Dirt Road Speeding Ticket

[Judger017]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts
I was leaving a friends home today and turned out of his driveway onto his street which is a dirt road. After a few windy turns i see I'm being pulled over. The officer stated that he was driving 40 behind me when i pulled away from him so he estimated my speed over 40. He only asked where i was coming from and took my information. He came back with a "over reasonable speed ticket" that indicated my speed was "40+" I asked him what the posted speed was and he said "there isnt one but if that paved road is 35 what do you think this is?" He was referring to about half a mile down where the road turns to pavement and then theres a posted sign. Also on the ticket it says my speed of "40+" was estimated AND "clocked" which i was never informed of. Also this area is not considered "thickly settled" with houses on the road almost a mile apart and thick woods throughout. Should i fight this ticket?

 

[The Occultist]

My guess is you won't get very far. The closest statutory speed I could find for MA for you situation is 30mph, but, as you did point out, does indeed refer to a "thickly settled" area. However, I say that combining the windy turns (need for a lower limit) with the fact that it's a dirt road (less traction, thus requiring a lower limit), 30mph is either a good limit or too high.

 

[AttyHelinski]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts
I was leaving a friends home today and turned out of his driveway onto his street which is a dirt road. After a few windy turns i see I'm being pulled over. The officer stated that he was driving 40 behind me when i pulled away from him so he estimated my speed over 40. He only asked where i was coming from and took my information. He came back with a "over reasonable speed ticket" that indicated my speed was "40+" I asked him what the posted speed was and he said "there isnt one but if that paved road is 35 what do you think this is?" He was referring to about half a mile down where the road turns to pavement and then theres a posted sign. Also on the ticket it says my speed of "40+" was estimated AND "clocked" which i was never informed of. Also this area is not considered "thickly settled" with houses on the road almost a mile apart and thick woods throughout. Should i fight this ticket?

Here's the issue with fighting speeding tickets in Massachusetts nowadays-- You could definitely fight the ticket. A fraction of the time, the officer doesn't show. Another part of the time, if you act reasonably, the court will at least knock down the fine amount. However, Massachusetts now charges a non-refundable fee to appeal tickets (non-refundable even if you win). So it's just a question of whether to make the investment. If you've got any talent at cross examination, you could make a great show of it (you'll cross examine the officer). Good luck.

 

[Judger017]

won

Easily won once i fought this ticket. I didnt even get through half my argument points when the judge threw out the ticket. The main point was the officer never wrote down how long he "paced" me for. He never would of wrote it down because like i said its fairly windy and he never had direct sight of me for more than 1/10 of a mile and i believe you have to be paced for at least 1/4 of a mile so i win dumb ticket.

 

[asiny]

so i win dumb luck.

I corrected that ending statement for you.