$125 Speeding Ticket for driving 5 miles over posted limit!!!!?

Question

On Saturday morning 10/6/07, I received a $125 speeding ticket for (supposedly) driving 5 miles above the posted limit!!!! The ticket says the limit is 50mph and that my actual speed was 55 mph. (On CT State Route 63, between Naugatuck and Bethany; clear sunny conditions).
My understanding is that drivers generally have 5 mile "wiggle room" around posted limits. If this is true, how is fining me legal?
Needless to say, I am NOT paying this ticket. I am going to mail it back with the "Not Guilty" box checked off.
However, I am very upset about this. I have been driving for almost 15 years and have NEVER received a speeding ticket!!
I assume I will have to appear in court. A co-worker told me that I have no concrete defense because technically I WAS speeding (WTF??!!!).
In court, when standing before the judge, I'm going to have to defend myself with something more substantial than "Because, your honor, it's ridiculous!!" HELP!!

First, and foremost, I know a lot better than to be anything than less than cordial with an officer of the law, thank you.
Secondly, at one point did I admit to speeding? What part of "supposedly" do you not understand?...
Those of you who gave me real, true-to-life answers (and funny comments!!), thank you!! YOU epitomize what Yahoo Answers is all about!! Cheers!!

Answer 1

In Texas
the most common defense put up by defense attorneys here (that are successful in such cases) hinges around the date that the radar equipment was last "certified" !! This has to be done on a regular basis (don't have any idea in the world what that statute is in CT ) And, if the equipment used to clock your speed is "out of certification"--and many that are in use are--- the readings that it was giving on that day can not been held as reliable --- and. therefore can not be held as "evidence" of ANYTHING !!!

Just a thought for you !!
Sorry that this happened -- some cops are SO gung-ho that they'd have a tendency to arrest themselves if they thought for a second that they could get out of paying the fine !!!

Answer 2

5 Miles Over Speed Limit Ticket

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

Its the cops discretion.

too bad for you - I am sure the discretion has worked in your benefit many times over the last 15 years. C'est la vie.

Unlike a preovious poster said, you will not be able to make this an "all day affair"

Seriously, your mostr likely chance is if th cop doesn't show u, or if he testifies by rote and remembers the wrong case (happened to me once, but it was not a speeding case).

Other then that, you better take more then 125 to court if CT is like CA becaus ethere will be various other fees tacked on.

In CA, the amount you pay in fees could be like 80% or more of the fine. So you might want to check into that!

Also, be prepared to do what it takes to keep this from affecting your insurance liek drivers school if available, because otherwise youwill be paying some more every year for a while!

Answer 5

If the ticket says you were 5 miles over the limit, the TRUTH is usually that you were 15-20 miles over. Cops do this so that you will ONLY get a fine, not arrested or lose your license for a far more serious violation. By the way, is this your FIRST offense? When they call in your license, they do a check to see if you have a prior offense on record. If so, the officer checks a MUCH HIGHER FINE, because you had previously broken the same law.

Answer 6

You could defend yourself, but I'd advise against it. The judge will more than likely listen to a practicing attorney and not the defendant themselves. You could ask for the radar to be calibrated, your speedometer checked, but at 20 miles over the limit, it will likely not work. In North Carolina, the cops have a saying: "15 your fine, 16 your mine"...you may lose your license for this infraction since it was so fast. Ultimately the best defense is getting a good lawyer, but he may only be able to reduce it to 9 over the speed limit. You'll still have to pay the fine, and you'll get points on your license, but your insurance will not go up. It is very VERY difficult to disprove an officer's radar. "Keeping up with the flow of traffic" never works. The cop will almost always pull over the last car in a speeding group simply because it's easier to catch the perp. Best thing to do is not speed!

Answer 7

As far as "wiggle room", yea, there is some. I heard the new WI state patrol motto is "4 over you're fine, 5 over you're mine". Wiggle room can get you in trouble. You try to go 5 over, but your speedometer is 4 off, and you lean over to tune the radio add another 2mph, , and suddenly 5 over is 11 over. Add a new set of tires, and it can go up more.

Before you go through all that trouble... are you sure you were only doing 5 over, or was the officer giving you a break by only writing 5 over when you were in fact going faster?

Pretty much every officer I work with, or have ever known, frequently reduces tickets on the road. We don't always agree with the fines either, so this is a way to enforce the laws without taking a weeks pay from some people.

You may have been flustered when you were stopped and may have not picked up on everything that was going on. Call the officer, and ask what your actual speed was, and why he wrote you 5 over. It may save you some embarassement!

Answer 8

This seems pretty ridiculous to me. However, in most states, exceeding the speed limit is prima facie evidence of illegal behavior, so you don't have any legal defense.

The 5 mph wiggle room is not a law, it's just an informal policy used by most police departments to account for inaccurate radar and such.

You can go to court if you want, but I don't know if you'll get anywhere.

Answer 9

Were you doing 5 MPH over the limit?

If so, you're guilty, whether you think the cop who wrote the ticket is a jerk or not.

Cops historically have given some wriggle room for a variety of reasons. But there's nothing in the law that says they have to. Also, there's a growing attitude that there should be little or no wriggle room, as it gets abused.

Also, a lot of cops use "less than 5 miles" as the wriggle room. 4 over - no ticket. 5 over and you get ticketed.

Pay the fine.

Answer 10

it sounds like a rookie got you. No veteran cop would write a ticket for just 5mph over. If it was a rookie, then make a big deal about that.


here is a few tips

demand a trial
dont waive your right to a speedy trial - in ohio you have to be tried and convicted w/ in 30 days. Most Courts Cannot get it done in 30 days.
see if the cop got you with radar or laser or estimated your speed.
plead not guilty and then ask to speak to the prosecuting attorney.
you will get a chance to speak to the prosecutor just before trial, and explain to him that this ticket is totally bogus
explain to him that you will draw this out into an all day trial if needed, and will go public. Most likely the prosecutor will drop the case, because he will think its stupid to waste his time on a 5 mph over case, when he can go after real crimminals.
write a letter to the editor, and file a complaint against the officer, this will put political and departmental pressure on him
Never ever admit guilt, you were doing the speed limit.
Most radars are off 2-3 MPH
Stand up for your rights!!!!