My first ticket

[flubyu]

My day got off to a rough start this morning to say the least. It was 7 AM and I happened to have the one cop who wouldnt let me escape with a simple warning, or at the very least, a ticket that made some form of sense. After coming out of an S-turn like set of bends on a 25 mph road I had just made my way to fourth gear and was now currently running between 1200-1400 rpm. I have a t-5 with 3.55s in the rear which equates to about 30 mph...so I was slightly over the limit. While approaching a car on the shoulder of the road I began to slow down in an effort to be a cautious and aware driver in order to pass him, but before I could even think twice a cop jumps from the other side of the road with his radar gun and signals me to the side of the road. "Do you know why I pulled you over?" he proceeds to ask me simply replying that I hadnt the slighest idea. "You were going 40. This is a 25 mph zone." Reasoning that it is physically IMPOSSIBLE for my car to have been going that fast in that gear at such an rpm I immediately wanted to fire something back, but bit my tongue in realizing that would only worsten the current situation. He must have salavated when he saw me, an 18 year old kid, coming down the street in a Mustang GT. "Save it for the court" he said as I opened my mouth trying to find the words to say while holding back and choking on how I truly felt. And with that I fell victim to a cop who was specifically targeting high school seniors that day. (I found out that I was only one of many ticketed by the exact same cop that morning. In fact the car I was slowing down to avoid was apparently another victim)
I have two options on the table at the moment:
1. I give up and pay the $105 fine and take the 4 points to my license and deal with the insurance costs (which will be the worst thing out of it all)
2. I attempt to figth the ticket in an effort to hopefully either reduce or eliminate it completely
Mind you this is my first and only ticket
What should I do? Any suggestions?

 

[95 Green GT]

well im 19 and ive had about 15 tickets. i know i have a lead foot. but i get a lawyer almost everytime i get one

 

[BurninRubb3r]

I would absolutely got to court. What state are you in?

Your safest bet is to plea for a lesser charge that does not carry points, as they are what will hurt you in the long run.

 

[thethirdeye88]

i honestly dont know what to tell you...

 

[Dean Wormer]

Absolutely fight the ticket. Points on your license at 18 just sucks.

 

[02 281 GT]

You seem a responsible person, and that cop seems like he was just out for blood, so to speak. I would fight it.

 

[OurBlue95GT]

I've only ever been pulled over once, which resulted in the spspension of my license for 20 days-I was 16. When I got home and told my dad about what happened, he first and foremost asked me, did you ask to see the radar? He has been pulled over many many times for his lead foot. Apparently if you ask to see the radar and he says no, it results in the failure to produce evidence or something like that. I say go to court!!!

 

[99FiveOh]

being that it's your first ticket the judge may be lenient on you and withhold the points. You'll still pay the fine but without the points! At least it's that way here in FL. Or maybe you could go to a class and get the points removed, I've taken them online as well and the fine got reduced, here in FL anyway.

 

[inphiniti]

yeah around here if u have a clean driving record prior to, u can use that and just pay a court fine which is like $25... but if u get caught again, u cant use ur driving record... u have to have a clean slate for atleast 3 years... again, thats around here but either way id go to court, u might get lucky and get a really nice judge that day...

 

[yukisho]

Like already mentioned, ask for a radar print out, radar logs, or to view the record of the radar. Doing this has saved me from so many tickets. Not sure about where you live, but a radar detector is a great tool to have. I don't use as when I should slow down if a cop is around, I use it as a tool to fight the cops. You can still request a copy of the radar logs if they use the same system utah has. Here every radar that is a citation is recorded and saved in a server mainframe. Contact your local police department and ask to see if they to keep records of them. If not then fight it.

When you go to court just explain to the judge you were not going as fast as the officer said and that he had barely pulled someone else over right before you. Don't be cocky though. On a plus note, if the cop doesn't show up for the hearing, your free to go .

 

[Evilfox]

Good advice in this thread. Most states keep copies of radar print outs that result in tickets. You should always ask to see the radar/print out when pulled over, this alone has saved me countless times. If he declines your request the citation is then without warrant. You will still have to go to court as he will probably still cite you, but you will more then likely win.

A radar detector will also help you in the event you get pulled over. You can pick one up reasonably cheap or you can go the more expensive route and get a Valentine which will run you about $399.

 

[yukisho]

For now pick one up at walmart. They have one that is decent for $50. As for if a cop refuses to show you the radar log, you tell him that you are exercising your rights and that you request his lieutenant or sergeant to be present immediately.

 

[KamiKaziDK]

Also....how many vehicles were around? You can fight the fact that if there was heavy traffic he clocked someone else. Do you not have the correct calibration gear in your tranny????? The way your story sounds is like your speedo isn't working. If that's the case, you can argue you were driving with the flow of traffic, had just installed the gears yourself and needed a shop to "calibrate" your speedo. Have some place swap out the gear for $20-30 bucks and bring the receipt with "speedo gear calibration" on it and hopefully you don't get a dick judge.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

I hate to say it, but if you tell the story in court like you just told us, the judge is going to find you guilty. First, you already admitted guilt. You said you were probably exceeding the speed limit, but you don't actually know. Second, you're using faulty equipment to try and gauge your speed. IMO, the best you can hope for in court is supervision, or a plea to a lesser charge, but you're going to end up paying something, and you're going to have a guilty verdict attached to it.

 

[flubyu]

I thank you for all of the great suggestions thus far. Unfortunately I had the calibration gear swapped out back in January although my speedometer was off for a while before that happened. Using that to my defense could warrant an "Improper Maintanance/Failure to Make Repairs" citation which could result in 8 points. While there were no other cars in front of me there were several other cars pulled over by the same cop that day. Im going to speak to those who were also pulled over to see how fast they were going. If it seems like the story is the same all around then I am sure I can get a few to argue that the calibration of the gun was off.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

Unfortunately, unless it came from the factory with a faulty gauge, ignorance isn't a defense. You'll still be found guilty of the speeding, but at least they won't add the equipment violation on top of it. Challenging the calibration of the radar gun will probably just about get you tossed out of court. A police officer's sworn testimony is admissible as evidence against you in court. They are a professional witness, so when they say it's the officer's word against yours, it really is. Your best bet is to try and plea it to a lesser charge (non-moving violation of some sort), or to get supervision. You have about a 0.01% chance of winning, based on your story. Been there, done that.

 

[flubyu]

Is there any way to obtain information from a radar log? I would be incredibly interested to know how fast I was actually going. Also, does anyone out there know if New Jersey has such a thing in place? I've tried to research it and I haven't come up with any information regarding radar logs thus far.

 

[KamiKaziDK]

This is why I like Arizona......every two years you can go to driving school and no points, no ticket. I would just argue that I was going the same speed as everyone else in order to maintain the flow of traffic and you weren't sure exactly how fast you were going, but you were maintaining a safe speed for the road conditions It's hard to give advice on stuff like this not knowing how other states/cities laws are

 

[99FiveOh]

Yeah, and most states can jack the fine way up, here it's 500 bucks! if you lose your case. Best thing is to ask the judge to withhold guilt and he'll probably do that and the points won't be assessed but you'll have to pay court cost and the fine. That's easier than going to the class and it's about the same amount of money too!

I don't know about your state, but here they used to just let you fill out a point withhold form and as long as you weren't habitual, they would take the points off. They MAKE you see a judge now, probably so they can get the money for court costs on top of the fine!

 

[revhead347]

Unfortunately there really isn't any defense. You just buy your way out of it. If you don't want the points you pay more money for a lawyer. They don't defend you, they just make deals with the County Solisitor. I got my fair share of tickets in high school. I've mellowed out now though. If you want a good source to find a traffic attorney, here's a start

The National Motorists Association Website
The Ticket Clinic - Traffic Ticket Attorney - Nationwide Legal Lawyer Assistance with Tickets and DUI

Kurt