Contesting a Speeding Ticket, Court soon. Update: DISMISSED!

VipFREAK

VipFREAK

CAGiversary!
Feedback
26 (100%)
So, yeah your thinking oh he asked for it case closed lets make fun of him thread. I'd prefer it didn't go that way. I wanted to ask for advice if I have a chance or if I'm wasting my time.

The story...

I was going home at night and there is a part of the freeway that curves down and the cop was parked on the inside shoulder where there is absolutely no road lighting. The shoulder is wide, but not that wide. The guy was radaring, but I don't see how it would be legit because of where he was parked. I know it's "after the fact of speeding", but he was creating a hazard. My speed? he clocked it at 83, don't see how and there were other cars going the same speed. Hope I haven't missed any details. Thanks for your advice too.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
'Cars going the same speed' isn't a viable argument, don't try it in court- it might just piss the judge off.

I think your best bet is to just try to get the penalty lowered. What MPH zone where you in? If you haven't had too many violations before, you can probably get it lowered to the next bracket of fines, and that way you at least save on points (though it'll probably cost you more at the court, I forget the reasoning, but in the long run it'll be cheaper).
 
Well, where he was parked doesn't matter. I've seen plenty parked in that manner. The other cars doing the same speed....don't matter much either. Best bet if going to court is that the officer is unable to show up. If that happens they have to let you off as there would be no witness to your offense. You could try and get it knocked down a little and stating everyone else was doing that speed may work in your favor if trying to get ticket reduced to a lesser fine. The argument would be that to not go with the flow would have been unsafe but good luck with that one. If this was in a 70mph zone I'd just pay the ticket.
 
You don't ask. Unless you have a horrible driving record, you will likely be offered a plea deal that normally results in about half the points to your license, half the initial fine + court costs.
 
If you've been driving for 3 years or more and this is your first ticket, you could plead your good driving record. Say he clocked you going down the hill.
 
[quote name='rmb']Well, where he was parked doesn't matter. I've seen plenty parked in that manner. The other cars doing the same speed....don't matter much either. Best bet if going to court is that the officer is unable to show up. If that happens they have to let you off as there would be no witness to your offense. You could try and get it knocked down a little and stating everyone else was doing that speed may work in your favor if trying to get ticket reduced to a lesser fine. The argument would be that to not go with the flow would have been unsafe but good luck with that one. If this was in a 70mph zone I'd just pay the ticket.[/quote]

I guess I'll be hoping he doesn't show, or should I do a different strategy and keep asking for a continuance?

[quote name='BillyBob29']You don't ask. Unless you have a horrible driving record, you will likely be offered a plea deal that normally results in about half the points to your license, half the initial fine + court costs.[/quote]

Oh. Sounds like either way I won't be getting any money back or I'll pay more for no reason (Well then them needed as much as they can suck out...).

[quote name='maddog1419']If you've been driving for 3 years or more and this is your first ticket, you could plead your good driving record. Say he clocked you going down the hill.[/quote]

I've had two previous speeding tickets, but they were far enough apart where I could do Traffic School and get them taken off. Would they see it on my record? If not then yeah, I could try it.
 
Try setting up a court date for a few weeks in advance. Then a day or two before your court date ask for it to be changed because of Work/Family Emergency/Illness or some reason, and ask if the court date can be moved up, or postponed. At this point, the cop probably already scheduled when he was going to court, and might not be able to make it to the new day.

It sounds dumb, but I have actually seen it work for people. However, if the cop does arrive, you are probably screwed.
 
i've gotten two and sent a letter asking for it be lowered to some sort of non moving violation. i'll have to get back to you on what it is called. it will save you the points on your license and if you have a nice judge it will cost you less. i had i jerk once who charged me max for the lowered charges and one who took it easy on me. i'll update in a little bit on what it's called
 
My understanding is that it's usually good to go to court but you should plead Guilty or No Contest and hope the judge reduces the fine/points.

You should talk to somebody (preferably several people) who've dealt with some speeding tickets in your state/county for more specific advice.

[quote name='darthbudge']Try setting up a court date for a few weeks in advance. Then a day or two before your court date ask for it to be changed because of Work/Family Emergency/Illness or some reason, and ask if the court date can be moved up, or postponed. At this point, the cop probably already scheduled when he was going to court, and might not be able to make it to the new day.

It sounds dumb, but I have actually seen it work for people. However, if the cop does arrive, you are probably screwed.[/QUOTE]

This is something to try, but in most cases the courts are wise to this and simply reschedule you to the next day the cop is due to have his batch of tickets up in court.
 
Get there early and talk to whoever's handling the case. Most of the time if you get there while they are still dealing you can get the points removed for a larger fee. The court cares more about the money than the points. But believe me, the fee is worth it. You never know when you are going to get more points. I'm not sure about your state but in NJ insurance companies can hold accidents against you and keep their own points system in addition to the police points system. 1 speeding ticket + 1 accident caused me to be forced onto the high risk car insurance for 3 years. It costs me several thousand dollars in the end and I'd never had a points ticket before or since.

3 months after that ticket I had an accident going to work where the road was flooded due to blocked drainage. 3 separate accidents happened at that exact same spot in less than an hour. There was no ticket issued to me and the cop even tried to have it declared an emergency hazard and close down the road (Unfortunately he was rejected). The insurance company STILL was able to hold it against me and drop me to high risk.
 
For the love of all that is holy, do not say you were "going with the flow" of all the other cars that were speeding. Nothing pisses a judge off more then "I did it because everyone else was."

Best case is to say "I was speeding, and I won't do it again." Hell, you might get off with a slap on the wrist.
 
I don't know how it is in your state, but I have contested a few tickets in CT and basically you see a state attorney, they read the ticket, ask you some questions.

At this point they usually say, the best I can do is... and they might cut the ticket in half, I'm assuming your ticket is around 300, so you might get it down to 150...

at this point, you can accept a lower fine, or get a date to go back in front of a judge... which is really a bad idea, cause most of the time the cop will show up to state his case as well. Sometimes a cop won't show up, you can argue your side and the judge might throw it out, but if he doesn't, which is highly likely, you have to pay the full fine plus court costs. double whammy.

So, pleading not guilty should at least save you some money, and it's definitely worth it to see...

Worst case scenario... you go to the court, the attorney says they won't lower the fine and you pay it. Better than just paying it right now.
 
Answer this question: Were you Speeding?

If yes, pay the fine and don't speed again. Don't waste your time or the courts time when you KNOW you were speeding.
 
I had a friend tell me he got out of a ticket because he's ex military and so was the cop. I hate this town sometimes.
 
No such thing as "after the fact" speeding. Where the sign says 65 is where it starts. You are shit out of luck, trust me.
 
Don't make excuses and don't lie, just explain you're not sure how fast you were going but it surely didn't feel like 83 because you were just following traffic. You'll probably just pay court fees and it won't stick to your record as long as the typical ticket.

If you try to deny it or try to weasel out of it you'll probably just end up pissing someone off. Not sure if it's a judge or not, but if it were my job to hear traffic cases I'd get pissed every time someone made a lame excuse (it was downhill or whatever) or lied (claimed the radar gun was calibrated or the cop screwed something else up) and stick them with the full penalty.
 
I was in traffic court a couple of months ago for a "California stop sign glide" violation.

You basically go on the stand and plead guilty before the judge who gives you a reduced fine and a chance to take traffic school (you can do it online in an hour or two) so that the points dont show on your record. That's it.

You can plead not guilty, but then youget scheduled another court date plus if you are found guilty you have to pay the full fine and cannot attend traffic school. And it's usually going to be your word against the officer's word, and unless you have really solid proof of your innocense the judge is going to side with the officer...

So I would recommend in this case just pleading guilty and getting it over with (even if you feel that you did nothing wrong). Some things are worth fighting for, but some ain't
 
83 in a 65 - is that reckless?

If you need to bump your speed down a little an option is to go to a mechanic, get him to calibrate your speedometer, and if it's giving readings under your actual speed get him to sign a (preprepared!) statement to that effect.

If you're just talking fines then I'd say if it's significant go to court and throw yourself on the mercy of the judge, or pay the fine.

And lighten up leadfoot ;)
 
[quote name='Layziebones']Answer this question: Were you Speeding?

If yes, pay the fine and don't speed again. Don't waste your time or the courts time when you KNOW you were speeding.[/quote]

I'm glad somebody understands this simple concept.
 
Just plead guilty. You will most likely either get probation, community service or traffic school. But of course your best bet would be to go talk to a lawyer and get there opinion.
 
[quote name='camoor']83 in a 65 - is that reckless?

And lighten up leadfoot[/quote]

I know these are not excuses, but I'm telling you the way it is... My car is 20 years old, the rim/tire size isn't correct so the speedo isn't going to be right. (probably, and no it's not dub) People on that freeway ALWAYS go 75 easily. If I were to go 65, I'd probably be a hazard. Only time they radar or enforce the speed limit is when they need their quota...

I keep it around 70 now... only because it's cheaper when it come time to fill up.
 
I always drive 72.. although I got pulled over once for going 72... I contested that ticket and it was reduced to not following a posted sign.
 
[quote name='JolietJake']I had a friend tell me he got out of a ticket because he's ex military and so was the cop. I hate this town sometimes.[/quote]

I had a friend who was pulled over, totally wasted, and girls underage were drinking in the back seat... my friend in the passenger seat was also hammered.

The cop asks the driver to stand behind the car, as he does, he puts his hands behind his back and stands up tall with his chest out.

The cop says to my friend, why are you standing like that, and my friend says, that's how we stand in the military in front of authority.

The cop asks my friend in the passenger seat if he is able to drive the car home, he says no.

The cop then tells the driver to get in the car and go straight home.

amazing.
 
[quote name='VipFREAK']If I were to go 65, I'd probably be a hazard. Only time they radar or enforce the speed limit is when they need their quota...[/quote]

My wife says the same things.

I tell her to let somebody hit her.

You would be surprised how many people will pass a car moving slower than themselves instead of running over it.
 
True, but I've also seen several accidents caused by someone driving too slow, people getting pissed and changing lanes without checking carefully enough and hitting someone else.

People need to reasonably keep up with the flow of traffic, especially if it's a four lane interstate with a lot of traffic going 10-15 over the limit. Of course, not much chance for a ticket in that situation either, as cops will focus on the few people going even faster and weaving in and out of traffic etc.--at least in my area and from what cops I've worked with have told me about traffic enforcement on the interstates around here.

But to get back on topic, if you were speeding just own up and pay the ticket. Get a radar detector if they're legal in your state if you're not willing to obey the limit strictly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top