bluejae

i've heard you can get a big fat ticket and/or get thrown in jail...

and i know this may make me look bad asking but it's really just a question... the reason it came up was a friend of mine drove my car and tried to push it to the limits... yeah he's crazy... even more so because when he first tried, i was freakin asleep in the passenger seat...

so that brings up another question, can i get in trouble also because it's my car but he was driving?

jvanbrecht

It will vary by state and local laws. As for your responsibility, if its a camera ticket, then yes, as you are responsible for your vehicle, but generally no points involved. If he got pulled over, the ticket would be on the actual drivers record, not necessarily the owners record. Of course, if its excessive, they may impound your vehicle.

In MD VA and DC, the laws are similar for those areas, you get caught doing 40 miles over the limit (or double the limit in low limit areas), your pretty much screwed if the cop wants to be a dick about it (moral of the story, don't **** off the cop if you do get stopped).

Second moral of the story.. beat the crap out of your friend.... seriously, pulling a stunt like that puts the lives of all the occupants in danger, worse if they are sleeping (not able to consent to stupid driving)

khmergod

Most states, if you go over 20 you could do jail time, and have your license suspended. Oh and a big fat fine. Next time someone does that crap without your consent, punch them in the face, then throw them out the car, so you can drive it instead.

BAD430BENZ

at those speeds , they bend you over and make you squeal like a pig . i know here in el paso , 20 over gets you a free ticket to jail but most of the time it's just a nice size fine . it basically comes down to how the cop feels when he pulls you over and you better hope it's not a female officer .

bluejae

so there's a chance they could impound my car even though i didn't do anything? if the driver ends up going to jail, shouldn't the passenger be able to drive the car home or wherever instead especially if it's the passenger's car... if they impound the car, then the passenger also gets a ride to the station i'm assuming

emericr

Stop scaring the guy.
It all depends on the cop and yes, they are right that the driver can end up in jail but unless you offend the cop and you are a real jerk, most of the time, it will be just a big fat ticket or warning. My best one was getting out of a 130mph run at night (I was not racing anyone and it was in between long exits. I caught up on a cop) and very luckily all I got was a warning (the cop was a car buff). There are nice cops out there if you are nice to them. They are humans after all and respect goes a long way.
And in the right circumstances, it is very safe to drive at triple digit speed with the kind of cars we have. I think it is the beat up cars with no brakes doing 70mph that scare me more than someone with a sports car doing 100mph.
Don't hate the cops, just hate that you get caught

jvanbrecht

I was not trying to scare anyone, the OP asked what could happen.

I have been to court mandated driving school due to my record many years ago. 97 98 time frame.

At that time, in VA (where I was living at the time), up to 20 over the limit is speeding, up to 40 miles over the limit was reckless, over 40, and its essentially driving with the intent to kill (not sure of the actual offense name, I forgot it, but its the equivalent of attempted manslaughter)

Speeding has smaller fines, over 20 and you get hammered with a major chunk of change, over 40 and its a huge fine, and potentially instant loss of license till you can get a judge to reinstate it after you post bail....

The point is, the fines/punishment listed above are generally the maximums, and you would really really have to be a dick to the cop for them to arrest you.

I have always been honest when I have been stopped, and polite to the officers. Most of the time, while I still got a ticket, they usually bumped it down to plain old speeding rather then the offense I actually committed.

snail45

Agreed. These are pretty much the things that I have heard.

As far as other things that could happen....I would either start crying or pass out. Maybe a loss of bowel control.

brian0473

Here in San Antonio I was pulled over for doing 110 in a 55 on I-10 (before they bumped up the limit)...and I was on a motorcycle. It was a state trooper and the first thing he said when he got out of his car was "I guess someone's going to jail tonight!". The funny thing is that while he did gimme the ticket he didn't arrest me. I was cool with him which probably helped because I'm sure he could have thrown me in the slammer for the night if he wanted to.

So it truly depends on the guy who pulls you over, plain and simple.

A few weeks later when the judge called me up he said something like "110...boy you were really moving..what kind of bike do you ride?". True story.

i_am_amused

you remember incorrectly, my friend. It was, and still is, much worse than you think. In VA, 80+ is reckless, regardless of the posted speed limit, and 20+ over is reckless, regardless of the posted speed limit. It has been like this since at least the mid-1980s when I got out of college and bought my first set of wheels.

The kicker: 30+ over or 90+, regardless of the posted speed limit, and they can haul your @ss to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200. I've heard the stay is something like one day for each mph of violation, but I have nothing to back up that potential urban legend other than they are hard core about enforcement here. All those guys driving in "Mexico" could be looking at a couple months in county lock-up if they get busted here.

Oh yeah, they can keep the car, too.

I know a guy that got radar'd at 91 in a 55 zone (coincidentally in an E55) rushing to pick up his son at a baseball game, and the trooper cut him a "break" down to 85. The commonwealth's attorney (DA for you folks in normal states ) did NOT want to bargain off the reckless because it was still 30 over, but my friend's lawyer (you*definitely* want a lawyer) , due to a fortunate combination of unrelated events, was able it get it reduced to a lesser moving violation but with a massive $1,000 fine. He feels he was lucky to keep his license, and avoid the points, but I don't get the feeling he ever felt he was at risk of losing his car.

All this was for 91/85 in a 55. Imagine what happens at the easily achievable "Mexico" speeds of 130 or 140.

All this was for "simple" speeding, no racing, no bodily injury, etc. That type of stuff can add years to your stay at the state's finest hotels, but I expect most states are pretty harsh on these. Unlike the crazy variations in weed penalties from state to state that go from down to down to down to down to .

jim07

This is what happens!

jvanbrecht

I'm pretty sure thats what I said up to 20 is speeding. up to 40 is reckless, (that being between 20 and 40), beyond 40 and your screwed royally. Reckless is bad enough.

i_am_amused

i stand somewhat corrected, but I choose to do it sitting down

Militia

A few friends and I left a restaurant (separate vehicles) and we were cruising down Highway 6 at around 80 (speed limit is 55). Two of the cars spotted a police car at the gas station and both hit their brakes at the same time. The officer first pulled over one car, and asked him to wait while he went to stop the other vehicle; shortly, other officers arrived at the scene and both of them were taken in for "racing." We posted bail as early as possible, but really no one was racing -- just braking in panic made the cop think otherwise.

On separate accounts, I've been pulled over doing more than 20+ to 30+ mph on the freeway and have drove away with a slap on the wrist, or a ticket at the most. The flow of the traffic on a freeway is probably around ten over the limit on an average, so it doesn't look as fast.

Btw, I'm in Houston. I've always heard that 30 over the limit is automatic jail time, but it varies from cop to cop in any situation.. you could even be fined for going five over if he's having a bad day =0

PetroC63

Good old Buford T.