I am 70 years old and have never come close to getting a speeding ticket. In fact, friends and family have often teased me for being too slow. However, on a beautiful Sunday morning about 10 am on April 14th, while my wife and I were driving on Highway 111 in Spencer, Tennessee, I received a ticket for driving 68 in a 45 mph zone. There was no traffic on the road and no reason to suspect that the speed limit would drop to 45. At the time, my wife and I were discussing plans for our anniversary next month. But I was driving responsibly and in no way hazardous. Next thing I know, we see blue lights on the other side of the highway. Since we hadn’t seen any cars over there, I wondered who he could be chasing. But suddenly, he crosses the highway and is driving behind us. My wife tells me she thinks he wants me to pull over. So I slow down and pull over right in front of a 45 mph sign. Other than that, I wouldn’t have realized what was happening. I told the officer I had never had a speeding ticket in my life. That didn’t seem to matter. He claimed I was doing 68 in a 45 zone. I had to take his word for it. I’m guessing I was probably over 60 since I presumed I was still in a 65 mph zone.
He then proceeded to give me a ticket stating 68 in a 45 and told me I would need to call to find out what the fine would be. He also said I could possibly have the points removed from my license if I agreed to attend a Safe Driving course in the county. My court date isn’t until June 27th. We just got home after two weeks, having attended our grandson’s Parris Island marine boot camp graduation and my aunt’s funeral in New York. So I haven’t yet had time to call. I plan to do that on Monday.
Today I decided to do some checking on Spencer, Tennessee and found out Highway 111 there is a renowned “speed trap” and that the town receives most of its revenue from speeding tickets. Here is my question: Do I have any recourse? Would I have any success in fighting this ticket? We live about an hour away in Cookeville, Tennessee and have only traveled on this road three or four times in the 8 years since I retired and relocated from Ohio.
