My Two Cents
I guess I'll chime in, since it seems to be the fad. If what Rob is saying is fact, and I have no reason to doubt him, then YES, I too would be pretty upset with the situation. It's one thing to get caught speeding when you ARE speeding - you just have to accept that, and if your Radar Detector company is kind enough to pay the bill, then great. However, if you're NOT speeding, and you still get pulled over - that's BS.
I do believe that there are LOTS of great police officers out there (in fact, I know many right here in Avon, Indiana, and on the Hendricks County Sheriff Dept) - but there are lots of corrupt cops and even entire departments.Many are in law enforcement because they actually care. Many are in it because it gives them that feeling of power over people they never would have had power over otherwise.
I speed. I speed a LOT. However, I'm a safe driver. I don't speed through neighborhoods, or along curvy 2-lane roads. I speed on interstates and vast expanses of state and federal highways. Tonight, I drove home from Lafayette, IN along I-65, going between 80 and 90 most of the way. If I thought my speed would have put anyone else in danger, then I wouldn't have sped.
Speed may not directly kill, but it is a MAJOR factor in the chances of dying. Yes, even if you're safe, you can hit a patch of ice and the higher your speed, the less time you have to react - period. Not even the best driver can overcome black ice without luck. And sure, you can hit a utility pole at 15 or 80 - and COULD die either way. However, your chances of dying are much higher at 80, due to forces. And again, even the best driver can be driven off the road by another motorist or a deer - no matter how "safe" of a driver they think they are. And most people would consider a rear-ending a pretty minor accident. Not true if the car in violation (the one rear-ending the other) is going 50mph - that can be fatal for either driver, even the front, who was simply sitting at an intersection waiting to turn left. The rear-ending at 10mph would simply cause some whiplash, if that.
My point: take responsibility for your own actions. If you were speeding, you were breaking the law - PERIOD. Accept it, pay the fine, move on - you were WRONG. If you weren't speeding - well, you just got the short end of the stick called "the cop is always right". Bummer. Just don't complain when you think you're on "private property" and laws shouldn't apply. Parking lots are private property, but if you're in a wreck, all the road laws apply in deciding who's at fault - why wouldn't they on private roads (not saying that the roads in question are private or not).