speeding ticket

[denn454]

so i was on my way to look at a new school today, i'm totally lost beyond belief, the town i was in uses only street numbers, 3rd street runs north south 3rd ave runs east (i probably have that backwards, needless to say i was more lost than a grizly bear in the ocean)

so i was driving around, i ended up on a frontage road pretty much in nowhere, speed limit was 65 on the highway, i assumed about 45 or so for the frontage road. the cop setting behing some trees running radar informed me it was 30. and that i was doing 43.

i was totally in the wrong but the last thing i need is a ticket, its 2 points and $175 if i plea it outside of court. i don't need that on my record (trying to get a flying job, one ticket is bad enough) and my bank account definatly doesn't need that. so what can i do?

i did notice the cop didn't cross his t's or dot his I's. on the ticket it says my car is green. my car is black, i don't think this is going to get me anywhere but in the event that it might i thought i'd throw it on here.

thanks, and for future reference what could i have said other than i was going what i thought was the speedlimit and what i thought was a safe and reasonable speed?

 

[denn454]

oh, another thing. if i do pay the fine and take the points its reduced to a non moving defective vehicle ticket. if i do that and get a dmv report will it say i had a defective vehicle or a speeding ticket reduced to a defective vehicle?

and if its a non moving violation how can they take points?

 

[Evaddave 87gn]

i have some experience w/this

I lost my DL for ten years. From numerous offensives, ie fleeing and eluding, road racing, speeding,,,etc....
What i found out now is to be completely honest with the cop. I have pulled over before they even have a chance to turn on the lights. Tell them the truth, you where speeding. In your case it might be worth fighting the ticket. Now don't go to court and tell the judge i wasn't speeding. Tell him the truth, you where not fimilair w/the suroundings and since there was not a sign posted, you beleived the standard 45 MPH would be in force. Tell them why you where there, and you are an upstanding citizen. You might be surprised. I have had judges let both me and my wife go in cases just like yours. These Judges hear peolpe say all day, ' i wasn't speeding...his radar was wrong,,etc..." Judges like honesty.

Let me know how it turns out for you.

DAve

 

[denn454]

i tried that with the cop. but i had no luck. it usually works, i've been pulled over many many times, usually they just see i made a stupid harmless mistake and they let me go usually saying they are just looking for drunk drivers. i made a little mistake about a year ago and got myself into some trouble that left an "informational" on my record and i'm pretty sure thats screwing me over now, any chance i had at getting off is gone when they see that. it wasn't anything bad (at least i don't think it is, depends how they worded it) but it may influence a cops decision.

 

[Brer Rabbit]

Different part of the country here...

The wrong car color on the ticket is not an issue---the ticket could be amended but I doubt they would even try. As far as info on the computer when ur name was run, I can only say that 90% of the people I name check or stop, all have "Gang-activity" warnings, and all that does for me is raises my awareness a bit more, because I know that often times that info gets attached improperly to peoples names. I would take it to the judge, maybe the officer may have a trial for a more serious offense and ur case will be dismissed cuz hes not there. Sounds like the Officer was unreasonable, but then again I wasnt there. For me to write a moving violation where I work, U really have to be a jag because we are pounded with Robberies and Shootings all day long, I just cant stand the Barney Fife approach to Policing.

 

[denn454]

my court date is coming up. if i pay the fine i get 2 point defective vehicle. which is what i got for my last ticket. the insurance company knows that a true defective vehicle ticket is 1 point, and my insurance doubled. so do i risk it, if i go fight it and the judge says no you were speeding, heres your 4 point ticket, thanks for playing, i'm screwed. either way my insurance will likely suffer. unless the unlikely happens and they drop it.

i did once before tell the DA that i was speeding, but i just made a stupid mistake, i've kept my record clean this far (4 years at that point) and he droped it. will they likely be so lenient this time with me having the one ticket plus the other that was droped?

what should i go say for the best results? i REALLY don't need this.

 

[BLACK6PACK]

Down here you hire a "traffic ticket lawyer" for about $60 and they will get you off 99.9% of the time. See if you have something like that in CO. There are tons of lawyers that specialize in beating traffic tickets down here.

 

[denn454]

Thanks for the idea black6pack; i looked into it, and yes we do have them. i could only get ahold of one today, its $300-$500. i don't know if i can afford that, but i don't know if i can afford not to do it.

I'm going to keep shopping around any other advice is greatly appreciated

 

[TurboDave]

Take the good advice here. Take the court date, plead your case, be honest.

 

[jimmayor007]

Have any of you guys tried that GPS program that alerts you to speed traps. looks interesting. I was thinking of trying out phantom alert. anyone with personal experience in here?

phantom alert review

 

[turboc87gn]

Take it to court and plead you case tell them about the job you r tryin to get and how your record has a great effect on you gettin the job or not...and explain that you were in unfarmilliar territory..

judges dont like to put people out of work they often cut people breaks that are working or werent and have found work..ive seen it make the difference between probation and jail time ,losin your license vs restricted....every town has its little policies 90% if the time this works.....Then theres the other 10% of the time when no matter what you say they are like robots and you gotta take ur lumps.. (like in sterling heights)

My rule of thumb is always goto court unless the cop already cut you a break dont be the idiot that was goin 20 over and the cop writes you for 5 over and you go fight it ...You will piss the judge off and not like the outcome ....

Youu will also psis off all the people after you for pissing off the judge..DONT BE THAT GUY...Other than that smile be courteous,honest, dont be an entire kiss butt use sir or maam or even your honor and you should be fine..

 

[TurboDave]

Ummm, guys. This thread is over 3 years old.

Check dates when replying to threads.

 

[gnxtc2]

Depending on how your court system works in your state, plea not guilty. Usually prior to seeing the judge, you meet with the prosecutor. Ask him if he can amend the ticket to something that does not have points. Usually there is a statue that carries a higher fine but without points.

If it fails, then it's up to you to take it to trial. There is a statue of limitations on a moving violations; each state is different. Depending on how close yo ur court date is to the intial infraction, the ticket might not be amendable. This is for your theory of mistakes on the ticket. Next step is a trial. But prior to the trial, ask for discovery, ie: the officer's notes, his/her radar certification, radar unit calibration, tuning fork calibration, etc, etc.

But if you loose the trial, there might be a stiffer fine.

Billy T.
gnxtc2@aol.com

 

[Pablo]

I know this is an old thread but I just wanted to give a few bits of advice to anyone who stumbles upon this

First, never, ever incriminate yourself. Keep the amount of words you say to the cop to an absolute minimum. The more you say to him the more you and the circumstances surrounding your ticket will stay in his memory come court time. If he can't remember basics, it's not hard to then impeach his testimony.

Second, always fight your tickets. The majority of tickets can be beaten because most police handing out tickets don't fully understand the -traffic code/rules/procedures/your rights- themselves.
Pleading guilty just condones shoddy police work, the unjust traffic court system, and government revenue scams like traffic enforcement in general.

I have beaten every ticket since I realized this (3 for 3 in the past couple of years) saving me well over 1500 dollars in fines + hundreds/thousands more in insurance rate increases etc.

Don't be a victim of this revenue scam.

 

[GNX181]

What type of radar?

They just had a story on the news here in Chicago where certain types of sppeding tickets were being thrown out in court. Look on your ticket and see if it specifies the kind of radar that was used by the officer and if your city also has a similar ruling in regard to LIDAR. Here's the news article:

Caught by LIDAR? You could beat speeding ticket

Bernie Tafoya Reporting

COMMENT ON THIS STORY

CHICAGO (WBBM) -- If you happen to be caught speeding by Chicago police, chances are you could beat-the-rap just by showing up in court.

One of the kinds of devices being used by Chicago police to catch speeders has not been legally upheld in Illinois courts

Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown reports the city knows the laser-based LIDAR detectors have not been judged as admissible in Illinois, but it continues to use the devices.

LIDAR is an acronym for LIght Detection And Ranging. It uses light to measure distance and speed. Radar technology uses radio waves.

Some motorists who don’t know about the legal technicality plead guilty and get court-supervision when they could easily have had the traffic charge dropped.

The head of the Chicago police Traffic Section contends LIDAR devices are accurate and reliable.

One word of warning: Police radar devices still hold up in court. It’s the tickets with the LIDAR box checked that have the potential for being tossed.



Contents of this site are Copyright 2009 by WBBM.

 

[fighterjet gn]

guys , if you can afford a radar detector get 1 .

 

[TURBOPOWERED68]

Some of you guys are lucky I fought every speeding ticket and so far I am 3 to 4 guilty.
The cop walks in gives the same genetic testimony to the judge but just a deferent time and date and the judge says Guilty. In the 3 I was found guilty in the cop had about ten to fifteen cases, it’s the type of stuff you see in movies, in all 3 I was about the midway guy. And not only did he say the same thing he said it super fast that no one could make out what he was saying. We whir all sitting in the court room like WTF just happened.
The one ticket I beat was because the cop lost his notes and the cop told the judge to dismiss it. BUT the fking judge still made me miss 2 more days of work just in case the cop found the notes.
I haven’t gotten a ticket in 13 years I just keep with the flow now and I use the CB on the interstate which is way better then an R-detector.

 

[Flaco]

Don't get Mr. Ticket he is useless and a scam.

 

[tommynos]

Have any of you guys tried that GPS program that alerts you to speed traps. looks interesting. I was thinking of trying out phantom alert. anyone with personal experience in here?

phantom alert review

Anything that says Phantom is JUNK...I just cant see people running around looking for sped traps and then posting them in time for you to download them in that hour or so to catch them in time...Its a joke 100%..What gPS does do is allow you to know about speed cameras and red light cameras...The best on the market is the one I own,which does conect to the internet for updated areas added..
Amazon.com: Escort Passport 9500ix Radar/Laser Detector (Black): Electronics

Along with this I run the Blinder 45,its a 100% effective laser jammer,illegal in some states,but it works 100% of the time...no worries...Trust me:biggrin:
I also run the zR4 laser jammer along with a the Escort sr solo in my work van..

Here is some clips of the ZR4 and Blinder at work..100% effective!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwY0g3suGxs