Should I fight this Speeding ticket?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Disclaimer: Not looking for legal advice, just want opinions…

Today I was stopped for speeding: 65 in a 50 zone. I don’t feel that I was driving the car that was clocked at that speed. Here is why.

I was driving behind a truck and two other cars for about 12 miles along a stretch of highway, the last section of which (roughly 1 mile) has a limit of 50 MPH, before entering the city limits, where the speed limit drops to 40. Shortly after entering the 40 MPH Zone, traffic in my (left) lane slowed to a stop while a car waited to turn left at an uncontrolled intersection. Several cars in the right lane continued past us, and other cars behind me changed lanes and continued without slowing. I considered changing lanes to get around the obstruction, and checked my rear view mirror to see if it was clear: it was completely clear back to a curve in the road (read: no cop car). However, I didn’t change lanes as the driver was able to turn, and traffic started moving again. We were probably stopped for about 10 seconds. A few moments later, after I was almost up to 40 MPH again, a police car quickly closed in on me, and signaled me to pull over. I changed to the right lane, and turned at the next intersection to pull over at a safe place. (I later measured that this was about .5 miles away from the speed limit change)

The officer claimed that I was driving 65 in the 50 mph zone, and I only slowed down when I came up on the other slower cars. I believe that the officer clocked one of the cars behind me, that avoided the traffic obstruction. He could not see the stopped cars or the other drivers that didn’t have to slow down, so my position is logical to his story, however, according to what actually happened, he would have had to clock me, and wait a significant amount of time before coming after me. Also, since I was behind the same three cars for the past 12 miles, I could never had “come up on traffic” as he claimed had happened.

I think I should plead innocent to this ticket, on the grounds that he pulled over the wrong vehicle. I know this will result in a judge having to decide between my story and a cop’s (low chance of winning, but I don’t feel I should plead guilty to something I didn’t do. I know other posters have asked about fighting speeding tickets, but they were typically trying to get away with speeding on some technicality. The advice was always to just pay the fine, and don’t lie. However, I feel I really am innocent.

Thoughts? Opinions? Is it worth the trouble? Do I have any chance of winning?

2

Most definitely. Try this forum, the regulars in there really know their stuff.

3

You never answered the all important question…Were you going 65 in a 50? Whether or not you think he saw you doing it doesn’t really matter. It’s entirely possible that he could have clocked you going 65 a few miles back but it took him a few minutes to find/catch up to you, especially if he was hidden and had to get back into traffic or if he was standing outside his vehicle with the radar gun.

4

Sorry, I should have mentioned this. I don’t know what my speed was exactly because I was maintaining my speed based on the truck ahead of me. However, the cop’s story claims that I was initially not behind anyone.

He could not have clocked me “a few miles back” because the stretch of highway limited at 50 mph is only about a mile long.

5

Look at the ticket. Does it note how the speed was measured? If it was pace or laser then your argument for being the wrong car is not very strong.

6

So change ‘a few miles back’ to 'a few moments ago. The point still remains.

7

After my last experience, I think it is worth it to fight any ticket. I got pulled over for doing 80 in a 55 (which I honestly thought was 65 - fine, I deserved the ticket) and got a ticket. I also got a seat belt violation which I felt I didn’t deserve, as I always wear my belt, I had removed it **out of habit **when I stopped the car; I wasn’t thinking.

I went to talk to a hearing officer about the seat belt ticket (and to bring my proof of insurance card - I’d had the expired card in my car but I did have current insurance) and they ended up giving me a stay - if I get no more moving violations within a year the speeding ticket would be dropped from my record - he dropped my seatbelt violation with out me even saying a word! I didn’t have to argue my case or anything. I paid court costs, but they were about $100 less than if I’d just blindly paid the fines.

So, IME it is worth it to ‘fight’ a ticket, even if you don’t do much fighting. Of course, if it costs more for you to miss a day/few hours of work and your driving record can take the hit, just pay the fine.

8

I think if you go into court and state your case calmly and reasonably, you have a good chance of getting some mercy. I would try to condense what you wrote into a few sentences though. Depends on the judge, and the officer might not even show up.

What if you took a couple photos of the intersection and lane you were stopped in?

9

Good Idea… I will get out there and take some pictures. I was planning on bring in a map to detail where he pulled me over, where the speed limit changes, where the traffic stopped, etc.

10

I’ve mentioned this in several other threads about tickets, but if you are in California (and possibly other states), they let you do a ‘trial by declaration’, which is basically a way for you to fight a ticket without having to lose a day of work. You pay the fine (which you get back if you win), get the form, and write your description of the events that happened. If you are a good writer, cite the correct codes, and take pictures, most judges respect this. The cop ALSO has to write an explanation, which they hate doing. The cops here get potential overtime for showing up in court for people who fight these things in person, but I personally shy away from that because I am a good writer, and I might not present well in front of the judge. This removes the problem. And you can always throw in a “and Your Honor, if you disagree with my testimony, may I please request traffic school?” line to cover your bases…

This has gotten me out of more than one ticket…

11

I forget which sort of camera has this problem, but some cameras have a known fault whereby they give an incorrect speed reading if the signal can bounce off another nearby metallic object. Like a truck. I got flashed by a speed camera on the M25 some years back when I was most definitely not speeding, and rang up the next day to complain. Some poor bugger got flashed when he was stationary!