I never understood why there are any questions about penalties on the driving test. How does it make me a better driver to know how many points are assigned to this or that offense? If it's really something dangerous, staying safe is all the motivation I need.

I would have been truthful and forthright - i.e. volunteered that information.

"Gee Officer, I'm really sorry. I didn't realize it was a 55 zone. I guess I should have been paying better attention."

You will sometimes get off if the Officer thinks the traffic stop itself "did the trick" - also they hear so much bull that the truth sometimes shocks them! This actually happened to me about 14 years ago -- it helped that I had no tickets at all (40+ years driving when they pulled up my record - must have been from moving in & out of state, as I know I got a ticket in Oregon right after th 55 mph limit went into effect).

It sounds like he got a little engaged in thinking about the car he may inherit and yours and forgot to note everything. You could go to Ct. and argue that since he made that mistake, he likely made other mistakes also - such as your speed. That will change your odds of losing from 10 million : 1, to 9.9999 million : 1.

Sorry!

I would have been truthful and forthright - i.e. volunteered that information.

"Gee Officer, I'm really sorry. I didn't realize it was a 55 zone. I guess I should have been paying better attention."

You will sometimes get off if the Officer thinks the traffic stop itself "did the trick" - also they hear so much bull that the truth sometimes shocks them! This actually happened to me about 14 years ago -- it helped that I had no tickets at all (40+ years driving when they pulled up my record - must have been from moving in & out of state, as I know I got a ticket in Oregon right after th 55 mph limit went into effect).

It sounds like he got a little engaged in thinking about the car he may inherit and yours and forgot to note everything. You could go to Ct. and argue that since he made that mistake, he likely made other mistakes also - such as your speed. That will change your odds of losing from 10 million : 1, to 9.9999 million : 1.

Sorry!

I had a similar thing happen in Burbank. Ticket said i was driving an Acura Integra. I owned a Honda Accord at the time. I contested and was basically laughed at by the judge. Sorry man.

Around here, a cop can leave half the info off a ticket and you still wont beat it. 99% of the time its a waste to even try to fight it.

Sorry Dave, I do not know how much the fine will be. Also, when an officer conducts a traffic stop, he/she is not required to give you a citation. It is his/her discretion.

David

I got one dismissed years ago...LEO must have forgotten to change the date feature on his watch. Ticket was dated 31 June. I argued that I couldn't have been speeding on a day that doesn't exist. The judge agreed....

Not to hijack the thread, but I was ticketed about 2 months ago,78 in a 65. It is a notoriusly bad design for an interchange (you have to try to get over to the offramp while cars are entering the freeway and trucks are exiting and entering from the scales).

Anyway, I had a ticket apout 11 months ago and I was wondering if I could plead guilty and ask for traffic school even though it hasn't been 18 months between infractions. Can the judge make an exception?

Many years ago I got pulled over in Beverly Hills for passing on a double yellow. The arresting officer said he had intended to give me a verbal warning as it was around 5:30 AM and very little traffic, that is untill he noticed the 357 on the passenger seat. Then the whole game plan changed!

According to the "letter of the law," if the gun was not loaded there is no technical violation. That is unless you were a convicted felon or said something indicating that you intended to harm someone. If the ammo was locked in the trunk, you would be good to go.

David

get a lawyer and fight it.

there are enough inaccuracies on the ticket a good traffic lawyer should be able to get the whole thing dropped.

missing license number
passing cars at the time that were going below the speed limit.
only said exceeding 55 but didn't say what actual speed was.

I was in a '69 El Camino. No trunk and the center console didn't have locking capabilities. The gun was loaded when the officer witnessed the violation but was out of the console and laying on the passenger seat by the time he got to me. I had dumped the ammo between the seat and the center console and they rolled under the drivers seat. I attended an extended roadside interview before being transported to the BHPD for further discussion. The officer was convinced that I had unloaded the gun while he was making his u-turn but with out my confessing to it he had no grounds for anything except the driving violation. Which he wrote with extra enthusiasm. The gun was held for a couple days before I could get it back.

As I look online for that glimmering ray of dismissal, I read that California does report violations to all 50 states, but, there are some states that do not report Cali offenses. It was said that you should check with the local DMV in VA and see if they accept Cali offenses.

BTW, The point system on the cow question is modeled after Deathrace 2000. Like how many points for hitting a child or old person.

Craig, you should try and see if the court will let you go to a 12 hour course (second offense within 18 months). You'll most likely have to spend a couple of hours in court though, although cheaper than raised insurance rates.

It's all about $$. Hire a lawyer and I lose, not only do I pay the fine, but now lawyer fees as well. If the ticket had a few more holes in it, then maybe. Between the info shared here and what I have found online and through a lawyer friend, it will be in my best interest to pay the fine and take the online traffic school.

I was trying to pass the slow cars before the passing lane ended, but I don't think it will go over too well, when I tell the judge that the last car was 1/8 of a mile in front of me and that I was trying to get past him before the lane ended. The LEO did write down 70 MPH under the box marked "Speed Approx."

I will still call a couple of lawyers in the San Bernardino area and see what they say. The lawyer out here said that SB is rather tough and the fact that I was pulled over by the CHP, will make it tougher.

Dave

Go to class, dump the points, get close to that other 911.

**Update**
 

I received a notice in the mail a few weeks ago from the CHP. It was a correction form and the LEO filled n my DL and the form also served as an official "Proof of Service".

Anyway, I am relieved at the fine ($$). I was told that San Bernardino is one of the counties that you want to avoid getting tickets in, as they have a habit of issuing some of the highest fines....

Well, I was finally able to get the fine online and the fine is $169.00 - I was expecting about $250.00+, with a $29.00 fee "allowing" me to enroll in traffic school - which will also cost me, but less than $100.00

I still think and feel that I was "trapped", I don't see how the CHP can setup speed enforcement within a passing area, but oh well, I'll be good for the next 18 months.

BTW, this all wouldn't be that big of a deal, but when my bird became ill a week later, costing me $800.00 in emergency care, my finances were really stretched thin.

I did the online traffic school for my CHP ticket a few weeks ago and it was around $24 and took me about 90 min. to get through.

There are all kinds of procedural things that you can do to get out of a ticket. It's a lot of work, but it can work and often does. Look online and do some research. There are some specific legal terms and documents that you will need to deal with as well. Here is a summary:

1) ask for a continuance
2) ask again
3) change venue to the county seat (allowed in CA afaik).
4) when in court, there is a process by which you ask the judge for a prosecutor. The judge is supposed to be impartial and is not supposed to question the witnesses (cops).

Many times the cop will not show at the county seat, nor will there be a prosecutor available. If there is, expect the full fine =)

I am not an attorney and this should not be construed as legal advice. Do your own homework. YMMV

Gee, I got a parking ticket in Monterey...back in '66. Proper license # and state listed on the ticket. I placed it under the windshield wiper of a California Mercedes
parked behind me with an expired meter flag up. I knew I'd be in Oregon the next day. I've been sleepless ever since...worried that Clint Eastwood was coming for me. "Do you feel lucky punk???" :D