The subject pretty much says it all.
actually, no it doesn’t. Are you’re talking:
you drove over the limit last week and weren’t ticketed?
You drove over the limit 2 years ago, were ticketed and failed to pay the fine?
and which jurisidiction?
In MI, the ticket stays on your record until you pay it. If you fail to pay it within a certain period of time, your license will be comprimised. I’ve seen folks who got a ticket just before being locked up and had to pay several hundred dollars in clearances etc. before they could get their license back.
Please excuse my lack of detail. What I was meaning is what if I was speeding and didn’t get caught? How long from the time that I sped could I be ticketed for that certain offense?
Why not call the local police department & ask them? The law would vary all over the world.
There is no S of L. You can only get a speeding ticket if you get caught; if you don’t get caught, they can’t give you a ticket.
Perhaps what the OP is asking is this: You are seen speeding, but due to various circumstances can’t be physically “caught” at that exact moment. Maybe the cop clocked you from a bridge overpass, radios your tag number to his partner down the road but you managed to slip through the dragnet some how. Can they knock on your door a few days later and hand you your citation?
Even if this is the aim of the OP, I agree with previous posts in that the answer varies from state to state.
Keep in mind…this is an extremely WAG…but i’d say that the citation is, in theory, issued as soon as the violation is committed. They probably have until the court date to notify you…in KY, it’s usually 2 weeks after the citation has been issued. So you prolly have two weeks before you either get a notice to go to court, or get a prepayable ticket.
But that is a VERY WAG.
Conti
i have a sort of similar question. (similar in the respect that it deals with speeding!)
if a cop catches you speeding, are you within your rights to ask to see his readoff from the radar? and, if he cannot provide you with the proof (say. he erased the radar reading? i am not sure exactly how this works, so feel free to correct me), can he still ticket you? it would be my belief that he would have no proof of your speed other than his word, and therefore would not be able to issue you a ticket.
this is probably a very silly question.
- celine
From officers who I am good friends with…
If the officer (on or off duty) witnesses you commit the infraction, they can send you a summons in the mail. I’ve only seen it happen once (guy almost ran me over pulling away from the curb in a school zone spinning tires, got summonsed for all sorts of stuff). I don’t know how long the officer can dally around before s/he actually sends the ticket, but they do not have to issue the ticket right away.
This is in Massachusetts, btw…your mileage may vary.
From my brief employment in law enforcement in Wisconsin (this is going back to 1989, but I still keep up with the law, and I have many close friends who are cops) we did not have to show the violator the radar unit. This varies by state. The officer is only using the radar to back up his observations. The radar isn’t supposed to be the sole evidence.
Living in KY, and having my fair share of speeding tickets, I have never heard of being given a ticket after-the-fact. I am not saying it’s not possible, but I would think that if you were speeding, they would have to issue a citation within a “reasonable” amount of time afterwards. (the term reasonable is loosely manipulated by law enforcement, I am sure.) I think the only thing that coud come back to haunt you would be if you did damage to something or someone, and the speeding is secondary, and would probably be upgraded to a more serious charge…i.e. reckless driving, wanton endangerment, or something of that nature. Again, I’m not a lawyer, but I have seen them on T.V.!
Sassy
As with everything, the rules vary from state to state. In Washington, you can always ask, but the Officer doesn’t have to show you the radar reading (and no one I know would do so, due to safety concerns). He or she can still issue the ticket. Depending on the judge, however, this little bit might help you beat the ticket in court. Probably not, but it might be worth a shot.
Lest we forget, police in some jurisdictions now use cameras to catch speeders (and red light runners). Drive past one breaking the law and --BAM!-- 2 weeks later you get a citation in the mail.
This doesn’t address the statute of limitations, but provides a good example of how the situation might come up: How soon do the police have to issue your citation? I’d bet is varies by jurisdiction.
Of course, the thing to do is to call the photo unit as a witness. Since the witness is an inanimate object and cannot testify against you, the case should be dismissed.
–Tim
Celine,
There is no general rule that forbids an officer issuing you a ticket if “it’s just his word against yours.” Think about it – if an officer sees you trying to break into a car, for example – a more serious crime than speeding – he is certainly entitled to arrest you based solely on his observation, and his testimony, alone, can get you convicted. Why should speeding be any different?
All,
In general, and certainly in Virginia, there is no rule that requires the officer to show you the radar reading.
- Rick
This is a complete crock. A speeding photo unit is every bit as admissible as evidence as an ATM’s photo unit.
Of course, a witness has the right to “rebut” the evidence, by claiming for example that the unit took a picture of the incorrect vehicle, or that the radar unit attached to it was incorrectly calibrated, &cetera.
But to make the sweeping claim that a photo unit is not admissible simply because it is inanimate is just another in the litany of lies told by the murderous pro-speeding lobby.