and DWI arrests, which is why I favor them, but speed enforcement has its place.

[Jumping Frog]

As far as car insurance is concerned, there is a huge difference between 16 over and 14 over.

[C-dub]

I drive through Irving along 635 five days a week to and from work. I see folks pulled over all the time at least once a week. I might have even seen you this morning. They tend to set up there one or two days a week and go somewhere else the other 3-4 days. Sometimes I get folks upset that I'm in the right lane with my cruise control on 60-61 and sometimes I get a little wave if someone was forced to slow down just before coming over a little rise before noticing that today was radar or in your case lidar day.

I, knock knock, haven't gotten a ticket since 1999, but I have never had an officer inflate my speed. The few times I have gotten a ticket they have usually decreased it by a couple mph. I guess to make it more palatable so I would think they were doing me a favor and I wouldn't argue so much, but whatever. There was the one time I received a ticket for speeding when I wasn't even riding on the road the officer said I was speeding on, but that's a different rant and a long time ago.

[puma guy]

DPS and most PD are mainly about catching speeders. Public Safety has been relegated to giving speeding tickets.

Stats??? I work at a dept of over 130 and, exactly 5 people are traffic units. They are tasked with traffic enforcement, serious accident investigation, and other duties like ops working people passing school busses. Maybe one or two people on each patrol shift work a lot of traffic enforcement, as time allows, and there are many other stops besides speed. I haven't touched a radar in 6 months more than twice.

All the PD and DPS are stationary trying to catch speeders

Or...the equipment violations which you mention in the bottom, and I'll add: window tint, stickers, LP violations, awkwardly weighted vehicles, CVE violations, and many, many others. Possibly waiting to intercept a BOLO'd vehicle.

That severely reduces their abilty to catch idiot, aggressive, unsafe drivers.

False, parking and watching on a busy roadway, intersection, increases your ability to observe violations. You're less distracted, and have many vehicles to observe.

no one stops the vehicles with blinding aftermarket HID head lights and driving lights, blue head lights and running lights, the yellow and pink headlights, and smoked out tail lights and blacked out windows because they're sitting on the sideline watching for the radar and lidar to light up and ding!.

Also false - my traffic unit buddies make these stops all the time. The HID lights are tricky because it is hard to prove, only a certain color range is allowed under federal law, and state law doesn't speak to it, other than saying lighting must follow federal requirements. Color meters are not readily available...

I know this will be a cause for some consternation among some here ...

Not from me, but I'm not really making hyperbolic statements.

Speeding has been proven time and time again to not only increase the likelihood of a collision, but also the severity. It is also against the law. Equipment violations make for better dope and DWI arrests, which is why I favor them, but speed enforcement has its place.

Gig In your haste to jump to the defense of the DPS and PD (which I admire) you failed to note that I framed my points around driving on I10 and I45. Not very many intersections. I'm sure in a munincipal department such as yours there are differences. I don't have any stats other than the power of observation while making a couple of dozen trips a year back and forth to New Braunfels and a dozen or so to Grand Prairie. I've been making the NB trips since 1994 and GP since 2000, but made many regular trips to Dallas/Greenville for many many years prior to that in the 50 years I've been driving. Nowadays I rarely see a moving patrol car unless it's pursuing a violator. They're usually near the same places and where I got my ticket I saw 4 DPS parked a couple of weeks after I got my citation. Between Corsicana and Dallas you can always count on seeing PD parked watching for speeders in "Radar Alley"- all the little cities along that stretch. When I took DDC the instructor polled the class of 30 and all but 2 had violations for speeding. His experience of 25+ years instructing was 95% of his students were there for speeding tickets. You are in a much better position than me to gather stats on speeding violations VS others.
To say that one can observe more parked on the shoulder of a freeway vs moving challenges my common sense. You can't observe people impeding, weaving, driving recklessly, tailgating, passing lane violations, etc. unless it occurs in the few seconds at that locale and even then it would be difficult in my opinion.
Physics tells us that the faster an object is moving when striking another involves more energy and thus more destruction but the premise that speed increases accidents is strange since speed limits set by the state have gone from 70 -75, then 55 then slowly back up to present day 75 and now 85MPH anticipated on certain roadways. In states that had no posted speed limits until forced to do so, the accident rates actually increased after setting limits. Driver courtesy virtually dissappeared. Texas would be encouraging accidents by increasing speed limits. Speed limits are arbitrarily set.
I have no delusions that vehicle code violations will be prosecuted, but blinding headlights and driving lights are a safety hazard. I really don't care what color headlights are unless they are blinding me. There are laws about glaring lights. As for color some states have a simple card with color hues on it and if the blue looks the same as white on the card under the headlight beam, Wah Lah! Like looking a red and white checker board with a red filter. I wrote my State representative regarding the headlight issue encouraging him to put it back in the vehicle inspection process, but he didn't do me the courtesy of a response so I know it's not a priority. Vehicle inspections in Texas are pretty lame for actual vehicle safety, mostly about emmissions. If you can't pass spend some money, if you spend enough and it still won't pass that's OK get a waiver. Don't have money, that's ok the state will pay for the repair. It's like carbon credits for the environment and oxygen credits for gasoline. Can't make the grade? then buy some carbon credits or oxygen credits from a source that doesn't need them.
I am not trying to denergrate the officers in the DPS and PD. The enforcement mandates come from the top. IMHO speeding violations have become a major source of income and are the most common violations. However, other violations that truly are safety issues shouldn't be ignored or given lower priority.

[LabRat]

Back to the original poster on speeding in Irving.....

My daughter....19 yo, and somewhat of a leadfoot, got stopped by IPD on 114 for going 70+ in a 60.

I told her she was responsible and to contact the Irving prosecutor and work out a deal.

She did (was very polite as I understand it).

Bottom line: she got the ticket reduced to exceeding a safe speed, a little fine to pay (which she did), no insurance increase. She did take defensive driving.

I suggest that you follow the same route and see what happens....any change would be an improvement and you already know the worst it can be.

Edit: BTW, good to hear the CHL was not an issue.....

LabRat