Are speeding tickets worth fighting?

[Thermo1223]

I go to court all the time...man some of you have some hard [censored] judges.

I was speeding to get in front of slower traffic. Went to court, cop offered a no points and since your already paid the fine then have a nice day.

I was courteous and I showed up on time. Judge had no problem with it. He said you also signed the ticket stating you received it. There is nothing a judge hates more than not signing it. It is not an omission of guilt just saying "Hey I got this piece of paper."

 

[Mitch]

I got a ticket outside Laughlin,Nv one nite for doing 40 in a 35 zone. The trooper told me it is all about revenue. He told me go to the traffic court the next morning where for $250 it will be reduced to a parking violation or $100 and it is a speeding ticket.
Yes I really was going 40 in a 35 mph zone. I also have not spent one dollar in Laughlin since then and wrote the city and told them so

 

[MCompact]

When I presided over traffic court the prosecutors, the police, and I didn't have time for rinky-dink speeding trials. If the defendant was halfway polite at his/her first appearance we would send the "perp" to traffic school, put the case on diversion, amend it to a "no points" violation, or just dismiss the case outright.

And on the last docket before Christmas I would have all the people charged with speeding or other minor violations stand in front of the bench, raise their right hand, and promise they would be safe drivers- then I'd dismiss their cases.

 

[SlipperyPete]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
If he didn't allow you to see the radar,you'll win your case.


Or if he didn't have his hat on when he gave you the ticket.

One of my childhood friends is a Dallas police officer. The radar thing is real. By law they have to show you your clocked speed on the radar if you request so. If they refuse,the ticket won't hold water.


I didn't realize you were serious. I thought we had gone off into wives tales and internet legend.

link

This one is specific to Texas. Scroll down to "Rumored Laws"

link

 

[Garak]

It's really hard to give advice with so many jurisdictions out there. That's the peril. One decidedly does not have to show the clocked speed on radar in this province, for instance. All you'll get out of that in court here is perhaps a giggle from the judge.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: MCompact
When I presided over traffic court the prosecutors, the police, and I didn't have time for rinky-dink speeding trials. If the defendant was halfway polite at his/her first appearance we would send the "perp" to traffic school, put the case on diversion, amend it to a "no points" violation, or just dismiss the case outright.

And on the last docket before Christmas I would have all the people charged with speeding or other minor violations stand in front of the bench, raise their right hand, and promise they would be safe drivers- then I'd dismiss their cases.


Many times I have been offered a "deal", usually to plead guilty but withold adjudication and simply pay up.

let's face it, speeding is a tax. You vote for it with your right foot!

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: Garak
It's really hard to give advice with so many jurisdictions out there.


Well, except for, "take responsibility for your actions." That one applies no matter where you live...

 

[SlipperyPete]

Originally Posted By: Garak
It's really hard to give advice with so many jurisdictions out there. That's the peril. One decidedly does not have to show the clocked speed on radar in this province, for instance. All you'll get out of that in court here is perhaps a giggle from the judge.


It isn't hard to give advice regarding whether or not the police have to show the radar display to speeders regardless of the jurisdiction. Statutes and case law are not secret and it would be easy to find any requirements in this area for any state. The reason a google search of this issue doesn't return any listings of state statutes is they don't exist.

This is the SCOTUS ruling that established case law requirements for radar speed enforcement in the US. There is no mention of the alleged requirement.

Honeycutt v. Commonwealth

 

[TiredTrucker]

Many times, a call to the local or county DA and you can get it changed to another offense that does not affect insurance. Might have to pay a little more in the fine, but you will be ahead in the long run. Jurisdictions just want the money. They don't give a rip about the offense that it is tied to.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: SlipperyPete
It isn't hard to give advice regarding whether or not the police have to show the radar display to speeders regardless of the jurisdiction. Statutes and case law are not secret and it would be easy to find any requirements in this area for any state. The reason a google search of this issue doesn't return any listings of state statutes is they don't exist.

What I was saying is that there are certain differences between jurisdictions. I'm certainly not aware of any that require one to show the radar lock, although that is a very common tale. The point is that we have people here from 50 states and 10 provinces and the rest of the world, and what's sound advice here won't be sound advice elsewhere. For instance, I take a speeding ticket here, and it won't affect me in the least, aside from the actual fine itself. Insurance won't give two hoots. And looking at or being refused the option to look at the display won't make an iota of difference.

 

[wtd]

Originally Posted By: TiredTrucker
Many times, a call to the local or county DA and you can get it changed to another offense that does not affect insurance. Might have to pay a little more in the fine, but you will be ahead in the long run. Jurisdictions just want the money. They don't give a rip about the offense that it is tied to.


This is what I did on my last ticket. I paid $100 plus my fine amount and got it listed as a non-moving violation. My insurance was coming due and I didn't want the ticket to jack up my rates.

Wayne

 

[linksep]

Originally Posted By: Reddy45
In my case I'm talking about getting cited for 70 in a 60 on a 6 lane interstate with little traffic.

On one hand, at least my state, anything under 11 over doesn't ding your insurance, but the fine is $161. The incident will go on record, though.

What are your thoughts?


Do you make more than $161 after taxes for two days of work? In MN you have to take a normal 8-5 workday off to go to court and say "not guilty", then you have to take another day off to actually plead your case. 99% chance you should pay the fine and move on with your life. I've tried to fight in the past and despite the fact that I had JUST tuned on to the road and a Jeep Cherokee passed me like I was standing still I took a day off work to fight it, and settled for full face value of the ticket because settling was cheaper than taking another day off to plead my case... Sure I was probably doing 38 in a 35 zone, but the Jeep was the one doing 52 in a 35. The cop was an idiot that couldn't tell a red Jeep from a silver Chevy but I was the one that paid the price in the end (twice... once for taking an entire day off work for 15 seconds in front of the judge to say "not guilty", then again for settling on the ticket price with the prosecutor because taking a 2nd day off work would cost more than paying the [censored] fine.)

 

[linksep]

Originally Posted By: ShotGun429
My Cop/Patrol freinds all tell me on Speeders: "Nine your fine,Ten your Mine" makes sense to me....


I have passed several highway patrolmen on they highway going 3-8 over, I have also forced them to pass me by driving 3 MPH under for several miles (GPS speed, not speedometer) until they get bored and pass me. Then I usually hang back 2-3 cars behind and go 4-8 over just keeping pace with them.

 

[DBMaster]

I seem to be the only one on any highway around here who will pass a police car. You can normally tell when a police car is driving in traffic by the clump of cars in all three lanes driving at or below the speed limit unwilling to pass the cop. I will pass going slightly faster and allow them to get a good look at me. I don't play those games. Even after I pass, others are still unwilling to do so.

There is something wrong, to me, with being afraid of cops. I intimate no disrespect, either.

 

[MolaKule]

Originally Posted By: bmod305
If you were speeding, pay it. Doesn't matter if no one is on the road or not. If you were not speeding, fight it.

Honesty goes both ways. You want cops/gov to be honest with you so you should be honest with them. I know it doesn't always work that way but it has to start somewhere-how about with you?

Just my two cents,

Dave


True, if you did it pay the fine.

There was one situation however in which I was pulling a large wood splitter with my Burb and pulled out into traffic as a car passed by me.

I was pulled over for speeding (by radar) in less than a 1/4 mile distance.

I asked the officer to reconsider since I was pulling a heavy load and no way could I have accelerated to past the speed limit in that distance. He declined.

I did some calcs that showed I would have had to have an engine of XXX hp in order to accelerate to the speed noted in the citation, which I did not have.

I brought those calculations to court on the night of my scheduled appearance and showed them to the Pros. Attorney before court was in session, and asked him if he wanted refute the evidence before the judge.

He promptly threw out the citation.

 

[Silverado12]

In VA you can go to court, then ask for traffic school. I just pay the dang fine. I'm at the point now where I set my cruise a couple miles over and let everybody just pass me. I feel like I'm a hindrance but I save gas this way. When I'm on my motorcycle, I keep pace w/traffic regardless. It's safer.

 

[greenjp]

You law and order, "man up" guys crack me up. First, any time you are charged with an offense, be it a traffic fine or a criminal offense, you are entitled to work it through the justice system. Second, as other posters have said the traffic enforcement actions of our local and state governments are largely a revenue-gathering exercise, also known as a tax. It's under the guise of safety but we've seen where that goes awry in other recent threads (Civil Forfeiture, DoJ report on Ferguson, local kids here in MD being kidnapped by police & CPS, etc).

So, when you get a ticket you have a few choices: "man up" and pay it, or go to court to see if you can get away with a lesser punishment or maybe even have the charges dismissed. The former is for suckers, the latter is indeed your right as a citizen.

I have gotten 2 tickets in my 20 years of driving, one was a speeding ticket (something in the 65-70 in a 55 range) on a limited access highway, the other was failure to yield after I pulled out of a gas station and the cop thought I pulled out too closely in front of the car that was coming my way. In the first case I had it reduced to "probation before judgement" and in the second the charges were dismissed when the officer didn't show for court. So yes I think if you can swing the time, taking it to court is worth a shot.

As for the law and order types, I'd love to know what planet you live on that speeding on your local highways is not the norm. Note, I diligently obey the speed limits in residential areas and low to medium speed limit urban and suburban type streets. I have flagged down people who drive to fast in my neighborhood and I do not run red lights and whatnot.

However, on any local highway when the overwhelming majority of cars are exceeding the limit by 10-15 mph (I-270 in MD and the DC beltway around here), something else is going on. These are not all callous lawbreakers who deserve tickets every time they hit the road. These are people participating in a mass form of civil disobedience - the roads and the cars are designed for safe travel at speeds above the limit. In large part, people will drive as fast as they feel safe. When they're all "speeding", it's evidence that the limit is in fact to low. Why? I can only assume it's so it's easier to write tickets.

I would have no problem if they instituted higher speed limits and increased fines. As it stands now, a $100+ fine for 67 in a 55 on my local highways is absurd.

jeff

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: greenjp

However, on any local highway when the overwhelming majority of cars are exceeding the limit by 10-15 mph (I-270 in MD and the DC beltway around here), something else is going on. These are not all callous lawbreakers who deserve tickets every time they hit the road. These are people participating in a mass form of civil disobedience - the roads and the cars are designed for safe travel at speeds above the limit. In large part, people will drive as fast as they feel safe. When they're all "speeding", it's evidence that the limit is in fact to low. Why? I can only assume it's so it's easier to write tickets.

I would have no problem if they instituted higher speed limits and increased fines. As it stands now, a $100+ fine for 67 in a 55 on my local highways is absurd.

jeff


Agreed. The state/local governments and the Safety Gestapo don't want speed limits set at the 85th percentile, since less "speeding"=fewer citations- and that means less revenue going to the state/municipalities and fewer opportunities for insurance companies to jack up premiums(with no actual increase in loss exposure).

 

[Leo99]

Never go to court and admit guilt. Go to court and fight your ticket. Make the police show up and prove your guilt.

Here in NJ, they will let you plead guilty to a non-moving violation so that you won't get any insurance surcharge. It used to be about $150 but they raised the fine to something like $450.

On the NJ highways, you usually have to be doing over 80mph or weaving to get the attention of the police. People drive fast here. I got a taste of fast driving in Germany last week. It's nice.

 

[AdRock]

I always use a lawyer. He charges whatever the fine for the ticket is and gets it dismissed. I haven't had a ticket get on to my record in years.