zef
Drag Racing Champion
Disclaimer: This is not legal advice, just sharing an experience that might be hopefully useful to others.
So rewind the clock 6 months. I'm somewhere on the Delaware/PA border, getting my WaWa fix. It's late, probably around 1am, and my friend who I was visiting was riding shotgun. Heading back to his place, I did a 2nd gear pull going up some turnpike. Cop was hiding somewhere in a dealership parking lot. Mind you I didn't even exceed the posted speed limit; no tire squeal or any nonsense like that...typical 15-50 pull.
I pull over, somewhat confused, but thinking he's just going to yell at me for being a douchebag. No drama during the stop, cop seemed nice, I did my usual yes sir no sir...had the windows rolled down with the dome lights on before he got to the car type stuff that I do to put cops at ease and usually gets me out of most tickets for being polite and honest (but not too honest).
Runs my stuff, comes back with a ticket for "racing on highways"... you can probably imagine the look on my face as I politely asked the cop what his reasoning was. The cop explained that "exhibition of speed" is a component under the law, and does not require a 2nd vehicle for it to actually be considered racing. My little 15-50 stunt counted as that, so that's what he hit me with. He also explained it comes with a six month license suspension. Seriously? You don't even get that sort of suspension for a DUI, Reckless Driving or even involuntary manslaughter (at least in Connecticut).
Long story short after speaking to local attorney's and doing some research, I ended up just paying the ticket, and thought I would share my experience in hopes that others who are going through this similar bullshit might help.
Here's why I paid it...
Both Pennsylvania and Connecticut are members of the Drivers License Compact. It's an agreement that they share information of infractions, suspensions, etc. Once you get convicted in another state, your home state gets notified and hands down their punishment as if you were convicted in the home state. For example, if the cop decided to hit me with Reckless Driving, both PA and CT have reckless driving statues. PA's suspension is 60 days (I think) and CT's is 30. So even though I committed the offense in PA, my CT drivers license would still get suspended for 30 days (and I couldn't drive in PA for 60).
Hoooowever, there's one big exception, and this loophole is what ended up getting me out of it (sort of). Both states have to have the same exact law on the books for it to count. If you get convicted of a violation out of state and your home state doesn't have that exact same law/violation, you don't get penalized in your home state and thus your insurance/driving record is not affected. Since Connecticut doesn't have a "racing on highways" statue, I still got suspended for six months but only in Pennsylvania. I only visit PA once or twice a year anyway, so I could've cared less. Even after paying court costs and all the other nonsense (I think the total was like $250), it was still cheaper than paying an attorney to fight it on my behalf.
I did have a friend at the DMV pull all my records from CT recently and confirmed it's a clean slate, and I didn't get any increases in my insurance that just renewed, so safe to say I got out of it for the most part. Not saying I didn't deserve a ticket for what I did, but the fact that what I did according to PA law can get me a 6 month license suspension blows my mind.
So rewind the clock 6 months. I'm somewhere on the Delaware/PA border, getting my WaWa fix. It's late, probably around 1am, and my friend who I was visiting was riding shotgun. Heading back to his place, I did a 2nd gear pull going up some turnpike. Cop was hiding somewhere in a dealership parking lot. Mind you I didn't even exceed the posted speed limit; no tire squeal or any nonsense like that...typical 15-50 pull.
I pull over, somewhat confused, but thinking he's just going to yell at me for being a douchebag. No drama during the stop, cop seemed nice, I did my usual yes sir no sir...had the windows rolled down with the dome lights on before he got to the car type stuff that I do to put cops at ease and usually gets me out of most tickets for being polite and honest (but not too honest).
Runs my stuff, comes back with a ticket for "racing on highways"... you can probably imagine the look on my face as I politely asked the cop what his reasoning was. The cop explained that "exhibition of speed" is a component under the law, and does not require a 2nd vehicle for it to actually be considered racing. My little 15-50 stunt counted as that, so that's what he hit me with. He also explained it comes with a six month license suspension. Seriously? You don't even get that sort of suspension for a DUI, Reckless Driving or even involuntary manslaughter (at least in Connecticut).
Long story short after speaking to local attorney's and doing some research, I ended up just paying the ticket, and thought I would share my experience in hopes that others who are going through this similar bullshit might help.
Here's why I paid it...
Both Pennsylvania and Connecticut are members of the Drivers License Compact. It's an agreement that they share information of infractions, suspensions, etc. Once you get convicted in another state, your home state gets notified and hands down their punishment as if you were convicted in the home state. For example, if the cop decided to hit me with Reckless Driving, both PA and CT have reckless driving statues. PA's suspension is 60 days (I think) and CT's is 30. So even though I committed the offense in PA, my CT drivers license would still get suspended for 30 days (and I couldn't drive in PA for 60).
Hoooowever, there's one big exception, and this loophole is what ended up getting me out of it (sort of). Both states have to have the same exact law on the books for it to count. If you get convicted of a violation out of state and your home state doesn't have that exact same law/violation, you don't get penalized in your home state and thus your insurance/driving record is not affected. Since Connecticut doesn't have a "racing on highways" statue, I still got suspended for six months but only in Pennsylvania. I only visit PA once or twice a year anyway, so I could've cared less. Even after paying court costs and all the other nonsense (I think the total was like $250), it was still cheaper than paying an attorney to fight it on my behalf.
I did have a friend at the DMV pull all my records from CT recently and confirmed it's a clean slate, and I didn't get any increases in my insurance that just renewed, so safe to say I got out of it for the most part. Not saying I didn't deserve a ticket for what I did, but the fact that what I did according to PA law can get me a 6 month license suspension blows my mind.
