Speeding Tickets - Can They Be Fought?

[UserNamesAreFree]

Help! My daughter just got one. She says she was traveling under 30 in a 25. The cop said she was doing 35 and wrote her a ticket for 5 over. This isn't her first ticket, so it may really impact her auto insurance.

So is it possible to fight it? If we go to court - daughter swears she was under 30...cop says sorry, I clocked her at 35...seems open and shut. How would we refute it? (my daughter also says the cop was tailgating them so badly she couldn't tell it was a cop car...would this matter or should we complain?...can speed of a car be clocked from behind?)

PS - We live in Michigan.

[snooper2]

1. There is a book on it...

I may be able to find later..

But you can do things like, request a court copy of the last certification of the speed gun and things like that. (They never keep stuff current/tested/up to date. Lots of other tricks as well.

Or, she can take a deferred adjudication and not get a ticket for the next 12 months.

[UserNamesAreFree]

7. "take a deferred adjudication and not get a ticket for the next 12 months"

Sorry? Not sure what that means...

[DrGonzoLives]

10. Basically, it's a bribe

You pay extra on the ticket, and the prosecutor agrees not to press charges unless you get another ticket within the next 12 months. After that time, the ticket is expunged completely from her record.

[Aristus]

2. You can fight it in court if you like.

Sometimes, just showing up in traffic court will get you a reduction.

[davsand]

3. Call a lawyer.

It may sound silly, but call a lawyer and have him/her deal with it. Given the fact that the ticket is for only five over the limit I'd bet it can be changed to a non-moving violation and dropped off her license after a year.

Get someone local who knows the prosecutors. This kind of stuff goes on all the time, and even if it seems like too much money, it maybe can keep her in better shape if she manages to get another ticket in the next year.


Laura

[qb]

4. No personal experience, but I've heard if you take it to court

there's a good chance the cop won't show up. If he does, the tailgating might work in your favor, as it is intimidating and tends to make people speed up.

[VermontDem2004]

17. that part is true

the tailgating might work in your favor, as it is intimidating and tends to make people speed up.

I remember in Driver's Ed my teacher would tell me incase someone was tailgating speed up a little bit to create more space between you and the car behind you. The reason he urged this is because if you were forced to stop quickly, the car behind you would have little time to react and would crash into you.

[UserNamesAreFree]

18. The tailgating angle is interesting...

and she did have a friiend (witness) in the car.

[Friar]

5. Aar! Aye, matey

Tell the judge he is a filthy bilge rat and ye'll have him swinging from the yardarms! Aar!

[Friar]

6. seriously

first thing request the court hearing be held in the county seat. Cops don't want to appear there and the case could get thrown out. There's lots of good books on fighting these "revenue enhancement" cases.

[nottabubba]

8. I've had some luck

with pleading not guilty, and then the prosecutor who wants to avoid the problem of getting the cop off the street and also clear the case, makes an offer to change the plea to a non-moving violation, for instance a muffler or tail light.

But this being a multiple speeding offense changes things.

[DrGonzoLives]

9. Go to court

Many times, the officer will not even show up, in which case, a lot of judges will throw the ticket out.

If the cop does show up, have your daughter ask all kinds of questions - like what was I wearing when you pulled me over? Was the moon out? Did I have the radio on?

Bring up the tailgating. Confront the cop about it in court. They are NOT supposed to simply pick someone out and follow them for a while, waiting for a change to pull them over.

If possible, find out who manufactured the radar gun and get information about the error in the gun's measurement (ALL measuring devices have an error associated with them).

Good luck!

[Bossy Monkey]

11. Often as not the court will just charge the fine and not assess points

but this is mainly true if she hasn't had a moving violation in the last 3 years, which I'm assuming she has since you say she's had them before. Who else was in the car? If she has a witness, it can be a real advantage.

If it makes you feel better, I once beat a ticket for not stopping at a 3-way stop sign in spite of the fact that the cop showed up to testify. I just pointed out that I saw the police car and thought, "Look! A police car! I better be sure to stop!" I had told the cop at the time he wrote the ticket (pleasantly, mind you) that I'd see him in court. I'm not sure the judge really believed me over the cop; I suspect that he just thought it was such a mickey mouse charge that the clown shouldn't have written the ticket. There's a chance that her judge might react the same, since most localities only ticket for 10 mph over the limit.

As to clocking you from behind, if you're serious, of course they can. This is how it was always done before the radar gun. You just match the speed of the car in front of you, look down at the speedometer, and voila! You've clocked them.

PS: Welcome to DU. Love the username!

[UserNamesAreFree]

15. Hmmmm...

"As to clocking you from behind, if you're serious, of course they can. This is how it was always done before the radar gun. You just match the speed of the car in front of you, look down at the speedometer, and voila! You've clocked them."

That seems less accurate than a gun! If that's how it was done, it seems more vunerable to a challenge.

(Wondering when those speedometers were last certified....)

edit- Thanks ul. Like yours too!

[Bossy Monkey]

16. I could be wrong (There's a first time for everything)

No reason in particular why they couldn't use a mounted radar gun from behind your car. Just seems like overkill is all

[Brucey]

12. I have had some success, but it meant spending time

going to court. But the fine was reduced.

[TreasonousBastard]

13. No idea about MIchigan...

but around here your word against the cop's means zilch. The cop is always right.

Most of these tickets here go into municipal court, and municipal judges have been put on notice that their job is revenue enhancement. One judge was actually fired for finding too many people not guilty of traffic tickets.

Sooo... what we do is sit down with the prosecutor and try to make a deal before trial. The judges usually suggest this. If the infraction wasn't terribly bad, the charges are normally reduced to a no-point violation and the fine is about doubled. All they really want is the money.

It's a racket, but watchagonnado.

[monkeyboy]

14. Always go to court

I read somewhere that about 1 in 4 times the cop won't show up. If that happens, you win. It's worth a try. If nothing else, you can argue and maybe get it thrown out.

[meegbear]

19. Invade Iraq

That'll show 'em

[rbnyc]

20. If she keeps speeding...

...her insurance should go up and she should get tickets.

[UserNamesAreFree]

22. Please read the original post again

By her speedometer, doing under 30 in a 25. She doesn't deserve a ticket for that.

[rbnyc]

24. I'm sensitive on this topic right now...

...I did read that, and I think speeding is speeding and 25 means 25 and it's 25 for a reason. I also read that this isn't her first speeding ticket. I think that all drivers need to take their responsibilities more seriously. Drivers have people's lives in their hands. When drivers think that they can stretch the rules here and there, if there are no consequences at first, eventually someone gets killed.

But like I said, I'm VERY touchy about this topic right now as I just lost my baby due to a speeding teenage driver who ran a red light. I've been out of work for 2 months, and it's going to be another 2 months probably before I can walk again.

[UserNamesAreFree]

25. OMG

I am so sorry for what happened. My deepest sympathies on the loss of your baby. You're in my prayers.

[rbnyc]

26. Thanks...

...I wish your daughter well too. I know she only went 5 miles over and wouldn't want to hurt anyone. Thanks for understanding my emotional reply.

[Bake]

21. Find out if she's eligible for traffic school

Usually that will avoid the points against the license. Even if she's been before, you can usually go again if it's been longer than, say, 2 years (?) since you went to traffic school.

If you choose to fight it, here's what to expect (at least it would be if you were in Kentucky):

1. First appearance, plead not guilty. They'll set a trial date.

2. Second appearance, show up for trial ready to go. The cop may not show. If cop fails to show up, the court will likely continue it one time and set a new trial date and subpoena the officer.

3. Third appearance, if the cop doesn't show up, the court will probably dismiss it. The court MAY, however, roll it ONE MORE TIME.

As pointed out above, assuming the cop shows up, there are various ways to attack the prosecution evidence itself. One, state law and/or police procedure usually require that the radar gun be calibrated periodically, i.e., tested to measure an object traveling at a known speed. If not a radar bust, but the cop "clocked" her by tailing her at a constant speed, ask whether the cop's speedometer had been calibrated, and when, and whether the cop car had the same size tires on it as when the speedometer was last calibrated (different size tires will affect the accuracy of any speedometer).

Judges and juries (although you likely woulnd't get a jury trial on a 5 mph-over-the-limit speeding ticket) typically believe the cop's testimony. It is possible to beat the rap, but in my observation and experience it doesn't happen very often.

Bake

[UserNamesAreFree]

23. Thanks

I'll check into the traffic school angle. That's news to me.