Hey everybody, I got a speeding ticket yesterday going 75 in a 55.Damn Escort 8500 couldn't help me cause the cop had instant on. But I was wondering, the cop made two mistakes on the ticket. For one, he wrote that my maxima is black, but it is really blue. Mind you, this is in broad daylight, as written on the ticket. And also, he copied the wrong zip code off of my drivers license, he wrote i live in 60014, which is the south side of town's zip, but i live in 60012. Do you think that either of these would be a way to get out of the ticket? If anyone has any ideas please reply.

 

I think getting off on minor ticket errors is more of a myth than a reality. Might just be me, but it never worked for me, even on a ticket where the cop butchered my name and wrote just about everything else so illegible that you couldn't really read anything.


edit, as not to post-*****...

Also, the attorneys here at work (I work at a law firm) say that's really something that doesn't work. They had colleagues in the city prosecutors office and still couldn't get me off the ticket mentioned above.

The legal system works in mysterious ways though. I mean, hell, once I got asked by the judge what my record was, because they didn't have it. I said "Clean!" in the blink of an eye

 

it is no myth i had the wrong date on a ticket and it got thrown out

 

you ever wonder if they write things wrong purposely to let you off easy?
and what happens when they dont write in court dateS?

 

In Louisiana, minor "glitches" like those won't get you out of the ticket. As long as the important stuff is right (driver's license #, date, location) it will stick. The cop will also be summonsed to testify against you. He'll have notes about the traffic stop on the back of the court's copy that he wrote immediately after the stop. He can testify from those to "refresh" his memory. I wouldn't try to fight it with those minor glitches. You said he had instant on. I'd look at a defense more in line with his certification/re-certification for radar, last radar calibration, traffic near you, location, and angle his radar was at in relationship to your vehicle (closer to 90 degrees = more error, I believe it is called the "sine error"), etc... This is from my experience writing those tickets...

 

Nope

 

then when u go to court, say no guilty and when u go to the hearing, say the cop probably pulled u over by accident thinking it was some other car. hey its worth a shot.

 

Its all about credability

 

Judge's reaction:

 

Ah what?


Anyhoo, traffic court is not like regular court. So small technicalities are not grounds for dismissal. Maybe if the officer wrote a completely different name, street or date.

 

Absolutely right about small technicalities. The original post didn't say if he was speeding or not, just that he got a ticket. I would suggest a novel idea. Just be honest. If guilty, own up to it and plead guilty. In my experience, judges like honesty and people taking responsibility for their actions. This can mean the fine can be less, and depending on state, possibility for a driver improvement course to keep it off insurance. If not guilty, then I'd fight it with probably what I had posted earlier about certifications, calibration, etc... But regardless, I'd have to plead with whatever the truth is and face any consequences. Good luck to ya.

Dave

 

if O.J. had taken your advice, he'd be in jail!!



ignentchoker, fight with nail, tooth, and claw. may the force be with you.

 

When you go to court, you may want to ask that since he couldn't copy your zip NUMBER on your license right, did he copy the speeding NUMBERS from the radar gun right.

 

Going 75 in a 55 zone. And got caught.

Why not just own up to it and pay the ticket?

I got caught doing 72 in a 55 zone and I paid for my ticket. I knew I was speeding and got caught. Why go to court and fight and try to get off a ticket when you know you did something wrong?







Dammit ... I'm being arrogant and self-righteous again!

 

No, you're showing a positive trait not often used anymore in America, that is, taking responsibility for your own actions.

 

i dunno about where you live but in texas that ticket WOULD be dismissed.

 

talk to your lawyer. i got 69mph in a 55 zone. people say own up to your error, but you were just cruising just as easy as the next fellow and your insurance will go up for a few years? how fair is that?

 

I'm not going to say I never speed or go over 55 because that's just not true. But when I got caught going 72, I was actually going 80. I was speeding and I wasn't just cruising. I wasn't racing or anything, it was just 1:30 in the morning and I was more than a little annoyed that I had to pick up my brother at the train station 45 minutes away from my house.

In my experience, if you're "cruising" along with everyone else, the cars ahead will signal that there is a police officer with a radar gun. You'll see sudden brakes lights, cars flashing you from the other side, that sort of thing.

But if you're going 75 in a 55, there were either no cars around and you were speeding, or you're a dumba$$ for ignoring what the other drivers were doing.

75 in a 55 is 20 mph over the limit. If it was a 61 in a 55, I might be more inclined to fight the ticket.

 

Gotta agree with Clee. 20 over is not some innocent mistake. Anyone who can't tell they are going 20 over the limit needs to stay off the road. Or they need to pay some fines and insurance as a learning tool. I still don't know if you were in fact speeding, but if you were, own up to it. If you honestly weren't, fight it. But whatever, have some moral courage and do what is honestly right. Or you can give in to the peer pressure and try to take the "easy" way to look cool. Don't compromise your integrity just to save a few bucks. And especially not to save face with people who don't know what it means to be a man. If you are/were a father and your son was in your shoes, what would you want him to do? The answer to that will gauge how much of a man you are.

 

Given your age I would go to court and be honest. Was your radar detector in an obvious place where the police officer could see it? If so then you can be sure that fact will be listed in the officer's notes. When you go before the judge say you made a mistake (which you did) and ask that no points be added to your record.

 

those who have not gone above the speed limit ever, cast the first stone. there's no black or white, sometimes it's gonna be gray, as in life. help yourself! get a lawyer. you won't be saving money by paying insurance anyway. avoid the points. yes, i've learned my lesson. i've been watching my speed ever since. i am not an advocate for speeding.

 

Wow, this thread got a little deep for the issue. I don't think this guy's manhood is at stake. Heh...me, personally, I love a philosophical debate, and could probably beat the "real man" issues brought up above into a dry agnostic pulp, but this is definitely not the thread, nor even the place, for that.

The legal system is a very odd institution. Sometimes little things get amplified. Sometimes big things get overlooked/messed up. I'd weigh your options risk-analysis style with a good understanding of the possible consequences of each individual action. If you have an attorney at your disposal, or have money at your disposal for an attorney, you could get the ticket dropped down, or possibly dismissed for a possible number of reasons depending on the attorney. But there's risk involved in that too...you could end up paying for an attorney and getting little or nothing in return.

Map out the possibilities and pull the trigger.

 

The only facts that, if incorrect on a ticket, will get you off are things like DL#, Licence#, and Date. Especially if you go to trial and ask the officer to give his testimony (he'll read from his notes/ticket, hopefully his notes are not correct) Even if the DL or license# is incorrect, then the judge can just ask - "Did he pull YOU over?" Are you gonna lie?

If you can get the officer to commit to the incorrect date in his verbal testimony, ("Is it your testimony to this court that on dd/mm/yyyy this car was speeding on this road at this time?") and you can provide absolute proof that your car was somewhere else (ie parking ticket from another town at the same date/time, EZPass records from a tollbooth, or receipt from parking garage with ur licence# on it)... You just *might* get away with it.

But the minor flaws your ticket has do not cast doubt on the fact that your car was pulled over on that day.

Think outside the checkbox, though... I realised after pleading guilty on a ticket once... The officer was running speed enforcement sitting in a church parking lot facing north, shooting the northbound traffic from the back. I then found out, too late, that he was stationed 1/4 OUTSIDE his jurisdiction. He was Perry Township, and was actually parked in Worthington, reading the speed of cars in worthington. If I had filed a discovery motion for the written reciprocity agreement allowing interjurisdictional speed enforcement (ie it doesn't exist!) then if they don't reply to the discovery motion I file for dismissal for failure to respond to a discovery, or if they come back and say the reciprocity doesn't exist I could have shown he did not have jurisdiction to issue a citation in this incident. Either way, a fighting chance.

 

I don't know around you guys, but here they allow a little over the limit. For example, When I drive from Montreal to Toronto (325 miles of boring fairly straight and not much to see highway) the posted limit is 100km/hr (that is about 60 mph). It is known that as long as you stay below 120km/hr (~72mph) they won't bother you. What I do is I lock cruise on about 116 and I know I don't have to worry. The only time I go faster is when there is a small group of speeders going faster, I then let them stay way ahead of me but within view and travel at their speed. I figure if there is any speedtrap, I will know long before I am in it. Last trip I went quite a good part of the trip doing 150km/hr (~90mph). So far (fingers crossed, knock on wood) I have been ok.