i3urton

ok so heres what happen i was driving to work and i was going 64 in a 35 mph zone...ok my bad..but the thing is my speedometer wasnt even orange which means i couldnt have been going 60mph ...should i fight this in court?

chwang1973

Did you requested to look @ MPH when the person clocked you, if not than is your word against the person.

Good luck

mmarshall

What kind of wheels and tires do you have on your car? Larger-than-stock wheel/tire combinations, if they are large enough, can significantly affect speedometer/odometer readings and and make them read artificially low, lulling you into thinking you are going slower than you actually are.

I have cautioned about this on CL many times.

Batmobile

iTrader: (2)

hm... i don't know how your planning to prove that in court... i would plead not guilty show up early for court try to find the officer that gave you that ticket and ask for a plea bargain... pay the bill but no points.

mmarshall

I agree. if you choose to go to court, ask the prosecutor or the police officer present there to produce evidence/documentation that the radar or laser unit used was state-legal, recently calibrated to produce accurate readouts, and that the officer had sufficient training to use it correctly. Judges will sometimes toss out speeding tickets if the state can't prove the competency of its equipment or police training.

And............if the state does prove it, and you didn't have oversize wheels/tires screwing up the speedometer, and you WERE, in fact, guilty of speeding, then just be quiet, pay the fine, be more careful about speed from now on, and learn from the experience. Even if you were doing only 55 in a 35-zone instead of 60, in some states, that is still considered reckless driving (20 MPH over the posted limit)......I'm not sure what the threshold is in CA.

llamaboiz

err... why would your speedo turn orange? UNLESS you specificly set it to do so.

DJ TANTRA

That's crazy...I never knew that...good to know!

tuan92129

I thought the new laws for CA is that 20 miles/hour over speed limit = felony?

mmarshall

Yes. It's just simple geometry and physics from high school. The larger the wheel-tire diameter, the slower it rolls at any given road speed, and the fewer wheel revolutions it makes. Modern speedometers don't use the old cables anymore that were hooked to the transmission gears...most cars today use wheel sensors instead.

If the wheel/tire size is close to stock, or maybe just an inch or so larger, you won't have much of a problem, but start putting 20's, 21's, etc..... on a car designed for 17's or 18's and your speedometer will definitely read low.

mmarshall

CA is not alone. Many states consider 20 over to be reckless driving...as does mine (VA). However, reckless driving may or may not be considered a felony.....again, it depends on the specific state law.

CAIFAN_64

iTrader: (1)

Yeah I was gonna ask that........ did you set your speedo to turn orange at 60 mph??? because if not it will come out at 78-80 mph, thats how is set from factory. And also they might ask you for proofs that you had set your speedo at 60mph

ReLexin

since you were nearly doubling the speed limit its going to be hard to get it totally wiped away.... I have a friend that thinks he can speed around and not be caught, he drives a red BMW pretty stuiped kid. Haha but neways when he goes and fights a ticket like this ones serverity they usually cut it in half but they don't through it out totally. Do you know any one in law enforcement? If you do ask them to help you out. Any violations i get i just talk to my girlfriends father and bamm its gone.

FiveOhNine

Another example of how a state can shamelessly create revenue, nothing more. I mean seriously, does anyone think that driving 75mph in a 55 zone is tantamount to DUI?

i3urton

i have my speed set at 60 and my rpm set at 4800...doesnt the gun need to be calibrated every 3 months??? or its not accurate???

FiveOhNine

Unfortunately, most PDs do calibrate regularly because that is a fairly common defense. It is unlikely that will hold any water in court unless you were ticketed by an idiot. Find out what the charge is; if it's more serious than a speeding ticket (i.e. reckless), than get yourself a lawyer, if not, just pay it.