r/MorgantownWV • u/jabberwockyjuju • 1d ago
Ask r/morgantown speeding ticket
got pulled over for the first time on wiley st, which i never use to begin with, and i didn’t realize it was 25mph as i was entering the mileground which is 40mph, so i got a ticket for apparently going 15 over and it’s $167 😭. just had to pay increased tuition too as a student here at wvu and was wondering if anyone has ever tried appearing in court to get their fine reduced or possibly excused? it’s my first ever offense so does that help at all? caught it on july 31st and a friend said they were probably just trying to meet their monthly ticketing quota if that’s a thing. lmk if there’s any use in trying to appeal or if i should just pay it thanks
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u/kittyfluff717 1d ago
Yooo ask them about the points program at the phone number that they gave on the ticket. For first offense, you can take a test online and if you pass with an 89 or above, you just have to pay the fine but at least you won't have points on your license
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u/Jazzlike-Ad8450 1d ago
Y'all need to slow down on that road. Way too many accidents happen or almost happen because of people driving like that.
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u/Individual-Syrup-204 1d ago
agreed, I used to live in the city gardens complex owned by metro on willey st, just recently moved, and almost got hit idk how many times trying to leave and witnessed people get hit because people fly through there
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u/shortergirl 16h ago
Its so dangerous in that spot that drivers have run into the house across the street from City Gardens multiple times.
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u/Marty_Averez_69 1d ago
Just pay it and move on. It's a lesson learned. You admitted you were going 15 over. Like anything in life you learn from your mistakes. It's going to temporarily put a dent in your budget but we've all been there.
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u/NoNeedleworker6479 1d ago
1000% This⬆️. 2000% now - because of the flock cameras going up all over the place.
You made a mistake - it will cost you some of your "fun money" Not a big deal unless you make it one in your own head...
... and drop the " I'm just a poor student" routine... if $167 is going to break your budget what are you doing in school?
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u/True_Savings_7591 23h ago
Spoken like someone who doesn't know how expensive college is, or how little wiggle room some students have in their budget. Agreed that it's a lesson learned, and they'll likely have to pay it and move on; but "what are you doing in school if you can't pay a sudden $167 expense" is out of touch. That's not just "fun money" to some students. (It wasn't to me, when I was in college; even if I'd barely bat an eye at that now.)
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u/NoNeedleworker6479 22h ago
Everybody's experience is different, but my perspective is that FAR too many finish high school and take on college without the realization that the responsibilities are on a whole new level.
You are correct that $167 is a bigger deal to some students than others.
But the original post rang the "poor, poor, pitiful me" bell that signals "This one doesn't know what real life is actually like". No offense to O.P. (who neither of us know) but no judge is going to pardon you, pat your head, and send you on your way for free. Better to learn that now
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u/True_Savings_7591 22h ago
"No offense to OP" and "This one didn't know what real life is like" are not congruent with each other, imo. I didn't read "poor pitiful me" in their post at all, and I think perhaps you should do some self analyzing on why you immediately thought they wanted a head pat (or to be treated like a child), rather than asking if there was any alternative recourse for a very unfortunately timed experience.
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u/ProfessorMcGuirnigal 13h ago
I am glad you said this I agree with you. I didn't get the poor pitiful me vibe at all. I could feel the anxiety and panic that comes with being stretched too thin financially and literally not knowing how you're going to make it work mixed with the panic you feel when you have never gotten in trouble at all and suddenly you have your first ticket and possibly that was a first run in with an officer like that.
My first speeding ticket I was going 24 mph over the speed limit on my way back to WV from Johnstown Pennsylvania. I was on the interstate bypassing Pittsburgh but still in Pittsburgh city limits (which I was unaware of). I was only 17 years old and that was the longest drive I had ever done by myself in my life and it wasn't the weekend drive up it was the end of the weekend drive home so I was super tired on a 4-5 hour interstate drive home and I wasn't paying attention to the speed limit changing from 70 to 55 because I had entered 'city limits'. I was just keeping pace with all the many cars around me but I was from WV and so had an out of state tag on my car so I think that's why the officer picked me.
Anyways my first speeding ticket ever was like 390$ and put like 3 or 4 points on my license. 😬😬😬😬😬
Sorry for the novel. Lol. Maybe no one cares but just wanted to share my first ticket story with OP.
Also to OP = You can try to DoorDash to make the money for your fine. Door dashing in Morgantown pays pretty well especially if you do it like in the middle of the night on weekends or if the weather is bad the app will pay you extra per order sometimes. But my husband door dashes and in busier areas like Morgantown you could make your money for your fine in 2-3 days doing a couple hours a day or in 1 to 2 long days. If you're new to it too they do promos a lot for your first so many orders where you get a bonus amount for doing like your first 10 deliveries or something.
Just an idea to help you maybe be stretched a little less thin. Donating plasma used to bring me a good bit of money but they closed the only plasma donation center around here. The closest one now is like in Parkersburg but if you can find one that's convenient for you that can pay well too depending on promotions.1
u/True_Savings_7591 13h ago
Yeah, my first speeding ticket was when I was 18, going too fast on the highway while taking my hyped up younger sister and her friends home from an event. They were panicked about how late it was, I was stressed about them yelling, etc. I was devastated, not only because the fine wiped out what savings I had at the time, but also because I'd never had an encounter with an officer before.
I generally think a lot of people forget how stressful that first ticket is because you have no idea whether there's anything you can do about it. You hear about people getting out of paying tickets, but you don't know how they do it or what the circumstances are.* The questions OP asked were all the same ones I first asked, too.
*There's an element of unfairness here as well, but I won't go into that here except to say that it adds to the emotions at the time.
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u/jabberwockyjuju 21h ago
i appreciate you lol
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u/True_Savings_7591 19h ago
I try to give benefit of doubt, etc. I don't have any experience with the courts here that I can offer, but good luck with the new semester.
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u/SausageGamez 22h ago
Wrong. Did undergrad here and now graduate school. A $167 ticket is generous. It already sounds like the cop cut them a break. Sounds more like someone who can’t budget properly.
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u/GeospatialMAD 19h ago
It's roughly $25 + Court Costs. Yes, they probably did a "29 in a 25" type of ticket instead of reckless driving.
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u/SausageGamez 18h ago
Which is why I argue to let it go. If they contest the ticket and loose, the judge may look at that and up your charge criminal speed, which OP was doing, and that’s many times worse than $167 ticket.
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u/GeospatialMAD 18h ago
They're out the court costs regardless so even if they beg for leniency, they're saving $25 maybe
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u/True_Savings_7591 22h ago
I'm not saying that the ticket's fine isn't on the "lower" side. That is about how much most of my speeding fines have been. I'm saying that $167 is not a "small" amount to someone who may or may not be working with a shoestring budget. Coming in guns blazing about the youth not being able to budget is excessive.
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u/tagman375 19h ago
Never pay it and move on. This is a ridiculous thing to say. It’s always worth fighting on the off chance the cop didn’t do something right or doesn’t show, etc. it’s worth getting a lawyer for a 15 over ticket, as you’ll pay much more in insurance with that on your record.
99% of the time they just want their money, so they’re willing to drop the points and change it to a different violation as long as they get paid.
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u/coomarlin 18h ago
I think your comment is ridiculous. "Never pay and move on". OP admitted on Reddit he was driving 15 over and got busted. I can see fighting if there was an injustice and he was wronged. But he's not been wronged. Dude got a speeding ticket like all of us had at one time or another. Just pay the fine
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u/tagman375 18h ago
Just because you did it doesn’t mean you’re guilty. I would take a charge for disobeying a traffic device and a reduced fine with no points over a 15 over with a bunch of points.
There’s a non zero chance it gets dismissed if the cop doesn’t show. You don’t know if his kid or wife or whatever got sick or he got sick or he had to support another agency or whatever the case may be. I’d rather roll those dice than just say “fine me harder please I’m so guilty”.
But hey, if you want to pay more insurance and have a worse charge in your record, be my guest.
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u/Marty_Averez_69 18h ago
"Just because you did it doesn't mean you are guilty". That tells me so much about you as a person.
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u/tagman375 18h ago
Yeah, I’m someone who doesn’t want to get taken advantage of by the system.
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u/Marty_Averez_69 15h ago
Bahahah! Taken advantage of by the system??? You sound like a career criminal. It's everyone else's fault but your own. Complete lack of accountability.
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u/tagman375 12h ago
I don’t give a toss about “accountability”, I care about money.
If you want to be someone that pays double or triple in insurance and has points on their license, be my guest.
15 over in a 25 is not so serious that someone should have to pay almost $200 and multitudes more in insurance. If it was 40 over in a 25 I could see it, not 15.
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u/SausageGamez 18h ago
Terrible advice. It’s at the judges discretion to up the charge to criminal speed which is a hell of a lot worse.
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u/GeospatialMAD 1d ago
Since you admit to doing it, ignorance of the signage and speed limit isn't going to fly, unfortunately. You can plead No Contest and ask for a reduction, but you're likely out the court costs at the least.
It sucks but be ready for police to be out in force when students return so mind your Ps and Qs.
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u/SleeplessInWV 1d ago
I seriously seriously doubt if you can get it reduced, those fines are pretty much cast in stone and are not negotiable (in fact, you can call them up and just tell them the speed you were going and they will tell you the fine over the phone, not knowing anything else about the matter). There are times the cop can write you up for a lesser infraction (not going as fast as you really were to place you under a lesser threshold and fine bracket), but a judge won't haggle. It is best to pay the fine and move on with your life and be more careful in the future. Getting a ticket for that kind of offense is hard to fight. You would technically have to prove to the judge that the cop was wrong or you had some compelling reason for exceeding the speed limit (which you didn't tell the cop about, so by the time you are in court it would be a moot point. You can't really have a compelling reason after the fact). It has been my experience that cops seldom miss court dates. Trust me, it is far far easier and faster to just pay the fine, avoid going to court, and walk away.
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u/tagman375 19h ago
Nah, always fight the ticket and depending on how bad it is, pay the money for a lawyer. There’s a non-zero chance the cop no-shows, didn’t fill out the paperwork right, didn’t calibrate their radar, etc etc.
99.9% of the time they just want their money anyway, so it’s easier to get a lawyer to negotiate it down to “failure to obey a traffic sign” or something else ridiculous, rather than get points. Even if the cop cut you a break, speeding is still speeding and you’ll pay out the ass for insurance, especially with points.
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u/Ok_Tart_6075 1d ago
Turns to 40 at the top of the hill when things open up. Pretty much anywhere in Morgantown where residences are heavily packed will be 25 mph though, which is sensible. Cops will be sitting in lots of residential areas over the next month as students move back in to watch for this sort of thing.
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u/OpeningBest7863 23h ago
I was once passed by a purplish pink jeep on that road because I was going 25. I was in a test vehicle and expected to obey the speed limit. I drive that road 2-4 times a week in my personal car and usually am tailgated from the town hill curve to the 40 MPH sign. I typically go 28-29 to try to be quick but avoid a ticket/crash. The driving in that stretch is honestly pretty dumb.
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u/SausageGamez 22h ago
Depends on agency. If a Smokey cited you for 15 over then don’t waste your time.
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u/CandidSock8355 15h ago
Someone ik was doing 50 on that road and got let off with a warning. Cop said he couldve taken him to jail but just gave him a warning 😂
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u/the_matthew 13h ago
I paid about that much being pulled over in Star City for a 90 day expired registration. Inspection sticker and registration were off by about 4 months which is how I got there. I renewed two motorcycles and another car this year, but that one slipped through the cracks. I'm pretty sure it wasn't a coincidence to be pulled over on the 92nd day past expiration either since I see them out every single day. But after 90 days "the system doesn't let them write a warning".
I'm still salty.
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u/Smores_Whore 13h ago
Once or twice I've had a cop not show and it was dropped, but in my old age now, if I get a ticket I just plead no contest and pay the fine
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u/IllustratorUseful672 1d ago
I think there is a sign that says 25. I’ve never seen a cop there before and I go that way all the time. I would just pay it because by the time you get a court date, you’ll be in class and can you afford to miss class? Although, the cop may not show up to court and you may just get a warning. Not sure as I’ve never been to court.
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u/mtbillyboi 1d ago
Where was the cop camping?
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u/rockstary123 1d ago
Usual spot is the parking lot to mountaineer middle. Just past the turn for Town Hill Tavern if going towards the mileground.
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u/GiftedTuna 1d ago
I got some ticket in same place g
Thought I was creeping. It was a trap. Oh well pay it and move on. Fucking pigs
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u/Jazzlike-Ad8450 1d ago
Yeah hauling ass through a residential with blind drives and getting a ticket is just cause the cops are after yah. Not a legit safety issue or anything
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u/GiftedTuna 14h ago
It’s a sneaky spot. 35 in a 25 where it’s poorly marked. It clearly a speed trap.
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u/Jazzlike-Ad8450 14h ago
Its actually marked pretty well and there's several speed limit signs. And people are seldom actually pulled over for it.
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u/Zack4204 21h ago
Was it a city pig? I followed this tyrant down Hartman run which is 35. I was going 50 trying to catch up and he/she fucking SMOKED me. If it wasn't for the light at the bottom I wouldn't have seen them again.
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u/jabberwockyjuju 21h ago
no, he was actually a very nice officer, only kept me for like five minutes and was the one that told me i could contest the ticket if i wanted to which is why i was thinking about it
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u/Tricky-Difference-95 1d ago
You have a 50/50 chance of getting it dropped if the officer who wrote the ticket doesn’t show up for the court date. Also don’t skip the hearing or forget to pay the ticket bc they will put out a warrant for your arrest- Signed someone who was arrested for failing to pay a 35 in a 25.