pulled over by a ny trooper?

Question

I am 17 and I recently got pulled over becuase "my speed was not reasonable and prudent", i went around back of a plaza going a reasonable speed (no posted speed limit) and there was a new york trooper sitting facing toward the opposite way (radaring i suppose since he was facing a major highway) and i slowed down even even though i wasn't going that fast and i drove past him and he pulled me over and i got a ticket and what not. The ticket i got did not say i was going over a certain speed or anything, it just said "my speed was not reasonable and prudent". I'am pleading not guilty, should i fight the ticket out in court?

Answer 1

thats the dumbest ticket I've ever heard of. You should do more research and find out if thats legit. And if you go to court pull out some quotes from super troopers. Good luck.

Answer 2

If you fight the ticket you have to prove that your speed was reasonable and prudent. What was your speed? Take pictures of the area to show the judge since the judge may not be familiar with that area.

If you were going more then 20mph on a narrow alley/driveway around the back of the plaza, you will probably not succeed. However, if you plead not guilty and request a trial, there is always a chance that the trooper will not show up. In that case, you win by default and the charge is dropped.

I can't think of any reason why fighting this ticket would cause you unnecessary problems, so go for it and see what happens. If nothing else, it will give you a good look at the criminal justice system.

Answer 3

The police have the authority to issue a ticket like that if, in the officer's opinion, what you were doing was unsafe. Look at this example - the posted speed limit on a highway may be 55 mph, but in an ice storm, that would be suicidal, and you could take someone else out with you. If you were spotted, you'd get the ticket, and you'd deserve it. Your case may not be as extreme as this, but it's the same idea.

In my area, I have heard of traffic courts that will offer the opportunity to admit guilt early and take a reduced fine, before they start hearing the cases. I'm no lawyer or expert, but I'd recommend you take this option. It will probably be cheaper for you in the long run. Judges tend to accept the testimony of the troopers over offenders. The police are trained to observe the situation, to judge speeds, and to be effective witnesses. Odds are, your defense will be "I wasn't going that fast, and I didn't do anything wrong". If you were the judge, who would you believe?

Answer 4

Fight it in court.

You said you were at the back of a plaza. Were you on a public road or private property? I don't know about NY laws, but where I live, the Highway Traffic Act does not apply to private property.

How close did you get to the police car? I slow down when passing one because I don't want to hit a cop if he steps out suddenly. Driving slowly gives me more time to react.

Driving slowly can be dangerous if there are cars behind you because other drivers may get frustrated and try to pass when it is not safe. If no one was behind you, I don't see how a slow speed was not reasonable or prudent. When you go to court, you can ask the cop.

Answer 5

I once got a ticket which listed the offense as, I kid you not, "Failure to not operate vehicle in a safe fashion."

The bottom line is that if you contest the ticket and the cop shows up to testify, you will loose and possibly end up with a stiffer fine. If the cop doesn't show, it will likely fall to the Judge's mood. You might be able to get the fine reduced, you might not. If your only defense is that you thought you were driving at a reasonable and prudent speed, I think the chances of a judge taking your word over a cop's are fairly slim.

I would just pay the ticket...

Answer 6

Yes, I would go to court to fight it. If there was no posted speed limit sign, the general rule of thumb is in parking lots around 10-15 mph. If you were going over that, depending on the judge and what the trooper clocked you at, you may or may not be found guilty. Although, if you are lucky the trooper won't show up and you won't have to pay it.

Answer 7

i always fight a ticket, sometimes the cop doesnt even show up and the ticket gets thrown out

often the DA will be there and you will be able to plead guilty to a lesser violation that doesnt cost you any points on youre liscense.

going to the judge and saying you didnt do anything will only get the book thrown at you

so by the time you go in front of the judge you will hopefully be pleading guilty to a lesser charge

otherwise always plead not guilty

Answer 8

I have never heard of that. I think you should fight it in court. The worst thing to happen would be for you to pay the ticket and thats it. But that does not seem a reasonable ticket when other people are probably going much faster than you, but he still decided to pull you over although you presented no problem at all.

Answer 9

First of all, the good old days are over. NYS troopers are REQUIRED TO SHOW.
Second of all,you can feel free to fight in court but something tells me it won't get you anywhere, the County Sherriffs dept patrols in my stores parking lot and they issue tickets for the same thing all the time. Accident rates in the lot have dropped by 75% in 6 months.

Answer 10

You sound innocent as the driven snow, but what time of day was it? What were traffic conditions? What were road conditions? What were weather conditions? Plug those into the equation and then ask yourself, was I *really* driving at a reasonable and prudent speed.