Need advice with MA Speeding ticket

I received a ticket for going 55+ in a 35 zone in Massachusetts. The officer actually wrote "55+" because he told me I was going much faster than that. There are a few issues that I have with my ticket...First he got my speed using LIDAR on the middle of a highway where the highway splits and there are yellow signs stating a lower speed than the regular 65 MPH of the highway. I know that I was not speeding but really do not know how fast I was actually going because I was watching the road and merging traffic.
Also I have noticed that there is not a 35 MPH zone on the side of the highway that I was merging onto...on the side I was on it goes from 65 to 25...on the other ramp merging on the other side there is a 35 MPH sign but not on the side I was on. The officer did state the correct ramp I was on but he was mistaken about the speed limit zone.
I am not sure where to begin in trying to prepare a defense with this one.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm having a hard time following you, but he yellow signs aren't prima facie speed limits but recommendations as to safe speed. You could try making the argument that you were not driving unsafe for conditions, but 65 in a 35 zone is going to be a tougher sell.

Your argument that the posted speed is indeed LOWER than what you were cited before isn't going anywhere.

thx for the reply..
Maybe this will clear things up...
The officer asked me if I knew what the speed limit was on the particular part of the road where he cited me. I replied that I wasn't sure but I knew that the speed limit on the main highway is 65. He then replied that the speed limit where I was when he saw me was 35 and then drops down to 25.
After researching this I found that there is no such "35 zone"...so if there was no 35 zone and I was NOT in the 25 MPH zone...where was I?
I was driving at what I thought to be a safe and reasonable speed for the stretch of the highway leading to the ramp.
How can I use this...or should I even use this as part of my defense?

Thanks!

cnvrtble98 said:

thx for the reply..
Maybe this will clear things up...
The officer asked me if I knew what the speed limit was on the particular part of the road where he cited me. I replied that I wasn't sure but I knew that the speed limit on the main highway is 65. He then replied that the speed limit where I was when he saw me was 35 and then drops down to 25.
After researching this I found that there is no such "35 zone"...so if there was no 35 zone and I was NOT in the 25 MPH zone...where was I?
I was driving at what I thought to be a safe and reasonable speed for the stretch of the highway leading to the ramp.
How can I use this...or should I even use this as part of my defense?

Thanks!

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This is still not terribly clear. You are driving down the highway in a 65 zone and the road splits. Was there a sign saying the speed limit was now 25? And was the speed limit one of the yellow advisory signs or was it a regular speed limit sign? As someone else posted, arguing he wrote 35 when it was really 25 will not help. You can contact Mass Highway to find out what the official limits are. If the limits are different than what is posted (say it is not really a 25 even though the sign says it is) you might be able to use that as a defense. What road were you on, anyway?

I was on 95N before the split with 95N/128 and Rt. 93.
There are signs that say "25 MPH AHEAD" that are yellow and then at some point there are signs that say "25 MPH" also in yellow. The thing is that the officer told me that the limit where I was "caught" was 35 MPH and that just up ahead of that it turns to 25 MPH.
The thing is that there is no such "35 MPH" zone...at least there are no signs that say "35 MPH" in either white or yellow...it just goes from "65 MPH" in white to "25 MPH" in yellow.
The officer specifically stated that I was in the 35 MPH zone which was before the 25 MPH zone when he was explaining the speed limits on this section of the highway. So since this mysterious "35 MPH" zone does not seem to exist will pointing this out help my case?

lol not really in my opinion cause then you would be in the 25 zone.

Research what reasonable and prudent are by definition in your state., I think it's your best bet.

I figured that maybe I could argue the case that the officer misunderstood the speed limit in that area and thought I was in a 35 MPH zone when I was in fact in a 65 MPH zone...since I apparently was NOT in the 25 MPH zone otherwise that would have been indicated on my citation.

I used to live near that split. It sounds like you remained on the north side of the split where it curves around onto 128. If memory serves there a LOT of road grooves to slow you down approaching that split. I would question though exactly where you were when he said you were speeding. If before that right turn to head north on 128 then you must have been really close to the turn, which as you know is a VERY tight turn.

yes that is where I was...but I do not know exactly where he tagged me.

The thing is that I was not speeding...if I was I would have no problem saying "hey I need to get out of this even though I was speeding!"

I am also not sure what he was talking about with this imaginary 35 MPH zone...
I mean at 1 pm on a weekday you can't exactly cruise right thru that area...but I know proving that will be hard...
I was hoping that using the fact that MAYBE the officer made a mistake and thought the speed limit in that area was 35 MPH. Since he knew that there was a 25 MPH zone and specifically did not cite me for that would the fact that he cited me for a non existent speed limit area be grounds for dismissal?
Could he just change his story in front of a judge and say "oh I must have made a mistake"? I am sure that he may bring up the fact that he got me going faster but gave me a break so I am not sure what effect that will have on the situation.

cnvrtble98 said:

I was on 95N before the split with 95N/128 and Rt. 93.
There are signs that say "25 MPH AHEAD" that are yellow and then at some point there are signs that say "25 MPH" also in yellow. The thing is that the officer told me that the limit where I was "caught" was 35 MPH and that just up ahead of that it turns to 25 MPH.
The thing is that there is no such "35 MPH" zone...at least there are no signs that say "35 MPH" in either white or yellow...it just goes from "65 MPH" in white to "25 MPH" in yellow.
The officer specifically stated that I was in the 35 MPH zone which was before the 25 MPH zone when he was explaining the speed limits on this section of the highway. So since this mysterious "35 MPH" zone does not seem to exist will pointing this out help my case?

Click to expand...

MA has adopted the MUTCD and speed limit signs have to conform to that document or the MA amendments. You need to do some research. The yellow signs should be advisory and have to be followed by actual speed limit signs. I happened to come through that same point today and going onto 93N I only saw yellow 35 mph signs. I assume you were going onto 128 and if it is as you say that the signs were only the yellow ramp speed limit signs you should be able to beat it on that basis. Send the ticket back in asking for a hearing. Look up the MUTCD on-line and read what it says about yellow ramp speed signs. Good luck.