I live California. I drove 70MPH in a 55MPH zone and got a speeding ticket. I was very upset because the officer wrote 74MPH on my ticket, and I am so sure I never exceeded 70. The officer told me that is what he got on his radar. Is there anything I can do about this? How do I reduce my fine? Will I lose my right of attending traffic school if I appear in court? I already recieved a court date from the mail. Please provide suggestions. This is my first ticket and thanks for your help.
2006-08-14 10:59:31 · 18 answers · asked by zephyrs 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Go to this website. (below). Look for the section dealing with California Vehicle Codes. Look at the website very carefully. I think it may have what you need, but again, you may want to consult a real lawyer.
2006-08-14 11:08:39 · answer #1 · answered by rrticulate1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Traffic matter simplified:
Thousands of people that get speeding tickets didn't really know how fast they were going at that very moment the police clocked them. And even if you were looking at your speedometer at the time, you don't know if your speedometer is calibrated right on the button or not.
To the traffic court judge it doesn't matter - and it will not be an issue in court - whether you were going 74 or70 or 67. The only thing that will matter is that the speed limit was 55 and you were going over that limit. Your fine when you go to court is not going to be figured as a certain dollar amount per mile per hour. It will only be: Were you over 55 or not? That's pretty much the deciding factor. Unless you can argue convincingly that you were within the 55 limit, you should consider the driving school.
You will not be able to put on a defense or argue your case first, then if you lose, choose driving school. You have to choose school at the front end, or not at all. The judge will explain that. You don't lose your right to attend traffic school just by showing up for court. You lose your right if you not only show up, but you go forward with trying to defend yourself by offering an excuse to the court in hopes for dismissal.
I hope this sheds a little light on the whole thing. Everyone gets a ticket sometime in their life. Don't let it wear you down.
2006-08-14 18:37:14 · answer #2 · answered by nothing 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
All police radar scanners are known to have a variance of up to seven miles per hour, however the officers are also required to show you on the readout what the read speed was at your request. The dispute of the speed may hold up in court but it' not worth it unless it makes your fine drop significantly because it will come down to the officers word against yours....now who's the court gonna believe?
2006-08-21 22:25:25 · answer #3 · answered by milk_white_eye 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dispute the ticket. Then if the officer shows up ask the judge if he will take it under advisement. Problem is traffic judges don't care about proof, only getting money from you. In many cases their retirement fund is derived from traffic fines. You may get the ticket reduced but you still have to pay a fine.
Our legal system isn't about justice, right and wrong, it's about power and money. Forget all this baloney about judges being impartial, they are very very very partial in favor of the government. Judges like the one that said Bush's illegal wire tap program is unconstitutional are one in a million today.
2006-08-22 03:32:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Next time this is what you do:
When you get pulled over you are now the dumbest person on the planet, you don`t know why you are pulled over, you don`t know what speed you were going, and you don`t know what the speed limit is. The officers objective is to get you to admit guilt, If you think you were driving 70 then you were paying attention to your speed. You can also ask to see the radar and they will say no then you go to court and say you just wanted to see if the machine was in the car.
2006-08-14 18:14:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Subpoena the radar record.
Prob says 74 though. Your Speedometer isnt a NBS calibrated item.
(National Bureau of Standards)
2006-08-14 18:07:15 · answer #6 · answered by Kirk M 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My grandfather once got his speeding ticket invalidated by proving that the cops didn't know how to work his radar. I don't think my grandfather was right though. He just bothered the judge about it enough that the judge wanted to get rid of him.
2006-08-14 18:05:23 · answer #7 · answered by maguire1202 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Insist that the police give evidence when they last calibrated their radar. They have to be calibrated regularly otherwise, the evidence is not valid in court. You can be almost sure that they do not calibrate according to the manufacturer's specifications.
2006-08-21 05:26:05 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Attend traffic school! You ADMIT you were speeding. This will be the focus if you go to court.
2006-08-21 13:20:54 · answer #9 · answered by friojc 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to court chances are your cop might not show up. If he doesn't ask the court to dismiss the charges. I did that once and it worked. Good luck
2006-08-19 22:22:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋