I got pulled over in Mass for supposedly going 75 on a 65, will I lose the court case?

Question

I was coming home going a little over 70 in the middle lane and got pulled over by a cop in the right lane, he turned on his lights before i even went by him. however on the citation it said that i had passed him. also i asked the officer how fast i was going and he said he didnt recall and told me to look at the citation later. i did and he had checked off radar and estimated. how do i know he didnt just bump it up to 75 to make it $100 fine? any tips on how to win this? by the way im 17, so will i lose my license?

also the officer told me he was only going 45 mph, so do you think he just assumed i was speeding?

Answer 1

Where was the fire you were going to?
You are 17, an inexperienced driver, and speeding? Your license should be taken away! Do you know the majority of accidents are caused by teens and the elderly? SLOW DOWN!
Just FYI, I am a Granny but not a senior!

Answer 2

Just fyi, many jurisdictions have radar that shoots both in front and behind the officer. Some of my buddies (and I have done it too) will actually park on the side of the road, turn the radar to face behind and get you that way. Most people think that when the vehicle is in front of you, the officer hasn't zapped you yet. My best advice coming from an officer that has been ticketed, if you go to court on it, you can plead no contest. This means you are not denying it, but you would like to explain the situation. Many judges will decrease the fines if you take the time (and dress appropriately) to go to court. If you have time before the case, take a defensive drivers course. You can do a search for traffic schools online. Classes are usually an 8 hour day if you go to one offline and you can get up to 5 good points on your driving record. In our state, you only get the good points if you go voluntarily. You can only do this one time. If the judge orders it in the sentencing, then you won't get the good points.
When dealing with a ticket, the fine is not the problem, it's the negative points on your driving record that will get you. The DMV can suspend or revoke your license if you have too many negative points.

On a more serious note, the month of November brought 12 teen deaths in 8 car accidents in our area. That is a HUGE number. 8 schools, 12 families and lots of friends mourned the death of these children just last month. Every single accident showed speed being a cause. Some of them, the driver was only wounded but will now face manslaughter charges, civil suits in the millions (thanks to insurance) and guilt. It is winter, you are in a cold area with lots of ice and snow. Before you speed, decide if you are willing to risk your life, or someone else's because you needed to get somewhere 5-10 mph quicker. Who will it devastate and can you live with the guilt if you kill someone's child or yourself over 5mph? At that point that last thing you are going to wonder is whether or not your license is gonna be taken, but you are the only one that can face the mirror with that one.

Answer 3

If you live in a big city, get a traffic lawyer (costs about $40) and he will most likely get your case dismissed. You will likely get a bunch of junk mail soon about Drivers Ed and lawyers. Choose one of the popular lawyers.

What they do (I think) is they show up to the court hearing hoping that the cop doesn't show up. If the cop isn't there, the case will be dismissed. If the cop is there, the lawyer reschedules the court date (you're allowed to reschedule up to 3 times), hoping that eventually the cop will give up and not show. All you have to do is show up to court. Your lawyer handles everything else.

If the case is dismissed, the ticket doesn't show up on your record.


If you haven't had a ticket in the previous year (12 months), you're allowed to take Defensive Driving instead of paying for the ticket, which makes the ticket disappear from your record. Defensive Driving costs like $20. All you have to do is sit through 6 hours, and pass a really easy multiple choice test.

The worst case scenario is you lose, and you pay for the ticket and the lawyer, and you get a ticket on your driving record (which your insurance company will see). You shouldn't lose your license over this.

Oh yea, I said "big city" because in big cities, the cops usually never show up to traffic court. The judges are also really busy so they will not waste time persuing a speeding ticket if you have a lawyer. And traffic lawyers in big cities are plentiful and cheap. If you live in a small podunk city, then I don't know.

Answer 4

honey, sorry, i don't think you will win the case
you said you were going a little over 70, if you say that in court, that's all they need, they don't care if it was 70, 71,72,73, etc.,and that's becuse he was using the radar, and they can not bump the radar any higher, it can not be tampered with. He cold however have lied in the first place, they don't have to show you the reading on the radar, it's not law. and Realisticly, everyone can not drive at the same speed, you have people who will be slower, at the limit, and faster, in MD, in baltimroe in particular, we have fool, doing 85 on the regular. and they all can't get tickets, because the cops aren't usually out there.
and there's even been talk about having regular people volunteering to ticken motorist, using the radar, can you believe that.

sorry.

honeychild.

Answer 5

You will not win this case. You already admitted you were speeding. Just pay the ticket or try to go to traffic school.

Answer 6

chances are you are not going to win the case, due to teenagers around your age not all but most drive fast. however you can try by pleading not guilty and explain that he did turn on his lights before you got to him, and that its possible that the police was driving slow and thought you were speeding!