Another Pelican with a speeding ticket
 

Yep - it happened to me. First time in 17 years. First time ever in my 911, and that's after seven years.

Anyway, here's the gist. I got pegged doing 58 in a 35 via radar. The motorcycle cop flashes his lights, I pull over (which he seemed thankful for). First thing he asks me is what my lap times are at Willow Springs. :rolleyes: Then he wrote me the ticket. :p

Questions:
1) Is this something worth fighting in court? How would I fight it? Is there a special plea I can use? Is there also a special plea I can use if the cop decides to show up in court? I hear tickets are dismissed if the cop doesn't show.

2) I called the courthouse who said that because I was doing 23 mph over the speed limit, traffic school is out of the question no matter how good my driving record is. Is this true?

This happened in North Hollywood, btw, on a Sunday at 8:30 PM. Courthouse is in Van Nuys. Cop was a Valley Division guy who explained he plans to buy in '08 BMW M3.

Thanks for any help.
SmileWavy

You should be able to do traffic school. IIRC you're not eligible if it's >25 mph over the limit, you're only 23 over.

Online traffic school rocks.

That's pretty serious. Were you really going 58 in a 35? If so, then man up and pay the consequences.

I'd suggest getting this book. Lots of neat tricks, like 2 trials. First one Trial By Written Declaration. If you lose, appeal and go to Trial De Novo and hopefully the cop won't show up. Radar is just a validation of their visual observations, so I think you're screwed if the cop shows up. And/or subpoena all the documents you're entitled to. If you don't get them, they have to dismiss the case. You might be able to appear in front of the judge and request an exception for traffic school, especially since your record is so clean. I'd try that first.
http://www.amazon.com/Fight-Your-Ticket-California-Win/dp/1413306411/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196298704&sr= 8-1

If it were that serious, I'd be in handcuffs and have an impounded car. I asked for advice, not accusation. :rolleyes:

Think about getting a radar detector, if you don't already have one.

Sorry, but 58 in a 35 is hauling a$$. You deserve a hefty fine. My advice, which you asked for, is to be a responsible person and not try and weasel out of it. In other words, take your lumps and learn.

Hey Steve - yes, I have to wait for the ticket to be processed, which will then allow me to access it online to either be paid or contested. Also, at that time, I should be informed if traffic school is possible.

I like to know my options. Yours isn't yet high on my list. But thanks. SmileWavy

Yep.

No problem & good luck. But remember that my tax dollars will be in use when you drag the cop back into court to fight your ticket. I don't know about you, but I'm not really that happy about where my tax dollars are being spent these days in California.

Hmmm...to be honest, I never thought of it that way. Maybe I might reconsider and just pay it, since I tend to agree with you on that front.

Thanks.

ask for deferred adjudication/deferred disposition. It's gotten pretty common here in my area. You ask for it, they then tell you that if you aren't convicted of another ticket in XXX time (usually 90 days) that the ticket will be expunged plus, you pay an "administrative fee".

Basically, they get your money, you have a clean nose for 3 months or 6 months or a year and then they throw away the ticket. It'll be like you never got it.

Okay - so now the question is how much $$$ will the ticket be?

You really have to pick your battles these days.... there are so many to choose from. I think you would be doing the right thing :)

Pay it and move on, I say. If this is the first ticket in 17 years, even if the ticket is $500, that's only $30 a year for 17 friggin years of speeding!! You did good! That's the way I rationalize them anyway. :cool:

I sort of agree w/ Motion to a point but OTOH the whole traffic ticket thing is SUCH a sham it's hard to equate compliance with it as necessarily being "a responsible citizen". It's bogus and speed limits are set artificially low JUST to bag people. No doubt in my mind. If you were drag racing through a school zone or something I'd say "yea, pay it you deserve it", but only you know all the circumstances and whether this citation is "deserved" (on the basis of "yea, I was being a jackass and deserve it", not necessarily what the sign says) or whether it's B.S. and just another attempt at revenue collection like so many others.

If, in your heart you think it's bogus and it's undeserved, I'd fight it to the death and wouldn't apologize to anyone here or anywhere else for doing so.

If, in your heart you have doubt and think, "geez, maybe I had that coming", then it's your call but I'd tend to side w/ what Motion said.

It's not quite so simple. You're neglecting the most important (and costly) aspect here, and that's the insurance rate increase. It can (and likely will be) quite substantial. There's a lot more at stake here than a few hundred bucks and pride.

If you get TS, you usually pay MSRP for the ticket, anyway. Why have your insurance go up, especially if you get another ticket within 18 months and can't go to TS then?