how to fight a traffic violation?

mint93SC

Registered User
Here is my story....

I just got out of school and dropped one of my classmates off at his house. On my way back home, i was driving along. when i come over a hill and saw a black crown vic and a radar gun locked on to me. At this point I pay no attention because the last speed limit sign i saw said 35 and I was doing less than that because this is one rough road. I continue driving and as i pass the cop a black Ford Ranger passes me. I look in the rearview mirror and as the cop pulls out i say to myself that Ranger is toast. I get stopped at a light and the cop pulled up i the lane next to me. When the light turned green, he pulled behind me and turned his lights on. He wrote me a ticket doing 40 in a 35, and said he clocked me at 43 mph.

Any advice on how to get myself out of this? I was not doing 43, if i had been then it would be my own fault. Any help is greatly appreciated!

-Rob
 
did he radar or laser you down? 8 miles an hour over is guna be hard to fight. However if you show up to court and the cop doesnt your good to go.

thats all you gotta hope for. no cop.......that means theyll throw out the ticket.
 
that's your only hope.....that the cop don't show. If he does, the judge will side with the cop.....no matter what. My Dad once got a ticket for running a stop sign at an intersection that didn't even HAVE a stop sign..... when he went to court the cop said that she simply wrote down the wrong cross street on the ticket and that my dad ran the stop sign at a different cross street..... My dad explained to the judge that he had just left his business, heading North....and that the cop's 'revised' cross street was South of where he had come from.....so he had not even gone thru that other intersection... Didn't matter. The ticket stood. Next case..... (of course this Was in California, maybe judges in other states are not required to get a lobotomy before being appointed to the bench.. )
 
not only that but i have personally seen a cop lie under oath to save his own azz. what a scum bag. oh well.
 
Get a lawyer.

It costs a few bucks but you will probably never step foot in the court room. It is worth the fact that the points will most likely be dropped. I reciently had a 25 over (that involved racing) ticket reduced to a 5 over. It cost me $125 I think. The fines and points were also reduced greatly. It was well worth the money. If you have a clean record you will probably get it dropped before court even happens.

-Steve
 
He wrote the ticket for going 5 miles an hour over.
In Pennsylvania they cannot write a ticket unless you
are doing at least 6 miles an hour over, (or in your case since the speed limit was 35, you would have to be 10 miles an hour over). Check the laws in your state. (In Pennsylvania they also cannot set up a radar trap within 500 feet of a change of speed sign.)

§ 3368. Speed timing devices.
1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the rate of speed of any vehicle may be timed on any highway by a police officer using a mechanical or electrical speed timing device.
2. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (3), electronic devices such as radio-microwave devices (commonly referred to as electronic speed meters or radar) may be used only by members of the Pennsylvania State Police.
3. Electronic devices which calculate speed by measuring elapsed time between measured road surface points by using two sensors and devices which measure and calculate the average speed of a vehicle between any two points may be used by any police officer.
4. No person may be convicted upon evidence obtained through the use of devices authorized by paragraphs (2) and (3) unless the speed recorded is six or more miles per hour in excess of the legal speed limit. Furthermore, no person may be convicted upon evidence obtained through the use of devices authorized by paragraph (3) in an area where the legal speed limit is less than 55 miles per hour if the speed recorded is less than ten miles per hour in excess of the legal speed limit. This paragraph shall not apply to evidence obtained through the use of devices authorized by paragraph (3) within a school zone.

e) Distance requirements for use of mechanical, electrical and electronic devices.--Mechanical, electrical or electronic devices may not be used to time the rate of speed of vehicles within 500 feet after a speed limit sign indicating a decrease of speed. This limitation on the use of speed timing devices shall not apply to speed limit signs indicating school zones, bridge and elevated structure speed limits, hazardous grade speed limits and work zone speed limits.

Again, do a search on the web for your states vehicle code statutes.
 
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Maybe I am just real lucky. I have never been stopped by the law when I was not doing anything wrong. Why can't people take responsibilty for their actions??? Mint93sc, If you believe you were not speeding then fight it. If you are just trying to get away with something, pay the fine. I am sure the score is still, Cops 1 - Rob 1000.
 
I'm surprised that they even wasted their time for 5 over. In Illinois, anything under 10 over usually gets laughed out of court. But if he clocked you at 43, and he wrote you a ticket for 40, then plead not guilty. The violation is for going 40 in a 35 zone...by no record, yours or the cops, were you doing that. If the cop bothers to show up, he has no proof that you were doing anything...plus, if you plead not guilty then you will meet with a SA and then go back to court...which the cop won't show up for a second time. Especially for that pathetic of a ticket. You'll come out quite fine, I would imagine.
 
thanks everyone

The part of this that bothers me most is I was driving slow (rough road) and when the cop came into my view,(I looked at the speedo and read saw 37) I was being passed by a Ranger on the left. When the cop pulled out he pulled out into the Rangers lane (left). I was in the middle lane The next light turned red which the Ranger had made it through and he pulled up still in the left lane, behind me. When the light turned green, he turned the lights on and pulled behind me.

The reading he got in my opinion was from the stupid POS Ranger.

I wasn't in the SC, I was driving my 92 V-6 n/a, which is kinda loud.

I'm not sure how i am going to handle this.....I need to sleep on it. I'll keep everyone posted.
 
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Did anyone overlook the fact that the truck passed him?
Subponea the cops dash camera/video tape and show the judge.
 
Thats the part that yanks my chain the most is the stupid truck passed me. That truck was asily doing 5 mph more than i was and the instance i saw the cop i was doing 37. So IMHO the reading he got from his radar gun was off of the ranger.......Now I need a way to show this to the court.

Now that I am looking i cant seem to find any of the vehicle codes for Michigan, well at least nothing that is going to help me....Any helps is greatly appreciated!
 
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BobGPz said:
Subponea the cops dash camera/video tape and show the judge.

Ask an attorney that SPECIALIZES in Traffic Violations on how to subponea the video tape. Then I'd subponea the cop himself. The way I look at it anymore is that if they want my money, they will have to fight harder than I will and then they can earn it.

If you lose...then welcome to America, as the attorneys rule the world and run the system and the judges don't care if you did it or not. They are just making money for the system that he will retire with (lifetime benefits) while the rest of us will probably have to work till we die.:eek: Yes, I said it. Wait till someone sues you for tons of money, or someone falsly accuses you of something, and you have to hock everything you've worked for most of your life to pay attorney fees to prove yourself innocent. See it almost everyday. In the end, you'll be broke, and if your lucky the judge will award you MINIMAL attorney fees, but NOT what you paid out. OK, I'm sounding like "Hyde" on "That 70's Show". Better mellow out now.....:D
 
BobGPz


That's why the USA needs to enact loser pay laws.
Whats that? The USA is just about the only country in the free world that does not have this law. What it means, is that if someone sues you, and they lose, they have to pay for your courts costs and attorney fees.
The day this legislation is enacted, you will see the number of frivolous lawsuits choking the courts take a nosedive.
People will only sue you if they have a legitimate cause, and their lawyer thinks they can win.
 
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I agree 100%!
Can you imagine how much cheaper things would be without attorneys? Auto Insurance, Medical Insurance, Higher paying jobs, and a lot more of them. While they are at it, they should make judges more PERSONALY liable for their judgements, that would enable a bit more motivation on their behalf to deliver a FAIR verdict.

What do you do if you see 3 attorneys buried up to their necks in concrete? Add another foot.:D
 
Tickets

I've heard of people sending in checks for more than what the fines are and when the court sends them a check for the difference, they never cash it and the conviction for the ticket is never made because there is still a money amount that has not been settled in the case. Who knows if it works or not?????


What do you call 500 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start!!!

Good luck with you case and keep us informed of how it's going.


David
 
What suburb did this happen in? The courts are funny out here with each jurisdiction.

The dash mounted video is kept for 30 days unless it is tagged for a specific reason i.e. drunk driving case, pursuit, etc.

usually in metro Detroit if you have a clean record you can get out of points in court.

The overpayment of the citation myth is just that. the court and Secretary of State are two different entities. The SOS doesn't care how much you spent. Unless you don't pay it and they get their re-instatement fee and suspention costs.
 
BobGPz said:
I agree 100%!
Can you imagine how much cheaper things would be without attorneys? Auto Insurance, Medical Insurance, Higher paying jobs, and a lot more of them. While they are at it, they should make judges more PERSONALY liable for their judgements, that would enable a bit more motivation on their behalf to deliver a FAIR verdict.

What do you do if you see 3 attorneys buried up to their necks in concrete? Add another foot.:D


Just one thing folks, not all lawyers are created equal. It's theplaintiffs' attorneys, remember that, it's the plaintiffs' attorneys that are responsible for this nonsense. The defense attorneys are the ones protecting you from those dingleberries.


Funny how no one complains about the lawyers who get you off on all those speeding tickets, DWIs, equipment violations, etc., all of which no one was ever guilty of :rolleyes:
 
Another option to check is see if Michigan or local law allows for deferred adjudication. Basically, you're saying you did it, but don't pay any penalty for x-amount of time(say 6 months) unless you get busted again in same jurisdiction.

Also, is this your first violation or perhaps first violation in that area? How long since last traffic ticket ( if any)? If you have clean record, you may have better chance.

Last summer I beat a out-of-state ticket. Cop in small PA town cited me for turning right on red, which I was guilty. HOWEVER, a $25 fine added up to $100 after all the BS costs they added onto it. I was outraged! So, I fought it myself, no lawyer. I showed up for court(as did the cop) and gave them a prepared spiel and sob story about how I was a military member deployed away for my family for extended period of time, I was in unfamiliar area, it was dark, raining and I never saw the posted sign (it was posted between the red lights and not on road side). I even went so far to say inspite of the fact the officer discharged his duties in a professional manner, that I was unaware of the sign and gave him more sob stuff about how I had to travel hrs just to show up for court.

May not work in your case, but if you can find an angle to help your cause, you just might beat it.
Good luck
 
to anyone who cares.....

I decided to admit responsibility by mail and made a plea for the court to charge the speeding ticket to an impeading traffic ticket, which costs $60 more, but doesn't effect my driving record.

I just got notification today that the court accepted my plea, so the violation was changed, and my driving record remains clean.
 
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