Speeding Ticket Question

[Adamski47]

I was pulled over in Michigan on Monday (Memorial Day). It was late and the officer said he "radared" me at 86. I was indeed speeding, going about 80 on cruise control, but obviously 86 is a bit off. I asked the officer to see the radar readout and he dodged the question and said that this was something that would have to be sorted out in court? I live in Illinois now!

Huh? For some reason I thought if you asked to see the radar the officer was supposed to show you? Maybe I am making this up. I'm just bitter because it seemed a bit far fetched to say I was doing 86.

ALSO:

I am in the process of switching my liscence to Illinois since I moved. Will the MI pts effect me if I just pay the fine?

[MrBug708]

I have never heard of a radar reading...

[caspanky]

Just did some poking around the net, and here's what I found for you.

1) In Michigan, you can ask to see the radar gun, but they have no obligation to show it to you.

2) The points may or may not transfer, but the ticket will show on your record when your insurance checks it.

[IwasHere]

Huh? For some reason I thought if you asked to see the radar the officer was supposed to show you?
No, the officer does not have to let you see the radar gun. Chances are your speed was already erased by the officer anyway. These type of tickets come down to your word versus his in the court.

[BishopMVP]

No, the officer does not have to let you see the radar gun. Chances are your speed was already erased by the officer anyway. These type of tickets come down to your word versus his in the court.And guess which side they believe....? :)

My advice - file a huge discovery motion, throw in things like the radar gun's most recent calibration, the officer's training records on the radar gun, the full description from the back of the ticket, a diagram showing where your vehicle and the officer's vehicle were in relation to key locations and objects, such as an intersection, traffic signal, or other vehicle.

Hopefully if you shown you're serious about fighting the ticket in court, they'll figure it's more trouble than it's worth and either drop it or plea-bargain it down to a non-driving offense, live an excessive noise violation, that still gets them money but doesn't add points to your insurance.

[albionmoonlight]

I was pulled over in Michigan on Monday (Memorial Day). It was late and the officer said he "radared" me at 86. I was indeed speeding, going about 80 on cruise control, but obviously 86 is a bit off. I asked the officer to see the radar readout and he dodged the question and said that this was something that would have to be sorted out in court? I live in Illinois now!

Huh? For some reason I thought if you asked to see the radar the officer was supposed to show you? Maybe I am making this up. I'm just bitter because it seemed a bit far fetched to say I was doing 86.

ALSO:

I am in the process of switching my liscence to Illinois since I moved. Will the MI pts effect me if I just pay the fine?

If your record is otherwise clean, you can probably hire a lawyer and get it plead down to something that won't appear on your insurance report.

My last speeding ticket was from out of state. I hired a lawyer and got it plead down to defective equipment. All I had to do was mail him the ticket. Everyone was a winner. Virginia still got its money, and I did not get a report on my insurance.

Speeding tickets are pretty routine. You should be able to ask/call around and find some lawyers to comparison shop. I don't want to speak for what they cost up there, but is is a couple hundred down here.

[Bee]

And guess which side they believe....? :)

My advice - file a huge discovery motion, throw in things like the radar gun's most recent calibration, the officer's training records on the radar gun, the full description from the back of the ticket, a diagram showing where your vehicle and the officer's vehicle were in relation to key locations and objects, such as an intersection, traffic signal, or other vehicle.

Hopefully if you shown you're serious about fighting the ticket in court, they'll figure it's more trouble than it's worth and either drop it or plea-bargain it down to a non-driving offense, live an excessive noise violation, that still gets them money but doesn't add points to your insurance.

I saw someone try this in court once. The judge laughed at him and told him to pay the freaking ticket, it was quite amusing. :D

[Samdari]

No, the officer does not have to let you see the radar gun. Chances are your speed was already erased by the officer anyway. These type of tickets come down to your word versus his in the court.

But, him not showing you the gun can raise doubts in court, especially if you get the right judge.

A better way to get off is (if you go to court) to ask the cop to produce the paperwork from the most recent calibration of the radar before your ticketing. States that do use radar also have requirements about how often the guns need to be calibrated/maintained. If the gun is out of calibration according to the manufacturer's specs (and most are) they are generally invalid as evidence.

But you are probably going to get your ass kicked at trial without a lawyer, even if you are right. Paying the ticket is generally less than the lawyer.

[IwasHere]

But you are probably going to get your ass kicked at trial without a lawyer, even if you are right. Paying the ticket is generally less than the lawyer.
Unless you add up the increase in your car insurance. Since I do not know your age or history with your current car insurance, you may want to call your insurance guy and just ask him, what this ticket could cost you.

BTW... What was the posted speed limit when you were driving 86mph?

[kcchief19]

I saw someone try this in court once. The judge laughed at him and told him to pay the freaking ticket, it was quite amusing. :D
That strategy works quite well around here. Once you start trying to bring in witnesses, exhibits and evidence in a speeding case, the prosecutor will usually plea bargain to a lesser charge, such as a nonmoving violation that will get you to pay a fine but not have points go on your record. The key is following proper court procedure -- if you don't the judge will throw you under the bus.

[Hawglaw]

That strategy works quite well around here. Once you start trying to bring in witnesses, exhibits and evidence in a speeding case, the prosecutor will usually plea bargain to a lesser charge, such as a nonmoving violation that will get you to pay a fine but not have points go on your record. The key is following proper court procedure -- if you don't the judge will throw you under the bus.

You don't even have to do that in MO. Just get a lawyer.. he will ask for a "recommendation"... the prosecutor will almost always do it. There's no need to do that other stuff.

[Bee]

That strategy works quite well around here. Once you start trying to bring in witnesses, exhibits and evidence in a speeding case, the prosecutor will usually plea bargain to a lesser charge, such as a nonmoving violation that will get you to pay a fine but not have points go on your record. The key is following proper court procedure -- if you don't the judge will throw you under the bus.

This guy didn't have a chance to follow proper court procedure. As soon as he started up with the whole request to see the latest calibration report, training of the officer, etc, the judge just stopped him cold. The expression on the defendent's face was priceless. I have no idea if that approach flies here in general or not, but the one and only time I've seen it tried was pretty funny. The judge made some comment I don't remember exactly, but I remember the whole courtroom bursting out in laughter and the defendent turning bright red. :D

[CraigSca]

I spoke about this here before, but I once challenged a ticket in New Jersey because a cop pulled me and the guy in front of me over. Knowing he couldn't possibly have clocked ME with the radar, I challenged it in court. I asked one question, "did you ever get my reading on the radar gun?" He said, "no." At this point, based on my knowledge of how the court system works (based on 1 or 2 episodes of Matlock), I fully expected to hear the judge lose control of the room and finally have to slam the gavel down yelling, "order! order!". Unfortunately for me, none of that happened. The cop said, "But you were following right behind the car that I DID clock at 55 mph (in a 35mph zone)." Needless to say, I lost.

[Honolulu Blue]

BTW... What was the posted speed limit when you were driving 86mph?

I'm not the original poster, but I do live in Michigan. Rural interstate speeds are 70 MPH; urban interstates and most other rural roads are 55 MPH.

[Adamski47]

Thanks for the replies. I am 26 years old. Before this year I had one speeding ticket on my record. Since moving to IL from MI I have now had 3 in the last year including the one yesterday. I feel so damn stupid. I drive responsibly but I tend to keep up with traffic as best I can. I have never been in an accident and I wish our country would acknowledge the difference between speeding and reckless driving. I understand I am wrong but I honestly make an effort not to speed and I still end up doing it. Live and learn I guess...just frustrating you know?

I called insurance, since I still have a MI liscence, and they told me that 3 pts would be added for 10 over (he wrote me down as 80/70). My dilemma is now this:

Do I drive the 300 miles back for a court date? Odds are I could get the pts taken off if I take some class etc. But would that require me to drive BACK again for the class or could they let me take a class in IL to substitute?

I do not work summers since I am a teacher so I'd have the time to do it. Bah, why the hell don't I just pay more attention to speed limits! Stupid stupid stupid!

[revrew]

In Houston you say? Oy. They just love out of staters there. I had an Illinois girlfriend get burned by a cop in Houston. I was in the car. Cop trumped up an extra 10 mph on pure BS. We took it to court, and lost miserably.

Houston. I'm sorry you ever had to visit there. Next time, borrow a local's car so you can have Texas plates. Otherwise, you're screwed. I recommend paying the ticket.

[revrew]

Never mind this post. The author was clearly smoking something when it was written.

[rkmsuf]

just pay the ticket and move on

[Cringer]

In Houston you say? Oy. They just love out of staters there. I had an Illinois girlfriend get burned by a cop in Houston. I was in the car. Cop trumped up an extra 10 mph on pure BS. We took it to court, and lost miserably.

Houston. I'm sorry you ever had to visit there. Next time, borrow a local's car so you can have Texas plates. Otherwise, you're screwed. I recommend paying the ticket.

Yeah, I am not a fan of Houston cops when it comes to speeding tickets. I have one of my two as a truck driver there. I was on I-10 and came up over a hill. Speed limit was 60, which I was doing mainly because of the amount of traffic. As I am coming down the hill I see a large object in front of me sitting in my lane. Instead of running it over I sped up to get clear of the car to my left and change lanes. The cop was sitting on the shoulder right after the object in the road (looked like a piece of a couch or chair).

Because I had sped up and was going down hill at the same time I was up to 67. I was doing the speeding, so I guess the ticket was legit. I was just pissed because the cop didn't care I was trying to avoid hitting something. So next time I will just hit the damn thing and shatter it, which should cause some nice chaos as the cars around me freak and hit each other to avoid 100 pieces of flying debris. :)

[st.cronin]

In Houston you say? Oy. They just love out of staters there. I had an Illinois girlfriend get burned by a cop in Houston. I was in the car. Cop trumped up an extra 10 mph on pure BS. We took it to court, and lost miserably.

Houston. I'm sorry you ever had to visit there. Next time, borrow a local's car so you can have Texas plates. Otherwise, you're screwed. I recommend paying the ticket.

It's sort of the opposite in Santa Fe. God help you if you have New Mexico plates; you'll get pulled over once a month, just to make sure you're not some drunken Indian driving a stolen vehicle, or something. But if you have California plates, you can drive however the hell you want.

[albionmoonlight]

Yeah, I am not a fan of Houston cops when it comes to speeding tickets. I have one of my two as a truck driver there. I was on I-10 and came up over a hill. Speed limit was 60, which I was doing mainly because of the amount of traffic. As I am coming down the hill I see a large object in front of me sitting in my lane. Instead of running it over I sped up to get clear of the car to my left and change lanes. The cop was sitting on the shoulder right after the object in the road (looked like a piece of a couch or chair).

Because I had sped up and was going down hill at the same time I was up to 67. I was doing the speeding, so I guess the ticket was legit. I was just pissed because the cop didn't care I was trying to avoid hitting something. So next time I will just hit the damn thing and shatter it, which should cause some nice chaos as the cars around me freak and hit each other to avoid 100 pieces of flying debris. :)

I saw my first 18 wheeler pulled over for speeding (I assume) the other day. I commented to Mrs. A. that with all the trucks you see on the interstate, you almost never see them pulled over.

Am I right about that? Do cops generally let you guys go? Or am I totally wrong and they love to bust you guys? Or, is it pretty much random?

On a related note, if I drove a big truck, I would be looking for sofas and the like to hit--just for the fun of it. It's cool to smash things, and I don't get much of a chance to do that in my 4 cylinder economy car.

[Cringer]

I saw my first 18 wheeler pulled over for speeding (I assume) the other day. I commented to Mrs. A. that with all the trucks you see on the interstate, you almost never see them pulled over.

Am I right about that? Do cops generally let you guys go? Or am I totally wrong and they love to bust you guys? Or, is it pretty much random?

On a related note, if I drove a big truck, I would be looking for sofas and the like to hit--just for the fun of it. It's cool to smash things, and I don't get much of a chance to do that in my 4 cylinder economy car.

I don't have statistics at hand, but I am pretty sure it is no less common for trucks to be pulled over then cars. Part of it depends on the state. Ohio and California trucks are enemy #1 in most driver's opinions. The 55 mph speed limit for trucks in those states makes it easy to make us a target too.

In other states it can be less common because if the speed limit is 70 mph then itmakes it much harder for some trucks to speed. My truck for instance can not go over 69 mph (unless I am coasting downhill of course). My companies will have the max speed on their trucks set at 65 or 67. Others at 72. If you can't speed, you can't get a ticket for it, although the companies main reason is to save on fuel costs.

With the highway patrol, they have the added bonus of being able to look for other things to get us on. They can check our log books, permits, if anything is wrong with the truck. Local/County can not check these things, so they may not care one way or the other if they get a car or truck speeding.

The Highway Patrol is my mortal enemy. :)

[Cringer]

Dola- And I would like to hit stuff, trust me. But hitting stuff may cause damage, which means the truck in a shop. Not rolling, not making money.

I can't count the times in which I have avoided hitting something, mainly cars, and thought of how cool it would have been to just nail it as long as no one was hurt.

[judicial clerk]

I have never lost in traffic court. I am a reasonable guy, though, and I am willing to cut the offender a break if they learned their lesson.

I have never seen an attorney make a difference in traffic court. It is kind of overkill.

very time I hear the song Riding Dirty on the radio, I pull somebody over.

YMMV.

[terpkristin]

It of course depends on the rules, but my mom (who has "received" plenty of speeding tickets and gotten out of every one in court) swears by asking for a court date then saying she can't make it for XYZ reason (usually it involves work of some sort, you could probably make it up even though you are a teacher and don't work in the summer). She waits until almost the last possible second to ask for a new court date. When they grant her a new date, she sometimes asks for it to be delayed again. Most times, the cop writes a bunch of tickets one day and comes to court for all those tickets on one day. If you ask to reschedule it, there's a higher likeliehood that the cop won't show up and then you win by default.

On the other hand, if you're me, you get caught speeding on a military base and have to go to federal court, where the judge decides that because you're 19 at the time and thus don't have 5 years of a clean record, she needs to "teach you a lesson because you're young" and gives you a probation before judgement on the condition that you see a probation officer for a year. The requirements for a P.O. include checking in monthly and letting her know when you leave the state and when you come back into the state--and since you live near Washington, DC, you leave the state a lot. Needless to say, I'm 26 now and haven't had a ticket since...and it's not on my record since I did have the PBJ.

/tk

[Craptacular]

It of course depends on the rules, but my mom (who has "received" plenty of speeding tickets and gotten out of every one in court) swears by asking for a court date then saying she can't make it for XYZ reason (usually it involves work of some sort, you could probably make it up even though you are a teacher and don't work in the summer). She waits until almost the last possible second to ask for a new court date. When they grant her a new date, she sometimes asks for it to be delayed again. Most times, the cop writes a bunch of tickets one day and comes to court for all those tickets on one day. If you ask to reschedule it, there's a higher likeliehood that the cop won't show up and then you win by default.

People who do this should get triple fines and points.



And then be shot.

[Swaggs]

Paying the ticket is generally less than the lawyer.

I also reasoned this way when my wife got a speeding ticket last Spring. Everyone told us to hire a lawyer and he would get it reduced, but we decided to just pay the fine and move on. I think it was somewhere between $100-200, which is an inconvenient, but not too impactful an amount.

Well, then a few months later, we got our new insurance premiums and our yearly price went up about $300. And will likely stay like that for 3 years, until she earns her "safe driver" discount back.

I would recommend paying the $100-$200 for a lawyer. We got a ton of mail for lawyers that specialize in this shortly after she got her ticket. I assume they go down and read the reports periodically and then send out advertisements.

[Craptacular]

Dola- And I would like to hit stuff, trust me. But hitting stuff may cause damage, which means the truck in a shop. Not rolling, not making money.

I can't count the times in which I have avoided hitting something, mainly cars, and thought of how cool it would have been to just nail it as long as no one was hurt.

I guess you weren't the trucker who ran over a motorcycle and then almost killed me and my co-workers in Green Bay. We had installed some road tube (the rubber tubes used to count vehicles) on the freeway, and were out to pick it up. We performed a full shoulder closure with signs and cones, but as usual, no one slows down, and rarely do people move to the lane(s) furthest away. When we got there, three of the four tubes we installed were already gone. We were standing on opposite shoulders by the fourth one, when a truck dragging something came by and grabbed the tube, stretched it out to who-knows-how-long before it snapped, and kept going. The object it was dragging then came loose and got run over by a pick-up. I can't believe the pickup didn't stop. Luckily, we all happened to be a few feet upstream of where the tube was. The tube was held in place by mastic tape and a couple of clamps that are nailed into the pavement. The tube broke off at the clamps, which remained nailed in. I'm guessing the ends of the tube had to snap at at least a few hundred miles per hour, and would severely injure or kill someone who got hit by it. One of my co-workers walked down to where the object had come to rest. It appeared to be the seat from a motorcycle.

I'm refusing to do tube counts on a freeway under live traffic ever again.

[RPI-Fan]

I guess you weren't the trucker who ran over a motorcycle and then almost killed me and my co-workers in Green Bay. We had installed some road tube (the rubber tubes used to count vehicles) on the freeway, and were out to pick it up. We performed a full shoulder closure with signs and cones, but as usual, no one slows down, and rarely do people move to the lane(s) furthest away. When we got there, three of the four tubes we installed were already gone. We were standing on opposite shoulders by the fourth one, when a truck dragging something came by and grabbed the tube, stretched it out to who-knows-how-long before it snapped, and kept going. The object it was dragging then came loose and got run over by a pick-up. I can't believe the pickup didn't stop. Luckily, we all happened to be a few feet upstream of where the tube was. The tube was held in place by mastic tape and a couple of clamps that are nailed into the pavement. The tube broke off at the clamps, which remained nailed in. I'm guessing the ends of the tube had to snap at at least a few hundred miles per hour, and would severely injure or kill someone who got hit by it. One of my co-workers walked down to where the object had come to rest. It appeared to be the seat from a motorcycle.

I'm refusing to do tube counts on a freeway under live traffic ever again.

I guess being a CADD-jockey has its benefits sometimes. :p

[Adamski47]

I am going to admit guilt but with an explanation. Here's the dilemma now:

I have the option to appear in court, obviously, but I am also have an option to write a letter explanation of what happened in hopes of receiving a lesser punishment. Is this worthwhile? From my experiences, appearing in court is a given to get the reduction of points but what about writing a letter? Would they be understanding because I live 4-5 hours away? I would hate to have them deny it and have the "case closed."

Thoughts? Judges? Cops? Anyone work in St. John's, MI who can hook me up lol.

[IwasHere]

Where is the lawyer? Can't you just hire a local attorney to do everything for you? Seems like you should just pay some legal begal a couple houndred bucks to file some paperwork for you to get the charges reduced and not worry about making a return trip.

[Adamski47]

Where is the lawyer? Can't you just hire a local attorney to do everything for you? Seems like you should just pay some legal begal a couple houndred bucks to file some paperwork for you to get the charges reduced and not worry about making a return trip.

Well, the ticket will be $115. Obviously gas prices will add to that total. If I send the letter I could end up paying just the $115. That's the best scenario at this point.

A lawyer would end up costing more I think even if I did end up driving out there by for the court date.