Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board traffic tickets on the 395

Did you piss off the first officer? They probably radioed ahead and told the others to look for you.



This is what is wrong with the situation and it has happened to me. The higher the speed they write on the ticket, the bigger the fine. I was pulled over a few weeks ago, my speedometer said 59, my gps said 58, cop says he "visually estimated my speed at 66"

friendowl, You may be a fast driver but your obvious a slow learner. Two speeding tickets back to back prove to us you didn't get the message the first time.If you every had a loved one injured or killed because of a speeder i think you would slow down. Slow down and enjoy life, it might be your own your saving, MAGG

Wow, everybody's certainly on their high horses today!

Re, "If you are going over the speed limit... and you KNOW you are going over the speed limit... it's a blatant disregard for the limit and the law... regardless of if its 5 or 50 over the limit..." - I disagree.

There is assertive driving, and there is agressive, dangerous, reckless driving. Someone going 50 mph over the speedlimit (say 120 in a 70?) is CLEARLY endangering everyone else on the road. Someone going 5 or 10 over may not be endangering anyone. It depend on conditions. Heck, if you just coast down a grade you'll likely be over the limit. Is it better to ride your brakes every second so as to not exceed that limit by even 1 mph? (Yes, I use a lower gear - still can build up excess speed) Yes, of course, it is still illegal. No argument there. But, what's important? People who hit 80 on a completely empty stretch of highway with empty fields on either side?

OR, all the idiots who constantly run red lights? Who pass on a curve? Who tailgate? Who erupt into road rage at a moments notice because you tooted your horn at them when they tried to do a lane change into the side of your car? Who are so busy yakking or texting on their cell phones that they can barely stay within their lane? Who is truly dangerous here? I am far more concerned about the folks who go 45 in a school zone (or in downtown Bishop or Lone Pine) than someone going (gasp!) 80 in a 75.

You know, if you're steadfastly trying to maintain a steady 65 on a freeway in L.A. where everyone's doing 80, you're quite likely making a hazard out of yourself, not making the highway safer.

Is that "wrong"? Perhaps so, but it's the reality of the situation. I remember reading that there's actually a name for people who sit in the fast lane and try to "enforce the law" on everyone else by driving exactly the speed limit or less. I forget what it is, but it's actually illegal to do that (and you get tickets for it) in some other states.

If we truly want to make the roads safer, how about as a society we focus on the truly dangerous, out of control drivers and stop chortling with self-righteous glee when some poor soul gets nailed for a 10-over?

And, why are all you guys just assuming that the OP is lying? How would you feel if you truly weren't going over the limit and got popped because unbeknownst to the officer, the radar picked up the guy barrelling up behind you? Officers are human and they can make mistakes also. Radar guns are sensitive electronic instruments. Drop it in the trunk of the police car a little too hard, and even though it was calibrated ten minutes ago, it could be out now.

Just some thoughts.

A couple more thoughts...Having just been traveling 395 on two recent trips there is quite a bit of road work going on. Maybe the CHP are a bit more strict in those areas while workers are in the area!

It's not just just on 395. I have personally noted all through Kern and Inyo county.

As my Dad always said "Drive as fast as you can afford to drive."

Besides watching your speed:

If you've got a modified vehicle (larger tires), your speedometer can read wrong, especially close to the speed limit.

Isn't 395 also patrolled by aircraft? That makes it easy for the CHP/Sheriff to pick off vehicles, especially if you're playing music a little loud and can't hear an aircraft's engine.

Also, the radar guns (or laser guns) work both coming-and-going, so the patrol cars don't have to be stopped for them to work properly.

Friendowl: You're profile shows you're from East L.A. - does your car look anything like the 'image' of an East L.A. vehicle? If it does, that's not going to help in the Owens Valley. I used to have a similar problem when I lived in 'prim-and-proper' Irvine (Orange County) and drove an old VW 'Bus'. I got stopped a lot and 1/2 the time the police would do a quick search. I no longer live there.

Hitting something: You don't want to speed through the desert and hit something. I hit one of those boney desert jackrabbits at about 4AM (clipped it witht he right side wheels). It was a heck of a 'bump' and it left a bloody mess on the right side of my car. Yuck! No permemant damage to my car, but I'm glad I didn't hit it head-on, or that it wasn't something bigger like a coyote.

I recall seeing heavy CHP enforcement in the Owens Valley back to the 1970s. The word back them was stay below the speed limit in Inyo or you will go to court - not get a ticket, go to court and pay on the spot. If the judge wasn't there supposedly you waiting until morning.

Recently I saw a CHP sitting right next to the speed limit sign entering Independence from the south, clearly looking for zero tolerance.

I love my cruise control. I set it at the speed limit - no more, no less - and relax and enjoy the drive.

Do check the speedometer. My truck reads right on, my van reads 2 mph LOW so I set the cruise at 67.

And, whether 5 over or 20 over is worse, they are both still illegal. I wouldn't be happy, but I'd still be guilty .

Hi Every transportation meeting I bring up the speed of cars in the Valley, towns can see cars at 90+ we just had a special meeting for Lone Pine and speed was the main topic, everyone knows the accidents we see are high speed fatal events, most times not locals but we have lost many Valley people over the years due to head on accidents, passing when not allowed and on coming traffic at high rate of speed . We call the winter SKI traffic the worst several years ago the average speed was 92 on Friday night. The Four lane will help stop the head on accidents but the single car rollovers will increase as people tend to go to sleep driving in the remote section of the State .

Several years ago Doug and I left Mammoth heading back to the Portal dark , about halfway down Sherwin grade we watched a pickup go out of control , roll and eject people onto the road , many people, nice night we were able to direct the traffic away from the bodies on the road and the car in front of us had a cell phone and help was there in less than an hour.

I was able to call help for two families near Olancha that had hit cows in the road late at night, both were life flights out of the area.

Doug and I helped a nice couple out of the desert near Little lake one afternoon the lady had severe shock, the husband said he had went to sleep. Some years before I watched a large Mercedes miss the curve at Little Lake and over correct and roll along the road awhile before flipping into the desert, another nice family I hope they all made it, you know with the blood and all at the accidents its hard to tell sometimes how it will turn out.

Oh I forgot to say last year I was stopped twice around Lone Pine, no reason the young officers wanted to know if I had been drinking? Should I complain?


During the winter we watch the cars speed into town and fail to stop for people crossing the street, at each town in the Valley the Schools are on 395 or near , the kids are in constant danger. and at night it is hard to see people entering the roadway from the sidewalk, behind parked cars , think about the end results, not the speeding tickets and the road looks different. Thanks Doug

If I had a dollar for each person who said they got stopped for no reason, cops didn't have anything else to do, it's the way I look, their radar was not calibrated, my car doesn't go that fast, I could BUY Mt. Whitney!

My husband is a retired cop, I worked 17 years in law enforcement, have 120 hours (at least) on ride alongs. No, you DO speed, you DO break the law. Your egos just can't handle the fact YOU GOT CAUGHT breaking a law!

Have you ever seen an accident where a car was traveling into the red line speeds? It's pretty much shovels and plastic bags at that point. Have you imagined what it would be like to hit a deer, even a small one, at 80 MPH and the thing goes through your windshield and into your lap? A deer flying at that speed has decapitated some drivers. When I drive home at night after a Whitney hike, I go no more than 50-55 mph due to migrating deer and other animals, even though CHP goes home before 8PM and you can redline it to your everloving delight.

You broke the law, man up, take it like a grownup and pay the fine. If you're sure they were wrong, take it to court. Bad drivers drive up the cost of insurance for all the rest of us. Slow down. The person you kill with speeding could be me...or anyone on this board.

i will pay for my ticket...it not a big deal...but just for the record...i live in east la..i am hispanic..i do look like the typical stereo type...bald.tattoos,mustach...whatever
i had my 12 year old son with me and i was driving my honda civic. i was not in a hurry..i had no where to be and i wasnt "speeding".....the only reason i started this was because i honestly felt like i was do nothing wrong..i was paying attention to my speed...i was trying my best to obey the signs and i guess the cops attitude was the thing the bothered me most.from the start i had no chance..i was polite and respectful and she just had her mind made up....oh well...i aint even thinking about this anymore....im just glad that i get to go back sooner than expected...i got court monday afternoon so after a long weekend of backpacking i will go to court smelling likea champ...and this time i will drive 64 miles per hour all the way home

I'm sorry, but some people here have their own agenda and aren't really addressing friendowl's problem: why is he being given a ticket for driving 90mph when he was actually driving 75?

He, nor anyone else is arguing that he wasn't speeding. But getting a ticket for going 90 and not 75 makes a difference out of the pocket (as well as points on license?).

There is no valid reason for a cop to be lying.

I'm with Ze. It makes no sense to equate driving 10 mph over the limit with driving 25 mph over the limit. The law treats them differently for a reason. It also makes no sense to blame speedometer error. No speedometer is that bad. In fact, most speedometers read a bit high. That's intentional. You can say that friendowl is lying, but that is a nasty thing to say about someone you don't know.

Ken, this is why you're always a lot of fun! I actually thought about the fact that my last sentence could be challenged in exactly the way you challenged it.

However, friendowl was not simply accusing a public official he didn't know, and I am not encouraging others to accuse public officials they don't know. What he did was to post a report of a situation he experienced. If he reported the facts correctly, the cop lied. That does happen. It does not make a lot of sense to guess about who lied in this case. We don't know if he was doing 75 or 90, but we can admit that it sucks if he got a ticket for 90 when he was doing 75.

I'm with you. Set the cruise control to under the speed limit.

And I'm bummed to hear that the police in Inyo County would give a ticket to a guy in a Honda Civic.

Consider it a California tax from now until CA finds its next boom. The additional traffic (and parking if in LA) enforcement is in every county and every city. I'm just hoping we don't go the way of AZ and install speed cameras on our freways.

Regarding the tax comment: I was in court a couple of years ago, and the officers (who always sit in the corner in the back) were chatting, and I overheard one say something about his radar gun being the "real moneymaker". Seems he was proud of his tax collector role.

friendowl: Not sure if today is the "Monday" that you appear in court, but this seems way too soon for a real court "trial" for your ticket. If you really want to plead not guilty to the ticket, you need to notify the court, and then they schedule a court date when you AND the citing officer can appear in court together. Over here, that process takes months.

If you are just dropping in to say you don't think you deserved the ticket, the officer will not be there, and they will reschedule you for a later appearance. And THAT process should best be handled via mail. Telephone the court and try to find out exactly what steps you need to follow. It would save you driving to Independence needlessly.

Now, IF you go to court for the scheduled hearing on your "not guilty" plea, if the officer is also there, your chances of getting off are pretty slim. I suppose you could complain about the officer's attitude, and state that you were using your cruise control, and suggest that maybe the officer's radar gun picked up the speed of a distant car doing 90 while yours was the one in the forefront (some guns pick up the speed of the fastest car if there are several cars in range). You might even ask the court to reduce the fine, since the 90 mph fine will be pretty bad. And when/if you are declared guilty, be sure to ask about traffic school (usually you can take an on-line course); traffic school keeps the ticket off your record.

And in court, be sure to use the most polite attitude that you can.  If you really want to be treated fairly, I would NOT go in wearing dirty hiking clothes.

Don't ask me how I know all of this.  

The only way I have seen people get off is first, the officer doesn't show up, and in one rare case, ask to do community service (they might waive the fine, but the ticket still goes on the record.)

Compared to roads on the west side of the Sierra, 395 is way more heavily patrolled by the CHP. I'm not sure, but maybe because they don't have as many side-roads to patrol. I've never received a ticket on the 395, but over the years, my Valentine One has paid for itself.  (My motto: Don't leave home without it.)  But I still get nailed once in a while.

I was v. respectful of Officer Friendly when he stopped me just outside of Lancaster. I went that route instead of the 395 because I thought it might be faster....it was .

Strange thing was, just before Officer Friendly saw me, I was singing along with a song on the radio:

Radar Gun, Radar Gun,
I'm having fun with my radar gun
I'm making money and having fun
fun with my radar gun!

Didn't hear the Valentine....ruh roh!

You might have company in the Inyo County Courthouse. The CHP read these posts, too.

What is a Valentine One? Sounds like I need to find one!

I must have missed where the OP posted that he was ticketed for going 90. In fact, I don't think he ever said for what speed and Vehicle Code section he was actually cited.

I'm guessing he was ticketed for 22349(a) or 22356(b) CVC (depending on the posted limit), in which case anything over 65 or 70 MPH, respectively, constitutes a violation. In both of these instances, the license point assessment is unaffected by the cited speed, and the fine schedule rarely is.

395 is a notorious speed trap for the CHP, particularly from Ridgcrest to Bridgeport. The worst area BY FAR is from Lone Pine to Bishop, where the CHP has their HQ.

In 2004, I even had my license suspended because I had 4 tickets in one year and all were on 395. Since 1999, my husband and I have received 14 tickets on 395, all between Lone Pine and Mammoth. We do drive up every weekend from July-Nov. to hike, so we spend a great deal of time on that road. Do we speed? Occasionally, but never outrageously. Usually 70 MPH or so.

The most egregious abuse was when I was driving 65 and the CHP officer claimed I was going 91. That was a $360 violation a few years back.

The best investment I ever made was getting a radar detector in the car. I haven't had a ticket on 395 this year (yet).