Enradd In Pa

[bundite]

What is the name of your state? PA

I got a speeding ticket in Boalsburg, near Penn State on Fri . 11-4-05. There was a speed trap set up just as I came off the exit ramp from 322 (high speed highway) into the town. I thought I was just following traffic. I was looking at directional signs. I am totally unfamiliar with this road. The weather was fine. The officer did not and would not talk therefore I was not afforded the opportunity to even discuss the possibility of him giving me a warning. I got a ticket for going 60 in a 40 m/hr zone. My last name is NOT spelled correctly on the ticket. The first letter is wrong in my last name. Is there any way I can fight this and win or reduce the penalty ($155)? Are there points? Will my insurance go up? This is 200 miles from home. I have a very clean driving record.

[sukharev]

Don't you love round numbers...

It likely was not 60, that's just what he wrote. My suggestion is to fight it, and 200 miles is not that bad of a drive. Use discovery and traffic survey defences. Check if the speed limit was indeed posted (and legal) with a sign clearly legible. Check out what was used, and if lidar (laser), then check if judicial notice exists in that jurisdiction. Request officer's training records via Freedom of Information Act, then training materials from the course he took. Be quick, you don't have much time to do this. If he was trained to test the unit before and after the shift, and he did not (discovery again), you have a good shot. Even if he did, but not according to training manual, then you have an even better shot. try reading more on the web, but if you have questions afterwards, do post them here.

[loulblades]

The 20mph over is worth 4 points (which I believe you get to carry for 3 years) in PA and it will be up to your ins. company if they raise rates.

Highly unlikely that last name spelling will benefit your case so you will most likely have to come up with a better defense (which there are several in PA).

Good luck.

[sukharev]

Originally Posted by loulblades

The 20mph over is worth 4 points (which I believe you get to carry for 3 years) in PA and it will be up to your ins. company if they raise rates.

Highly unlikely that last name spelling will benefit your case so you will most likely have to come up with a better defense (which there are several in PA).

Thanks, loulblades, I totally agree. The judge would not care about a typo. Sorry, I should have answered poster's original question, too.

What are those specific defenses you mentioned?

BTW, that's why the cop wrote 20 mph EXACTLY. Insurance company would love to hear it. Good chance of reducing it, though, and if I recall then insirance rate would be lower, too. If you are lucky, dismissing it is a posibility if you use the right defense for the court.

[loulblades]

What are those specific defenses you mentioned?

PA requires certain items to be presented at the hearing (actually these came about via case law over the years) including original calibration certificate for the device used (note model and serial on ticket) that was done within 60 days before ticket was issued, officer providing judicial notice regarding the approval of the device and cal. station etc. Also check distance from first speed limit sign (change in speed) to where "trap" set. I don't recall the minimum required distance but it is specified.

I have mentioed in previous posts that local officers appear to be more "revenue sensitive" than the state ones (ENRADD indicating local). The state tickets I received over the past couple of years were easily dismissed by checking the documention carefully and listening (very carefully) to the officer's testimony to see if all items were presented. However the local guys had their documentation pretty well in order but I was still able to plead down some and reduce the points (and fine). Actually the local officers were pretty surprised I would bother to plead not guilty, since most don't (although I always do).

I started fighting tickets with info from [url]http://www.BeatMySpeedingTicket.com[/url].

If you are going to attempt a traffic survey defense, you might want to look at [url]www.ticketkiller.com[/url].

Again good luck. Although I know some will want to argue this, I believe that speeding tickets in the US have much less to do with safety than revenue, for both the state and the insurance companies, so I will fight them everytime.