Should I contest speeding ticket?
 

I'm sorry if it's frowned upon to ask this question but I was wondering if any of you have any experience with this that would be relevant to my case.

I was driving down San felipe road with some friends in the car and because of that I was being careful. Sure a little bit of spirited driving but nothing insane. Then at the apex of a turn a sheriff driving the opposite way of where I was going sees me and immediately turned around and catches up to me. He had no radar or no way of knowing how fast I was going, just eye balled it and pulled me over (first time ever getting pulled over) he gave me a ticket for going 40 on a 30 zone. So my question is this, should I take it to court to contest it, or take the class (first time offender)

Like I said this is my first ticket so I'm very clueless and somewhat frightened because I don't need my insurance to get more expensive. Yes I did learn my lesson and will try to be more careful so no need for bashing me I do feel bad.

TL;DR: I got a ticket for 40 on a 30 zone. Sheriff only saw me for 2 seconds on a turn at night with no radar or equipment of any kind. Should I contest?

My personal experience....

Years ago, my best-friend and I got caught going to the mall on a school day. We both received citations for ditching school. I sucked it up, admitted to fault, and paid the $160 fine.

My friend showed up to court, contested, and was relieved of all charges for $0.

I know that wasn't a speeding ticket, but after that day, I will never pay a fee without contesting it first.

There's probably no harm in trying. Personally, if I was speeding and this happened to me, I'd just suck it up and take responsibility for my actions. But that's me.

Check with your county/city to see if they have a diversion program. It's kind of like plea-bargaining. You pay about the same amount as a ticket, have to drive slow for set amount of time - usually 6 months and then you end up with 0 points. Ism.

What really gets me is that the cop just kind of guessed my speed. We were on a turn he was going like 35 the opposite way I was going. I hear in Santa Clara county there's a class I can take without paying and no points to my record is it correct?

If you contest the ticket and lose, you forfeit your right to a driving school (most likely they will allow you an online school), so you will have no choice but to have a point on your record.

Also, it is possible that the officer had a dash mounted radar gun.

Now, if it were me, I'd pay the fine and take the class. You aren't allowed to take another class for 18 months, so don't do anything else that would give you a citation.

With that said, I know someone who contested 5 speeding tickets and won all 5.

I would contest that ticket. If he had you on radar he would have shown you the reading, it sounds like he just estimated your speed and has no actual proof to make the case. The downside is you will have to take the time to make an appearance in traffic court. However the officer may realize when you contest it, that the case is relatively weak and he may not even show up which means automatic dismissal. There is a risk though that he will show up, which means you should be prepared to fight it with a proper legal argument. Or you can plead no contest at the hearing when your case is called, and ask for a reduction in fine and for traffic school. Either way if you show respect to the court I think you will end up saving money over just paying the fine outright.

^I thought having to show radar was a myth?

1) How fast were you actually going?
2) If you fight the ticket the judge does have the option to say no traffic school
4) trial by written declaration may be easier than appearing in person
5) some courts charge a fee to take traffic school on top of the cost for the program itself. Not sure about Santa Clara County
3) gototrafficschool.com is the cheapeat/easiest

I'm going to continue doing research as of now I'm thinking I'm just going to take the class and ask for reduction in fine. Thank you guys this forum is great

I actually was going fast not sure exactly how much in my opinion it's wasn't unsafe :bonk:
I suppose.I'm going to have to go to school and pay the ticket it'll probably be upwards of 300 for everything I think

I'd also be prepared to be asked "Were you traveling over the posted limit?". If you say "No" then that's a whole other mess you don't want to worry about.

It should say how he determined your speed on the ticket.

Yes! always contest the ticket. I contested a moving violation ticket when rolling over a stop sign and the officer never showed up to court, so it was an easy win. Also postpone the court date several times so the officer forgets about it and is less likely to show up.

The officer doesn't have to show you the radar reading, at least not in California.

If it were me, and I was indeed speeding, id probably go to court and plead no contest and ask for a reduction in fine and be done with it.

Yes, the ticket should indicate whether it was an "visually estimated speed" or it was determined by radar/lidar etc. If the radar box wasn't checked, then he cannot use any proof of radar at the trial.

Assuming you have time to go to court on a weekday, your best bet is:
1) request trial
2) postpone trial a few times
3) on date of hearing, hope the officer doesn't show. no show=you win
4) if the officer does show, decide whether you want to fight or plead no contest.
5) if you plead no contest, ask for traffic school and fine reduction (give a good and legit excuse)
6) if you fight and lose, still ask for traffic school and fine reduction.

others say trial by written declaration is the better way to go, but I have never done that. I believe there are websites where you can pay some small fee and they give you the proper language and case law to copy and paste into your declaration and it "guarantees" you will win. I have done it the way described above and won at step 3. I also hung around at traffic court and watched people go through steps 4-6. At least at the court I was at, the judge seemed pretty compassionate and willing to grant traffic school and fine reductions even though the person was found guilty and was not entitled to them. Your mileage may vary, you could end up with a grumpy judge who throws you in jail for wasting their time LOL.

Fight it. Best case is no fine and no points on your license and no hike in insurance. Worst case is your back to where you were with the ticket. Plus if it's a cop on night shift there's a chance he won't even want to show up for court in the morning for just a speeding ticket. Just my 2 cents

If you were speeding then just take the class.

WTF own up to your actions. Its called being an adult.

I swear, this forum is full of people with 0 integrity.

I have a feeling this thread is about to derail dramatically. but consider this scenario:

You have one beer at a local bar after work. You feel fine and get into your car to drive home. A police officer sees you get into your car and says he saw you walk from the bar to your car. He arrests you for DUI without testing your BAC in any scientific way, based on "your appearance" of being intoxicated and where you walked from.

Do you:
1) Plead guilty or no contest, take whatever sentence the court gives you, and "own up to your actions"?

2) Find a way to contest your charges, on the basis that the police officer did not follow proper procedure and have the actual evidence to convict you of DUI?

"Like I said this is my first ticket so I'm very clueless and somewhat frightened because I don't need my insurance to get more expensive. Yes I did learn my lesson and will try to be more careful so no need for bashing me I do feel bad."


Not to make light of speeding but 10mph over? Owning up to 20 or 30 over I can see but 10 with no radar. I would contest it as well.

As far as integrity goes, police officers have to abide by the rules as well!
Fancy looking car, young person appears to be going a little faster than I like, on go the lights:D


:cheers:

Plead not guilty. Go to court. That's what you do. For tips on fighting traffic tickets check out the National Motorists Association. If you were a member they would pay your fine as long as you plead not guilty and show up for the trial. That's what you do.