Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge BS speeding ticket...a long rant

Not wanting to sound like "that guy" but I got a bogus ticket the other day and not sure which direction to take this. At 4:20 in the morning I left my house headed for the grocery store. About a 1/4 mile from my house (still on a residential street) I notice headlights appear out of nowhere very quickly (i assumed it was a LEO). This is a 25 mph zone but because I have a hard time going 25 its possible I creeped up to 30. After stopping at stop sign and making a left into a 30 mph zone I looked in rearview and confirmed it was a cop. I checked my speed...I read 32. "Better slow down" I thought, "there is a cop right on my ass". About 3 blocks after my turn he hit the "cherries". I had NO idea why! He said I was doing 41 in a 30 and needed my license and ins. After receiving my $100.00 ticket I kindly told him he may wanna get his radar calibrated 'cause there was no way in hell I was doing 41 in a residential neighborhood with a cop right on my ass. He said, "yeah I was wondering but technically you didn't make a complete stop here and ya sped here also, yadda yadda yadda". Im used to cops pulling people over at 3 or 4 in the morning looking for drunks (and i commend that) but this guy never asked where I was going, where I was coming from or anything. I never even saw his face! Although my address on license isn't updated I have owned my home for 4 years now and don't have plans to move anytime soon. Since I can't afford anymore of these tickets I don't know If I should just pay a lawyer (another $100.00+) to have it reduced to a non moving or do what I want to and go to court and have this officer look me in the eye and say, under oath (does this even happen), that I was going 11 mile over limit. Any suggestions?

BTW, when I got home and looked at the ticket, for my speed he wrote 31 mph and scratched over the 3 with a 4. Now this may just have been a common mistake but I found it very odd that the speed I read on MY speedo was what he had originally wrote....

It's usually pretty hard to win against the government , it ends up costing you as much or more. I'd be cheesed off too but in the end I'd just pay the money and try and get on with life.
Maybe the cop was just lazy with his paperwork.
Maybe this guy radared you at 31 in the 25 zone and just wanted to get you to slow it down early in the morning for your own safety what with you bein' on a bike and some drunk in a cage maybe likely to bang into you. Getting side swiped by a car or van when you are in a car or van is a complete different situation.
Sometimes things happen for a reason , for every time you have been speeding and got away with it this is a token payment.
Hope I don't sound unsympathetic or like I'm trying to be a smart ar$e but sometimes you just can't win so turn it round and make the situation work for you.

Thanks Rick. I hear what your saying and i agree, Its just hard for my to let stuff like this go. This was a week ago and I'm still fuming! Guess I shoulda mentioned I wasn't on my bike. I was driving my wifes car that barely reached the speed limit in the 3 blocks of acceleration...I would have been peeved but would have accepted my ticket gracefully had he pulled me over and said I was doing 30 in a 25 (that was a possibility, like I said) but he LIED and said I was doing 41 in a 30.

I wouldn't get a lawyer, (incurring more cost),but I'd appeal the ticket and force the commonwealth to put on a show and just describe exactly what it is that they're accusing you of. I'd say, as you did, that the origional speed written on the ticket was,oddly, exactly what your speedometer read. The officer probably won't be in the hearing but rather a court officer who wasn't there and can't answer specific questions. Once I appealed a ticket and the officer was killed in a traffic accident before the court date, (he was driving under the influence). My heart broke for his children and wife but the ticket was dismissed.

Guilty until proven innocent. I've had one in the last three years because I NEVER go more than SL+5. Two months ago. Going down the Interstate in VA at SL+5 (such a scofflaw). Saw the trooper pull off to follow me. Dropped down to SL-1. He followed me for 3 miles. As I slowed for the approaching 'speed trap' with the, for no apparent reason, reduced speed limit he hit the lights. When he came up to the window he pointed to the sign in the I had not yet reached (maybe 250 yards) and wrote me up for the speed I was going 3 miles previous at the limit of the sign I had not yet reached. He was a complete a$$hole during the entire episode. As I was out of state I found an attorney online. I told him what happened and he cut in and told ME where it happened. He then NAMED the trooper. LEO? More like POS. I wonder how many teachers Virginia laid off so this POS can amuse himself on the freeways?

I always plead not guilty, they will usually lower the speed but not if it is only 10mph. I recently had a bogus ticket for driving in a closed lane that had nothing saying it was closed. Fought it and lost. There was no evidence just my word against his so I guess innocent until proven guilty is out the window.

How much would it cost to take a day off work? Unfortunately it may just be cheaper to pay the ticket.

If you do want to fight it you may actually beat it. You tell the court that you checked your speedometer and it said 32 in a 30. The cop pulls you over and says you were doing 41 and then writes 31 on the ticket. Could be a simple mistake by the cop but it also makes his testimony somewhat suspect and possibly enough for "reasonable doubt".

That being said, I got a ticket 15 years ago for $38 and the cop told me to my face that it would cost me more to take time off work to fight it. A simple money grab but what can you do.

It's a tough one, ain't it Ryan? Pure economics suggest pay the fine and move on. Wanting to set the record straight says go to court and fight it. If it weights on your mind, having a say in court might put the incident to rest for you, but only if you win I'd imagine. However, a court appearance could conceivably cause even more frustration if it turns out to be a waste of time.

It kinda sounds like you're just gonna have to bite this one, but it does suck.

Once, in court on a ticket hearing, I saw a guy get up in front of a judge, having already been found responsible at a magistrate's hearing, and say that he had no questions for the trooper and that, essentially, the trooper's testimony was correct but that if the state was going to take his money, he wanted it to cost them as much as possible to get it. The judge smiled,found him responsible and told him - "Mission Accomplished".

There is a stretch of multi lane between my cabin and the Parkway that ALWAYS has a couple of LEOs, usually troopers, hidden along the roadway. If there is no other crime in the area for them to attend to then, in these tough economic times with education budgets being slashed, we must obviously have too many LEOs on the publi role.

public dole

Deferred adjudication go to court after a mail in plea of not guilty then putting it off by having the date moved then go to court a year from now. If the cop shows probably not go to the prosecutor before court and ask for deferred adjudication which means pay the fine but if you don't get another ticket for 90 days it stays off you record

Whenever this happens to me, and it has happened, I just pay the fine and console myself with the thought of all the times I did break the traffic laws and got away with it.

Thanks for the input everybody! You all make some nice points...I should mention I'm no angel behind the wheel but I will admit when I'm wrong. The reason I'm concerned about "taking care" of this via guilty plea (to get reduced) or not guilty plea is because I don't need the points on my license or increased ins premiums. I have a ticket within the last year already (that one I admit to, and paid). I am also DEEPLY concerned about the possibility of this jackwagon making my life hell if I put up a fight in court.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDzH7qAhFM0
My apologies to any honest LEO's that may frequent this site but I love this song even more now...

Just curious, does your wife drive fast??? Maybe this LEO saw your wife (or at lest, your wife's CAR[not knowing who was driving]) at one time speeding when he was on a call or at the donut shop ???

Maybe he was just looking for an easy mark and figures "your type" might not challenge him in court.

IF you decide to see the judge, have your speedo tested for accuracy first. If accurate, present that evidence in writing. It'll only cost a few bucks and give your statement more credibility. Depending on your local public records laws, you might also do some research on this LEO's ticket writing history. A little research and your defense strategy may become evident.

When I was in high school me and a buddy drove 45 min each way in his green 70's Nova to a vo-tech school as high school credit. One day a Highway Patrol got us for speeding and took all our drivers licenses to run. I was in the back seat of the car but somehow MY name ended up on the ticket with HIS address and vehicle info. We noticed after he pulled off and laughed it off thinking it would be thrown out. Yeah right, we were pulled into the office at school and scolded for trying to pull one over on this cop.

Plead not guilty
Go to court pro se

I represented myself one time over a ticket. It cost me 5 days

Show up when you are supposed to, see a judge and plead not guilty. They give you a court date. Chances are real good the cop won't show and the ticket gets dismissed.

After my experience with a trooper calling me at home and threatening to falsify a ticket and claim reckless driving if I pursue it, if I'm ever on jury duty and a trooper is testifying, I'm naturally assuming he's lying.
That's what is known as unintended consequences.

I always fight tickets, and have been mostly successful. here in NY, if you get the ticket reduced to a "parking on the pavement" the local town/municipality gets to keep the fine. I should learn to park better. Most important improperly filled out tickets should be dismissed.

Plea nOt guilty postpone the court date as much as possible then go to court likely the cop will not show and if he does then ask for defered adjudication pay the fine don't get anymore tickets in 30 days or 90 days what ever it is round there and it stays off your record. Easy peasy. I do it two three times a year, got a clean driving record and rarely even have to pay the fine.

Picked up the local paper today to read that some of the local PD have been using the evidence room as their source of 'party favors'. They had to call in the state bureau of investigation. Perhaps as many as 2,200 pending cases may never come to trial due to the evidence being 'compromised'.

Surely you don't think that your local yokal cops are going to give ya the business over contesting a speeding ticket. Do you live in a small town that doesn't have proper corruption? I know the legal system can be pretty Mickey Mouse, but come on guys.

I don't know if he would or wouldn't but I do this, I know a state trooper took the time to look up my phone number (it wasn't on the citation)and call me at home and advise me there would be dire consequences if I challenged what he had written as the posted speed limit on a citation. That action has significantly affected my impression of the highway patrol.

That's a shame, Chet. Not only that that "Loose Canon" of a Highway Patrol Officer would go so far as to threaten you in that manner, but that it also seemed to have worked in intimidating you to keep quiet(that is if I read your earlier post correctly and you did indeed keep this phone incident to yourself), and maybe most especially that you've come to allow this incident to affect how you now feel overall about your state's Highway Patrol.

You see, while I can certainly understand the thought that "making waves" about it might not be "worth it" in the long run, I have to say that I think I probably would have "made those waves"(or at least some "little waves", anyway) about this threat and would have at least contacted the local District Attorney and spoken to him/her about the Officer's "little phone call".

When I spoke to the trooper's supervisor he said he would 'look into it'. I was never contacted afterward. The local Asst. DA said it was an HP personnel matter and they could not do anything about it unless directed to do so by the HP. There was a very distinct, unspoken message in both conversations that I would be well advised not to pursue it any further. I have neither the money nor the connections to protect myself from 'the system'. Ironically, as a paramedic years ago I had two 'saves' of state troopers. One ran himself over and the other accidentally shot himself in the femoral artery, though neither was reported that way to the media.

90% of cops are as big a thug as any criminal. The 10% of good ones, their hands are tied by red tape. (Because the bad ones). Just one mans opinion take it or leave it.

As I mentioned, I was a paramedic for many years. I worked very, very closely with several police agencies. There are plenty of good cops. But there are plenty of rotten SOBs that become cops, as well. One thing I found quite a bit was guys that could never EARN respect became cops so that they could DEMAND it.
With over 5000 emergency call under my belt I can tell EMS and cop stories for days on end.

Take it from someone whose driving record is five pages long.
Never, ever, ever, ever appear in a courtroom unless the judge specifically orders it!!!!!!!!!!!
I have three traffic attorneys on speed dial, in SoFla they
charge about $70 to represent you. They know all the little
tricks, obsure rules, etc. Anything that keeps you away
from a judge is a good thing. To plead for yourself, you have
to take one day off work to plead not guilty, one day to
plead your case, that is if it doesn't get a continuance
after you have already shown up. A traffic lawyer is in
court every day for many tickets, if one gets rescheduled, it
doesn't matter, he has many more to take care of. Also, I always
instruct my lawyers to do everything in their power to delay,
extend, reschedule, or otherwise put off the final decision
as far ahead in time as possible. My current record is 26 months (case finally dismissed)

Having watched many up close and personal I can see how people can have violent reactions to them.