Can I fight this ticket?

[shawn57187]

I haven't gotten a speeding ticket in about ten years. The other day I'm headed down the interstate on my ninjette and a Washington State Patrol officer pulls me over. The officer gave me a ticket for doing 67 in a 60. He said, and I quote, "Anytime I see speed, I have to ticket." He then lectured me a little on the dangers of motorcycling. This seems a little unbelievable to me, I didnt even bother arguing at the time I was so shocked. Now that I reflect on it, I'm wondering if my ninjette's speedometer is even accurate within five miles an hour?

I would like to fight this ticket if possible. The alternative is paying a $90+ fine and taking a safe driving class as part of a deferment program (a major ass pain).

[kkim]

ninjette's speedos are typically 10% optimistic.

http://www.ninjette.org/wiki/Why_is_...eally_going%3F

[kaiserz]

WOW o.o!!!!!! you're doing 67 and I believe that our ninja is off 5mph(GPS speedo), technically you're doing 62???

Did he tell you what speed you were going?
Anyway if I were you I would fight that, maybe he's just after you cause you're a motorcyclist.
Also at court ask for the proof that you were speeding, cause I'm pretty sure 2mph would not get you in trouble.

oops -.- he gave you 67... mah bad. brain not working

[Gorilla25]

if the cop dont show u proof, u can deff. fight it..and possibly win...i have friends who fought it and won because lack of evidence

["A"]

I haven't had a ticket in nearly 10yrs also, I'd go to court for every ticket other than parking.

Judge is likely to let you off with a fine but without points from moving violation, witch can affect your insurance premium. You will have to pay the fine & court cost.

They want your money regardless, if not, the cop would have given you some non-moving violation ticket like riding with your hi-beam on.

If you have to take a class to avoid points, I'd do it.

[Jerkson]

Originally Posted by N Ja

I haven't had a ticket in nearly 10yrs also, I'd go to court for every ticket other than parking.

Judge is likely to let you off with a fine but without points from moving violation, witch can affect your insurance premium. You will have to pay the fine & court cost.

They want your money regardless, if not, the cop would have given you some non-moving violation ticket like riding with your hi-beam on.

If you have to take a class to avoid points, I'd do it.

Where I'm from even if the ticket doesn't affect points it still is a ticket and shows on your driver's abstract which insurance sees upon request. Therefore, ALL moving violation tickets CAN affect insurance.

[bob706]

If he got you at 67 your speedo would have been indicating over 70. Do you remember if it was over?

[Ninja Assassin]

Geez, I'm pretty sure that in Georgia there isn't even a fine for going anything under 10 over the limit.

Thats a prick cop and he does not have to right you a ticket. Thats BS. He's supposed to use his own judgement and discretion.

[Mr.E]

Originally Posted by Gorilla25

if the cop dont show u proof, u can deff. fight it..and possibly win...i have friends who fought it and won because lack of evidence

I dont know how... If a cop catches you with a radar there's no way to show proof. As soon as you let go of the button the radar resets itself. I would know. I take criminal justice classes and am going into the academy soon. Im sure it was something else, but there would never be any way to "show" proof from the radar its self (which is what I assume you mean. Sorry if I'm wrong) The reason being for this is because if they clock someone at 100 mph and it saves that number, they may accidentally push the button wrong or what ever and see 100 mph and pull someone over who was not doing that speed.

As for the OP, you could probably win the case. On the ticket is the speed you were doing written? If so, find some actual facts about how the speedometer is 5 mph off, and bring it to the case. Hell, if your lucky, maybe the cop wont even show up to present his case. (It happens). Good luck though.

[p4174w]

I don’t see how the Ninja’s optimistic speedometer is going to help. If he was clocked at 67mph, then his speedo was probably reading ~73mph at the time. That would hurt his case. I don’t think you could fight it, at least not with the information provided here

[Enfemus]

Any speed over the LEGAL limit is breaking the speed limit even if its 1 mph over. Police have the right to pull you over if they see fit as you are technically breaking the law. Most police don't pull you over for 5 over as there is no point and you are going with the flow of traffic. Now going 10+ over is pushing it and depends on area. Now it sounds like you got a a--hole cop and I'm from WA originally and there are some a--hole cops especially towards Grays Harbor County.

You can fight the ticket and usually the officer doesn't show up but there are those who will.

[Mr.E]

Originally Posted by p4174w

I don’t see how the Ninja’s optimistic speedometer is going to help. If he was clocked at 67mph, then his speedo was probably reading ~73mph at the time. That would hurt his case. I don’t think you could fight it, at least not with the information provided here

Ha thats true. I was sooo not thinking when I posted my post. Lol. Thats what graveyard shift does to someone. Yeah, I agree with him.

Do you know if you were near any cars?? One or several? What kind? Ect?

[caps]

Originally Posted by Mr.E

I dont know how... If a cop catches you with a radar there's no way to show proof. As soon as you let go of the button the radar resets itself. I would know. I take criminal justice classes and am going into the academy soon. Im sure it was something else, but there would never be any way to "show" proof from the radar its self (which is what I assume you mean. Sorry if I'm wrong) The reason being for this is because if they clock someone at 100 mph and it saves that number, they may accidentally push the button wrong or what ever and see 100 mph and pull someone over who was not doing that speed.

im sorry to burst your bubble, but thats not true.

[Linuss]

Originally Posted by Mr.E

I dont know how... If a cop catches you with a radar there's no way to show proof. As soon as you let go of the button the radar resets itself. I would know. I take criminal justice classes and am going into the academy soon.

Sorry Mr. E, but no. The radar and LIDAR guns don't reset until the officer wants it to, so if they want to, they can show you the speed.


I would know, as my major is in criminal justice, I was a police explorer for 4 years, I've done countless police ride-alongs, I work as a Paramedic meaning I interact with police daily, AND I take an interest in such things.



Depending on how your state sets up traffic citations (Some see it as criminal, some as other), the state has to meet its burden of proof. That's often why if an officer doesn't show up, it can be tossed out, as typically that's the states only witness. Also, they have to prove that the gun has been calibrated recently, and/or the officer went through the training class, and/or the radar wasn't in POP mode, which per manufacturers manuals, POP is to not be used for citations.


Or you could always ask for leniency, or if your state allows, a defensive drivers course to drop the ticket... or kidnap/blackmail the judge.

[kaiserz]

Okay here's the deal, If he clocked you in at 67, then he did, you're guilty until proven innocent. If you want to fight that, there's a small chance that you'll win, cause I've only been pulled over once, LEO told me I was going 19 over the limit, but he wrote it down that I was going 23, I fought it, told the judge that I wasn't aware that I was speeding, no excuses, no BS and asked If the radar or whatever equipment the LEO was using was accurate, LEO didn't have anything with him as proof, judge told me to go and don't speed again.

*Don't tell them that the ninja has a faulty speedometer that reads HIGHER speed instead of lower, If it's the other way around you can take that to court, but the speedometer thing is against us. so don't even mention it, its gonna make you look worst.
*If the LEO doesn't show up to court you're free to go (there's like a 1% chance this will happen)
*If LEO doesn't have any evidence that you were going that speed, you're free to go
(usually newbie LEO's doesn't have any evidence/papers they'll just BS the speed ticket so they can get as many as they can and meet their quota and expect you to just pay. If you think that officer's a newbie fight it. but then again he's a state trooper)
*You can ask a request to change the court date, (Increasing your probability that the LEO won't show up, heck I heard you can even do this 2 - 3 times. )
*You can ask to transfer your case to a different court location/ town/ county.(Again this will increase your probability that the LEO won't show up)

Good Luck. If I were in your position I'll fight it, cause first you didn't say anything that he can use against you. and second you were on an interstate where they usually go 10 - 20 over or they're dead meat.

[kaiserz]

Originally Posted by Linuss

Sorry Mr. E, but no. The radar and LIDAR guns don't reset until the officer wants it to, so if they want to, they can show you the speed.


I would know, as my major is in criminal justice, I was a police explorer for 4 years, I've done countless police ride-alongs, I work as a Paramedic meaning I interact with police daily, AND I take an interest in such things.



Depending on how your state sets up traffic citations (Some see it as criminal, some as other), the state has to meet its burden of proof. That's often why if an officer doesn't show up, it can be tossed out, as typically that's the states only witness. Also, they have to prove that the gun has been calibrated recently, and/or the officer went through the training class, and/or the radar wasn't in POP mode, which per manufacturers manuals, POP is to not be used for citations.


Or you could always ask for leniency, or if your state allows, a defensive drivers course to drop the ticket... or kidnap/blackmail the judge.

and what he said specially this " they have to prove that the gun has been calibrated recently, and/or the officer went through the training class, and/or the radar wasn't in POP mode, which per manufacturers manuals, POP is to not be used for citations.
"

[Nemesis]

Didn't read everyone's comments but yes I would fight that especially if he made such a comment. It's not illegal to go over the speed limit so long as the conditions are safe to do so.

I went 10mph over the speed limit, cop radar'd me and made a comment "It's like a video game, I point and shoot and ticket." I fought ticket via TBD. I painted a clear picture of where the ticket took place and explained my argument thoroughly for dismissal.

And I won.

So yes I suggest you fight the ticket either in person or TBD, but I'd suggest TBD.

[whiteboy]

Best thing to do is call the police dep and ask whenthw officer who gave u the ticket is off duty and when his hours are. Try to get a court date when he is off from work, most of the time he will not show and u win the case. Work in many places

[Buffalony]

Originally Posted by Linuss

Also, they have to prove that the gun has been calibrated recently, and/or the officer went through the training class, and/or the radar wasn't in POP mode, which per manufacturers manuals, POP is to not be used for citations.

Spot on. I got off on a ticket because they couldnt obtain a recent enough calibration record on the gun used.

A few years later I was pulled over by an officer that judged my speed while he was driving in on coming traffic! I noticed there wasnt a description of a model used on the ticket. I pointed that out in court and was let off. He judged my speed visually...while driving in the opposite direction....Give me a break!! He was tailgating another vehicle too.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by p4174w

I don’t see how the Ninja’s optimistic speedometer is going to help. If he was clocked at 67mph, then his speedo was probably reading ~73mph at the time. That would hurt his case. I don’t think you could fight it, at least not with the information provided here

I never said it would help. I was merely stating a fact about the speedometer.

[almost40]

Originally Posted by caps

im sorry to burst your bubble, but thats not true.

+1

[almost40]

Originally Posted by Linuss

Sorry Mr. E, but no. The radar and LIDAR guns don't reset until the officer wants it to, so if they want to, they can show you the speed.

In Illinois they dont have to show you.

[n4mwd]

Whether to fight the ticket or not, really depends on the laws in your state. We can all tell you how it works in OUR state, but your mileage may vary.

I know that in most states, a speeding ticket is an infraction. Despite what you may have heard on TV and such, in traffic court, you are guilty until proven innocent. Speeding is not a true crime and you have no real rights other than what the state grants you. The judge will assume that you are lying.

So if you go to court, you need an angle to prove that you are not guilty. If the cop is there, his word is all the judge needs to prove that you were speeding.

If you want to lose, refer to the cop as "Barney", call him a liar or say "I might have been speeding a little, but not that much". The cop sees the judge all the time and probably goes to his parties. Saying you were speeding is an admission of guilt. If you already said that to the cop, you are screwed because his memory of the events is treated as absolute fact. Instead, use words and phrases like "misunderstood", "false reading on the equipment", etc.

I know in Florida, you can plead "No Contest" to a speeding ticket and usually will get court costs and no points and no school. Court costs vary state to state.


As a side note, you mentioned that driving school was an option. I'm wondering how that applies to bikers. And I'm wondering if they train those people to look for bikers before they change lanes and other watchforbiker things. I've never gone to one of those, but I'd love to know what the course outline is.

[coondog]

Always fight speeding tickets under 10mph, especially if you get a bike lecture. The officer profiled you beforehand and still pulled you over. Illegal in all states. Tell the judge you Never go over 10mph of the limit even on a bike, that's why with speedo error officer got 67. Even if copper is there the judge rules and he'll have speeders in there going alot faster than you did.

[Mocha Man]

Originally Posted by Enfemus

I'm from WA originally and there are some a--hole cops especially towards Grays Harbor County.

Amen. My dad got pulled over for doing 1-over on one of the busiest streets. I cant believe how inconsiderate some of these cops can be here

[kyrider]

Lots of states are strapped for money and one way to generate revenue is to increase tickets.