November 21st, 2010, 11:33 PM | #1 |
ninjette.org member
Name: Max
Location: san marcos
Join Date: Oct 2010 Motorcycle(s): 09 ninja 250 Posts: 131
|
fighting speeding ticket = no traffic school allowed?
hello,
i live San Marcos, CA and recently got a speeding ticket by the CHP. i thining about fighting it but afraid if i lose in court, judge wont allow me to take traffic school. This is because i heard from a friend that told me if i decided to fight and lose, i cant do traffic school. is this true? thanks |
|
November 22nd, 2010, 12:16 AM | #2 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Cindy
Location: Wethersfield, CT
Join Date: Apr 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250R Posts: 691
|
I just went to court about not stopping behind the limit line at a stop sign. The judge asked as he was ruling if I wanted to go to traffic school and did that for every case that was seen. If the judge doesn't ask you have every right to ask them... why would the state of CA turn down more easy money
Honestly if it was a CHP officer you have no chance in winning your case. CHP officers get fined if they don't appear in court (when I went 2/3 of the cases were dismissed because the cop didn't show, the only people left were the ones who were pulled over by CHP officers). I do know a CHP officer pretty well and my fiance was close to entering in the academy and he read up on what was is expected of the officers. Just from my experience when I went to court I bought pictures as well as federal code for signage showing that the intersection was bad and it was impossible to see the sign. The CHP officer had half of the events written down wrong and even said that she saw me stop but it was over the line... judge still said I was guilty. If you have a solid case beyond, well my speedo was off, I was late to work, etc, I would go to court, otherwise you are wasting your time. |
|
November 22nd, 2010, 12:25 AM | #3 |
Humble Observer
Name: Truong
Location: Augusta, Maine
Join Date: Mar 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Yamaha XT250 Posts: 612
|
I'm curious how fast you were alleged to be going, and what the speed limit was on that road. Care to share?
__________________________________________________
Everything I post is "IN MY HONEST OPINION". Why is "Parking Lot Enduro" not a thing? |
|
November 22nd, 2010, 01:34 AM | #4 |
ninjette.org dude
Name: 1 guess :-)
Location: SF Bay Area
Join Date: Jun 2008 Motorcycle(s): '13 Ninja 300 (white, the fastest color!), '13 R1200RT, '14 CRF250L, '12 TT-R125LE Posts: Too much.
Blog Entries: 7
|
Pleading not guilty does not prevent you from taking traffic school, but the county isn't obligated to let anyone take traffic school either; it is within the court's policy to disallow traffic school for any reason.
But practically, that's pretty rare. The threat of it shouldn't be enough to keep you from fighting the ticket, if you feel you have a chance at beating it. But before you even think about going to court to fight it, always try trial by declaration first here in California. Works a reasonable portion of the time, and if you lose you still have the right to fight it in court if you choose, and traffic school is usually available afterwards either way anyway. Useful thread on local motorcycle site.
__________________________________________________
Montgomery Street Motorcycle Club / cal24.com / crf250l.org / ninjette.org ninjette.org Terms of Service Shopping for motorcycle parts or equipment? Come here first. The friendliest Ninja 250R/300/400 forum on the internet! (especially Unregistered) |
|
November 22nd, 2010, 09:07 AM | #5 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Frugal
Location: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): Several Posts: A lot.
|
Here in Texas if you elect for traffic school, called Defensive Driving, the criminal case is dismissed upon proof of course completion. If you go to trial and are found guilty then your record gets the hit and taking Defensive Driving is no longer relevant. Sometimes you can ask for deferred adjudication, which means they put your case on hold pending you completing some length of time (usually 6 months) without getting another ticket. After the time passes without another ticket the case is dismissed.
Yeah, fighting a case without a lawyer on your side is pretty much a waste of time. Around here most judges are just rubberstamps for the DA and police. If anything, tying up their court for such a trivial offense is pretty much a guarantee of a guilty ruling in retribution. If you have good evidence of your innocence, such as video, you could request a jury trial (which you have a right to). At that point, after seeing your evidence, the prosecution might back down and dismiss. |
|
November 22nd, 2010, 09:46 AM | #6 |
CPT Falcon
Name: J.Emmett Turner
Location: Newnan, GA
Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): '08 CP Blue EX250J, '97 unpainted EX250F, 2nd '97 unpainted EX250F (no engine), '07 black EX250F Posts: A lot.
|
Were you on the bike at the time you received it?
|
|
November 22nd, 2010, 03:34 PM | #7 |
ninjette.org member
Name: ___
Location: ___
Join Date: Jul 2010 Motorcycle(s): ___ Posts: 160
|
Here in MN (and probably other states) if your driving record is clean and you get a speeding ticket you can ask for a continuance. This means you pay the fine and then if don't get a moving violation for 365 days the ticket is essentially thrown out. On the other hand, if you get nabbed again (speeding, run a stop sign, etc) then you're basically screwed as you'll have to fight the new ticket and win. I've done this twice in the past 10 years (very minor speeding tickets). A search of my DL shows it's clean. I have a class A commercials so I want it clean.
|
|
November 22nd, 2010, 04:42 PM | #8 | |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Paulette
Location: .
Join Date: Jun 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250R Posts: A lot.
|
Quote:
__________________________________________________
sometimes I aim to please, but mostly I shoot to kill |
|
|
November 23rd, 2010, 12:23 PM | #9 | |
ninjette.org member
Name: KT
Location: Left Coast
Join Date: Oct 2010 Motorcycle(s): 1 of them Big Four Posts: 84
|
Quote:
OP:, don't bother going to court unless you're 90% sure you have a valid argument, otherwise, you'll end up paying tickets+court fees as well, and yea, you can always go to traffic no matter if you go to court or not, since you have to pay extras to attend school anyway. |
|
|
November 23rd, 2010, 02:08 PM | #10 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Scott
Location: DFW TX
Join Date: Jul 2009 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Ninja zx6r Posts: 609
|
|
|
November 23rd, 2010, 02:44 PM | #11 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Frugal
Location: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW)
Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): Several Posts: A lot.
|
In Texas Nolo Contendre, or No Contest, has exactly all of the same legal meanings and ramifications as Guilty. When people plead NC here everybody recognizes it's just another way of pleading guilty.
|
|
November 23rd, 2010, 04:58 PM | #12 | |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Cindy
Location: Wethersfield, CT
Join Date: Apr 2010 Motorcycle(s): 2010 Ninja 250R Posts: 691
|
Quote:
Also if you have gone to traffic school within the last 18 months, you can go to traffic school again... it's called a 2nd offense driving school which means that it is not on your driving record but it gets reported to your insurance. I just went to traffic court in Riverside County in CA November 5th. |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
First Speeding Ticket, and It's a biggie :( | Clearlynotstefan | General Motorcycling Discussion | 84 | September 5th, 2011 09:41 AM |
speeding ticket | tinng321 | General Motorcycling Discussion | 38 | June 10th, 2010 04:33 AM |
Got my 1st Speeding Ticket | CRXTrek | The Ex-Ninjetters Lair | 33 | May 31st, 2010 09:50 PM |
First speeding ticket! YIPPY! | sixer | General Motorcycling Discussion | 47 | February 19th, 2010 01:35 PM |
How I got my first speeding ticket | Anthony_marr | General Motorcycling Discussion | 35 | January 6th, 2010 08:10 AM |
|
|