Husband got 2 tickets on top of Grapevine in CA- question? Please read!!?!

That is there way of making money off of truckers!

 

I would not hang my hat on those statements. Their job is to enforce traffic regulations. Not to write citations and then go to court and argue for the violator.

CHP is NOT the truckers friend. Neither are the judges. I've known many CHP/DOT enforcement guys that refer to themselves as "CTFs" Meaning "Certified Truck F-----s" They think they are being funny.

He obviously did the violation here, from what you said. So you don't really have much in the way of "the high ground," to fight this with. OTOH, just paying the fines is the same as a guilty plea. And as PS Anderson has pointed out, this is NOT going to be good for you.

You could plead "Guilty with an explanation," and throw yourself on the mercy of the court. Refer to my above statement about CHP and Judges NOT being the truckers friend.

Find yourself a good attorney out of Bakersfield. Maybe he can find some way to either weasel out of this on some type of technicality. Maybe the cops won't show up in court. Maybe he can find some type of mitigating circumstance. But it looks to me like your back is sort of against the wall here, and you have to try to do something.

Now, as to your husband's lead foot - - -

Remember, YOU are riding in that truck too. If he kills himself, he likely will take you with him. Not to mention any other folks who are unlucky enough to be in the way. Next time you see him speeding, tell him no more sex for a while. Or just slap the schidt out of him.

 

My husband got a ticket in Kern County when he was new, not that spot though. He was going down the Techapi Pass I think. Anyway, ticket was for 65/55. He buys into the prepaid legal plan through work. Ticket wound up being a 0 point ticket for coasting, and it cost him about $150. He didn't show up, just the lawyer. It was a big eye opener for him though, because he knows that this job is just a stepping stone, and if his record doesn't stay clean, he won't go any further.

 

2 things....
WITH A CDL YOU CANNOT DO THE DRIVING SCHOOL TO KEEP POINTS OFF
I GOT A TICKET (WAS DOING 72 IN A 55) IT IS A MISDEMEANOR ALSO FOR GOING 15+ OVER THE LIMIT IN CA!!!

 

All I can say is your hubby is a proffessional driver he is not suppose to miss signs.

Now I know we all have missed signs before but that is one thing they teach you and stress to you in cdl school to pay attention to all of those signs.

Even on my road test at the comapny I started with asked about a sign that I had just passed of course I had some fun with the guy I asked what sign the 35mph sign or please turn on lights low visibility or something to that effect.

His responce was you caught that one didn't you?
One of these days he may miss the low clearence signs or no trucks sign and end up with some major issues.

Two times in the same freaking spot that will not got to well for him.

 

Um....it appears as though you missed the part where I clearly stated, it was my husband's DUMB ### MISTAKE.

No question about it- he screwed up & I am not making excuses for him. He's not making excuses for himself. What's done is done and now we just need to figure out the best way to deal with it, so he's not out of a job.

He did speak with an attorney tonight who says Kern County IS indeed a lot more lenient than the surrounding LA counties when it comes to dismissals & reductions on truckers' speeding tickets. He wants $500 per ticket. I'm thinking it may be a bargain IF he can get them reduced/dismissed. We'll see.

I'm sort of thinking he's going to be screwed on this either way....like ya'll said, two tickets in one spot is going to kill him. Thanks for the replies so far.

 

LOL....Thank you & everyone else for your post....You and most of the others are overall thinking along the same lines I am.

Actually, right now I am *not* on the truck with my husband. I'm actually thinking of getting out of it altogether....Sorta sick of driving. 2008 has been a morale-busting year for me, personally. At least I need a break- need to lose weight, exercise, re-evaluate my priorities. Might be considering going back to college. Dunno. I came off the road Nov 30....not FIVE days later, he got the 2nd ticket.

Rest assured, had I been on the truck with him, he wouldn't have gotten that 2nd ticket!!! As I mentioned, he's had a "leadfoot" problem in the past. Mostly before we met- we've been together for 3 years, been friends for 4. Both of us were OTR for about a year before we met....

It's *MY* influence that's kept his butt out of trouble for the last 3 years LOL. Even running for a small company with un-governed trucks, my husband quickly found out that I can hear RPM's in my sleep & I can tell the difference between 60 and 70, LOL....All it took was a few occasions of me violently bursting forth from the sleeper and yelling "EXCUSE ME JUST WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE THE ACTUAL SPEED LIMIT IS?" and scaring the CRAP out of him when he thought I was sound asleep....kept his butt in line.

But, me getting off the truck was a long-discussed subject....I have his support, and we both agreed I needed to do this for myself. I can't "babysit" my husband's leadfoot....and he knows that. When he called about the 2nd ticket, I didn't yell or scream, I just told him it was his CDL, he's a grown man, and he's the only one who can control whether or not he keeps it. He feels pretty darn bad about it.....I know he wasn't deliberately being reckless, but he wasn't paying attention EITHER.

If he can't keep out of trouble by himself, he won't be able to drive a truck pretty soon.....and I'm not too cheerful about his prospects at this point with 2 tickets looming. Maybe, like you said, it's for the best....if he's a habitual speeder, better he's not on the road IMO. But, I'm not going to drive myself crazy worrying about it either. God willing I'll have a "regular" job here locally soon....we'll stick together for better or worse, and he'll just have to find another line of work for a while.

Sorry, didn't mean to get off on a tangent here. Thanks again everyone for your input.

 

Is his job worth the "investment" of $1000.00 ?
If this attorney can keep the points total to or at a small amount
or none at all, it seems worth it. Its to bad lawyers are a needed
evil.

 

It ain't really about safety anyway. Just another cash cow.