ssmoked

Hey all,

I was stopped today doing 90 at 65 in my car and the fine is $208.50 (is this the right amount in FL?). This is my first ticket and the FHP said he did not want to cut me a break since a radar detector was in use. Could I please get some opinion on what I should do (fight it, lawyer to reduce the fee, pay it). The thing is, I know I was going a little too fast off I95 but he said I was going 90 and he didn't show me his radar gun. He was traveling the other direction, was he just guessing how fast I was going or could he have just clocked my speed?


BTW what does this mean?
On the ticket it says "Note: if your lisense, registration, tag, insurance was valid at the time of the citation was issued. You may present it within (30) days to clerk of court and the Charge will be dismissed. A fee may be assessed."


I know that there are alot of officers on this site, could you kindly please assist me in my best decision
Thanks for all your help!!!

ssmoked

Hey all,

I was stopped today doing 90 at 65 in my car and the fine is $208.50 (is this the right amount in FL?). This is my first ticket and the FHP said he did not want to cut me a break since a radar detector was in use. Could I please get some opinion on what I should do (fight it, lawyer to reduce the fee, pay it). The thing is, I know I was going a little too fast off I95 but he said I was going 90 and he didn't show me his radar gun. He was traveling the other direction, was he just guessing how fast I was going or could he have just clocked my speed?


BTW what does this mean?
On the ticket it says "Note: if your lisense, registration, tag, insurance was valid at the time of the citation was issued. You may present it within (30) days to clerk of court and the Charge will be dismissed. A fee may be assessed."


I know that there are alot of officers on this site, could you kindly please assist me in my best decision
Thanks for all your help!!!

ssmoked

Hey all,

I was stopped today doing 90 at 65 in my car and the fine is $208.50 (is this the right amount in FL?). This is my first ticket and the FHP said he did not want to cut me a break since a radar detector was in use. Could I please get some opinion on what I should do (fight it, lawyer to reduce the fee, pay it). The thing is, I know I was going a little too fast off I95 but he said I was going 90 and he didn't show me his radar gun. He was traveling the other direction, was he just guessing how fast I was going or could he have just clocked my speed?


BTW what does this mean?
On the ticket it says "Note: if your lisense, registration, tag, insurance was valid at the time of the citation was issued. You may present it within (30) days to clerk of court and the Charge will be dismissed. A fee may be assessed."


I know that there are alot of officers on this site, could you kindly please assist me in my best decision
Thanks for all your help!!!

ssmoked

Hey all,

I was stopped today doing 90 at 65 in my car and the fine is $208.50 (is this the right amount in FL?). This is my first ticket and the FHP said he did not want to cut me a break since a radar detector was in use. Could I please get some opinion on what I should do (fight it, lawyer to reduce the fee, pay it). The thing is, I know I was going a little too fast off I95 but he said I was going 90 and he didn't show me his radar gun. He was traveling the other direction, was he just guessing how fast I was going or could he have just clocked my speed?


BTW what does this mean?
On the ticket it says "Note: if your lisense, registration, tag, insurance was valid at the time of the citation was issued. You may present it within (30) days to clerk of court and the Charge will be dismissed. A fee may be assessed."


I know that there are alot of officers on this site, could you kindly please assist me in my best decision
Thanks for all your help!!!

GrdnRxR

That's the way the radar works. Either he's standing still and measures the speed or as in your case it shows the speed of vehicles coming at him. You shouldn't have been going so fast. Just pay or ask for traffic school.. I'm retired now, but never lost a radar ticket, come to think of it I don't think I ever lost in traffic court....................

ssmoked

Hey all,

I was stopped today doing 90 at 65 in my car and the fine is $208.50 (is this the right amount in FL?). This is my first ticket and the FHP said he did not want to cut me a break since a radar detector was in use. Could I please get some opinion on what I should do (fight it, lawyer to reduce the fee, pay it). The thing is, I know I was going a little too fast off I95 but he said I was going 90 and he didn't show me his radar gun. He was traveling the other direction, was he just guessing how fast I was going or could he have just clocked my speed?


BTW what does this mean?
On the ticket it says "Note: if your lisense, registration, tag, insurance was valid at the time of the citation was issued. You may present it within (30) days to clerk of court and the Charge will be dismissed. A fee may be assessed."


I know that there are alot of officers on this site, could you kindly please assist me in my best decision
Thanks for all your help!!!

Slooooooow

iTrader: (1)

If you decide to fight your ticket there is some advice on that site.

kilo6_one

iTrader: (2)

i just pay my speeding tickets, i dont have the time or patience to go stand around at the traffic court over 200.00. My last ticket was 278.00 i paid it, took traffic school and moved on with my life. Speeding is speeding, be it 1 mile over the limit or 20 miles an hour over the limit, if i know i was speeding ill cop to it and man up and pay. If its questionable then ill worry about it. but i would say 208.50 is not bad......

however since he cited you for a specific speed but was headed in the oposite direction i would take it to court and ask him to varify how he was able to clock/radar or pace you going the other direction. It is possible since many of the HP guys use Hawkrader which is front and back looking as well as lasers..... but i would want to know.

contest it. being a former police officer the last thing you want to do is hold roadside court and argue about it, just take the ticket and go to traffic court. make the officer accountable for why he wrote it and how he deduced you were doing 90mph.

the notation about the license and reg being valid is this: some people when stopped dont have it on them, they get a citation for not driving with "proof" which is different then driving without...... that happened to me, i forgot my license once and got a ticket for driving without a license and proof of insurance since i keep my insurance card with my wallet, took it to the court showed proof it was instated and valid at the time of the ticket and the ticket was dismissed.

MattyL147

Well, I was in a similar...but worse situtation a few weeks back. It was 4:45 in the morning and I was on my way home from work on I-95. I got pulled over by a officer (dept. doesn't need to be disclosed). He said I was doing 120 in a 55...which was complete bull. I have an Escort 8500 mind you, but he said he paced me, even wrote paced on the ticket. There is no way on this earth I was doing 120; I'll admit I was speeding (between 95-100), but def not 120. Anyways, the ticket was $307, but like I do with every other ticket, I just gave it to an attorney. So my advice would be to give it to an attorney; they seem to do the trick. Good luck!

PNice972

iTrader: (6)

Just pay it, take it as a lesson learned and move on.

IS250 4 Me

There is usually a fixed dollar amount for the ticket, and a charge for every MPH you were over the speed limit. You can call the phone number on the back of the ticket to get info on how it was calculated. Beware of hidden charges if you go to court (court fees, etc.).

The note on the ticket simply means that if you were unable to present insurance or valid tags at the time of the ticket, but you did have valid insurance and tags, then you can present the evidence to the clerk of court to get those charges dismissed.

Were you able to present valids tags and insurance?

I would fight the ticket. I've averaged 2 speeding tickets per year since I was 15 years old, and have always had a clean driving record. When I lived in Louisiana, I would simply show up on the court date to find a courtroom full of other traffic police victims. They didn't have time to hear all of our cases, and would dismiss mine based on alphabetical order because it took too long to get to it (my last name begins with an "S").

In Texas, they have deferred adjudification, which basically means that I pay some money for the ticket, but it doesn't go against my record if I'm a clean citizen for 6 months after the court date (no more tickets in that time). They also have the traffic school option to keep your record clean. I'm sure Florida has this also.

Good luck!

ssmoked

What does ask for traffic school mean? does that reduce the ticket?

j|michael

Yes many police cars are equipped with radar guns that are able to calculate your speed and deduct the speed that they are traveling, thus accurately clocking your speed. As long as his radar was calibrated and he has all current paperwork to back that up it will stand up in court. It is also not required that they show you the radar gun, even if asked.

as for the note, my guess is that it is in regards to a ticket recieved for paperwork, or other things that can be proven that you were wrongly cited. It in no way affects a speeding ticket.

In my opinion, it is always best to take a ticket to court, even if you decide to plead guilty. There is a chance that 1) the officer won't show, 2) his radar gun wasn't properly calibrated, or 3) the judge will give you a fairly large break for your clean record. You don't need a lawyer to take it to court, so unless you think you have a decent chance at getting the whole thing dropped I would save the money.

This is all advise based off my personal experience. I am not a officer.

ssmoked

what are the chances that i will win? cost anything if i lose?

GrdnRxR

Contact the court, a phone number should be on the back of the citation. Inquire if you can go to traffic school. You have to pay, but the citation does not go on your record. Keep in mind every jurisdiction is different, some will have it, some won't. Some may not have it for speeding tickets. I'd suggest you contact the court and find out your options