Woman Ticketed For For Driving Too Slow (going 34 in a 40)

[The Straight Story]

Woman Ticketed For For Driving Too Slow
Woman Plans To Fight Citation

BELEN, N.M. -- A Valencia County woman who was pulled over for driving too slow said state police went too far.

Jeanette Sedillo said was driving on Reinken Road in Belen, N.M., after 10 p.m. Wednesday when a state police officer pulled beside her and told her to get off the road.

Sedillo pulled into a parking lot, questioning what she did wrong.

Apparently, going too fast was not the problem: the officer wrote her a ticket for driving 6 mph under the speed limit.

"He said, 'You were going 34 in a 40,'" said Sedillo.

http://www.koat.com/r/24702883/detail.html

[trumad]

1. Wow

I can understand a ticket for 34 in a 55 zone... but this is plain stupid.

[marmar]

2. Desperate to make some kind of ticketing quota?

nt

[harvey007]

36. Yes there is a quota for NM State Police

NM media has already exposed that NM state police officers must issue a certain number of tickets daily or they will be penalized.

This is called "generating revenue."

They pick out people like young women driving alone at night or poor people and issue them tickets.

Because of technology, they know exactly who that vehicle belongs to.

If you have a "Fraternal Order of Police" sticker on your car, you won't get ticketed, some say.

[taterguy]

3. Serves her right for driving after 10:00 PM

If you're out after 10:00 PM, the odds are you're up to no good.

:sarcasm:, in case anyone couldn't tell

[Orrex]

4. Sounds like he missed a golden opportunity to use his taser.

[hobbit709]

5. Was there a Minimum Speed Limit posted?

[IDemo]

27. They should consider doing this

Since many seem to incorrectly believe that is what the "limit" currently pertains to.

Speed Limit(s)

45 -- 50

[pipoman]

6. I have to wonder if this was on a road which is

for instance 65 mph/40 mph minimum. In this case it is justified. It isn't speed which is dangerous, it is differences in speed.

[Jkid]

7. Here's the real question.

Was the person actually impeding traffic? When she was driving when she got the ticket, there was little traffic on the roads.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. This will get tossed out, and the cop will look like a jerk.

Too bad it has to waste the woman's time, though.

[MadBadger]

9. This story put a smile on my face.

[MineralMan]

10. Probably, she got the too-slow ticket for impeding the

police officer in his pursuit of donuts. That's my guess.

[chrisa]

22. Hurry up! The coffee's getting cold!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

11. About friggin time!!! Very slow drivers are a hazard to the rest of traffic.

If you do not feel you can drive within 5 miles of the speed limit in normal daylight conditions, get the hell off the roads.

One of the classics was a driver going over the bridge between southern Calvert and St Mary's counties in MD. Per the cop who cited here, even though the limit is set artificially low at 45 she was going 25 since "she doesn't like to drive on the bridge. She backed up the traffic something fierce.

[elocs]

14. How about the slow drivers on the Interstate that insist on going 60 in the left lane

forcing everyone to go around them. Even better is when you get 2 of them going side by side, blocking all other traffic.

I have driven on the expressways in the Chicago area where the posted speed limit is 55 mph, but if you are going less than 70 when the traffic is moving you are a menace to everyone else. That you were going the speed limit will be small comfort to yourself when somebody rear ends you going 70 or other people get killed because you could not go with the flow of traffic.

Coming back to Wisconsin from Chicago on a Sunday afternoon I have often seen traffic moving nearly 80 mph in both lanes here in WI and see a state trooper by the side of the Interstate just letting everyone go since the traffic was moving smoothly. Although I'm sure there is a line and if a vehicle was traveling well over 80 it would be stopped.

[kiva]

15. It was after 10PM, so not daylight conditions.

If 40 was the maximum, not minimum speed, then this is ridiculous.

[chrisa]

21. She was going 34 in a 40. Hardly even a deviation from the speed limit.

I bet if she was going 46 in a 40, which is more dangerous than being below the speed limit, the cop wouldn't have pulled her over.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

30. Vehicles moving slower that traffic are more of a hazard that those going faster

[Upton]

23. +40

I have to drive a two lane road with a speed limit of 50 MPH to get into town. Some of these slow moving jerks will get on the road going about 35-40 or so, and just stay that way..completely oblivious to all the traffic backed up behind them..

[Old Codger]

12. Ca. Statute Says

You must drive slower when there is heavy traffic or bad weather. However, if you block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic by driving too slowly, you may be given a ticket. If you choose to drive slower than other traffic, do not drive in the “Number 1” (fast) lane. (See page 33.) When traveling below the speed limit always move to the right when another driver is close behind you and wishes to drive faster, unless you are already in the extreme right lane.

[petronius]

16. Yep, and there are plenty of cases where that ticket is justified (although 6 mph

below the limit doesn't seem to be one of them). I may just be reaching my end-of-summer pissiness, but I wish CHP would camp out on PCH and give a too-slow ticket to every tourist who slows to a crawl because of a nice view...

I also wish they would remove the "when traveling below the speed limit" clause and just say move right when someone comes up behind you, or just stay to the right, period.

[Old Codger]

32. Used to be

A low on cal. books that set 10% below posted speed was an offense....

[petronius]

40. Interesting, I'd never heard of that one. For slower roads, 10% is a pretty tight

restriction - 22 in a 25 would be a violation, if a ticky-tacky officer showed up. I wonder if the law was removed to avoid conflict with the basic speed law...

Still, without any comment on the specifics of the case in the OP, I'm very much in favor of tickets being given for slow and obstructive traffic.

[WolverineDG]

38. "Slow Traffic Keep Right"

is what we have in Texas.

I use the slow lane because my car is old & I'm nursing it along until I can afford another. And let me tell you what a joy it is to be tail-gated in the slow lane when the left lane is wide open for *miles*. :grr:

dg

[petronius]

42. We have those signs in places, and I was taught that it was simply

good driving and common courtesy to drive right and pass left, but it seems that those lessons are being lost on an increasing number of people.

We have a fairly slow car as well, and right-lane tailgaters are an annoying and incomprehensible bunch. If I was king of the world, right-lane speeders and left lane slowpokes would all be gathered up and forced to fight each other to the death until only one remained. Then, I'd make a horrible example out of that last one... :evilgrin:

[ShadowLiberal]

13. Speed limits are speed maximums, not speed minimums.

[DailyGrind51]

17. Your quota down this week, Officer?

[Upton]

18. Good..

maybe a ticket for going only 6 MPH under the speed limit might seem a bit extreme, but it's been my experience that those who drive too slow are every bit as much of a traffic hazard as those who drive too fast..

[bigwillq]

46. that's how I feel (nt)

[chrisa]

19. Ridiculous. This could have been me.

I often drive that slow. People are such morons on the road. If you're in such a hurry, leave 15 mins early like I do every day. It's not hard.

I've had people flip me off and pass me out, going 80 mph, when I'm in the slow lane and going the speed limit. I don't get it.

[pipi_k]

24. Me too...in fact...

When I do drive, which isn't very often because I have a whole bagful of anxiety disorders, Mr P tells me I'm going to get a ticket someday for driving slower than the posted speed limit.

I don't hog the road...if someone comes up behind me and looks like he's in a rush, I pull over to let him by as soon as it's safe to do so.

[tjwash]

20. D.W.M. ?

Arizona bigot law bleeding a little bit in to New Mexico maybe?

Although if she really wanted to fight the ticket she should have just kept her mug off of the news, just plead not guilty, and set a court date. The cop has to show up to court, and 90 percent of the time they don't bother to for a simple ticket, and its an insta-win for the defendant. Now that it is making the rounds as a news story, the cop is probably going to be forced to go to court now.

[LisaL]

33. Let's say he shows up in court. What's he going to say?

Speed limit is the upper speed. What exactly is the lower speed limit?

[IDemo]

25. Impediment of Donut violation, more than likely

Yesterday, a cop was traveling toward me in the opposite lane. I had three vehicles ahead of me. He pulled a quick u-turn onto the shoulder of the road, turned on his emergency lights to impede the oncoming traffic and swung back onto the road, where he immediately turned off the lights and drove at a normal pace.

Message? -- don't get in the Man's way.

[Edweird]

26. 34 in a 40 is fine (as long as you are in the slow lane) 20 in a 40 should be ticketable.

[MadBadger]

45. What about if there is only one lane?

[DollyM]

28. I know it's not funny for the person who got the ticket but . . .

it is so ridiculous that it has to make you smile! I remember several years ago we were going to Holiday World in Santa Clause Indiana. It was late when we got close to the park so we decided to look for something to eat and then stop at the nearest motel. The nearest town was a small one and we went all the way down the main street, looking for something open and then turned around in a parking lot and started back the other direction. We were pulled over by a police officer who gave us the 10 degree for about 10 minutes, asking who we were, where we were going, if we had been drinking (we had our 9 year old son in the back seat) He asked if we were here for the wedding(?) and we told him no, we were just looking for a place to buy something to eat. He proceeded to tell us that "the wedding" in town had brought in lots of "strangers" so he was being extra cautious to make sure that those out of town wedding guests weren't looking for trouble. He was so serious, it was hard not to laugh! After about 10 minutes of this, he finally said "okay, I will cut you loose this time" and waved us on. Apparently our crime was being on the street after dark and being one of those "out of town" people. I think he was just bored and had to have something to justify his time.

[Catherina]

29. Good. Sorry but I'm all for it because these people slow you down

and next thing you know, you get a speeding ticket trying to make up the time.

[xultar]

31. Yea! Good. People who drive too slow also cause accidents.

[LisaL]

34. She has to drive safely for the conditions.

At 10 pm is the road as well lit as in a daylight?
Somehow I doubt it.

[pokerfan]

35. At least she wasn't tased (n/t)

[WolverineDG]

37. was she holding up traffic?

in the left lane on the highway?

:wtf:

dg

[Terra Alta]

39. Oh good grief

Probably just some cop trying to meet his quota for the month.

I tend to drive slower at night, too.. sheesh

[GSLevel9]

41. was she blocking the flow of traffic?

On her cell phone? Texting? I see these dumb "people" every damn day. If you can't drive... move to the right and don't block people who ARE driving attentively.

[TransitJohn]

43. Revenue generation.

Almost guaranteed.

[edgineered]

44. All comments are well intended, having both sides

of the event explained may shed some light on the situation. For example, there may have been equipment problems with her car, like some of the lights not working, bad tires, cracked windshield, or moving violations like careless driving, failure to keep right, etc. The cop may have chosen not to write her tickets. Knock on wood, I haven't had a ticket since '89, but before that there were many, many tickets and many more that weren't written.