Fighting a speeding ticket in California

[DenverTaco07]

[redcoats1976]

down here in florida if you are doing 75 in a 70 it feels like you are impeding the flow of traffic,even in the middle or right lane.about 25% of traffic will blow past at 80+ mph.mix that with lost snowbirds driving 50 in a 70...what fun.

[Royal Tiger]

Originally Posted by Silver14

Site rules say no politics.



I don't know what your political leanings are, but I thought grumbling about speeding tickets was something everyone did. Either way, against the rules is against the rules, why is that an issue?







Facebook and vehicle age probably are the biggest contributors, but forum participation might increase if we tried to stay on topic, kept from bringing political parties into every other thread, left out insults from posts, etc. It's becoming an echo chamber with the same off topic nonsense over and over, it can't be encouraging users to post.

I removed my post so hopefully this will just die away. ADVRider has an extremely active political forum, but limits discussion to that and it seems to work. Regardless, traffic seems down drastically. The two that were the most vocal in this own 6th gens. Since that car can’t outsell a 13 year old Dodge with Pepboys style fender extensions, I don’t see the nameplate lasting.

[kmarshall2121]

Originally Posted by Clarkstar

Get out of California.... fast

yea - because thats so logical

[PoorMansCamaro]

Originally Posted by cornerspeed92

Thank you for your uninformed opinion. There was simply no politics....again the truth hurts. Pretty sure the same week babies that made the NSFW of beautiful women thread go away.....hmmmm, a thread of beautiful women on a predominantly male forum, doesn't make sense to me. If you dont like something then dont participate, but dont complain and make something go away because you dont like something.

OT, but i'm 99% sure that thread was closed due to creeps keep hitting up the women of this site, asking for more pictures, and other lewd comments. Started getting out of hand.

as for the OP, I would do whatever it took to get those points from hitting your record, whether it's driving classes, or a lawyer to reduce the violation. Oh, and stop going to fast. lol

[Doc]

Originally Posted by jeep_junkie

Got cited today under VC 22350 for unsafe speed in Milpitas, CA. 66 in 45 . How bad is this gonna be for my pocket and my insurance? Is there any point in trying to fight it? This is the first moving violation I've had on my CA license; afraid it's gonna hurt my insurance premium. Any advice??

He/she did you a favor; they could have written you up for excessive speed, but they chose UNSAFE which means the burden of proof is on them to prove the speed you were traveling was unsafe. You can't beat an excessive speed ticket, but unsafe speed tickets are beatable.

Show up in court to contest the ticket and plead not guilty. Chances are, the issuing officer won't even show up, in which case the ticket is thrown out. If they do show up, they have to prove your speed was unsafe in the situations and conditions under which they pulled you over.

Where were you when it happened? What time of day? Weather conditions? Pedestrians in the area? Cross traffic/other vehicles in the area? What was being threatened by your speed that the officer deemed was unsafe? Be prepared with all the relevant information you can; be ready to answer questions clearly and confidently. Don't lie or make anything up. If you don't know, say so. Be honest.

If you can, get the engineer's report from the city for the speed they state is safe for the road you were on. It'll probably be higher than the posted limit.

How did the officer clock your speed? Was it radar or did they pace you with their vehicle? If it was radar, were there other vehicles near or behind you that could have possibly influenced the speed reading?

If you're going to beat it, you want to claim not guilty on the grounds of "reasonable doubt" that you were traveling at an unsafe speed. It then becomes the officer's burden to prove otherwise.

What not to do: Do NOT have an attitude towards the court, the law or the officer. If they ask you what happened, say you have no problem with the officer; they were polite and professional. Don't complain about the officer, or how it's unfair or any other kind of excuse. Stick to the facts; your task is to raise reasonable doubt that your speed was unsafe. Focus on that, nothing else. Speak clearly and calmly. Don't interrupt; wait until it's your turn to speak. You'll get your chance to question the officer when he takes the stand.

Good luck!

[Opus13]

Doc has some good points, however here's some info from someone who has fought a ticket.
If you plan to fight, make damn sure you can win! If you lose the case, they charge you for all those court fees. The first time you go to court; the judge, court reporter and etc... Then again for your actual day in court. I saw fines jump from $150 to $800, and this was back in the '90s.
I lucked out and the citing officer didn't show up. The dozen or so people before all lost and all got hosed. I was sh*****g bricks until my name got called and the officer didn't show. Once the judge said that my case was dismissed I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Whatever you decide, God luck.

[rshelar]

BTW, the cops are encouraged to show up for court dates. Even if off duty, they normally get paid. If they show, you lose. They are considered experts and you are not!


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