racerxrick

I got ambushed by the Revenuers the other week while driving the 951. My crime...frontage road with a short freeway entrance and a speed limit of 35. I was going 51, menace to society. The latest trick various municipalities are using is to sit on the 35mph frontage roads just like this and fill the coffers.

Oh...popped me for no front license plate also. I mounted one and they dropped it (for $10).

I had the radar detector off because of X band interference and really wasn't trying to carry any real speed. Whatever..guilty, sure. My issue is they are guilty of being nothing more than a tax. Motorcycle cops have no other function than to produce revenue (i.e. traffic cops)

Did they care about insurance...NO, he asked for it though didn't even focus or come withing six feet of my current insurance card. He knew there wasn't any money to be had there.

QUESTION: has anybody here used the argument attacking calibration, certifications etc.???

http://www.speedingticketbook.com/

JohnKoaWood

"Welcome to my courtroom, if you try to make it your word against that of my officers, whos word do you expect me to take?"

Is usually how traffic court judges around here START the day... might not be the case for you, you might have one willing to trust you, but honestly.. your fine pays their sallary, do you expect them to let everyone off?

If you did in fact commit the offense you are charged with, pay the fine and slow down!

racerxrick

NTSB report conclusion..."speed limits across the nation are arbitrarily set low in order to increase local revenue"

racerxrick

I personally talked with a local Audi guy who successfully used the "Case Dismissed" strategy against a paced ticket.

pettybird

pay a lawyer to get the speed dropped. find one who's REALLY familiar with the prosecutors--mine plays golf with them on weekends. you'll pay for his time and the court's, but your insurance won't get jacked.

That's the worst part about a speeding ticket...not the $100 fine.

George D

I've had a few. My attorney has gotten the few over the past changed to "Wasting Finite Resources" with a payment as much or slightly more than the ticket as a means to get it settled prior to the court date.

The issuer want/needs the revenue. If you show up to court, you will loose if the officer that wrote the ticket shows up for the hearing. They get paid to do this, so they usually will show. Most officers can get overtime approved to make the court dates. The burdeon of proof for non-criminal traffic tickets is geared towards the issuer. Non-criminal traffic court is somewhat of a joke.

In smaller communities, it's usually the Justice of the Peace than appears in court. This person could have been a miner in his/her past. A Justice of the Peace is there to get the money and make the appreance of a court.

They are usually happy to reduce the ticket to something that just allows you to pay the fine, if they won't, you offer a higher payment amount so it doesn't show up on your record. Call them yourself, you would be amazed at what you may get if you ask nicely.

onspeed

Can you do defensive driving to get the ticket dismissed? I know there's restriction on that based on how much over the limit you were cited for. I don't think the "radar calibration" thing will really hold up well in court.

Also, cops don't even need to see your insurance card anymore to check for insurance, it'll show up when they run the plates.

hevquip

This thread reminds me of two occasions I've been down to the courts for traffic-related tickets:

I got caught by a parked radar van or something similar AND pulled over by a motorcycle cop at the same time. Two different tickets, same incident. I tried to argue that one ticket was redundant and should be dropped, but the judge claimed there was no record of the ticket from the radar van (though it was received in the mail and paid...), so I had to pay BOTH damn tickets. Not only that, but I don't even think the issuing officer was there in court that day.

On the other hand, there was a time when I was pulled over for tailgaiting...allegedly (though I was already speeding and not about to start arguing points) and me and the officer found out I had a suspended license. Because he was too lazy to take me to jail, he let me walk home instead. One week later I'm driving home and t-bone some guy when he tries to make a turn that he wasn't supposed to. The responding officer tells me about my suspended license, I act surprised, and then am told to have someone drive me and my truck home. I go to court for both incidents for driving on a suspended license, one Friday after the next and they never put my two infractions together. I even dealt with the same DA for both cases and she never put it together that yes, I'm the same guy that keeps showing up, but it's for a different case each time. I figured that at one point they would've realized I got caught for driving on a suspended license twice in a week's time and that they would loft a hefty punishment at me for the repeat offense, but they never caught on. I think by the end of it, I paid about $150 bucks total in fines and reinstated my license the next week (okay, so I originally lost my license for parking a vehicle with expired plates on the street and not paying the ticket in time...).

Anyway, I'd suggest anytime you go to court, bring a lawyer. I'm sure in my first example I could have had one or both tickets dropped had I brought legal representation. I'm also sure in my second example a lawyer would have screwed me by pointing out the two instances where I was driving on a suspended license and treating it as one case in hopes to make a preemptive plea deal, when the court wouldn't have even put those two occasions together. But I got lucky and I got two separate cases of driving on a suspended license dropped, instead of the court realizing they should have gotten me as someone who essentially violated one law and could have had all charges from both cases compiled into one to dole out a more severe punishment.

I have many personal stories like the two above, enough that I think the court system is a joke. If I ever have to show up, I just don't care how it goes anymore. I pretty much sit there and think "I don't give a ****, you're either going to rape me or I'm going to walk out of here laughing because you all have your heads up your asses." Really though, there's no harm in trying to fight a ticket. In court you would want to prove that the officer is certified to use the radar gun and the radar gun would need to be proven as accurate and calibrated (I think they do this with tuning forks or something like that. I think you're supposed to request the guy that tunes these things beforehand, as a witness ya' know?) Personally, I wouldn't fight the ticket. I guess I don't care enough about insurance rates and based off of my previous experiences in court, when they asked if I knew what I was there for, I'd probably reply "A speeding ticket, but this will probably turn into 60 days of jail with community service or establish a future exoneration on any genocides I commit. I've found that the court goes both ways like that."

TX951

In the big cities always contest the ticket in court, and keep filing for extensions to the court date until they finally deny it. This could push the date out 6 months to a year, or more.

The more you extend/change the date, the less likely the officer will show up. If they don't show up, it gets dismissed.

Works for me...

ramius665

Or the easiest advice? Quit breaking the law, pay the ticket that you admitted you earned and do the right thing. There, was that hard?

BlueRiver86

It's an arbitrary bull**** fine because the state needs money. There's no need to treat him like a criminal for going 51mph.

Scott H

You need to find a lawyer, and just let them handle it. You will usually end up paying the lawyer about what you'd pay for the ticket, but they can work their magic and make the points disappear meaning no higher insurance payments/etc, which is where you will really end up losing money, plus the time you have to take off from work to show up at court.

hevquip

From what I've heard, and tried (couldn't tell if it actually worked) is that if it is an instance where you can just mail in the ticket and payment, you can write the check for an extra amount so that they are forced to issue a check in return for the slight difference you paid over ($5-$10). Then you never cash the check that they sent you for the overage, throw it away. Supposedly, because this check doesn't get cashed, they can't close your file due to this unresolved issue and therefore it won't go further along into the system where insurance companies can see those types of things on your record.

hevquip

But what if he was a terrorist hauling nuclear devices at 51 MPH in a 35 MPH zone? Shouldn't we just assume he is first, you know...to be on the safe side?

ramius665

Where do you think the police department that protects this same individual from murderers and rapists gets the funds to keep officers on the streets?