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Got a speeding ticket, not sure what to do?

3K views 47 replies 22 participants last post by  free4s0me 
#1 ·
So I just got my a3 back after 2 weeks at the dealer for rust perforation replacement. I got caught on the freeway going 20 over the limit.

Sadly enough I tried to evade him by trying to hide in a coffee shop parking lot... Lmao! To no avail of course.

He states I was going 65mph in a 45 zone. I deny it immediately, telling him I wasn't. He asks for my papers, and I immediately ask him how he caught me by asking him if he caught with the gun.

He passes the papers over to his partner and he comes out with the gun and shows it to me. I look, it says 0 all across the board. I let him know it says 0. He looks at me, goes back into car.

When he come back to give me the ticket, I tell him again... "Officer, you showed me a gun that displayed nothing." He ignores me, tells me I have 30 says to contest.

What should I do?
 
#4 ·
Can you do written contest or do you have to go to court? Written is a no-brainer. Doesn't hurt to try. Court depends on if it's worth it for you to go when they tell you to, since there is a strong chance that the officer won't show up and that's an instant win.
 
#5 ·
They actually didnt care... It was weird because he never even turn his lights on until he saw my car.

But the whole radar gun thing threw him off and I could see it in his face... He didnt know what to do.

I'm skeptical simply because I was passing a car from the left so I'm questioning wether he actually caught me with the gun.
 
#6 ·
Yea, but not in any illegal way. I was hoping he wouldn't see me turning into the store and just go straight or at least to the next block.

Then I realized I have led tails, so I wasn't exactly hard to find.

I'm just gonna pay it. If I contest and lose, it's another $100. I fold.

I guess I'm just trying to understand how a radar gun is used as evidence in court? Is the info logged? Time stamped?
 
#8 ·
I'm just gonna pay it. If I contest and lose, it's another $100. I fold.
Really??? It's been a long time, but it didn't cost anything when I contested a ticket. Cop had me dead-to-rights making a u-turn across a double-double yellow line. It was like 1am and there were no other cars in sight. Cop was a newbie and after testing me for "impaired driving" (I had tried a sip of my friends beer earlier, seriously, just one sip), he spent a few minutes flipping through his book of traffic violations and the relevant vehicle codes. So the next day I went to the law library and looked up the code he said I violated. The code was for crossing a double yellow line, which is okay to make a u-turn over. So I wrote that I didn't violate the code and the ticket was dismissed. :thumbup:

I've also had to go to court twice. One time the cop was a no-show and the other time the cop showed up and I just had to pay the regular fine.

Back then, the fine was $4 for every mile over the speed limit. I would hate to find out what the current fines are.
 
#7 ·
It's been a long time since a speeding ticket but doesn't the ticket state method of speed verification; how he clocked your speed? If it says speed gun, you might be able to use what was said and showed to you by the officer.

Thart being said, when I know I got caught breaking the law I just pay. My bad.
 
#13 ·
Never -EVER- tell a cop that he's wrong. -They get it ALL DAY LONG from ricers, soccer moms and even people just like you, immediately after they clearly gunned them.

YOU know you were speeding, and the officer is actually under no obligation to keep the reading. -If he had a second officer with him who is likely to back up his story, you're never going to beat it... and if you accept that you were speeding, there's nobody else to blame.

Seriously, what are you trying to 'discover' here? -That he's lying because he never gunned you? That he gunned you but the reading wasn't accurate, but he's choosing to lie, exaggerating the reading?

NONE of that is going to go well in court, and if you contest it/ there'll be a fee.

Eat the ticket.

Learn the lesson.

Get a radar detector.

Detectors won't protect you from 'instant on', but it'll at least bleep to tell you that you've been gunned.
 
#15 ·
FYI, ticket was 196$ and 3 points. Contesting and losing would add an additional $100. I'm paying for the ticket. In the end it was my bad anyway, I usually always slow down where I got caught, but I tried to pass a SUV before the exit and it was just a bobo move on my part.

You guys sound old...lol, what happen to youthful exuberance...
 
#17 ·
so you ARE speeding, you try to evade him, and then you deny it?

and now you are asking what you can do to get out of it?

sounds like it's about time you get in touch with reality and stop being a little douche.....man up.
Woah... slow down azzhat, no need to get all verbally abusive. I was just trying to understand the laws of the radar gun, seeing as it's usefulness and accuracy has been questioned time and time again.

My method of trying to evade him was completely legal, i didn't build the transit system, I simply tried to use it to my advantage.
 
#18 ·
A bandmate of mine recently retired as cop here in town. -He told me that there's NOTHING worse than when they CLEARLY gun someone, when there was ZERO chance of 'your gun must have been picking up the car next to me' because they were the ONLY car on the road, when the gear has just been calibrated, when they saw the car JAM on the anchor and slow visibly down perhaps 20MPH to the speed limit as soon as they pull out into the road -before they even light up the flashers-... then the first thing that the driver says is "I wasn't speeding!".

The reason they hate it is because they have the measuring equipment. -And it's calibrated. You SAW the car's nose take a dive when they saw the marked police car, so you know that THEY realized they were speeding... but they're sitting there lying to you, and accusing you or either lying or being stupid, or both.

Doing it afterwards in court is almost as bad.

My last three stops have been one VERY fair cop, one grumpy bastard, and one woman who was just in a bad mood. -Every time I've been VERY careful to admit exactly what I was doing, and I've been let off...

Only time I've had a ticket in the last 15 years or so was when I was doing 85+ in a 65. -He happened to merge right behind me and paced me... no radar, but he was doing 85+ RIGHT behind me, so denying the speed would have been insulting him... -I copped to it and he wrote it down to 'failure to comply with a posted sign' which was MUCH gentler, and traffic-school-deletable, which anything over 15MPH is NOT under Florida law.

He also wrote on the ticket' "85+ in 65" and had me initial my agreement next to the note. -He explained that this was so that if I tried to challenge it in court, he would re-adjust the ticket to 20+ over the limit... "Since you're being entirely cooperative, I'll make it a little easier for you, but if you decide to try and knock it down, I'll knock it back up for wasting my time, or changing your story to make me out to be a liar" was the explanation.

Yeah, I know it stings, but it's just what you got to do. -My last stop was for crossing a solid white line between lanes to pass a car where the (texting) driver was still stationary after 20 seconds of green light... The (female) cop was just grumpy. -I NEVER denied what I did though, even though I really wanted to disagree with her over what I should have done... (Since sounding the horn is also illegal. -you can't win!)

Yeah, I'm old. -I really am!

Happy-jun joy time is LONG gone. -You kids.. get off my lawn! :laugh:
 
#20 ·
Good to know... my last ticket was going through a yellow, 30 yards from my house...lol! Officer was in a really crappy mood, I'm guessing because it was St. Patricks Day so their were plenty of drunkies on the streets. I admitted it right away and told him I lived right there and probably should have stopped but didn't want to jerk the car forward. No points, just a $100 ticket.

Best part was when he gave me the ticket, I said Happy St. Patricks Day, and he turned around and thought I told him off...lol! He asked me what I said in such a tone, I thought he was gonna arrest me. I'm certain I made his day after that, because he clearly wasn't having a good one...
 
#22 ·
the last time i got pulled over i was on a business trip. it was at the end of a 5 hour drive. i was beat and driving through boise, id. i got caught doing 90 on the highway. he was underneath an overpass in the center median of I-84. i knew i was dead to rights. after he asked a few questions he realized i was on a long drive and had no attitude.

i didn't make up a story or state that others were going just as fast or ask any questions about verification. i just took my lumps since i knew i had broken the law. i think he appreciated that fact i was very cooperative and showed me mercy. let me go with a warning. i was stoked!
 
#24 · (Edited)
if you don't want to get pulled over, don't break the law. simple as that.

if you do get pulled over and want to better your chances of getting let go with a warning:
1. have all occupants place there hands where they are clearly visible
2. if it's dark, turn on your interior lights then do step 1
3. don't have an attitude/be respectful/be cooperative

if your being pulled over, i would think about 99% of the time you've broken the law in some way. also, who do you think knows more about the laws, you or the police officer. as vwaddict mentioned, think about all the crap these guys hear all day long after they pull someone over. i don't think any of us would react any different.
 
#25 ·
Never plead guilty... when they pull you over you lie lie lie... Remember this has nothing to do with safety. It's all about revenue.

Plead not guilty and ask for supporting evidence. Usually a check mark next to not guilty. If the supporting evidence does not come in 30 days, you are off the hook. If you have to go to court, look for the cop, if he is not there, you are off the hook. If he is work a deal with the DA. Usually you can get it down to a seat belt.
 
#26 ·
I was pulled recently in NC and grabbed a lawyer. I didn't contest the speeding but because i had a clean record the lawyer got the ticket dropped to a non moving violation and no points on insurance or my license.

Lawyer cost me $50 because i know her and the fine i paid was about $250. worth it in the end for sure.

Not sure how your driving record looks or how your state operates though.
 
#29 ·
My last ticket I got I was in another province, going up to do some snowboarding. Cruising along with 3 other cars doing about 90kmph... come around the bend, bam we all get pulled over.

Turns out it was a divide highway that had a 60kmph speed zone???

Cop comes up and says you were doing 93 in a 60... my reply "oh ****, sorry I didn't know it was only 60"

He takes my license and registration... and we wait. And Wait. The other two cars get their tickets and are sent on their way.

Comes back to my car and asks me to come back to the back of the car... Uh oh?

"Well we are going to be impounding your car for 1 week due to excessive speeding."
(40 over is an automatic 1 week impound in that province - which was a new law that year)

I reply "Excuse me? You said I was doing 93 in a 60, excessive speeding is 40 over"

His Reply "No I said you were passing that truck that was doing 93, I estimated your speed was more like 120"

Now I knew better than to loose my cool, but this was complete bull****. Politely said again that he said I was doing 93 and he just ignored it and said the tow truck was on the way.

Basically nothing I could do, he was being a dick... which BC cops often are to Alberta people.
So me and my 3 friends ended up having to take a cab to our hotel, miss out on a day of boarding and they all got to take a 20 hour bus ride home 3 days later while I waited for my car to be released.

380 Dollar ticket and 300 dollar tow and impound fee later.

From now on if I ever get pulled over I am recording the entire conversation.
I have no problem paying a ticket if I get pulled over, if I am guilty I am guilty. But don't change your story just so you can get a bigger ticket and make the local impound some money. :mad::mad::mad::mad:

/rant.
 
#36 ·
lol, remind me of my college days. Me and 2 friends went skiing in my car, got caught probably 150 miles from home, nobody has a license (my has been suspended a while ago), the hogs impounded my car in the middle of the night and in the middle of nowhere. I call up a female friend whom I knew lived 'upstate' (apparently, it was only 15 miles 'upstate' from nyc) and her father was listening in on the line and refused to let her go (and put me on the black list), not that she would disappear for the whole night. I had to call my friend in the city where he drove 150 miles up, got my car out of the pound, gave me the car back so I can continue driving it, and drove home (of course I had to pay for his gas). Good thing we were all crazy drivers cuz the friend did 85 the whole way or else his trip would have taken 6 hrs instead of 4 (and I would have to wait 3 hrs instead of 2).
 
#30 ·
I'll add I would have gone back to fight the ticket, but its a 10 hour drive from where I was... by the time I got there and back my time and fuel would be more than the 380 dollar ticket. So I paid it a full year later. (held off as long as I could )
 
#32 ·
Easy grandpa

Of course this is the simple answer. But sometimes it's just hard to do. Haha

Sent from my Igloo
 
#35 ·
All I's know is judge dredd believe the hogs 100% of the time. Their defense is so detailed that if you come in and say 'you were not speeding', you will be laughed off.

Even if boss-hogg does not have a radar reading of you speeding, he could cite a sleuth of other speed judgement techniques that he is certified for like watching your car from a distance, following you from a far distance, etc.

Also, some jurisdictions, you go directly in front of a judge and it is basically to hand out your fine, others you could plead down for more fine and less points instead of accepting a trial date.

The best tactic I've seen is to come with a lawyer, they seem to be the only ones that could plea down to a less serious violation in hearings where you are basically presumed guilty.

As for the po-po doing a no-show, chances is rare since they have a ton of cases lined up for that day and it would mean tens of voilations being dropped. I've had court date changed on me very near the actual day because it decided it didn't want to show up that day.
 
#37 ·
So tonight, I took the same route, low and behold, the same officers were parked and waiting... I take the exit, and slow down to a paltry 20mph. Roll right by them waving and they're both laughing their asses off and give me the thumbs up!!! LOL!
 
#38 · (Edited)
I had a cop lie on the stand in court in front of a judge and my lawyer. 100% perjury. I got picked up in a broad sweep of "speeding cars" and they lumped me in there and fully testified that they had me speeding with the group. I was not.

In any event, only a fool pays the fine without either hiring a proper lawyer (these guys are generally cheap and good) or just make an extremely long, detailed with pics, and respectful written declaration defense. The opposing officer must file his own declaration and these guys are busy and hate to write those. Plus, if they are all chummy with you they may just choose to not write the response. These guys have quotas to write tickets and have no obligation to defend them. Failure to reply with a written declaration by the officer results in the dismissal of the case. Usually if you lose a declaration you can still appeal and hire a lawyer.

Here is the procedure in CA: http://www.occourts.org/directory/traffic/general-information/citation.html

Be safe.
 
#40 ·
You speed, you get caught, you pay, you don't whine like a baby, you look mo-careful next time. Dems da rulz!:laugh::laugh::laugh:
 
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