Quote:
Originally Posted by ATG
There are 2 different statutes: one imposes a fine for driving in excess of the posted speed limit (strict liablity), the other punishes negligent driving (reasonableness standard). A person may be guilty of violation of the first statute and not guilty of violation of the second one. Otherwise any speeding automatically constitutes negligence, which is not the case.
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That's exactly what I'm contemplating... Should I have just received a speeding ticket or a negligent driving infraction? I think a speeding ticket would haven been more reasonable because there are tickets for travelling 40mph over the speed limit. A speeding ticket for the same offence would carry a fine of $247; however, I believe the officer wanted to give me a bigger fine ($550) because I am from Canada, and that I would be less likely to appeal... Hence the 2nd degree negligent driving infraction.
Nevertheless, the judge may believe that going over the speed limit by 25mph is considered both negligent AND dangerous. I know that I was a bit negligent for speeding, but my reason for going fast was to get back to the border and avoid a 4 hour line-up (took 4 hrs to cross the Cdn border to get to the US)... But I seriously dont' think I was endangering anyone. Nonetheless, some people believe that travelling fast (Speeding) is a dangerous act in itself. Although my question for that statement would be, why do most officers allow people to speed 10mph over the speed limit IF speeding endangers other drivers??
Personally, I believe there are 2 types of speeding: 1) speeding recklessly - dangerous (eg. weaving or street racing) 2) Speeding that doesn't hurt anyone (eg. travelling fast on a near empty highway under good weather conditions). I think the judge should take into account that I was speeding on a highway and ran a very small risk of causing a collision, which is a lot less dangerous compared to speeding in the city where there are bicyclists and pedestrians...
Again, how would a judge differentiate between "speeding" and "negligence"? I believe that constantly weaving in and out, or causing other motorists to break or even other dangerous manuvers would be cause for negligence + endangerment. But, in my case, I simple passed 1 vehicle who would not yield to the slower lane. Plus, I wasn't weaving in and out of traffic (I also signaled, changed lanes, and then signaled again to change back onto the passing lane)... Argh, wut to do =S At least I have a few more days to think about it before making my final decision.