Any good resources for fighting speeding tickets? |
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Just as my first speeding ticket ever in the 22+ years of driving is falling off my record this month, I received a second speeding ticket coming into town last night. The circumstances to the case are a bit shaky, so I’m thinking about fighting this ticket. The first one was in Jackpot, Nevada and I didn’t feel I could defend that one successfully. The ticket cost is $142.
Readers who have personal experiences with fighting speeding tickets have any resources or advice to share? I’ve been poking around different search engine queries reading through what’s out there and would appreciate any firsthand experiences.
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What are the circumstances, if you don’t mind my asking?
Comment by Nathan Weinberg — July 18, 2007 @ 6:36 pm PST
Nope, I don’t mind.
From highway to outskirts of town speed limit changes from 50 to 35 just before a light (which was green). I was slowing down as I’ve done hundreds of times over the years when I saw the cruiser lights come on and when I looked at the speedometer it wasn’t the speed the officer told me I was traveling.
The officer was a nice about the situation, but claimed I was going 51 in the 35 zone and didn’t show me the radar and didn’t want to talk much about there being any possible mistake. The exchange was all friendly and professional but I was left feeling like something wasn’t right. I stopped on the side of the road around 100 yards from the speed limit change sign. He felt he was “doing me a favor” by reducing the ticket to 5 over which was still $142.
Comment by TDavid — July 18, 2007 @ 7:37 pm PST
This should be easy. At 51 miles per hour, you would be traveling at a rate of 25 yards per SECOND. You would have had to have passed the speed limit sign, been flagged by the cop, pulled over and stopped in just four seconds. It’s physically impossible. Either you were going slower than he said, or he flagged you before the speed limit changed. Either way, you should be off the hook.
Comment by Nathan Weinberg — July 18, 2007 @ 11:08 pm PST
I was under the impression that they had to show you the radar if you asked. I’m not positive, but that might be worth something. Half the time, you fight it and no one shows up anyway, so you’ve got better than a 50% shot.
Comment by Davis Freeberg — July 18, 2007 @ 11:28 pm PST
What was the speed limit? How fast were you going? Was it reasonable and prudent? Was there a reason for speeding (such as truck coming up behind you very quickly)that makes sense?
Other than the officer not showing up (yeah, it happens) your questions regarding his training on the use of the radar gun, his observations, when the device was last calibrated, etc. are really your only hope. I have seen it done but it is rare.
Comment by tjtooth — July 19, 2007 @ 12:04 pm PST
I bet you forgot to take pics with your camera phone? I recently had someone hit my car while it was parked in a parking lot. I made sure to take lots of pics so there was no chance of a “misunderstanding” later.
Comment by FranciscoIV — July 19, 2007 @ 12:56 pm PST
tjtooth - see comment #2.
Davis - that’s the thinking at the moment, but I thought there were some services that you paid if they couldn’t get the ticket lowered or thrown out. Those that I’ve found/seen so far aren’t available in Washington state.
I don’t have a cameraphone, FranciscoIV, but I can easily take pictures of the scene with the same conditions which I’ve read should be acceptable for traffic court, should I choose to go.
Comment by TDavid — July 19, 2007 @ 1:20 pm PST