Fastest Actual Speeding Ticket

[Gary]

In 1974 I got a speeding ticket on Highway 78 between Memphis, Tennessee and Corinth, Mississippi (north of Tupelo). It was for 138 mph in a 35 mph zone (at 3:00 AM on a Sunday night).

I was headed home from a very late out-of-town work night. No one else was on the road. So I opened her up (455 Olds with a 2.78:1 rear end).

About 20 miles from the Mississippi/Tennessee line I saw a pair of headlights way back in the distance behind me, and at about 3 or 4 miles from the state line they were still way back there. Anyway, figuring that there might be a State Trooper with radar at the state line I decided to let the guy behind me go first as I knew he was moving on pretty good too. Any way I slowed down and sure enough he caught up with me about a half mile from the line - it was a Mississippi State Trooper. He had caught me on radar as I passed through a speed trap town (one crossroad with a one pump gas station). He told me that he was just about to give up when I slowed down.

There were two pleasant surprises - 1) he actually, sincerely thanked me for slowing down as his Ford 428 interceptor had started running hot and smoking and he was beginning to fear it would blow up on him, and 2) in 1974 the ticket was for US $10.

Yours?

 

[DaveM]

Talk about being lucky. Well for me nothing exceptional just the normal few KM/Miles over what I should have been and a bit of a fine

 

[CarlS]

Gary, you were blessed.

In 1961, talked my way out of a ticket for doing 70 mph in 35 mph zone.

 

[keystiger]

95 in a 45, in a 78 Monte Carlo with a 454 (special ordered by grandad----love you, miss you) . I had just passed 5 cars on a 2 lane (they where doing the speed limit) got back in my lane just before the turn and let off the gas, thats when the Sheriff came round the bend.....very unhappy.....saw him hit the blues and brakes in my rearview.......so I pulled over.....(I was all of 16) when he caught up he asked I was doing going 95!?!?!?! I said I was going MUCH faster (to pass 5 cars before the turn) but had slowed after passing...(was well over 120 before I let off).....I was given a court date and a stern verbal commentary on the dangers of speeding........as the 5 cars I passed finally caught up ...lol.
At the "hearing" .....with my Mother present (as I was a minor)......the judge looked at the name on the "docket" "....Adrian...he said, uncommon name for these parts.......(then turned to my mother) and asked how my Grandfather was doing? (whom I am named after) and who it seems he went to school with and was great old chums with.........I got sent home with a "stern" warning. Of course I had been crapping my pants for a month waiting on the court date figuring I would go to the chair or worse........I was 16 and had the imagination............and again, THANK YOU GRANDPA! For savin my bacon!
I have others, but that was the highest "recorded" speed.

 

[The Seeker]

90 MPH in a 25 MPH zone in my old TVR Griffith 400

I took a bet that I could hit all green lights in a 1 mile stretch of city street.

I did win the bet, but the cops didn't really care about that.

 

[CarlS]

What a bunch of un-understanding cops.

 

[The Seeker]

Yeah...no sense of humor or man-pride at all!

I actually have to the the cop's word for my actual speed since I wasn't looking at the speedo......he claims it was 90 but I have my doubts as to how he'd figure that out.

 

[Ksquared]

134 in a 55 in Illinois.
ticket was dismissed.

 

[CarlS]

How did you pull that off?!!!

 

[otherwise]

How did you pull that off?!!!

Carl, you know Kerry has some pull in the trade.

 

[Dilligaf]

1973 Pacific Coast Highway Dana Point CA, 105 in a 50. My Suzuki GT550 was taken away as was I. I spent the night in juvee, Dad took away the bike, my license was suspended for a year.

 

[DaveM]

For me the coolest ticket I can remember was when I was hauling my new Honda 900F behind a Ford Big Six. I was not going that fast I think it was around 10 or 15 km above the speed limit at the time. The cool thing was after the cop gave me a ticket he asked where I was heading and when I told him he said to me with a smile "seems you have a clean road ahead of you" So it was all systems go after that and not another cop in sight

 

[keystiger]

Cops like bikes
I was stuck dead stop behind about 4 miles of traffic on 2 lane US 1 in the Keys once.....in August (read HOT) when my low fuel light came on........I scanned in front, scanned behind....no cops as far as I could see. So I took off down the shoulder for a cut across road I knew about a mile up on the next key......I hadn't gone 100 yards when I hear the siren and look in the rearview to see an UNMARKED Dodge Charger (sneaky monkey!) trying to follow me (bear in mind the "curb" was asphalt just wide enough for the Tiger, then it dropped off to a steep fall away grade where the road was built up between 2 Keys (or Islands for those unfamiliar with the FLorida Keys) so the Charger was side sliding and not making very good time..........I continued on as if I didn't hear him, got to the cut over road turned down it (even used my turn signal) and stopped at the next stop sign where there was not any traffic, here he came, scowling. Fully expecting a verbal dressing down and hefty ticket, I dismounted and got out my license and registration......when he got out of the car he had on the knee high motorcycle boots of a motorcycle officer, and as he got closer, he had a BMW key fob hanging from his belt....SCORE!!!!......I knew I had this After the usual "pleasantries" he asked "Why where you doing that? You know its a 400.00 fine right????" I said no (though I knew it) and stated I had been waiting some time in the traffic with my low fuel light on, as I did not want to PUSH the bike the 5 miles to the next gas, I thought it better to go around the unmoving traffic. He looked at the Tiger, asked about tank size.......and he smiled and said, "you could have made it 15-20 miles on the reserve in that thing." (the man knew his bikes) Thats when I asked "Do you ride one of the newly purchased Police BMW's here in Monroe County????"......hook set....... "Yes, I do, its being serviced so I am stuck in this THING today"........LOL...now to real him in...........so I started asking questions about how he liked it compared to the Harleys they had before, and performance questions blah blah blah......after 20 minutes of motorcycle war stories and conversation, and him asking many curious questions about the Triumph, and previous bikes I've owned, and he owned, he let me go with a "stern" warning, to "never do that again......please".......Sergeant Cuervo is still a good email friend to this day and whenever I saw him on his Beemer many times around the Keys, always a wave and a nod........even when I was a little over the limit......I think he spread the "word" that the Green Tiger (the ONLY Tiger in the entire county) is a "good egg" cause other Cycle Cops also gave the same nod and wave from then on.
I have talked my way out of a total of 6 tickets over the years. Its amazing how understanding, or even friendly cops can be when treated with a little respect, conversation and pleasant attitude. Because Lord knows they get TONS of the exact polar opposite 20 times a day......I think half the time they are just glad to have a traffic stop where they don't get yelled at dog cussed or a bunch of "attitude" from the people they pull over. I have also noticed if you can make them laugh, it goes a loooooong way.