Getting pulled over for speeding - age profiling. What can I do?

|â–’â–’Kebert Xelaâ–’â–’|

That is far from age profiling....and I'm glad you realize that now.
Good luck with everything, but only if you've learned your lesson, and will pay better attention in the future.

trooper3316

Racial profiling is illegal, age profiling is not. Age profiling happens every time someone purchases cigarettes or alcohol, and every time someone tries to get into a club that serves alcohol.

Perhaps he picked you out because you looked too young to have a drivers license. In any event, going with the flow of traffic is a matter of discretion, not of law. It is common to use less discretion in a school zone.

Most courts will either give you an extension, or take small payments over time. You can ask for either.

webned

slow down, 39 in a 20 mph school zone is way too fast. take your lumps like a grown up.

Michael

"but everyone else was speeding I was staying with traffic." That's called a confession. It is not a good thing to say in front of the Judge.

You admit to breaking the law. The officer issued you a citation for the offense. If you honestly think "age profiling" is a mitigating issue then certainly inform the Judge. He or she will probably ignore it, but if you feel so compelled then do so. When you passed the police officer doing almost twice the legal speed limit, do you think the police officer noticed your age? On the plus side, yes you can ask for an extension in time to pay the ticket. Some jurisdictions permit weekly or monthly payments on tickets as well.

Benji

Just because other cars were exceeding the speed limit does not excuse you. He apologized for the age comment.
An officer cannot possibly pull over everybody, but pulling over one driver slows everyone else down - at least while he's there writing your ticket. It just happened, for whatever reason, to be your (un)lucky day.
Maybe it was your apparant age, but there is no way in Hades you'd ever be able to prove it. So don't even bring it up; no one likes a whiner, and judges are notorious for having a low tolerance for whining.
If you explain to the judge your finances, it is quite possible that arrangements can be made for you to pay over a (short) period of time, but they do not have to grant that.
Good luck. And slow down.

clsga

You have no leg to stand on with "age profiling". Simple fact when it comes to court is you are driving 19mph over the speed limit in a school zone..... He had probable cause to pull you over...doesn't matter black, white, male, female, young, or old.

Yes you can go to court and ask for extra time in paying the fine.

IRISHGUY

Look your guilty, but when you go in front of the judge say something like "your honor i respectably ask for a little more time to pay my fine or get on a payment plan." you could also ask if they have a swap program which allows you to do community service instead of paying your fine. good luck

lone butcher Spartan remembers

. . . He asked you your name because that's how they do things. They mix it up so they can tell if you're using a fake license or whatever as well.
You can't bring up age profiling, you have no real proof or idea why he "scoffed".
And no, you were still going 19 over so he had probable cause to pull you over. Just because he pulled you over out of others doesn't make it age profiling, not at all.

Lexie

Well, it's too bad, but when you're wrong, you're wrong. Obviously every single person committing every single infraction is not going to be pulled over--it is impossible. Sometimes we luck out when we speed or make a rolling stop at a stop sign and sometimes we don't.

Since it is your first offense, you may be able to ask the prosecutor to allow you to plead guilty to an equipment violation or something similar. That is usually a lower fine and, more important, does not add points to your license, which can affect your insurance rates.

You should be able to get a payment plan of some type.

Do yourself a favor, though, and try to get rid of the "victim" mentality. It isn't a healthy mind-set. Much better to realize you just had a mis-step and were unlucky enough to be held responsible for it. In the overall scheme of things, it is not a big deal.

Mike E

Age profiling? I think your digging here. Racial profiling is sketchy but age profiling is just BS. You were speeding. You got caught. You need to pay the ticket. The attitude of the officer does not lessen the offense - even if he did pull you over because you look young. There could be several very reasonable explanations why he choose to pull you over instead of all of those other cars.

Maybe you were on the inside lane and he was on that side of the road. Maybe he had instructions to look for a young white/black/hispanic female driving a similar type of car. Maybe there was not as much traffic as you seem to remember. Maybe his attitude has more to do with your projection of your insecurities about your age than his actually attitude.

Does not really matter. Sounds to me like he made a legal stop, and issued a valid traffic citation. You can blame shift all you want but in the end it was you who was speeding, you that is responsible for paying the consequence of that action.

Maybe you would be better served to drop some of the entitlement attitude and just pay attention to the world around instead of wanting the world to pay attention to you.

If your still reading after that rant - you should be able to ask for an extension. The court should allow you to pay like 50% after the hearing and make arrangements to pay the rest over a 90 day period.

ornery and mean

Drop the age profiling/age discrimination line ... The officer saw you speeding and ticketed you for the offense. Start off with "the big mean officer picked on me because I was young, not because I was breaking the law, and I guarantee a guilty verdict and no mercy from the bench.

You can ask for an extension, or even a payment plan! Courts have been known to do both. The court does not have to allow for either, you will be asking for a privilege, not invoking a right. A court that you have respected the proceedings of will probably grant the privilege. A court that has been accused of age discrimination will probably not.

patrick

Unfortunately, you have no valid argument in the case. In the courts eyes, they fact that others were also breaking the law, is not a defense. Further, you can not prove that you were singled out due to your age. The police will argue that he was only able to stop one offender.
Most likely, you are going to meet with the court clerk prior to the judge, who will ask you how you plead. the police officer may also be there. this is the time to strike a deal. Admit that you were guilty, tell him you have never been cited before, tell him that you missed the school zone sign. (Do not bring up others were going the same speed, it is irrelevant and only make the officer less kind to you).
When you get to the part about the fine being so large, it will help if you show a little emotion, exclaiming how you dont want a warrant issued for you as you struggle to get enough money to pay it off.
thats when the plea deal will come through.

Texas Star

What the hell does your age have to do with you driving nearly DOUBLE the speed limit in a school zone????? You're lucky it's only $350... the fines START at $500 in my area.

Why don't you try that strategy with the Judge..... I'm sure your whining will go a LONG ways in the courtroom....

Don't be such a moron....accept responsibility for your own actions and quit looking for someone else to blame..

ahsoasho2u2

Yes, you can ask for an extension but; for what cause?
You were doing 39 in a school Zone (church)?

If the school crossing guard was not out, the lights were not flashing (to say time for school to be out) or officers were not directing traffic?
You may have a case for dismissal.
Court will work out payment options about fine if needed to do just show up at court.

tengolatte

Sorry but I don't think your age profiling stance will hold up in front of the judge. I also was moving with the flow of traffic on the interstate a few months ago and I was the one that got pulled over. It's not fair but that's just the way it works sometimes, there's not much you can do. As far as an extension- it never hurts to ask politely.

I don't know what state you live in but I believe normally there isn't a certain date you have to pay your ticket and you don't have to show up in court unless you want to fight your ticket. But definitely check with your local laws &/or parents as to how that goes for your area.

El Scott

You were not profiled, you were stopped for speeding. Even you admit to the violation. Quit listening to the lib professors at your college and go on with your life.

The Officer stopped you for a speeding violation and made conversation with you about your age. That will not constitute a supreme court intervention I am sure. I would guess the Officer was actually being sarcastic by calling you miss but I wasn't there so I am not entirely sure.

The Officer asking you your age is not going to help you. He was probably trying to size up if the court would allow you any special sentencing due to your age, stop being paranoid.

Yes, you can ask for an extension call the clerk of court and ask about that.

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