ticket question and advise please
Lexus Champion
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,102
Likes: 8
From: Hill Country, TX
I am going to court and see if they will cut me any slack. If I do lose or something, will they charge me extra?
In Florida if its your first offense, the traffic school can avoid points for the first violation. so i should go to traffic school and pay the fine and go to court and hope the cop dont show up??
In Florida if its your first offense, the traffic school can avoid points for the first violation. so i should go to traffic school and pay the fine and go to court and hope the cop dont show up??
BTW, were you in a car or on your bike? It shouldn't make any difference, but people look differently on motorcycle speeding. (Careless, reckless, etc.). And detecting speed on an oncoming bike is more difficult, so it might play into your decision as to which way you want to go.
Thread Starter
Lexus Champion
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,170
Likes: 98
From: California
how much did you pay for the lawyer?
were you the only car on the on coming side of the road?
I would have asked to see his radar....
From what my lawyer here has said to me and has done for me, you can fight it.
I had my lawyer have a radar ticket thrown out last year... the cop was hiding in the bushes and was radaring down the street, I was with a pack of cars and was shotgun in the middle lane with cars on both sides.... he ended up pulling me over and giving me the ticket for going 60 in a 35.... In court my lawyer had it throw out based on simple geometry.... he drew a triangle and one point was where he was sitting on the side of the road and based on my lawyers knowledge of the radar gun type he stated that this radar can sometimes be off a few degrees to the left or right if it hasn’t been calibrated recently. He asked the cop how far away he was when he tagged me and the guy said something like 600 yards.. don’t exactly remember... and my lawyer said “well officer you started that there were cars around my clients vehicle and the time, and that if you were xxx amount of feet away and this radar can be of by a few degrees. Then in the range of xxx ft your gun could have locked onto any of the cars in the three lanes and there for only had a 33% chance of locking on to my clients“.... this is just off the top of my head but that’s about what he said...
the judge called him and the officer to the stand and they whispered some stuff and the cop came back looking pissed as all hell, the judge told me to stop following other cars that were speeding and to obey the limit.... dismissed the ticket according to something or another (law mumbo jumbo
)
Bottom line I'd fight it, there is a chance he doesn’t even show up, you can get it thrown out on a technicality, you might be able to get it dismissed, or of all else fails begging worked for me once, lol the judge felt bad and lessened my fine
I would have asked to see his radar....
From what my lawyer here has said to me and has done for me, you can fight it.
I had my lawyer have a radar ticket thrown out last year... the cop was hiding in the bushes and was radaring down the street, I was with a pack of cars and was shotgun in the middle lane with cars on both sides.... he ended up pulling me over and giving me the ticket for going 60 in a 35.... In court my lawyer had it throw out based on simple geometry.... he drew a triangle and one point was where he was sitting on the side of the road and based on my lawyers knowledge of the radar gun type he stated that this radar can sometimes be off a few degrees to the left or right if it hasn’t been calibrated recently. He asked the cop how far away he was when he tagged me and the guy said something like 600 yards.. don’t exactly remember... and my lawyer said “well officer you started that there were cars around my clients vehicle and the time, and that if you were xxx amount of feet away and this radar can be of by a few degrees. Then in the range of xxx ft your gun could have locked onto any of the cars in the three lanes and there for only had a 33% chance of locking on to my clients“.... this is just off the top of my head but that’s about what he said...
the judge called him and the officer to the stand and they whispered some stuff and the cop came back looking pissed as all hell, the judge told me to stop following other cars that were speeding and to obey the limit.... dismissed the ticket according to something or another (law mumbo jumbo
)Bottom line I'd fight it, there is a chance he doesn’t even show up, you can get it thrown out on a technicality, you might be able to get it dismissed, or of all else fails begging worked for me once, lol the judge felt bad and lessened my fine
Thread Starter
Lexus Champion
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,170
Likes: 98
From: California
I was driving my car. yeah i know i could take the course and avoid the points, but the $209 hurts when i am in college.
If you go to court and lose they will usually let you take the traffic school to avoid the points. To me the most important thing is to avoid points. Once you start racking up points your insurance will go crazy, especially if you are young. And don't ever get caught with a DUI, you will pay dearly for years to come on surcharges and insurance.
BTW, were you in a car or on your bike? It shouldn't make any difference, but people look differently on motorcycle speeding. (Careless, reckless, etc.). And detecting speed on an oncoming bike is more difficult, so it might play into your decision as to which way you want to go.
BTW, were you in a car or on your bike? It shouldn't make any difference, but people look differently on motorcycle speeding. (Careless, reckless, etc.). And detecting speed on an oncoming bike is more difficult, so it might play into your decision as to which way you want to go.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
From: TX
You can also call the court clerk and ask about deferred adjudication. If they offer it, they sometimes will check your driving record and see if you have alot of citations. If you do, they may not offer it to you. Deferred adj. will mean you will have to pay the fine, or close to it, and go a period of time without a moving citiation (6wks to a year depending on court and judge). After that time, the charge is dismissed and not recorded on your record (and no reporting to insurance company).
The officer does not have to show you his radar with the "cited" speed as he can say it is unsafe for you to exit your vehicle due to traffic or officer saftey.
Hope this helps.
The officer does not have to show you his radar with the "cited" speed as he can say it is unsafe for you to exit your vehicle due to traffic or officer saftey.
Hope this helps.
Driver
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
From: Oregon
All i have to say (in addition to what i said before) is GO TO COURT! The plead 'not guilty', not 'no contest', or 'guilty with explanation'.
quick story. driving from seattle down to portland where i live. i was going 80 in a 55. got pulled over and ticketed not just for speeding, but for failure to signal as well. i decided, unlike past tickets, to make the investment and fight it. not only did i have to take the time off for the court, but the drive was 2 HOURS EACH WAY. pleaded not guilty, explained that i was clearly following the traffic on the freeway, and that i used my signal but the morning sunlight from the front of me could easily have washed out my signal, i got the ticket defered. that means that it is kept in 'pending' for 12 months, and as long as i don't get a ticket in the mean time, it is dropped.
best decision of my life. the 12 months is over and i'm off scott free.
another lesson. i have been a bad driver in the past, and have gotten quite a few tickets.
want to know how much i pay in insurance? $540 EVERY MONTH. that's almost as much as my monthly car payment.
FIGHT IT.
quick story. driving from seattle down to portland where i live. i was going 80 in a 55. got pulled over and ticketed not just for speeding, but for failure to signal as well. i decided, unlike past tickets, to make the investment and fight it. not only did i have to take the time off for the court, but the drive was 2 HOURS EACH WAY. pleaded not guilty, explained that i was clearly following the traffic on the freeway, and that i used my signal but the morning sunlight from the front of me could easily have washed out my signal, i got the ticket defered. that means that it is kept in 'pending' for 12 months, and as long as i don't get a ticket in the mean time, it is dropped.
best decision of my life. the 12 months is over and i'm off scott free.
another lesson. i have been a bad driver in the past, and have gotten quite a few tickets.
want to know how much i pay in insurance? $540 EVERY MONTH. that's almost as much as my monthly car payment.
FIGHT IT.
Thread Starter
Lexus Champion
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,170
Likes: 98
From: California
Driver
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
From: Oregon
simply insist that you really don't believe you were going that fast. it's not a lie, you don't think you were. that leaves it up to the officer to PROVE that you were, which is much harder than it is for you to say that you weren't.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,468
Likes: 0
From: Vancouver, BC
from canada (yes i KNOW we have completely different laws)
i'd dispute it ... often if the officer doesnt show to the hearing, the fine is thrown out
getting a lawyer seems like a waste of money, if you're even concidering that (unless you have a lawyer family member/friend) just pay the stupid thing
as for the "note", what i think it sounds like makes no sense, call the court house maybe and ask them what that "note" means
i'd dispute it ... often if the officer doesnt show to the hearing, the fine is thrown out
getting a lawyer seems like a waste of money, if you're even concidering that (unless you have a lawyer family member/friend) just pay the stupid thing
as for the "note", what i think it sounds like makes no sense, call the court house maybe and ask them what that "note" means
Lead Lap
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 583
Likes: 1
From: CA
Kinda hard to do. Maybe pay the ticket and not get caught next time.lol. Just kidding. What I suggest is pay the ticket like ben r said and be careful next time. That orange or red light on your speedometer - it's a warning light . Use it.
