Out of State Plates - Target for Cops

[PNW Judy]

If you're following road rules, you should be fine. The only traffic ticket I ever got while traveling out of state was well-deserved. Very deserved. In fact, they really cut me a break as it was only for 91mph. I was well into 3 digits on, what I thought anyway, was a deserted stretch of highway. So I was grateful they didn't arrest me and impound my car...as they could have legally done at that speed. I tend to be a lead-food, so maybe I've just been lucky.

I think the biggest ticket risk is in small towns where the highway runs through them. Many people don't slow down enough when going through these places and, for some of them, I think it's the main way they fund their city services. A small town near me, on Hwy 12, is in-famous for such tickets. (Oakville, WA) I know numerous people who have gotten speeding tickets here. And they're all in-state drivers. It's not usually for the speed they're driving through town at, but for speeding up too sign upon leaving town. Don't go 55, or even start speeding up, until AFTER you pass the 55mph road sign.

I should mention that I've actually been pulled over a couple of times when out-of-state for doing things I shouldn't. Ya know, like doing a U-turn where they're not allowed because I'm turned around and lost, quickly crossing lanes of traffic to make a turn that came up on me faster than I anticipated, and other such things. In each case, they chuckled at me being a lost tourist and just gave me a friendly warning. In some cases, they even gave me directions to where I needed to go.

[Kinless]

I'll attest to this. I just got nailed yesterday driving through Escalante, UT on Hwy 12 with California plates.

Being a 4-lane highway, I don't know why I didn't catch it, but I mistakenly thought the speed limit was 40 MPH when it was really 30 MPH. (Please, 30 MPH on a 4-laner is just ridiculous...) so of course a local trooper appears out of nowhere and clocks me at 47 in a 30 just as I was getting out of town.

He only wrote me up for going 11 over, but still that's $100, not to mention the cost of my insurance may go up for the next 3 years, all because I made an honest mistake.

Of course I'm expected to post bail in 2 weeks, which I'll barely be home in time for that. I need to see my options about traffic school in California when dealing with an out-of-state ticket, to see if I can keep it off my spotless record. Utah's "point" system is different from ours, so I don't even know my options right now. A search on the net did me no good. Anyone familiar with this for Cali locals?

My current roadtrip is pretty much ruined for me at this point...

[Mark Sedenquist]

My current roadtrip is pretty much ruined for me at this point...

Knock it off -- the rest of us are in the OFFICE and you are driving on UT-12 and you are complaining about a ticket? Come on -- get real.

I suggest you write to "Uncle Bob", if he doesn't know the answer to your question, he will know how to find it.

Mark

[PNW Judy]

My current roadtrip is pretty much ruined for me at this point...

I kinda agree with Mark here.

Ya know, I got a $300 speeding ticket once. It was a hoot. Well, up until the cop stopped me anyway. But the thrill of it all stayed with me for days. I still smile when I think of it and it was almost 7 years ago! I figured the money it cost me was like the price of admission to a really thrilling theme park.

$100...hey, that's kid stuff. :-) Don't let it ruin your trip.

[Kinless]

All right, all right... don't mind me. I'm (mostly) over it now. I think it was just the 24-hour initial window of depression. The blemishing of my record, combined with not knowing how to deal with this in the home state just put me in a real bad mood. Had to vent somewhere.

I would have felt the same way had someone posted my first negative feedback about me on eBay. Tarnishing perfect records really get to me. I'm just weird like that.

Anyway, I e-mailed "Uncle Bob" since he doesn't accept private messages.

[PNW Judy]

Let me tell you a bit more about my own ticket. I live in WA and got the ticket in NV.

Well, I thought I'd be cute and send them $20/month. I figured they couldn't do anything worse to me. They sure weren't going to come from Beatty, NV, to Washington's coast to arrest me! Well, don't try to be cute. I got a letter from the Washington state DMV giving me a 30-day, or was it 20-day?, deadline to pay off my Nevada fine in full or my Washington state license would be suspended. So, just pay it and get it over with.

I did get those dreaded points but my insurance didn't go up. I don't know if CA insurers are stricter with that but it didn't impact my rates at all.


Enjoy the rest of your trip and don't bother anymore about this until you're home.

[Mark Sedenquist]

The blemishing of my record...

I have managed to drive just slightly under 1,000,000 with nary a speeding ticket. This by no means would suggest that I drive under the speed limit... But, I am reasonably aware and really slow radically in smaller towns.

Mark

[dalsh327]

I think it can be true that there might be a north-south grudge (New Yorkers will always say it's "because I'm from NY") but they're looking for people transporting and hoping to get the big payday and get on the news. Sometimes it's just not knowing rules of the road in some states.

When I played dumb about how fast I was going, I got the ticket. I've had more issues when I've taken backroad trips with a makeshift (mobile) border patrol in San Diego on old route 80, but was more annoyed that the dog had to go into the car than anything else.

They notice the car before what state the car is from. Playing dumb or being condescending is guaranteed to get you a ticket. You have to assess the officer's mood. If they're being polite, you may walk away "unless they radioed it in". If they're green, they're prob. going to go by the book. If they mean business, they may just be out to show their authority but just say as little as possible.

Rock band and political stickers, also not a good thing to have on road trips.

[krug]

This article simply confirms what I’ve observed from my own personal experiences. I have never been ticketed for speeding (or for anything else), as I try to set my cruise control at or slightly below the speed limit.

On one solo road trip through Texas, I was stopped on two separate occasions in a span of three days by local sheriff’s departments. They simply wanted to see my registration and insurance documents. They both stated that they ‘ran my plates’ through their system, and it didn’t show up in their computer. On another solo road trip, I was stopped by an Arkansas state trooper, claiming that I was driving 74 in a 70 mph zone. Although I assured him my cruise was set on 70, confirmed by my GPS unit, he still gave me a written warning. I have been stopped two other times, with similar stories, on other trips through Texas.

Why the special attention? I don’t know. I have never been bothered in my home state of Kentucky. Perhaps other states’ police honestly don’t recognize my specialty plates in their computer systems. But honestly, do you really think the police check every single car’s license plate that passes by? I doubt that. I am a dark-skinned male in my late 20’s driving a late-model Buick with out-of-state plates. Could that have anything to do with getting stopped by the police? You decide.

[judi]

Well I sure was surprised to read about the Escalante Utah episode on your forum--it matches my episode to a T! I was driving through at very slow speed, no where near the 47mph I was accused of--and same deal--the officer wrote a ticket for only 11 miles over speed limit! I guess it's his schmeal....how sad to treat out of towners like that---It ruins your day and you have no recourse--how can you contest if you are out of state--you going to fly back?

This cop should be canned....I am sure it's the same one!

Funny I was going to stay in that town--but I was out of there in a flash!