Received a speeding ticket for going 31 mph
 

I should have known better. I have read the articles about the Villages residents complaining about the speeding. I had just gotten a friend's car washed and was still trying to get the seat back to normal as I start to drive down Chula Vista Blvd. toward CR466. I wasn't even used to the speedometer (mine is digital). There was the sign: "Speed limit 25 mph, you are traveling 31." I slowed down. Too late. There was the police car with it's lights flashing behind me. One ticket for $135, plus points on my license (may be able to take a class to avoid the points).

I am not complaining. i am hoping to make others aware of this and not to let it have to them.

Nothing to be made aware of, you were speeding and you got a ticket, that's how it works.

Seems pretty ticky but that's life. Chalk it up as bad luck and the cop making quota.

I don't drive fast as a rule but I figure there's a time or three when I was speeding that I didn't get caught for the couple of times I got an undeserved ticket over my life.

Very true we all get away with speeding but once in awhile law of averages catches up to us.

That is not the way it works!
 

There is no such thing as a quota. They (the police) are allowed to write as many tickets as they want to. :MOJE_whot: But you are honest about your "average" and thats a rare thing. :bigbow:

it's always smart to look in the rear view mirror every once and awhile, just to know what/who's behind you

I have noticed some cars out and about lately, and specifically a few decoy cars(empty, just to get some attention)? As for the area you mentioned, that has been in the papers. Apparently, there's a resident there that's been complaining about speeders, and people using it as a thoroughfare, to get from Rio Grande to 466? He even has his own radar? And, he's been even more vocal, with those new apartments going up. Enough said. Like what's been said, law of averages.

Thanks for the heads up, OP.

Do not know about TV but in many jurisdictions the police dept gets a lot of revenue from tickets so officers are encouraged to write them

too bad the don't catch the golf carts. I got passed going 28 by golf cart in the diamond lane on my right in 25 MPH zone. so the golf cart which wasn't tagged as LSV was going 30 plus. Too bad the can't catch those special drivers?

Please make all adjustments BEFORE starting off - lack of attention and being distracted often cause accidents

Moved here in November 2019. Had not received a ticket since 1974. Received my first ticket here in my second week of living here. I was speeding so I'm not complaining but you would think my record would have gotten maybe a warning for first offence. Was 8 mph over limit. Just saying.

And they say there are no quotas

I've gotten maybe half a dozen speeding tickets in my entire life. Doesn't mean I don't speed more often, but that's how many times I've gotten a ticket for it. I pleaded "not guilty" to all of them. I have never had to actually pay the ticket. Go to court, the cop doesn't show up, they don't send lawyers for this stuff, the judge nolles the case and I go home with no ticket, no fine, no points, and no notification to the DMV that a ticket was ever issued. I also don't have to actually testify or make a statement. It's all done usually before they even call your name to enter the courtroom - the clerk comes out and just tells you to go home.

On a positive note it is good to hear the police are enforcing the speed limits.

We have been here 16 years and the first few years there were random speed traps in and around The Villages.
Then in more recent years there has been almost none. The average speed of traffic is up substantially.

We need more enforcement. The Villages should strive to have a reputation like Waldo, FL. If you speed YOU WILL get ticketed.
Everybody knows it and amazingly most folks drop their speed to the limit.

Funny how enforcement works.....just like school zones.

We look forward to the increased enforcement.

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31 in a 25??? Give me a break, really. I know the folks saying ...you 'were speeding'.... it's "the law".

But really... at that amount "over', worthy of a warning esp if the vehicle was in good condition and the driver had a clean record. really.

How many cars do we see going 10MPH+ over the limit? It's the luck of the draw - wrong place wrong time.

Yes, like many drivers, I probably go 45 in a 40, 50 in a 45. etc. As long as the vehicle is not swerving and using signals, fine. I NEVER drive in a left lane except to pass. I'm more worried of the vehicles being driven UNDER the limit, esp in a left lane.

The roundabouts are the main worry of close calls, esp work vehicles etc. NOT a driver 6mph over a limit. really.

(have at me if you'd like...really)
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I remember once upon a time in Connecticut, the "state" speed limit on highways was - literally "whatever traffic would bear." Most people stayed under 65, most passenger cars couldn't go over 100 (unless they were souped up or factory-made sports cars). There were also no anti-lock brakes and most people drove a stick shift, not automatic transmission. Seat belts were lap belts and not required. There was no center brake light in the back window. There weren't a lot of cars with power steering, no power windows. Passenger cars didn't have 4WD and all-wheel drive hadn't been invented yet. 4WD vehicles like the Jeep had locking hubs, and you had to exit your vehicle to switch them so that the 4WD would work. And then, only at low speeds (under 40mph).

In other words - cars weren't made, back in the day, to go very fast and weren't safe enough for high speed driving.

Now, they have doodads and widgets in the car that parks for you, shows you on camera on your dash what the back looks like as you reverse out of a parking space at the supermarket, emergency cut-offs, voice-activated GPS that tells you when you need to slow down due to upcoming accident or other traffic hazard, and even technology that will automatically skid your car to a stop if it detects something coming too close.

In other words - there's a lot less to impede fast driving, and a lot less reason to be overly concerned about it.

On the OTHER other hand...

The Villages is filled with a lot of older people whose reflexes weren't what they used to be.

On the OTHER other hand...
cars these days have the technology to bypass and accommodate any increased loss in reflexes.

Basically - I'm thinking the only reason it's even a big deal, is because there's a sign on the road saying it should be a big deal. Not because it's actually a big deal. It really isn't.

Your lucky. In most jurisdictions the cop sets aside a particular morning or afternoon as his court day and all his ticketees have to either pay or show up and he will be there and judge will find you guilty.

Reminds me of the mall security cop who stopped a guy in the parking garage where the speed limit was 5 mph. He said, "sir, do you know how fast you were going?" The guy said no. The mall cop said, you were doing 7 !!!

In Connecticut and Massachusetts (the only 2 states I've gotten a traffic violation) the cop doesn't decide your court date. The appointment-setting system at the courthouse traffic division does. It's automated. The cop either comes or doesn't, but usually the precinct needs him to actually be a cop and doesn't give them time to hang out in a courtroom.

Twice out of the 6 times I've had a ticket, I didn't even get a court date. They nolled my violation by mail and I didn't have to show up at all. They do that when the docket is backlogged for lesser violations (such as "excessive speed" as opposed to "speeding" - there's a difference, legally).

I've seen posts here over the years about how bad speeding is, how dangerous it is, how the speeder gets what he deserves. While maybe that's all true, personally I think driving too slow can be dangerous, too . Now some might say that some of the older population can't drive at the higher speeds. I think if you aren't capable of driving a vehicle at a posted speed limit, you can be a danger to others, also.

Especially considering that these are public roads and many people who drive on them are NOT old people living out their retirement in the Villages. Many of them are working people who actually need to get to work on time. Many of them have to pick their kids up from school. Many of them commute from Leesburg to Ocala, vice versa, and parts inbetween. Some live in Wildwood and work somewhere on 441, and vice versa.

Driving too slow - especially in the passing lane - can be deadly. I've also noticed that a lot of villagers try to be "nice" and yield their right of way to someone else. That is a really BAD thing to do.

When I stop at a stop sign, and you don't HAVE a stop sign, it means you need to GO. It means you need to NOT stop and let me pass. You might not notice the person behind you who is not planning on stopping at all. If it's your turn to go, then GO.

Otherwise you interrupt the flow of traffic and screw things up for everyone else.

Where I come from they got paid overtime to go to court.

Traffic Ticket Lawyer Florida And Speeding Attorneys | The Ticket Clinic

I had to rush down from NJ when my father was in Hospital in Pembroke Pines about 5 years ago. Got stopped on Pines Blvd on the way in a "mass" speed trap. About 15 cars in line waiting for ticket. Asked officers to let me go because my father had just been taken to hospital and I couldn't wait. He wouldn't do it since I was out of state in rental car. 25 minutes later I was ticketed 60 in 45 (this was a 4 lane in 1 direction major road. I even told cop I would come to station later to get my ticket (I knew that wouldn't work).

In any case, I called ticketclinic and they took care of everything. No points, no court, no report on NJ DMV records and no insurance increase. 5 years ago it cost me $100 plus ticket cost. Not sure what they charge now but it was worth it. Probably saved me close to $1000 in NJ insurance rate increases. That was my only moving violation in my life. Edit: "Driving school" wasn't an option since I was from out of state at the time.

Around here a moving violation will jack up your insurance for 3-5 years depending on your company.

Talked to a Sumter cop a while back...He said they will get you at 25 mph...Lower if you are weaving.

Waldo, now that is over the top. Didn't they amend their jurisdiction for the sole purpose of generating income from speeding tickets? Remember a 60 Minutes segment on the topic. In any event, for that reason and others I avoid the 301 when going to and fro Hwy 10. Maybe add 20 minutes to the trip but avoid the risk and aggravation.

No reason
Don’t kid yourself about quotas. AND there should be some type of review. You dropped vie for 50 years with a spotless record, and your life is ruined for noth8ng

6 miles over the speed limit and you got a ticket. I’ve traveled these last 15 years on Buena Vista, Cr’s 466 & 466A and while I very rarely go more than 5 miles above posted speed, staying on the right lane, I have seen some people pass me by as if I were standing still, No doubt 55-60 mph and Never have I seen, not one of these speed demons pulled over. .

Why is it, “cop making quota”? We’re you a police officer? How do you know about these things? Heard it somewhere from someone else? Why can’t it be, “the officer was doing his/her job”. You really don’t know. I don’t know what you did for a living but for 30 years I never had one of these famous “quotas”.

If Sumter County was serious about protecting us from speeders then it would have officers with speed guns on either end of the cart path crossing Lake Sumter.

The conveyance is a 10 mile per hour speed zone. As a walker, runner and cyclist, I am in constant fear of being hit by speeding carts in the path AND carts that hit the edge of the raised (walkway) portion when out of control.

Please, someone answer me, "why do carts need to speed when crossing the lake?"

Aren't we all retired?

My brother is a police officer - not here, but in MD, just over the line from DC; he has no quotas. In fact, when COVID-19 got really bad up that way, and the politicians started saying they weren't going to prosecute most crimes, were letting people out of jails and charges, he said he wasn't gonna stop anyone. Why put himself in danger (the usual dangers of stopping someone plus the danger of C-19) for no purpose? If he had been assigned a quota, he couldn't have taken that stance.

golf carts get speeding tickets also and the amount is a lot more

they do catch the golf carts and the fine is a lot more than $135

As for the golf carts, the ticket is not for speeding. A golf cart capable of going over 20 mph is no longer a golf cart by Florida law. A golf cart that exceeds 20 mph is considered a low speed vehicle, not a golf cart, and as such is to be registered and licensed with the state of Florida and be insured. The ticket is for driving an unregistered vehicle; it could also be for speeding if exceeding a posted 20 mph speed limit.

No Quotas ? But there is a dog whistle. Cops get overtime to set up speed traps. The thinking is that if they don’t write tickets then no one is speeding and the speed trap is not necessary. Thus no overtime. Don’t be naive.

So you’re thinking there should be an exception like “ speed now pay later. “

lawn boy
 

Responsible drivers operate their automobile at what their brain tells them is a safe rate of speed. No one wants to be in or cause an accident. Speed limits in many locations are arbitrarily set and, as such, are very difficult to strictly obey. The cops know where these locations are. Most speeders I see in TV are younger folk using our main roads--Buena Vista and Morse. Those two roads should have the concentration of law enforcement. Issuing a ticket for 6 miles over in a 25 mile zone is ridiculous. There should be better things for law enforcement to do with their time--like fight crime or get a donut.

They do. Someone I know got caught doing 24 MPH in his cart. $350 ticket. Was told limit is twenty if you are in a road with cart lane that cars also use.

8 miles over! That is a lot. The speed limit is marked 35 (or whatever) not 35ish.

And how is that a good example?
 

That's why these young Ppl are the way they are bc of poor examples of adults.