Speeding Ticket

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Brian

Brian

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I recieved a speeding ticket yesterday (63mph in a 45 mph zone). Has anyone successfully fought a speeding ticket and won even if they were totally guilty? I see all of these "fight your speeding ticket and win" websites for $20-$30 and was wondering if they are a scam or if they really work? Am I better off going to traffic school to keep it off my record? I was ticketed in Cook County (Chicago and some surrounding suberbs), high noon, clear day, straight road, very little traffic, radar gun. High power lines run right next to the road that I was traveling, would this interfere with the radar gun? :cussing:
 
You can fight it by going to court. I know that here if the officer that wrote the ticket doesn't show then it's dropped in your favor. My friend fought his last speeding ticket by finding out how often the guns have to be calibrated, and proper field calibration standards. The officer didn't follow protocol so the case was dropped. It's a gamble, either way.
 
There can also be a dismissial due to insufficient paperwork and if thats not going to work with all those reasons, then you can have it reduced!

FYI.. dont speed!

If you were racing and they could prove it.. you would be up ***** creek here. they take your licence and suspend it for like a year i hear and then they take your car.. with everything in it and have it crushed.! but thats what i hear.. so i could be wrong. but i have heard that a couple of times.
 
I don't know how it works in the States but up here in the great white north you have 2 chances to get off, one the cop doesn't show or two, and this happened to my son, the cop failed (forgot) to identify him while going through his speel so the judge tossed it out. Glad I'm not a cop, that sort of thing would piss me off.
 
Depending on the municipality the officer does not need to show up for court. At least in my County a written statement from the officer is acceptable to the courts. You can request record of the last certification of the radar unit, the officers training records on radar guns and you can ask for a radar unit expert to explain the problems that radar guns could have. If the radar expert does not show then the ticket could be thrown out or a new court date rescheduled.

A word of warning, if you take it to court and you are found quilty the judge can sentence you at a higher amount than the ticket shows and can add other things like the drivers course, etc. If the judge felt real nasty he could take your license away. You are at the mercy of the judge. Also there are court fees you have to pay.

Just pay it.

Chuck
 
You can change the gear and throw your speedometer off enough then have it calibrated, works sometimes if you get a easy going judge. Or you can request a massive amount of paperwork from the DA's office such as road conditions, weather for the day, last time the gun was calibrated, officers training on how to use the gun, etc. If they can't produce the info you can request that the case be dropped due to the fact that they couldn't provide you with enough info to properly present your case. I have done the first with good results but haven't been ticketed in a while and haven't tried the second one.

Good Luck!
 
I tried the speedo off thing because of oversized tires once. The judge said if I wanted to use that as a defense then he would have a ticket issued for defective equipment. The courts are so busy with real crimes like felonies they do not have much patience for this petty ticket stuff.

Also the judge can remove you from represent yourself just like they can do with an attorney and then you will have to pay an attorney which will be way more money than the fine. If you are eligible you could get a public defender.

If you know you were speeding then be a man and accept you punishment. These whole loophole things just to keep from paying for something that someone did is crap. If you really know that you were not speeding then yes you have a case but it will cost you more than it is worth and because of the technicality stuff that happens every day in courts just like the what you are talking about doing they will not believe that you were not speeding. With a ticket it is quilty to proven innocent.


Chuck
 
I know a lot of police officers...they check their equiptment every day before and after their shift to make sure that the radar and the lazer are with in calibration. They also check after every traffic stop. It would be easier to just pay the thing.
 
Well......I thought long and hard before trying to respond. First off, I am impressed with the general response I have seen from the members here, it just speaks volumes about the general good character behaviors of the Mopar enthusiast.
Speaking from experience, I have seen the tickets go both ways. Many people will go to the trial stage, just to assure the officer shows up, cops are people too, and face it, sometimes sh** happens. Having said that, it is also common practice in our area to accept a non-moving violation with a higher fee in exchange for not having moving violation points on your license.
You admit to speeding, the conditions you state are all in favor of the officer, although the radar is subject to numerous errors, the officer is trained to recognize it, and to be honest, its like shooting fish in a barrell, if i'm not 110% sure, there will be a hundred more violations just like it following right behind.
The choice is yours - Good Luck! Law-n-Dart
 
In Texas you can hire an attorney and get off 98% of the time! They will postpone it and eventually you will go to court and most times it will be dismissed.Usually takes a year or so before you ever go to court.At least that was the way it was on the last ticket I received. You can also take defensive driving and keep it off your record.And then there is defered adjudication where you pay a certain amount and you are then put on probation for a period and If you do not get another movin violation infraction it will never appear on your record.Or then you can just pay the fine and it will appear on your record. You should try to keep it from appearing on your record. I agree that Policeman are just doing there job and that they are people also.But By fighting a traffic violation it does not take any money out of the Policemans pocket.And for every one person that fights a ticket and wins there are ten times as many that just pay due to the hassle of fighting one. It is a hassle to fight one but then it is your choice.
 
Here in SC anything 10 mph or over the speed limit is concerned reckless driving. Your best bet is to show up for court and be a real nice guy. I got a speeding ticket not to long ago and I was 10 mph over the speed limit. The police man dropped it down to were it was 9 over since I was being a nice guy to him. Its all got to do with your attitude when you are there in front of the judge. I just went by and paid the fine and didn't go to court. But about 6 yrs ago I got a ticket and was for the same thing but the police man didn't drop it below 10 mph over and was about to pay a heavy fine and points on license. But I showed up for court and the judge told me he was in a good mood and dropped the fine down to $70 from $150.Good luck bro!
 
You may not take the money out of the policemans pocket but you do the tax payers because that is how the courts get a portion of their operating budget. I also believe some of the monies from the fine go back to the operating budget of the police department.

If you want to play... pay!


Chuck
 
Out here in the wilds of north Jersey you can go to court and find the proscutor..dicker with him for a non-moving violation. It'll cost more up-front but no points and no insurance surcharge!
 
Here in Va. you have to pay the court costs as well as a fine (per mph over) whether you appear or not. I`d say go to court and state your case even if you`re guilty as !@#$%^& and there`s always a chance you may get off on a technicality.
 
I agree if your guilty your guilty,but the difference in my mind-(and some will say this an excuse)-is the law requires insurance but also allows insurance companies to penalize us for things so petty as a credit rating?-how does that effect a persons driving?.So you get a ticket and now you pay more for insurance and are potentially less hireable ect.,ect.I would go to court to at least get it reduced-have a great attitude and be very humble and if you have a good record use that to your advantage.I understand the argument about taxes but hell they tax us to freaking death already for losers who dont even work or pay taxes so look at it like your getting something out of your tax dollars!.
 
Thanks for everyones replies.
Here is something to think about:
Auto insurance companies fund and or supply police departments with radar guns, not to make sure that everyone is driving at a safe speed, but to generate revenue by increasing your insurance rates dramatically after you get a moving violation. In addition, Police who use speed traps are also not keeping your safety in mind when they are clocking you. They are working on increasing revenue. If they wre concerned about you being safe when driving, they would be in plane sight to remind you to look at your spedo and slow down if necessary.
 
Brian said:
Thanks for everyones replies.
Here is something to think about:
Auto insurance companies fund and or supply police departments with radar guns, not to make sure that everyone is driving at a safe speed, but to generate revenue by increasing your insurance rates dramatically after you get a moving violation. In addition, Police who use speed traps are also not keeping your safety in mind when they are clocking you. They are working on increasing revenue. If they wre concerned about you being safe when driving, they would be in plane sight to remind you to look at your spedo and slow down if necessary.
Click to expand...


If you don't want to pay more for insurance... SLOW DOWN.


Chuck
 
lead69 said:
I agree if your guilty your guilty,but the difference in my mind-(and some will say this an excuse)-is the law requires insurance but also allows insurance companies to penalize us for things so petty as a credit rating?-how does that effect a persons driving?.So you get a ticket and now you pay more for insurance and are potentially less hireable ect.,ect.I would go to court to at least get it reduced-have a great attitude and be very humble and if you have a good record use that to your advantage.I understand the argument about taxes but hell they tax us to freaking death already for losers who dont even work or pay taxes so look at it like your getting something out of your tax dollars!.
Click to expand...


It's not the insurance companies fault they want to charge you more for speeding... Don't Speed if you don't want to pay. It is also not the police's fault that a speeding ticket lowers your chance of getting a job that requires a clean record. It is only the fault of the person getting the ticket.

I agree that the government already taxes us to death for deadbeats. So let's by all means do the same thing and tie up more of their time when it doesn't need to be... Good call.


Chuck
 
I guess I must not get this whole blame someone else for something that I did thing. I am from a generation or upbringing that says take blame from your own actions.


Chuck
 
around here 9 times out of 10 all they want is your money so you goto court plead to a lesser charge that has no points and pay the fine and court costs and forget about it...:)
 
Wow,interesting responses,Im not judging innocence or guilt-even if he was speeding we dont know the circumstances.Just as an example it could have been an area that the trafiic regularly exeeds the speed limit?-we have those areas of freeway around here and on the other extreme people have been known to get tickets for impeeding traffic.Im not here to argue the moral standards of something-or judge someone,Im just here to enjoy this great website dedicated to a-bodies-and Im very grateful to have it!-and now back to the cars!.
 
We have areas around here that are referred to as "cherry patches" by the local cops. These places are characterized by wide ,two laned streets, no homes or businesses, wide medians, and without any intersecting streets for at least a mile. The speed limit is set as low as 35 ( you could easily drive safely on these stretches at 60mph). The police use them for running radar, it`s a sure thing in the cherry patch. When funds get low in the city treasury ,they`re working away. They also make really great places for opening up the Cuda, so I`ll usually do a couple rides through and if the coast is clear, it`s time to get my FREAK ON!! Lol!
 
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