I Did A Bad Thing

This is very embarrassing to me, but I really need some advice.

In December, I was going through a small town in Kansas at night. I came into town and saw a 35 mph speed limit sign. I slowed to 35. The next thing I see is a police car behind me with lights on. I pulled over and the officer told me I was doing 35 in a 20. Yeah, the dreaded 15 over. Of course, I got a citation. I didn’t see a sign for 20 mph, but I don’t doubt that it was there. I just missed it.

Next day, I reported it to my company and was told if I couldn’t get the ticket reduced by at least 1 mph they would have to let me go, for insurance reasons. I’m just sick about this because I don’t want to lose my job and I had a spotless record which is now ruined. So I hired a local attorney and he talked to the city prosecutor. The city prosecutor won’t budge on this, saying he has a zero tolerance policy for CDL drivers in a commercial vehicle. I even offered to pay double the fine for this if I could get just a 1 mph reduction so I could keep my job, but the answer was no. My only choice, according to my attorney, is to plead not guilty, go to trial and beg the judge for mercy. I don’t dispute the citation. I made a huge mistake and am willing to accept the consequences except for losing my job. If I get fired for this, nobody else will hire me with a 15 over on my record.

Any advice on how I should handle this in order to try and save my job?

Any advice on how I should handle this in order to try and save my job?

Really your only choice is to take it to trial if they refuse to budge. Sometimes the prosecutor is willing to make a last minute deal. It'll be a hurdle getting another job but not impossible. The current (and final I'll have but that's for another time) trainee I have received a ticket for something like 29 over (issued for 99 mph) and got it knocked down to 15 over. For some reason they kept this new cdl holder around though he may not make it thru training. Go through the process of fighting it and what your lawyer recommends. Have you looked at the street view to see if it'd make sense to claim the sign was obstructed so attorneys office can work that angle if it is indeed obstructed? Is it possible this was one of those towns that says speed limit is 20 unless posted? New drivers especially, this is one great example of why we stress the importance of reading every sign on the road. It's unfortunate Bruce is dealing with this situation and I'm not trying to beat him up.

If I'm not mistaken Davy had some tickets when he got started with Knight tho I'm unsure of what, or how recent his were. That may be somewhere to look.

Please keep us posted Bruce. Good luck.

Rob, thanks for the reply. I will have to do some investigating about this situation. My attorney told me this is a notorious speed trap that is a cash cow for the city. His words, not mine. I accept full responsibility for this, but obviously I don’t want to lose my job just when I am hitting my stride.

Indeed a good lesson for all drivers about attention to speed limit signs. Especially in small towns where they are looking for violations.

Fight the ticket, keep fingers crossed, and be prepared for job hunting.

With the anti-masking enforcement now, your two options are to fight it or eat it. You will be able to find another employer, if that becomes necessary, but it's most likely not going to be one you really like. You will be alright though, Bruce. You have talked about having weak knees, so your body may not be tough. You have a tough mind though. I know this because you stuck around here when you could have thrown deuces and let that be that.

I am a newbie so forgive me if this is not a good idea. I will let the more experienced people comment. This could drag out for a while. Is it possible to go to another company while they do not know about the ticket and it's not on your record? Once you're in, how long would it be before they even found out, if ever?

I am a newbie so forgive me if this is not a good idea. I will let the more experienced people comment. This could drag out for a while. Is it possible to go to another company while they do not know about the ticket and it's not on your record? Once you're in, how long would it be before they even found out, if ever?

I'm not sure if they'd have access to pending charges/tickets when they initially run your background check or MVR. However they're required to run your MVR annually (at a minimum) so it'll eventually catch up to you and lying is a very bad idea with this career.

Deceitfuly fill out an application to be hired and hope it falls through the cracks? Terrible idea.

Returning to the matter at hand....Any specific information you can post on here about the town and your route would be needed, Bruce. I'm off for a few more days with nothing important to do and lots of time on my hands.

Deceitfuly fill out an application to be hired and hope it falls through the cracks? Terrible idea.

Returning to the matter at hand....Any specific information you can post on here about the town and your route would be needed, Bruce. I'm off for a few more days with nothing important to do and lots of time on my hands.

PackRat, thanks. The city is Lyons, KS. It was at night, so no school zone involved. I was headed NE to get on I70 EB.

The only factor that may have been involved was that I was behind a diesel pickup truck, flatbed probably 1 ton. I don’t know what causes this, but every time he accelerated a big cloud of diesel smoke came from him. Perhaps I missed the sign because it was obscured by his exhaust. It was unusual for me to miss a speed limit sign. Usually I can judge by the seat of my pants what the speed limit is, I didn’t feel 35 was too fast, but it was. Habitually, I’m paranoid when going through small towns so I stay at the speed limit or below.

Not trying to shirk responsibility’ for this, I just want to keep driving for the same company.

I was able to do a street view and I "drove" the city of Lyons. It appears speed limit on Grand/hwy 14/96 is 35 while you head north until you get to Lyon St where it drops to 20.

20 mph speed limit is only for 2 blocks because it goes up to 30 mph once you get to main st

Fight it! You got this I haven't met you in person but I have full confidence that this was a accident and you actually didn't see the sign. Take it to court the judge hopefully will have sympathy and not end your career for a genuine mistake. My full support to you! I will keep my fingers crossed for your career! Hang in there and update us soon!