I need your opinion on a Ticket that I got today.?

Question

Today I was driving to class and i was going down a road with a curve on it, now honestly I was going 40 in a 30 so I was speeding. Well when I came around the curve there was a motocycle cop with his lights on standing there (without a radar might I add) and he pointed at me to pull over. Well I pulled over and he walked up to me and in a very rude manor said "I need your drivers liscence" He didn't ask me for my insurance or anything else, he walked away came back, handed me my ticket and liscence and walked off. It said on the ticket that I was going 48 in a 30. I know for a fact that I wasn't. Is there a way I can get the ticket thrown out for the officer not following proper procedure?

Answer 1

If you were in fact, not going as fast as you were cited for, you can probably beat the ticket in court. If the officer didn't have a radar, he would have had to get his info from someone else who did. If he had a radar back-up he can prove it. If not he probably assumes that, like most people, you will pay the ticket because it's the easiest thing to do and you figure you can't beat it anyway. Very few people appear in court to contest tickets but many who do win because the patrolman who issues the tickets did not appear at the hearing. From what I have read, about 50% of the tickets issued would be dropped if people would take the time and money to contest them. If you feel strongly enough about it, see the judge. Take any witnesses with you to back up your story. Good luck.

Answer 2

Off the top of my head, I can think of 3 ways you could have been clocked at 48 without the office that pulled you over even having a radar gun.
1. He is working with an AIRCRAFT that is clocking speeders and relaying information to him.
2. He is working with another office on the ground behind where you were stopped.
3. He is monitoring speed detection devices you passed ahead of the curve.

I agree that you did NOT give the whole story. No officer anywhere hands you a ticket without having you SIGN the ticket.

sissyd said he heard 50% of tickets would be dismissed if people bothered to contest them. I bet he heard from a lawyer that specializes in traffic court. AKA, someone that make money convincing people to fight tickets.

Answer 3

I doubt it.

First the police officer doesn’t have to ask to see your license, registration and proof of insurance. However, if he didn’t then he isn’t following the department guidelines (not regulations only guides). You have a better chance of catching him writing out the ticket wrong. Check for the date, your license number, and the little details, sometimes you can get off on a technicality.

I don’t know why he was so grumpy; maybe he got up on the wrong side of the bed and didn’t have his coffee yet. He bumped your speed up over 15 miles and hour so he could get a bigger fine. If you were actually going that fast or not is a question that you can’t prove, unless you had a witness either in your car or watching you beside the road. The court is going to assume you are lying so I doubt you can refute the speed.

Just because he didn’t have a radar gun doesn’t mean he can’t determine your speed. He couldn’t use the VASCAR system (the old system of matching your speed), but he may have had another cop waiting in ambush with the radar gun and that first cop signaled the second cop who pulled you over. He could also say that he estimated your speed by observing how fast you passed the marked signs on the roadside. If he uses that then his case is pretty weak.

Is your speedometer off? How do you know it is or isn’t. If you can find a repair shop that could check it then you can have them run a test. The results of that test can be brought up in your defense, but you have to submit any defense evidence to the prosecution before the trial starts, and not on the court date (I made that mistake once and almost lost the case). If your speedometer is off by as little as 5 mph then you have grounds for getting a much lighter fine or maybe even getting off. But, you need that proof and it has to be done by a certified repair shop.

It depends on how much damage this ticket will do to your insurance and your driving record if you want to spend money on a defense attorney. If you inform your insurance company of the ticket before a decision is made then they may not jump your rates up, but if it is one of a pattern of tickets then you are in trouble. I have seen lawyers go to traffic court on speeding tickets and I saw one lawyer get the driver off on a the minor issue of if the AC was on or not. The current drain from the patrol car’s AC can throw off the radar. Of course motorcycles don’t have an AC unit, but you can ask when he last had that radar calibrated.

Many districts have the police officers come in on their own time off to testify in court, and not all of them can make it. So there is a minor (very minor) chance he won’t show up for court, and if you are there and he is not then you could get off on that, but I wouldn’t count on it happening.

I wish you luck with the case. The police officer does sound a little strange since radar detectors are the standard now days, but something else could be going on.

Answer 4

Just what "proper procedure" did the officer not follow? From your side of the story - and I'm 100% sure you're not telling us everything - it sounds like he was the second man in a two-man speeding detection unit. You probobly passed the other cop with the RADAR unit and didn't see him, and when you got to the motorcycle cop he motioned you over.

The cop also isn't required to ask you for anything but your license, although it's a good idea to do it anyway.

So again, just what "proper procedure" did the officer violate? (It's actually a moot question, because unless he broke a LAW and not "procedure," you're screwed.)

Oh, and the officer talking to you "in a very rude manner" is not a defense, either.

Answer 5

I'm pretty sure he knows what proper procedure is. He is not obligated to be holding a radar gun. Lots of states use radar at locations remote from the cop. My state even uses aircraft to check your speed and radios down to a cop on the ground.

Answer 6

In Maryland when you're stopped like that, it means you were nailed further back. Is there any way you could have been going 48 earlier. I also have a lead foot on occasion. If you know you were doing 40 the whole time, I would certainly throw myself at the court's mercy.

Answer 7

The officer is going to have to establish a basis for the "48"

You are going to have to cross-examine him and show that he did not have the material means (i.e., no radar gun) to establish 48, nor did he follow you (to time you with his speedometer) and it is IMPOSSIBLE for someone to "eyeball" 48 mph.

That being said, if you say "I was going 40, not 48," the Judge will lsay "Fine! you are guilty of speeding - 40 in a 30."

AND - your proof is more than just you saying "Aw, come on! That's impossible!"

Answer 8

You admitted you were speeding so just go in front of the magistarte and see if they will reduce the amount of points you get. You will still have to pay the fine though. When your wrong, you are wrong. It takes more of a person just to admit to something if they have done wrong than it does to cover the lie up. Dont speed, especially around bends.

Answer 9

Well, just because he already has someone pulled over doesn't mean his radar is turned off. I've heard this happen numerous times. Good luck on that one.

Answer 10

Their was a radar before you got to the cop or a helo up in the air grabin your speed.
These cops are stupid and will set up a drivin' sting to give tickets to look good. You can't win, Rodney King didn't.