Just got pulled over for speeding and really want to fight it...any advice?

[Melissa]

OK so I just went to Kmart to buy my 3 year old the Lion King DVD and as I am driving home on our 2 lane state highway that goes right to my house my 20 year old daughter sees a cop coming our way and says hey mom a cop is coming are you speeding..I look down and see that I am doing 60 and tell her no she looks over and says ok...well the cop jumps behind me and pulls me over...Very rude from the beginning..he walks to my window and barks license and registration..i turn to him and say officer what did you pull me over for and he barks again license and registration...I ask again what he is pulling me over for and he barks a third time license and registration so I reach to get them and give them to him...He then takes them to his car and when he comes back after a few minutes tells me he could give me a 125 dollar ticket for my registration not being signed..I say really and sign it...he then asks me the ages of the people in the car..which were my 20 year old daughter her 21 year old friend and my 3 year old daughter in the back seat. I ask him what he needs this info for and he barks at me..He asks where I am going and I say home and he asks where I am coming from and I bark from Kmart grab the bag with the movie in it and say just bought Lion King for my 3 year old..he then asks why I am so mad and I tell him the story how we saw him and looked at our speedometer and realized we were not speeding...He then hands me a ticket for 141 dollars clocking me at 68...now I was doing 60 when me and my daughter looked at my speed and I guess the speed limit on his ticket says the limit was 55 so i was speeding 5 miles but NOT 68

any advice?

 

[Anti Federalist]

Did you ever admit how fast you were going or that you were speeding?

Request a hearing first thing in the morning.

If you have a new enough vehicle, get the OBD2 data, it may have max speed recorded for the last 24 hours. Do nut run the car until you check on that, if you want to use that, as new start stop cycles will clear the memory.

Demand calibration reports and a receipt if possible from the radar device.

OK so I just went to Kmart to buy my 3 year old the Lion King DVD and as I am driving home on our 2 lane state highway that goes right to my house my 20 year old daughter sees a cop coming our way and says hey mom a cop is coming are you speeding..I look down and see that I am doing 60 and tell her no she looks over and says ok...well the cop jumps behind me and pulls me over...Very rude from the beginning..he walks to my window and barks license and registration..i turn to him and say officer what did you pull me over for and he barks again license and registration...I ask again what he is pulling me over for and he barks a third time license and registration so I reach to get them and give them to him...He then takes them to his car and when he comes back after a few minutes tells me he could give me a 125 dollar ticket for my registration not being signed..I say really and sign it...he then asks me the ages of the people in the car..which were my 20 year old daughter her 21 year old friend and my 3 year old daughter in the back seat. I ask him what he needs this info for and he barks at me..He asks where I am going and I say home and he asks where I am coming from and I bark from Kmart grab the bag with the movie in it and say just bought Lion King for my 3 year old..he then asks why I am so mad and I tell him the story how we saw him and looked at our speedometer and realized we were not speeding...He then hands me a ticket for 141 dollars clocking me at 68...now I was doing 60 when me and my daughter looked at my speed and I guess the speed limit on his ticket says the limit was 55 so i was speeding 5 miles but NOT 68

any advice?

 

[sailingaway]

Show up. They often don't.

 

[Melissa]

Did you ever admit how fast you were going or that you were speeding? no all I said was I was not doing 68

Request a hearing first thing in the morning. Can You explain this more?

If you have a new enough vehicle, get the OBD2 data, it may have max speed recorded for the last 24 hours. Do nut run the car until you check on that, if you want to use that, as new start stop cycles will clear the memory. I do not have a new vehicle it is a 2001 Kia nothing fancy just good on gas

Demand calibration reports and a receipt if possible from the radar device. Do You know who I would call to ask for this

Please see my answers above and thank you thank you I am so mad and really want to have my say in court

 

[pcosmar]

any advice?

Not really,,you could attempt to fight it, hope he doesn't show in court..Your word against a cop doesn't count for shit.

It would likely be easier to pay.. but that sucks..

No advice,, other than avoid them.. too late for that,,

 

[phill4paul]

He then takes them to his car and when he comes back after a few minutes tells me he could give me a 125 dollar ticket for my registration not being signed..

There is a reason for the fine and the law. You just signed away your rights. Which is why he didn't issue you a ticket. He got his desired result.

 

[Melissa]

There is a reason for the fine and the law. You just signed away your rights. Which is why he didn't issue you a ticket. He got his desired result.

Well thanks for depressing me more I guess

 

[RickyJ]

It has happened to me too when I know I wasn't going the speed they said I was going. I could have fought it, but didn't want to waste the time so I paid it. I was speeding, just not by the amount over the speed limit they said I was. It is best to avoid cops and do not give them a hard time even when they are wrong. Some are just looking for any reason to go nuts and taze the crap out of you.

 

[phill4paul]

It is best to avoid cops and do not give them a hard time even when they are wrong. Some are just looking for any reason to go nuts and taze the crap out of you.

Disagree.

 

[ZanZibar]

Chances are the judge will laugh at the signed registration ticket if you just show up with it signed.

Regarding speeding, how did he determine you were speeding? RADAR or LIDAR (laser)?


If it's laser, you're screwed and can't fight it. If it's RADAR then you have a chance if the Judge is fair. Just google for hwo to get out of a radar ticket.

Also, when they assign you a court date, be sure to write them back and say you can't make it, request a continuence, or another date. Keep doing that as much as you can. When you finally go to court the officer will likely have lost his notes, moved, transferred, retired, etc.

ALWAYS record every interaction with the police on your phone.

AND, never tell the cops anything. The only thing you should ever say is "am I being detained, or am I free to go". You do have to hand them the license and registration if you are operating a motor vehicle.

 

[Titus]

As I have said before, recording depends on the state. Each state has its own recording laws. If your state has one party consents recording laws, you should almost always record. In a two (or all) party state, this may be a crime.

Getting a continuance must be for good cause, not delay for delay's sake. Good cause generally exists for many reasons that vary by state. Using medical care qualifies. That being said, delays are more likely to cause the cop to fail to appear.

Cops failing to appear is the most common ticket defense. This is referred to as the cop no-show defense in my part of California.

 

[Anti Federalist]

Please see my answers above and thank you thank you I am so mad and really want to have my say in court

1 - OK, good, you never admitted to speeding of any kind.

2 - Call the courthouse, cop shop, wherever, and make sure you make it clear that you want a court date, that you are going to contest this. Get this in writing, so that they can't claim you never responded or paid the ticket and slap a bench warrant on you.

3 - OK, no matter, some newer cars that spy on you while driving will have max speed recorded in the vehicle's computer system. I'm pretty sure an 01 Kia won't.

4 - Best guess for a first call, the local DA. Tell him you are contesting a speeding ticket, that you want the calibration records for that unit.

I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.

This is just free internet advice from somebody you have never met before.

That said, hope it helps and hope you beat the bastards.

 

[TheCaliforniaLife]

Look up local Indiana trial by declaration laws. A trial by declaration is the process of writing down the events that occurred rather than go to court. The process that I took to win my case was that I filed one extension a month before the trial date. Then I filed another extension. Then I filed a trial by declaration. By the time all the extensions and trial by declaration are completed, it will be half a year since you have gotten the ticket. If you lose, check and see if Indiana traffic law allows you to still contest to have a in-trial hearing. Most states do. When you go through the process of extending the court date, find out what documents you need to make sure the officer had his speed radar calibrated when he checked it out in the morning. If he didn't... you are in luck. You can win based upon this. If he doesn't respond to your inquiry about the radar on time, you win. There are a lot of opportunities to win.

This is the website I used to get my information: http://www.helpigotaticket.com/ It is all free.

 

[RiseAgainst]

Unfortunately, you probably were doing 68. Your speedometer is an approximation based on mathematical characteristics that often shift and change with the life of your car as well as any modifications from the exact original. Speedometers are all off at least some, and they are off by a percentage, not a speed. The best way to test this is when they have a radar sign up telling you you are going "XX" this fast. Peg your speedo at a 10 mph increment (i.e. 30, 40, etc) and see what the radar feedback gives you. Try it over and over throughout your travels, and remember this is percentage, not speed. If it registers say 33 when you were at 30, this means you are 10% positive, IOW if you though you were doing 60, you were really doing 66. Mine is currently 10% negative, which gets me in trouble because I rationalize I can drive faster, lol!

In the end though, the overriding problem is that speeding tickets are arbitrarily defined revenue generation tools, NOT actual crimes. When the element of justice has gone out the window, and revenue generation is the only goal, you don't stand a chance.

 

[tod evans]

Voice of experience..........just pay the damn thing it's not worth the time and headache.

 

[sparebulb]

Voice of experience..........just pay the damn thing it's not worth the time and headache.

It seems to me that a citizen is letting the State off easy by not forcing them to prove their guilt.

 

[RiseAgainst]

It seems to me that a citizen is letting the State off easy by not forcing them to prove their guilt.

What guilt? There is no guilt where no crime has been committed.

 

[Melissa]

1 - OK, good, you never admitted to speeding of any kind.

2 - Call the courthouse, cop shop, wherever, and make sure you make it clear that you want a court date, that you are going to contest this. Get this in writing, so that they can't claim you never responded or paid the ticket and slap a bench warrant on you.

3 - OK, no matter, some newer cars that spy on you while driving will have max speed recorded in the vehicle's computer system. I'm pretty sure an 01 Kia won't.

4 - Best guess for a first call, the local DA. Tell him you are contesting a speeding ticket, that you want the calibration records for that unit.

I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV.

This is just free internet advice from somebody you have never met before.

That said, hope it helps and hope you beat the bastards.

Thanks I understand about not knowing you..I have only had one other ticket in my whole life and it too was a speeding ticket and I was not speeding that time long time ago proved it and won but still lost as the Judge just shuffled papers at the end said he had physical evidence and I didnt and said I have to pay but got my say and that is all I am doing this time as I am innocent and even if I loose willing to try and have a say without just paying

 

[Pericles]

Thanks I understand about not knowing you..I have only had one other ticket in my whole life and it too was a speeding ticket and I was not speeding that time long time ago proved it and won but still lost as the Judge just shuffled papers at the end said he had physical evidence and I didnt and said I have to pay but got my say and that is all I am doing this time as I am innocent and even if I loose willing to try and have a say without just paying

FWIW, you can end up paying the court, or a good lawyer. A good lawyer will make it go away, a non so good lawyer will get you some kind of defensive driving class.

Last speeding ticket I got was many years ago on my way to visit a friend who is a lawyer, and I got nailed for 25 over (I was running late). My friend said to give him the citation - last I ever heard of the incident.

Somebody gets paid off, at least you get some option as to who gets your $.

 

[cartemj06]

Listen to the advice of the guy you never met before...