Uh oh ... speeding ticket. Advice requested!

C

CPAScott

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#1
Particularly intersted in hearing from people from MA, but all advice welcome!
We had an office function in Boston yesterday, and was out until 10:30 or so. I live an hour from my office, and had a 7am meeting today, so getting up late was a real risk. (I am not a morning person!)

Sure enough, I got out the door about quarter after six. Traffic was light, and it was looking as though I was only going to be a few minutes late.

In my efforts to get there on time, however, I was travelling a bit higher than the speed limit ... 76 MPH per my citation. Of course, this wasn't on the highway, but on State Route 9 -- with a posted speed limit of 45.

Eek.

Now, no one goes 45 on Route 9. 55 maybe, so if I was going 76 that was certainly too fast.

The officer said he couldn't cut me a break when I was travelling 31 mph over the limit. I have a ticket, therefore for $310.

The citation said he used LIDAR and that the speed is estimated. The officer said that if I didn't think I was going that fast, I could request a hearing (I will anyway).

I have a clean license and am at step 9 on the state's SDIP.

I tried doing some reseach about what the effect would be and it appears that the increase in step is not dependent on the MPH over. Speeding is considered a "minor" violation and is worth 2 points. That will raise my insurance about 12% (maybe $200) for the next 2 years.

Plus the $310 fine, of course.

Now, obviously I don't want to pay this ticket. I'll go before the magistrate but the best I can do is say that I was speeding but not that fast.

I could hire a lawyer, but that could cost more.

I dunno ... anyone have any advice?


Grrr.. stupidity is sure one way to ruin a Friday.
 
Madd Fajita

Madd Fajita

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#3
My advice is to get a lawyer. I got 2 tickets at once in New York (I'm from Maine), 1 for unsafe passing, and 1 for 80 in a 55. The lawyer got the unsafe passing removed, and the speeding lowered to 65 in a 55. It cost me $150 for the lawyer, but I saved way more then that in tickets and insurance costs. I also didn't have to show up in court, he did everthing by letter. I know this doesn't exactly have to deal
 
C

chief

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The trick here in Texas is to go to court and request to see the documentation for the last time the LIDAR was calibrated. The LIDAR must have been calibrated or certified as accurate within the previous 30 days to be considered accurate. Now, that may cause the court some concern as the officer will most likely will not have that documentation on his person. Therefore, a continuance will have to be set until they acquire the documentation or, and here is the biggy, they may drop the case as the officer will most likely know when the LIDAR was certified and will not be able to find the documentation. Thus your case will be dropped.

Suggest you explain to the judge that your plee of guilty or innocent will be dependant upon viewing the LIDAR's validation certification.

Good Luck
 
B

Big Daddy

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30 day certification of Lidar, must be a Texas thing as it is not the case in the Pacific Northwest. Lidar is very accurate and does not require recertification unless it fails one of it's three internal checks, which are to be preformed daily.

If you have a clean record I would request a "withheld judgement", (defered prosecution)which (in Idaho) costs you nothing (in Washsington I believe it costs you $100.) and goes away after one year assuming you get no moving violations in that year. You sign an agreement that If you fail the year then you are guilty of the underlying violation and pay the fine. In some states you can go to traffic school and the citation goes away after successful attendance at the school. If you want to pay a lawyer to assist that is your choice, but I think informed people with clean records are wasting money when they hire lawyers. Of course it all depends on the mood of the judge and if his panties are in a bind that day or not. Good luck!
 
e36325is

e36325is

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#6
Ask for a reduced fine, say you cannot afford 310 because you live on a extremely tight buget





but since you drive a 98 bimmer, he/she may not buy it [fake]
 
G

grc

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the way it works around here(cook county, il) is that you plead guilty and request supervision. pay the fine and court costs and it doesn't go on your record. usually works for up to 20 over. sometimes you have to go to the "driving $chool. " better than 30 over, you prolly should bring a lawyer with you, it'll make a world of difference.
 
carcus

carcus

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grc said:
the way it works around here(cook county, il) is that you plead guilty and request supervision. pay the fine and court costs and it doesn't go on your record. usually works for up to 20 over. sometimes you have to go to the "driving $chool. " better than 30 over, you prolly should bring a lawyer with you, it'll make a world of difference.
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I would bring a lawyer with you if ya know one, also, most places I have been 25 over the speed limit can be a "Cuff and Stuff" experience. At least you are just getting a ticket.
 
E

epj3

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#9
carcus said:
I would bring a lawyer with you if ya know one, also, most places I have been 25 over the speed limit can be a "Cuff and Stuff" experience. At least you are just getting a ticket.
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Thats a very good point - But I think when they sit out using radar, they are out trying to simply give out tickets and make some money, not arrest anyone. It's probably a good thing -- They have to make their money somehow, people break the law by speeding, and even if its 31 mph over the speedlimit, they just want their money...they dont want to lock you up for a little while.
 
Dinan55

Dinan55

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I don't know what to tell you. I haven't been driving that long and I've been pulled over twice, once because I stopped behind some cop and he saw that my inspection sticker had expired (I didn't even notice it was) and another for going 68 in a 50. I was originally going about 80 but then I saw the bastard hanging around the next bend and I slowed down by pushing the brakes a bit and downshifting into 4th. I don't know why the hell I didn't slam on them because then I probably would have gotten away with it. When he pulled me over I was just "honest" with him and told him that yes I knew what the speed limit was and when he asked me if I knew how fast I was going I said "somewhere around 60." He told me the radar clocked me at 64 and was actually closer to 68 (don't know how the hell that works out) but thank God he gave me a break and only gave me a warning, I was shitting my pants the entire time. I think the trick is to act more of like a little sissy than you already are and pretend like you're about to have a mental breakdown. I don't know, maybe that trick only works when you're my age. Even though I only got a warning, it still ruined my day. Yep, that's the end of my story.
 
E

epj3

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Dinan55 said:
I don't know what to tell you. I haven't been driving that long and I've been pulled over twice, once because I stopped behind some cop and he saw that my inspection sticker had expired (I didn't even notice it was) and another for going 68 in a 50. I was originally going about 80 but then I saw the bastard hanging around the next bend and I slowed down by pushing the brakes a bit and downshifting into 4th. I don't know why the hell I didn't slam on them because then I probably would have gotten away with it. When he pulled me over I was just "honest" with him and told him that yes I knew what the speed limit was and when he asked me if I knew how fast I was going I said "somewhere around 60." He told me the radar clocked me at 64 and was actually closer to 68 (don't know how the hell that works out) but thank God he gave me a break and only gave me a warning, I was shitting my pants the entire time. I think the trick is to act more of like a little sissy than you already are and pretend like you're about to have a mental breakdown. I don't know, maybe that trick only works when you're my age. Even though I only got a warning, it still ruined my day. Yep, that's the end of my story.
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Heh, I got pulled over becuase I was following a van around some twisties, and they arent THAT twisty... they are turns you can comfortably take in a ford explorer at 35 mph. The van was going 20 even in the long straight parts, so when the van put on the turn signal and I shouted a few "thank god" kind of words, I put it in 2nd, revved the engine and popped the clutch.

Little did I know there was a cop RIGHT NEXT to me hiding behind a huge pile of dirt (there was on way to see him until after I spun my wheels)

I said a bunch of swear words, pulled over, got a warning and that's it. Whew.
 
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