Speeding ticket with my new IS
09-14-11, 11:52 PM
#16
Well in US, don't speed. For me, I go like less than +5 MPH (more like +2 or +3) and on the cruise control. If you’re faster than +5, higher chances of getting a ticket.
If they really wanted to be picky, could literally pull one over for +1 MPH – but very rarely happens. I know this because I have sat in to listen in on traffic court while on a class trip where a driver fought their ticket just for this.
In Canada it seems more lenient; typically drivers including myself and the cops normally go +10 km/h over the limit which is normal. It’s +15-20 km/h more then you are likely to get a ticket.
For all my years of driving I have a perfect record.
If they really wanted to be picky, could literally pull one over for +1 MPH – but very rarely happens. I know this because I have sat in to listen in on traffic court while on a class trip where a driver fought their ticket just for this.
In Canada it seems more lenient; typically drivers including myself and the cops normally go +10 km/h over the limit which is normal. It’s +15-20 km/h more then you are likely to get a ticket.
For all my years of driving I have a perfect record.
Last edited by Sango; 09-15-11 at 01:00 AM.
09-14-11, 11:57 PM
#17
Step 1) Don't do anything. Wait for the bail letter to come. On the letter you'll see an appearance date (about 21 days from ticket date). Call your court number (find it online) or write to the court asking for a one month extension to the appearance date. Some courts websites might even allow you to extend online with just a few clicks. They never ask for reasons, but if they do, just say you'll be out of town and need more time.
San Mateo County online request sample:
http://i38.tinypic.com/xdz4hf.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/e7hr1c.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/opqufm.jpg
Step 2) About 5 days before the court appearance date, fill this out and send it in WITH your bail money. This is a Request for Trial by Written Declaration, meaning you pled not guilty and would like to fight your ticket by mail
...................................................................................
gl
San Mateo County online request sample:
http://i38.tinypic.com/xdz4hf.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/e7hr1c.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/opqufm.jpg
Step 2) About 5 days before the court appearance date, fill this out and send it in WITH your bail money. This is a Request for Trial by Written Declaration, meaning you pled not guilty and would like to fight your ticket by mail
...................................................................................
glGood info
but he's in MA, they don't have trial by written declaration there lol
09-15-11, 12:26 AM
#19
Not sure if it is the same where you are, but here - once you get a ticket, your mailbox is spam full of letters from traffic court lawyers. Pick a few, call around and get some estimates and ask what they plan to do with the ticket. You will be paying the court fees (~$150) no matter how you decide to handle it, so might as well pay the extra $100-$200 for a lawyer to drop the ticket to a non-moving violation (improper equipment, etc.) or have it dismissed completely (PJC maybe?).
If you do hire a lawyer, just make sure that they aren't going to get the ticket speed lowered (sometimes they will have the ticket dropped from 10 over to 5 over, for example). The reason I say this is because you can have this done yourself by showing up to court and asking the DA to lower it (sometimes you don't even have to ask). No sense in wasting $$$ on a lawyer for something that you can do yourself.
If you do hire a lawyer, just make sure that they aren't going to get the ticket speed lowered (sometimes they will have the ticket dropped from 10 over to 5 over, for example). The reason I say this is because you can have this done yourself by showing up to court and asking the DA to lower it (sometimes you don't even have to ask). No sense in wasting $$$ on a lawyer for something that you can do yourself.
09-15-11, 12:58 AM
#21
I received a ticket tonight and I'm usually not a whiny person. However, this one ticket is ticking me off.
The thing that makes me mad is that I was on cruise control @ 60mph. Granted the zone limit is 50mph, but I have always heard that you should be safe going within 10mph of the speeding limit. Adding to it, I was the only one on the road at 11pm. The officer said I was going much faster than 60mph, however, he was only going to put 60mph on the ticket so I would get the minimal fine.
Should I fight this in court or accept the ticket? I paid all my tickets in the past because I did speed, but this one ticket I swear I was going 60 mph on the highway being the only car.
The thing that makes me mad is that I was on cruise control @ 60mph. Granted the zone limit is 50mph, but I have always heard that you should be safe going within 10mph of the speeding limit. Adding to it, I was the only one on the road at 11pm. The officer said I was going much faster than 60mph, however, he was only going to put 60mph on the ticket so I would get the minimal fine.
Should I fight this in court or accept the ticket? I paid all my tickets in the past because I did speed, but this one ticket I swear I was going 60 mph on the highway being the only car.
All the states are hurting now for $$ and tickets are an easy source of income for any state so be careful when speeding! Heard about a lot of seeimgly BS tickets lately, especially here in CA.
09-15-11, 04:47 AM
#22
60mph in a 50mph zone is over the speed limit. Like others have said, he could have cited you for 51mph or 55mph in a 50mph zone if he wanted to. If i were you, i'd just go to court, see if the cop shows up, if he does, admit you were speeding (your gonna lose if the cop shows up anyways) and ask for a reduced fine and traffic school/no points. Most judges will help you out
All the states are hurting now for $$ and tickets are an easy source of income for any state so be careful when speeding! Heard about a lot of seeimgly BS tickets lately, especially here in CA.
All the states are hurting now for $$ and tickets are an easy source of income for any state so be careful when speeding! Heard about a lot of seeimgly BS tickets lately, especially here in CA.
Here in Jersey,they have pedestrian crosswalk traps along with radar traps.$240 ticket.
Jersey also has a system where you can buy your ticket points away one time in I think 3 years.
For example 2 points is like $250 to remove.
I believe certain tickets like DWI or Reckless driving are exempt from point removal.
09-15-11, 07:11 AM
#23
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When I was being pulled over, the officer asked what I did for a living...probably thinking how I can afford this car when I look like I'm 18. I almost wanted to say "drug dealer" to be funny, but it won't be when I'm in jail, haha.
On another funny note, the court date scheduled is October 31st...I want to come in dressed as a pig. Anyone thinks this is a good idea? Just joking, haha.
I believe the officer wrote "71" where it says "Police Reference" meaning that was the speed he clocked me at. I'm just so mad that I was cruising at 60 but the radar read me at 71...that's unbelievable.
I was pulled over in RI and I know that you can only be pulled over if you speed 10mph+. That's why on the ticket it said I was going 60mph over 50mph and the officer said he was giving me the minimum fine. I read on a website that RI's law is not absolute and you can argue.
From http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/laws.html
"In Rhode Island, Texas, and Utah driving faster than the speed limit is prima facie evidence of unreasonable speed. One can argue in court that one was exceeding the speed limit but should not be convicted because the speed was safe (when they accept this argument, judges will likely want to see evidence beyond a defendant's claim that he was driving safely). These states are marked " P ".
This is from MIT!!! lol what the heck!
Thanks for all the comments and stories. Good luck to those of you who got tickets too!
On another funny note, the court date scheduled is October 31st...I want to come in dressed as a pig. Anyone thinks this is a good idea? Just joking, haha.
I believe the officer wrote "71" where it says "Police Reference" meaning that was the speed he clocked me at. I'm just so mad that I was cruising at 60 but the radar read me at 71...that's unbelievable.
I was pulled over in RI and I know that you can only be pulled over if you speed 10mph+. That's why on the ticket it said I was going 60mph over 50mph and the officer said he was giving me the minimum fine. I read on a website that RI's law is not absolute and you can argue.
From http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/laws.html
"In Rhode Island, Texas, and Utah driving faster than the speed limit is prima facie evidence of unreasonable speed. One can argue in court that one was exceeding the speed limit but should not be convicted because the speed was safe (when they accept this argument, judges will likely want to see evidence beyond a defendant's claim that he was driving safely). These states are marked " P ".
This is from MIT!!! lol what the heck!
Thanks for all the comments and stories. Good luck to those of you who got tickets too!
09-15-11, 07:30 AM
#24
I'd check your states laws. In NC for example there are no points for 9 over or less, so if I got a 9 over or less ticket I'd just pay the thing... no cost but the fine and no ramifications. (and why I usually set my cruise for 9 over)
Usually if you're ticketed here for 10-14 over you can just talk to the prosecutor, and he'll agree to change it to 9 over if you plead guilty, so same result of no penalty but the fine... insurance and license are untouched.
Only time you'd ever want or need to involve a lawyer or something is 15 or more over, since there's a mandatory 30 day license suspension for a conviction of that (and why I have my orange ring on the speedo set for 79, since that's 14 over on most highways here)
Your state might well be totally different though. Shouldn't take more than a little time on the net to find out though.
Usually if you're ticketed here for 10-14 over you can just talk to the prosecutor, and he'll agree to change it to 9 over if you plead guilty, so same result of no penalty but the fine... insurance and license are untouched.
Only time you'd ever want or need to involve a lawyer or something is 15 or more over, since there's a mandatory 30 day license suspension for a conviction of that (and why I have my orange ring on the speedo set for 79, since that's 14 over on most highways here)
Your state might well be totally different though. Shouldn't take more than a little time on the net to find out though.
09-15-11, 07:41 AM
#25
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I'd check your states laws. In NC for example there are no points for 9 over or less, so if I got a 9 over or less ticket I'd just pay the thing... no cost but the fine and no ramifications. (and why I usually set my cruise for 9 over)
Usually if you're ticketed here for 10-14 over you can just talk to the prosecutor, and he'll agree to change it to 9 over if you plead guilty, so same result of no penalty but the fine... insurance and license are untouched.
Only time you'd ever want or need to involve a lawyer or something is 15 or more over, since there's a mandatory 30 day license suspension for a conviction of that (and why I have my orange ring on the speedo set for 79, since that's 14 over on most highways here)
Your state might well be totally different though. Shouldn't take more than a little time on the net to find out though.
Usually if you're ticketed here for 10-14 over you can just talk to the prosecutor, and he'll agree to change it to 9 over if you plead guilty, so same result of no penalty but the fine... insurance and license are untouched.
Only time you'd ever want or need to involve a lawyer or something is 15 or more over, since there's a mandatory 30 day license suspension for a conviction of that (and why I have my orange ring on the speedo set for 79, since that's 14 over on most highways here)
Your state might well be totally different though. Shouldn't take more than a little time on the net to find out though.
I was pulled over in RI more than once, so yeah even at 10 you would get points on your insurance. I am not going to hire a lawyer, I meant fighting as in appearing in court myself.
09-15-11, 08:31 AM
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My brother had a ticket of $550 for speeding in a construction zone. However, he had it reduced to half and no points when he argued it in court.
09-15-11, 08:49 AM
#30
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, but do you have a radar detector? I've lived in Missouri, Virginia (the only state where they're illegal, that and DC), and now Maryland and the vast majority of cops still use Ka band radar. Very rarely I'll see a trooper on a highway shooting LIDAR, and then occasionally you'll have a stationed vehicle with a camera shooting LIDAR in construction zones.
I bought a $150 Beltronics V955 radar detector about 5 years ago after I got a speeding ticket, and I haven't gotten one since. I've also become a lot more careful, but the radar detector has saved me quite a few times - it's paid for itself 10 times over. For cops using Ka or K band radar, a radar detector will almost always (in my experience) give you more than enough warning to slow yourself down. On open highways, I've gotten warnings a half-mile away before. I know that some guns have instant-on capability, allowing the cop to turn it on just for a second to shoot a specific car and not leave it on permanently, but I personally have only encountered this a handful of times and even then, the radar bouncing off another car in front of my warned me in time.
LIDAR you're pretty much out of luck, a radar detector with LIDAR capability will only tell you when LIDAR's on you, and at that point you're had. The situation where this can still save you though is with stationed camera vehicles, where they typically shoot you twice back to back. In one instance, my radar detector went off "LASER" when I was hit the first time, and I was able to slow down immediately and avoid being ticketed.
There are other illegal options like jammers etc, but I'm sticking to the legal stuff.
So I would highly recommend looking into a radar detector. You can get a good Beltronics one that will do exactly what you need for $100-150. Anything more than that you're paying for increased range/sensitivity (something I've never found I needed) or features (like GPS or directional targeting) that you may or may not find you want.
I bought a $150 Beltronics V955 radar detector about 5 years ago after I got a speeding ticket, and I haven't gotten one since. I've also become a lot more careful, but the radar detector has saved me quite a few times - it's paid for itself 10 times over. For cops using Ka or K band radar, a radar detector will almost always (in my experience) give you more than enough warning to slow yourself down. On open highways, I've gotten warnings a half-mile away before. I know that some guns have instant-on capability, allowing the cop to turn it on just for a second to shoot a specific car and not leave it on permanently, but I personally have only encountered this a handful of times and even then, the radar bouncing off another car in front of my warned me in time.
LIDAR you're pretty much out of luck, a radar detector with LIDAR capability will only tell you when LIDAR's on you, and at that point you're had. The situation where this can still save you though is with stationed camera vehicles, where they typically shoot you twice back to back. In one instance, my radar detector went off "LASER" when I was hit the first time, and I was able to slow down immediately and avoid being ticketed.
There are other illegal options like jammers etc, but I'm sticking to the legal stuff.
So I would highly recommend looking into a radar detector. You can get a good Beltronics one that will do exactly what you need for $100-150. Anything more than that you're paying for increased range/sensitivity (something I've never found I needed) or features (like GPS or directional targeting) that you may or may not find you want.