Officer, is this a rumor or for real?

[winnre]

Hi. Just wondering something I always hear but wonder if it is a rumor or not. You may not know the answer because it may be a court issue but I thought I'd try here.

First let's establish a base. Let's say a 40 year old male with no tickets driving a 1990 Honda Civic gets pulled over and you cite him for doing 70 in a 40. He gets his ticket in the mail and the courts want $400 for a fine.

Would the fine be different if he was driving a 2012 bright red Porsche 911? Or if he was 70 years old? Or 19? Or driving a Kia?

All other factors being the same (no priors, same speeds, same road and weather) is the fine solely based on speed or are there other factors that are considered in the calculation?

Just curious.

[Rockit]

Same fine. Vehicle/driver does not factor in.

[monk]

What if it's a female who just happens to be, say, Kate Upton still in lingerie from her last photo shoot who just happens to be driving in a, oh I don't know, Morgan Supersports? Surely the LEO would show some compassion? They're not monsters after all.

[winnre]

In my few tickets the officer has always said, "I clocked you at 70 but I'll write it for 68" because apparently there are cutoffs for the amount of the fine. If I wear lingerie I'd be hauled away. :-)

Hey officers here is a story for you. My brother was driving along and had a marked police car following him. He did a "California stop" at a stop sign, rolling through slowly. Then he did it at the next stop sign, and a third. At that point the officer pulled him over.

The officer said, "Look, I was going to let the first one slide. After the second one I knew you saw me behind you and I thought you'd straighten up. But then you rolled through a third stop sign and with me behind you, so you're getting a ticket! And he got a ticket for rolling through the stop sign.

He took it to court. His argument: "Your honor, the officer admitted letting me slide and not ticketing me for rolling through the first, and second, stop signs. But he got me for the third. If this was really an offense he should have stopped and cited me after the first stop sign that I rolled through. But when I got through two stop signs without an issue I thought it was okay to drive that way. The third stop sign is no different than the other two. I should have been able to roll through that one too."

He won the case. The officer was livid. I bet no one got any slack for the rest of that day!

[Falconis]

That argument should have never flew. I have actually won on arguments like that because the person was basically admitting to the violations. Then again, what do I know what goes through some of their minds.

[winnre]

That's okay, it just makes him cocky and then he thinks he can always skate by. Karma works!

[Big Ben]

If I had been the judge, I'd have tripled the fine, because he admitted to running 3 stops. :-)

[Hilldweller]

Fines are base on age, sex, attitude, type of car, annual income, and clothing worn.
Didn't you notice those little check boxes on the ticket? They all mean something.

ah....or did I just make that all up.....

[mkingwin]

Judges or interm judges at traffic court makes the final decisions. I cited a female violator for being on her cell phone while driving through a school zone. Even after the violator admitted to using her cell phone to the Judge for a few seconds, the Judge ruled in her favor saying a few seconds is not enough for a violation and dismissed the citation. Noted that he (Judge) also dismissed another cell phone violation before mines. WTF was in my mind as I walked out the court room with a smile and thanked the judge.

To answer the OP, my answer is the same as Rockit.

If it was Kate Upton or some hot lingerie chick in a crappy or sweet ride, I cite her and tell her to meet me for our date listed at the bottom of the yellow copy.

[BigDogatPlay]

Many, if not most, courts add penalty the higher a speeding violation is over the posted limit, even though non-CHP speeding tickets are almost universally for "speed unsafe for conditions" and not posted limit. In the case of 70 in a 40, a lot of courts will add $$$ as opposed to say 68 in a 40.

FWIW, if I was only writing one violation, instead of the two or three I could have, I never said "I'm giving you a break". That was between me and my pen.

[cacop]

What if it's a female who just happens to be, say, Kate Upton still in lingerie from her last photo shoot who just happens to be driving in a, oh I don't know, Morgan Supersports? Surely the LEO would show some compassion? They're not monsters after all.

Depends. The CHP would write Mother Teresa a ticket if she had a lead foot.

[Ron-Solo]

I would cite the beautiful ones more often than the ugly ones. They got too many breaks already.

[003]

There is a "special" section in the California Vehicle Code that states the fines for red cars are an automatic 15% higher that all other color vehicles. Everyone knows that. Sometimes the court clerk adds an additional 10% on top of the vehicle code authorized 15%.

[cannon]

Fines in California are set statewide by the Judicial Council. Same violation gets the same fine anywhere in California.

[garplay]

Many, if not most, courts add penalty the higher a speeding violation is over the posted limit, even though non-CHP speeding tickets are almost universally for "speed unsafe for conditions" and not posted limit. In the case of 70 in a 40, a lot of courts will add $$$ as opposed to say 68 in a 40.

The fines are state defined: Uniform CA Bail Schedule, but some counties may add additional charges.

In particular on speeding, the steps are 1-15MPH over, 16-25 MPH over, and 26+ MPH over. (see page 24)

So 70 in a 40 written up as 68 in a 40 isn't a break, but 65 in a 40 is.

IANA-LEO, but IIRC, an officer can amend the ticket if the person fights it in court, so write it up as 65 in a 40 MPH, but if the offender fights it, amend in court to 66 MPH, which increases the fine by >$100.