California speed limit for motorhome with toad

Yes, going 62.

Actually WayneLee, the law didn't change, only the signs. The law going back many decades had set the speed limit at 55mph for any vehicle towing anything. It was the signs that were misleading since they said "trailers." Trailer has a definition in the Vehicle Code and a motor vehicle being towed is not a trailer, otherwise toad brakes would be mandatory on any vehicle over 3000 pounds, and they are not. So at some point the signs were changed to match the law.

WayneLee wrote:
My wife says it's probably because he was upset that I didn't change lanes to go around him.

Just slow down and turn your signal on next time. That's what the truckers do.

Simple answer to the question: Yes, you can get a ticket for exceeding 55 mph while towing. How do I know? I got a ticket for this exact reason.

Several years ago, right after California changed the towing law to include all vehicles towing and the highway signs had not been changed, I was traveling East bound on Interstate 8 several miles West of El Centro, if you know the road. The posted speed limit is 70 mph, two lanes in each direction, and I was traveling in the right lane and set my cruise control on 69 using the GPS.

On the right shoulder, a CHP officer was just sitting there finishing writing a ticket. I saw him, but could not pull over to the left lane to give him space due to another car in that lane.

In my mirrors, I saw him come up behind me and light me up. Long story, made short, I got a speeding ticket. My wife says it's probably because he was upset that I didn't change lanes to go around him.

Side note: my first "driving" ticket in my life, some 45+ of driving. Everyone laughs when I tell them my first ticket was for speeding in the RV.

So, remember that when you visit California, and you are towing anything (car, boat, etc.), you'd better keep it under 55 if you don't want to get a ticket.

Years ago when I was an OTR driver, I always did 55 when traveling I10. When I got above LA on I5 I did 65. I always stayed in the right lane and have had many police officers pass me and I would always wave. I never got a ticket. I always also had my lights on.

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:
I don't know specifically about California - but many places around the country - before the officer ever talks to the driver, she/he has notified the dispatcher where they are stopping the offender, the license number and description of the vehicle and the reason for the stop.

If the cop decides to not write a ticket - she/he has to have a reason their supervisor will accept.

Never heard that before. Yes we called in our stops, and when we cleared we had to give the dispatcher a code that would get put in the computer on whether the person was given a ticket or a warning, but there was no explaining to the supervisor.

And yes quotas are illegal in most places, but the people in charge can get around that in ways. When I was a patrol cop it was generally expected that we would average 1 ticket per shift. So each month you would be expected to write about 20 tickets as a job performance requirement. They don't call that a quota, but a performance standard. What's the difference? I don't know, sounds like a quota to me. Now if you are assigned to traffic enforcement, it was expected that you would average 10 tickets a day. Again not a quota but a performance standard. The reason for more tickets is because traffic enforcement is your job so what else are you doing if you aren't writing tickets? That's why the department is allowed to do those types of standards.

golden rule I taught my kids and use myself NEVER fail the attitude test!!!! You may get a ticket anyways, that you probably deserved, but if you fail the test pretty much guaranteed you will get one and possible at the highest level, i.e. exactly the speed your were going with no break.

You never know what kind of day the officer has had, he may have just left an accident where young couple and child were killed by a speeding driver. Good attitude may just cheer him up and just get your butt chewed! :B

I don't know specifically about California - but many places around the country - before the officer ever talks to the driver, she/he has notified the dispatcher where they are stopping the offender, the license number and description of the vehicle and the reason for the stop.

If the cop decides to not write a ticket - she/he has to have a reason their supervisor will accept.

Some towns in the Dallas area - officers have a quota of the number of traffic stops they need to average each day. Ticket quotas are illegal, but several officers tell me they have to issue tickets for at least 75% of their stops.

I've never been stopped where I was singled out of a large group of vehicles. But I always remember an old saying from a cop

"Ever go fishing?"

"Ever catch all of them"

msmith1199 wrote:
He gave you the textbook answer on this because technically you aren't supposed to let the attitude of the driver determine whether you issue a ticket or not. But I can say with almost 100% certainty that no cop operates like that. I can't tell you how many times I stopped people who would have got a warning, but instead they talked themselves into a ticket. And I've probably had just as many people talk themselves out of a ticket that I had intended to write.

When I live in CA my next door neighbor was a CHP officer and essentially told me the exact same thing. Everybody, no matter how professional they are 99% of the time, has a bad day. His advice if stopped was to always try and show respect to the officer, and not cop (no pun intended) an attitude. If it was not a major violation that was potentially endangering other drivers or pedestrians, you just might get off with a warning.

Desert Captain wrote:

Basically, he explained, whether you were going to get a ticket or not was already determined before he got off the bike or out of the cruiser. Traffic and weather conditions along with the severity of the speed usually were factored in along with the drivers attitude.

He gave you the textbook answer on this because technically you aren't supposed to let the attitude of the driver determine whether you issue a ticket or not. But I can say with almost 100% certainty that no cop operates like that. I can't tell you how many times I stopped people who would have got a warning, but instead they talked themselves into a ticket. And I've probably had just as many people talk themselves out of a ticket that I had intended to write.