Pacing ticket while being passed

I while back I got nailed with a "pacing" ticket on HW 24 approaching 80. I was matching traffic flow - say 5mph over when I noticed a CHP cruiser pull onto the freeway as I passed. So I made sure that I was a) matching the speed limit and b) being passed by other traffic.

I got pulled anyway and told that I was weaving and he had to do 80MPH to catch me and I was "lucky" to be written up for 70MPH.

I asked the officer if he had noticed the minivan overtaking me, to which I was informed yes and that being passed was not relevant.

The whole ticket seemed total BS but I had a clean license and could not be arsed to fight it. So I did my 8hrs of traffic prison.

However, I'm curious, if I had fought it would being passed be a reasonable defense?

Nope. Someone else going faster than you is not a defense to speeding. (Not that I agree with the artificially low speed limits, or enforcing them.)

Speeding is speeding. But 70 in a 65 is chicken shit. And even though you were being passed it still would have made agood argument towards the officers judgment or lack of.

I had a simalar situation near the GG bridge, the cop said he saw the two cars hauling ass past me but there was no need to chase them when I was right there. In other words I was closer to him and easier to pull over. Even though my gf was following me in her PT Crusier and could'nt understand why I got pulled over. It was Burgandy Talon day I guess.

"Everyone else does it" is not a defense. Neither is "someone else was doing it." If he had a good pace on you and saw you weaving, he decided you were going to get cited. It has to do with his overall opinion of your driving and that he felt he had the evidence he needed to be confident in issuing you a citation at that time rather than switching horses mid-race.

I have stopped vehicles driving 10 under and impeding traffic, while other vehicles are zipping by on both sides at 10 over. It is a pragmatic decision as to which vehicle poses the greatest risk and wich merits further investigation. I have arrested DUIs at 7 am after a stop for failing to signal. Maybe he thought you were DUI if he saw you weaving?

A possible DUI going 5 over is going to take priority over somone going 8 or 10 over that is not weaving. Once he made contact and saw you were sober... he is still going to write a tag.

There are lots of fish in the lake... you can see them from the edge of the boat. You only get the ones you hook.... you can't catch them all.

motorman4life said:

There are lots of fish in the lake... you can see them from the edge of the boat. You only get the ones you hook.... you can't catch them all.

Click to expand...

I think that's a good qoute for any LEO because it's true.