Got pulled over, need some advice

[VETTE_50_TH]

So, I guess the cops are out hot and heavy today. I was pulled over doing "55" in a 35 on Kenny rd going to school 30 min ago. I was doing 50 on my speedo, and I have larger wheels on the car too. He also said I was doing 55 and wrote down on the ticket 54. Lastly, he spelled mitsu, mitz, ugh!

So, should I try to fight or just pay the 115 fine? I guess in Ohio anything under 25 is 115, so I guess the only thing I could fight is he lied about the speed or his equipment is very off. He also took my number, which my conservative side was almost ready not to give it to him. But I did then asked what do you need that for. He said it for the court incase you don't pay. Then I get a warrant for you arrest. I'm not happy to say the least.

James

[BlackEclipse]

If he put 55, then I think it becomes a "reckloss op" ticket.

[my90GSX]

So, I guess the cops are out hot and heavy today. I was pulled over doing "55" in a 35 on Kenny rd going to school 30 min ago. I was doing 50 on my speedo, and I have larger wheels on the car too.

If you know you were speeding, and the amount of the ticket will not change for the 4mph you think is off, just man up and pay the ticket.
Matt

[willyp20]

Pay it. You were obviously speeding. If you go to court and lose you will also have to pay court cost.

[272ownzu]

yeah he was nice enough to give you 54 instead of 55 wich is 4 points on your liscense.

[YU_LOST]

Pay the ticket :(

[GSXLR8]

the typo won't help you... I've gotten out of tickets because of other errors but you probably have nothin' here.
he was more than generous for writing down 54.
you also won't get anywhere with the tires/wheels excuse.

[ucsigep]

fight it. always fight your tickets. Come on, people...

Ask Chad. Even if you know you were speeding, you can still get out of them. I had a friend in college, took a ticket to court, stood up, and asked the officer if he had calibrated his radar after the last ticket he issued. At the time in that town, it was required. The cop said no, judge dismissed the ticket.

Even if you still lose, there is a good chance you will have the fines lowered, or get the ticket lowered to a non-moving ticket. My last speeding ticket here in Vegas was dropped from going 62 in a 35 on my motorcycle, to an illegal parking ticket. No points, reduced fines, etc.

[VETTE_50_TH]

I have no problem paying the fine. But what makes me mad is he lied about the speed to me, 1 mph i know but still. And i know for a fact that i was doing 50. I never admitted to what speed i was going, just that i knew the reason why i was speeding. This is my first speeding ticket in both PA and OH and it pisses me off a little. I was fairly polite, considering how i have been in the past with officers, and never gave a rude tone with him. I want to fight it i think.

James

[VETTE_50_TH]

Reckless OP is over 25 isnt? I was only going 19 according to him.

James

[DreamNofR1]

I'm confused - what is your excuse to fight the ticket then? "I'm sorry but his equipment is off - I was only doing 50mph." If you were in a 45 zone I would definitely fight it but you're still speeding in a 35. Not trying to be a dick or anything but I am just wondering how exactly you'll fight it.

[DreamNofR1]

fight it. always fight your tickets. Come on, people...


I don't know about that one man. I tried fighting a seatbelt ticket and that backfired big time. I think I posted this a while ago but I had my seatbelt tucked underneath my armpit and tried to fight it since I didn't know there was a law against "wearing the seatbelt improperly." I could have had a ticket for like, $35 bucks or something. But, I decided to fight it and ended up paying almost $120 after the fines and court costs. Not worth it in my opinion...

[ucsigep]

I'm talking speeding tickets. There are so many ways to beat it. Step one is when you are pulled over to not do ANYTHING that will make the cop remember you.

You go in and ask for a continuance over and over and over until the judge won't give you another one. There are stories out there of people getting it put out over 2 years. Then, when you go to court, the cop has to show up, and remember details of the situation. If you get it out far enough, he may no longer be with the department, or he's not available to be in court, or he just doesn't remember everything about the situation. It is the cops responsibility to PROVE you are guilty.

There's some good info here: http://www.blurofinsanity.com/Speeding.html

[DreamNofR1]

I'm talking speeding tickets.

Gotcha

[BlackEclipse]

The amount of effort and time off from work to go to the courts in downtown Columbus is not worth the effort. Plus parking is not free either. Maybe if you worked downtown already and you could walk to the court building that would make it easier.

Step one is NOT to speed.

[VETTE_50_TH]

Ok. But it doesn't detract from the fact I was speeding. Do I lie and say no, I wasn't, or yes I was, but not to the extent he says I was. It's word against mine, and judges take his rather than mine right? Also, I don't want to start a flame war over this, just tell me what my options are. Let's not turn this into a heated discussion please. Thanks.

I'm a responsible person, and understand what I did was wrong, but I felt that I am able to speed ad did so. Don't make it seem like I'm an asshole kid and was driving recklessly. I drive the same speed everyday. Not like I was accelerating and that's what his radar happened to get me at, at that moment.

[DreamNofR1]

Ok. But it doesn't detract from the fact I was speeding. Do I lie and say no, I wasn't, or yes I was, but not to the extent he says I was.

This is what I'm getting at though - what's your arguement? You could maybe get away with a few miles per hour but if the cop said you're doing 54, there's no way you could argue that you were doing 35 or 40. I'm going to go with pay the ticket - I can't see anything good coming from this. Sure you can delay it as long as possible but if you ever have my luck, you're screwed in the end, always. Keep in mind you're not the first person to try to get out of a ticket - cops and judges have every excuse possible each and every day that they have to listen to. Feel free to do whatever you want to do...I'm just giving my thoughts.

[ucsigep]

See, I would say it's well worth it. If you just take the points and fines, you also will have to deal with higher insurance premiums. If you've never had a ticket, you probably get a safe driver discount. Kiss that one goodbye. One ticket on an otherwise spotless record can increase your insurance as much as 27%.

[DreamNofR1]

One ticket on an otherwise spotless record can increase your insurance as much as 27%.

Ouuuuch, didn't know that one

[ucsigep]

Ok. But it doesn't detract from the fact I was speeding. Do I lie and say no, I wasn't, or yes I was, but not to the extent he says I was. It's word against mine, and judges take his rather than mine right? Also, I don't want to start a flame war over this, just tell me what my options are. Let's not turn this into a heated discussion please. Thanks.

I'm a responsible person, and understand what I did was wrong, but I felt that I am able to speed ad did so. Don't make it seem like I'm an asshole kid and was driving recklessly. I drive the same speed everyday. Not like I was accelerating and that's what his radar happened to get me at, at that moment.

The key is to find out as much information as you can about how he clocked you, and did the officer do his due dilligence. Just because you were speeding, doesn't mean you can't get out of it completely.

You don't want to lie and say you weren't speeding, you just don't admit to speeding. Lying = perjury.

Chances are if you go to court, and can show you have a clean record up to this point, and are a safe driver, you can still get it knocked down to a non-moving violation, maybe take a safe driving class, etc. You may still have to pay fines and what not, but even if you had to pay $300 now, it would still be much better than $100 now and another $1000 over the next 3 years in higher insurance premiums.

[ucsigep]

Ouuuuch, didn't know that one

yeah. That's an extreme example, but it can be that high, depending on the insurance company.

[VETTE_50_TH]

The thing I just found out after driving home was it took him 7/10 of a mile to get up to me. He says there was heavy traffic on the ticket. Also, the only place you could clok someone at the intersection, you are directly perpendicular to the car, so how do you clock a car on the right hand lane in heavy traffic travelling perpendicular to the radar gun? I think I'm going to fight this. The only other spot he could have clocked me is further up the road where I was slowing down to a stoplight. And why did it take him so long to catch up to me? I was at a light for a good 20 secs.

[EvolvedDSM]

... what makes me mad is he lied about the speed to me, 1 mph i know but still. And i know for a fact that i was doing 50.

To build upon what Jeff has said (and to play Devil's advocate), when was the last time your speedo was calibrated? You can't trust that what you see on the dash is 100% accurate, even on a brand-new vehicle.

[EvolvedDSM]

You may still have to pay fines and what not, but even if you had to pay $300 now, it would still be much better than $100 now and another $1000 over the next 3 years in higher insurance premiums.

I think this is the exact dollar amount my last ticket got me. THANKS AGAIN WHITLOW!

[ucsigep]

You can't trust that what you see on the dash is 100% accurate, even on a brand-new vehicle.

That's for sure. My new car, right off the dealers lot, is off by 3 mph. That's assuming that my Garmin GPS is telling me the correct speed, but I trust that more than the speedo.

[eclipsebytch96]

no matter what you do you will still end up paying something. But i would be more worried about why he took your number down,maybe he like you! don't drop the soap..lol just kidding

[VETTE_50_TH]

Haha. Thanks. He saids its just in case you dont show up to court. WHATEVER. I hate cops. Especially traffic cops.

James

[Veritas]

I got pulled over doing 63 in a 55 in newark 20 minutes after his funeral since I was a bit distraught. The cop saw I had been crying, saw the funeral program and what I had on and smiled while handing me the ticket. Cops can be asses, like all other humans. I went to court and fought it. I had the ticket dropped to a non-moving. It was worth it in the end.

[TRBOCHK]

I fought many tickets for tint and other 'ricer' issues.. I got all the ones that I fought for thrown out :)

[ugh]

You can fight it, but unless the officer doesn't show up or you go to the police station beforehand and prove that his radar training or calibration were not up to date, you're probably not going to win. Even if you get a small victory, like a lower fine, it's still a ticket on your record.

The fact that you may have been going 50 and he wrote down 54 makes no difference. The ticket is taken as true unless you somehow prove it was wrong. Even if you could prove you were going 50, it's probably the exact same ticket and fine.

Asking for continuances over and over could work, but if it doesn't, you've wasted a lot of your time for nothing. Just figure out how much time you think it's worth.

I think the two times you want to fight a ticket are 1)When you have an absolutely clean record, because once you have one ticket, cops are more likely to write you another one. 2)When you have a really bad record and each ticket raises your insurance or brings you close to not being insurable.

[VETTE_50_TH]

Well I guess I should fight it then. Since I have a clean record and have had since 2006.

[my90GSX]

I fought many tickets for tint and other 'ricer' issues.. I got all the ones that I fought for thrown out :)

Female>Male
Matt

[Patter$on]

Pay the ticket boy....... And go get a filter wrench.

[subydude]

I vote for fighting the ticket. Like posted previously it's not the initial amount of the fine, but what it does to your insurance. I could care less if the initial fine is $300 total if it means my driving record stays clean. A clean record can get you out of future tickets (if you're not going "to" fast), and keeps your insurance down.

Reckless Op in Columbus is 30 over, and you get arrested for it. I'm not sure the change over point from 2 points to 4 points, but it might be the 20mph barrier.

In the past I've fought two tickets and got out of one. The other one was a small town cop (he showed up since there wasn't much else to do) and I was a noob. The other one the cop didn't show so the ticket got thrown out. I still paid court fees, but it was WAY cheaper than insurance hikes for another 3 years.