Just got caught speeding - whats my next step?

[Lasonic TRC-920]

i'll do Defensive driving course if it's offered
I'll also do community service

just don't want a criminal record!

I think taking it to court and going with a lawyer is the way to go - rather than just accepting the offence and pleading guilty

You'll come out spending way less money if you just go and accept the course (if offered). You will probably get away with paying only one "somewhat" lower amount.

If you take a lawyer and lose, you will have lawyer fees, ticket cost, additional court fees (for using up their precious time), and who knows what else. And more times than not, the court will side with the officer - sometimes when the officer doesn't even show up for the court date himself.

 

[THAFUZZ]

Sorry for being late to the party. Many great tips here from all the repeat offenders .I went to the Radar/Lidar class and am Certified as a Traffic expert for court testimonies. That said, I have the documentation to prove My visual estimation accuracy within 1-2 miles per hour. If that Ofcr has the same credentials and Texas law allows it, His testimony could stand on its own. If Lidar was used, You're pretty much screwed. Hard to beat Lidar cause it's pin point accurate. An Ofcr looks through it, as He points a laser dot on you front grill. That red dot tells him He has the right car he's reading. Radar can be beat if you're driving beside a larger vehicle as in a Tractor trailer. Radar shoots in a conical shape that expands the farther out you go. So, it's extremely difficult to pick which car you are if You're in a cluster at a distance. Patrol Ofcrs only "test check" it after each traffic stop or beginning of shift. Expect to pay a reduced fine and gladly take the safety class if offered. In California, they can do it on line. Be careful and Good luck olice:

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

Sorry for being late to the party. Many great tips here from all the repeat offenders .I went to the Radar/Lidar class and am Certified to testify as a Traffic expert. That said, I have the documentation to prove My visual estimation accuracy within 1-2 miles per hour.If that Ofcr has the same credentials and Texas law allows it. His testimony could stand on it own. If Lidar was used, You're pretty much screwed. Hard to beat Lidar cause it's pin point accurate. An Ofcr looks through it, as He points a laser dot on you front grill. That red dot tells him He has the right car he's reading. Radar can be beat if you're driving beside a larger vehicle as in a Tractor trailer. Radar shoots in a conishape that expands the farther out you go. So, it extremely difficult to pick which car you are if in a cluster at a distance. Patrol Ofcrs only "test check" it after each traffic stop or beginning of shift. Expect to pay a reduced fine and gladly take the safety class if offered. In California, they can do it on line. Be careful and Good luck olice:

YEP!

 

[THAFUZZ]

Sorry for the spelling errors. I'm using my stupid Smart phone and my spell checker Sucks! I wanted to clarify that Radar tends to pick up larger vehicles before the smaller ones so, don't be the largest vehicle around, or slow your monkey butt down Most departments have specialists to Calibrate their Radar guns. So, Officers only need to "test check" them. Lawyers always try to get Ofcrs to state they "Calibrate" it. They DO have to produce the calibration docs in court if asked. I hope this helps everyone. Please be safe.

 

[skippy1969]

I would have asked to see the radar display.
They have to show you in here in Wisconsin.
It sounds like he didn't have you on radar or laser.
I know you were going fast,but I'm sure everyone has sped in their life.
I know I have.........
I got pulled over racing on my bike a 2002 Yamaha Vmax with a buddy of mine who wanted to see how fast his bike was.
We lined up at the stop light going out town.
Very very light traffic and I looked around and NO cops,or so I thought......
The light turned green and we both hammered on it.
I was blowing my buddies doors off "so to speak".
All of a sudden I thought I saw red and blue lights in my mirrors,wtf????
I saw my buddy pull over and the cop went around him and came after me.
I looked down at the speedometer and I was just passing 120 mph and I was in a 40 mph zone.........
My heart sank and I knew I was going to jail........ :'-(
It was a Sauk county sheriff's deputy.
He saw the whole thing.
He said he THOUGHT I was going about 60 mph ,but wasn't sure because thank GOD he didn't have radar on.
He gave me a choice.
He was going to give me a 20 mph over ticket. $320.00 and 6 points.
But since I didn't admit speeding and he didn't have proof.
Or he could give a loud exhaust ticket.
$100.00 and no points!
I took the loud exhaust ticket,LOL!
And I was on my way.
My point was in my case the officer didn't have proof I was speeding/racing and didn't have a case.
So he had to do something so he made up a lesser charge.
I gladly paid it....

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Skippy my sphincter clenched when I was reading your story having done stupid stuff like that many times myself.
You got extremely lucky.

 

[ClaretBadger]

In my country - if officer catches you speeding WITH a radar - it's points and a ticket - no going to court or anything unless there was an RTA or if you were going lightspeed (and in my country speed limit is 60 on most roads which aren't residential - the road i was "nabbed" over here would be considered a 70mph road - as it was wide and was not residential)

and it's not a criminal offence - it's a traffic offence

Here though

I am only going to go with a lawyer - as it seems they know the ins and outs of this country and I don't

I don't want to plead guilty - and get the record/points if there is a way i can just say sorry - Not Guilty - can i do referral/community service /just pay a fine


I was going over the limit
I was stupid
We've all done it
but this is the instance where you get caught - and feel like an arse

I have read stories where some lawyers tell you to plead guilty - in which case why bother withthe lawyer?

 

[THAFUZZ]

Remember, admit nothing! The burden of proof falls upon the Ofcr to produce the evidence in Traffic Ct., and be able to successfully testify his/her case. If they ask you if you know why they pulled you over, politely respond "Please tell me". Whatever you answer will be jotted down on the Ofcr's copy of his ticket as notes to help remind him in traffic court of any incriminating statements to support his case. Not ALL Ofcrs are traffic experts. All are trained with the basics. Also, if he/she is new to Patrol will be asked in court to establish his experience in visually estimating a vehicle's speed. Even Radar is not to be used when a vehicle when approaching from a curve. I know (from experience ) if an ofcr misses any court date, you get an A$$ chewing and internal investigation is started. If he is a "No Show", you get to go (free).

 

[baddboybill]

I remember I was driving 18 wheeler in Indiana and speed limit was 55 mph. I was doing 68 mph and got a speeding ticket. Having a cdl s-cks because anything over speed limit your ticketed and fine is much more in commercial vehicle. You also get screwed because your company can fire you for 2 driving offenses in a year and I already had one for driving in left lane.

So I had to pay an attorney like $500 to go to court for me. He got my speeder knocked down to littering which carried a $100-$200 fine. So that was like $700 out of my pocket :-(


Bad Boy Bill

 

[Fatdog]

If he is a "No Show", you get to go (free).

Except in Brentwood, Tennessee. My dad was pulled over for speeding years ago - 52 in a 45, which is a travesty in itself. Goes to court on the date listed on the ticket and the officer is a no-show. The judge extended the court date to accommodate the absent officer. TWO MORE TIMES the officer missed the court date. Again, the judge (crooked ass biatch) extended the court date. On the last court date, my dad showed up and the officer did not. The judge decided that since Officer Dickhead was a fine, upstanding, and honest officer, if he wrote you a ticket for speeding, you most likely were. Court finds for Officer Dickhead. Mr. Jenkins, pay the court for wasting our time.

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Bobby is it any wonder that our legal system is so F'd up? Many judges are some of the most pompous and self righteous A-Holes around and that's not to mention the corruption.
I work in the California AG Office with hundreds of lawyers and can tell you lawyers in general are not an example of the best people around.

 

[THAFUZZ]

If he is a "No Show", you get to go (free).

Except in Brentwood, Tennessee. My dad was pulled over for speeding years ago - 52 in a 45, which is a travesty in itself. Goes to court on the date listed on the ticket and the officer is a no-show. The judge extended the court date to accommodate the absent officer. TWO MORE TIMES the officer missed the court date. Again, the judge (crooked ass biatch) extended the court date. On the last court date, my dad showed up and the officer did not. The judge decided that since Officer Dickhead was a fine, upstanding, and honest officer, if he wrote you a ticket for speeding, you most likely were. Court finds for Officer Dickhead. Mr. Jenkins, pay the court for wasting our time.

Holy Crapola! I've NEVER heard or seen that happen in any California Traffic Courts. Probably cause they're so over booked. If if were Criminal court, the courts could care less about the Ofcr's busy schedule.

 

[skippy1969]

Skippy my sphincter clenched when I was reading your story having done stupid stuff like that many times myself.
You got extremely lucky.

LOL! I got EXTREMELY lucky for sure.........
I admit it was pretty stupid..... :grim:

 

[Lasonic TRC-920]

When I was a kid, I was a menace on the road....plenty of times in court and jail for driving bad, tickets, failure to appear, warrants
Now...I'm almost as bad as my wife Driving slow....speed limit or 3 miles an hour over,

Here in California, the cost's of tickets are through the ROOF Speeding tickets can run big money and I just can't see spending $500 on ANYTHING that doesn't have speakers on it

 

[redbenjoe]

for us with ' the need for speed '

make friends with your local // regional airports --

those runways are perfect for hole shots

 

[THAFUZZ]

for us with ' the need for speed '

make friends with your local // regional airports --

those runways are perfect for hole shots

A certain Air National Guard Base I'm familiar with (AirForce), uses shared runways with the the civilian air traffic. The FAA Tower shuts down at approx. 9-10PM. The approaching Pilots can activate the runway lights to land themselves after 10 PM since No One is in the Tower. Let Me say this a certain way..... As Security Forces, working flight Line security for our F15 Fighter Jets, There's been alot of "Need for Speed" once the Tower people leave and no air traffic is approaching for landing. That runway is 5K long and more than long enough for hole shots.This message will self destruct in 10 seconds and I'll deny everything.

 

[redbenjoe]

adam -- no worries - we tell NOBODY !!

there is just ONE ' sharing & caring ' tradition we follow :::::

approaching // landing aircraft ' often ' have the right of way

 

[gsbadbmr]

All the local speed demons in my city use http://www.sosticket.ca/ ...all you need is $$$

 

[MasterBlaster84]

I did one extremely dumb thing when I was 18 that still makes me sweat when I think about it and how I could have easily killed somebody.

We had one small hill in a residential neighborhood that you would get the butterflies if you took it above the speed limit. Brilliant me thought it would be cool to go over it as fast as possible, keep in mind the speed limit was 25mph. I was driving a 1977 Chrysler Cordoba, a 5,000 pound hunk of Detroit Iron, I burried the gas pedal about 75 to 100 yards before the hill and launched off of it at 85mph. Yes you read that right I launched as in got all 4 wheels off the ground so I had no chance of stopping, veering or even slowing down if somebody had been in the road on the other side of the hill and it was totally blind because I had no way of knowing if anybody was on the other side. That has to be the dumbest driving I've done in my life and I've done plenty of dumb things, I'm sweating now just thinking about how easily something really tragic could have happened.

 

[Ghettoboom767]

Glad none got hurt,BUT the Cordova is meant to be abused!!!
Man my friend burned his!! Yes you heard me right-he burned his
76'!

He like the smell of the burning Corinthian leather!!